Becoming What You Already Are

As I put it in Revise Us Again, spiritual growth is a matter of becoming what you already are. As a Christian, you are already “light in the Lord.” Because this is true, Paul exhorted us to “walk as children of Light” (Eph. 5:8).

In Ephesians, Paul said two times to “speak the truth in love” to one another. In context, Paul was exhorting God’s people to remind one another of who they were in Christ … to remind one another about the new self into which they have been made … to remind one another of their true identity. Because it’s all too easy to forget.

If you have received Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, here’s a list of who you really are. Read this list carefully and marvel at the epic greatness of your Lord and what He has done for you.

You are complete in Christ, who is the head of all principality and power (Col. 2:10).
You have been crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20).
You are dead to sin (Rom. 6:2).
You have been made alive with Christ (Eph. 2:5).
You are free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
You are born of God, and the evil one does not touch you (1 John 5:18).
You are holy and without blame before Him in love (Eph. 1:4; 1 Pet. 1:16).
You have been given the peace of God that passes all understanding (Phil. 4:7).
You have the Greater One living in you; greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
You have received the gift of righteousness and reign in life by Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:17).
You have received the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus (Eph. 1:17–18).
You can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you (Phil. 4:13).
You show forth the praises of God, who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9).
You are God’s child, born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23; John 1:12).
You are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Eph. 2:10).
You are a new creature in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17).
You are alive to God (Rom. 6:11).
You are an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17).
You are more than a conqueror through Him who loves you (Rom. 8:37).
You have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13).
You are beloved of God (1 John 4:10).
You are loved by the Father the same way Jesus is loved by the Father (John 17:23).
You have been redeemed from the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13).
You have been freed from all things (Acts 13:39).
You are now God’s offspring (1 John 3:2).
You are the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13).
You have been reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:18).
You have been accepted by God in the Beloved Son (Eph. 1:6).
You are kept by the power of God (1 Cor. 1:8).
You are free in Christ (John 8:36; Gal. 5:1).
You are in Christ’s hands, out of which no one can pluck you (John 10:28).
You are in the Father’s hands, out of which no one can pluck you (John 10:29).
You are an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of your testimony (Rev. 12:11).
You are a partaker of God’s divine nature (2 Pet. 1:3–4).
You are part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Pet. 2:9).
You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 5:21).
You are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19).
You are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14).
You are God’s elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and longsuffering (Rom. 8:33; Col. 3:12).
You are forgiven of all sins and washed in the blood (Eph. 1:7).
You have been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into God’s kingdom (Col. 1:13).
You have put off the old man and have put on the new man (Col. 3:9–10).
You are healed by the stripes of Jesus (1 Pet. 2:24).
You are raised up with Christ and seated in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6; Col. 2:12).
You have overcome the world (1 John 5:4).
You are greatly loved by God (Rom. 1:7; Eph. 2:4; Col. 3:12; 1 Thess. 1:4).
You are strengthened with all might according to His glorious power (Col. 1:11).
You have not been given a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7).
You have Christ living inside of you (Gal. 2:20).
You are a saint—a holy one (Col. 1:2).
You are one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17).
You are holy, without reproof, and blameless in His sight (Col. 1:22).
You are a member of Christ’s holy body (1 Cor. 12:27).
You have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness (1 Pet. 2:3).
You are light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8).
You have been given all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ (Eph. 1:3).
You were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).
You have been justified—just as if you had never sinned (Rom. 5:1).
You are a branch on the true Vine (John 15:1, 5).
You are born of God (1 John 5:18).
You have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ (Heb. 4:14–16).
You are free from condemnation, and you cannot be charged or indicted (Rom. 8:1, 32–34).
You have been established, anointed, and sealed by God (2 Cor. 1:21–22).
You are hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:1–4).
You are a citizen of heaven (Phil. 3:20).
You are at peace with God (Rom. 5:1).
You have everlasting life (John 5:24).
You are kept by God’s power (1 Pet. 1:5).
You are in Christ Jesus by God’s act (1 Cor. 1:30).
You cannot be separated from God’s love in Christ (Rom. 8:35–39).
You are fit to partake of His inheritance (Col. 1:12; Eph. 1:14).
You are part of Christ’s bride, who He cherishes, bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh (Eph. 5:29–32).
You are a king and priest unto God (Rev. 1:6).
You have been sealed with the promised Holy Spirit until the day of redemption (Eph. 1:13; 4:30).
God will complete the good work that He started in you (Phil. 1:6).
God is for you even when others are against you (Rom. 8:31).

Jesus is our Savior. On the grounds of His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, He saves us from the penalty of sin; He saves us from the power of sin; and He will ultimately save us from the presence of sin.

As our Savior, He “saves us to the uttermost” and will complete in us what He began. Indeed, He is the Originator and Perfecter of our faith.

by Frank Viola, author, in his CBA bestseller, Jesus Now.

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