Who God Says We Are

Who God Says We Are

There is a simple line from Steven Curtis Chapman’s song “Who You Say We Are” that I love.

Hallelujah, we are who You say we are.

Maybe that doesn’t seem earth-shattering to you, but where we find our identity is crucial. It shapes what we say, how we respond to others, how we live, every aspect of our life. There are many voices that whisper and often shout at us, trying to define who we are, but there is only one voice that matters – God’s. His is the voice of truth, so we should know who He says we are and live in light of who we are in Christ.

As I originally weighed this idea, that our true identity is who God says we are, I planned to go through different verses and their summary statements of our identity in Christ. I reviewed my document on who we are in Christ (available to download under “Free Resources,” “Identity in Christ” on my website). One of the first Scripture references I read was Ephesians 1:3-8. I read through verse 14, and it altered the direction I was going to take. I’d like to peel back just one layer in Ephesians 1:3-14 – God’s character and who He says we are because of who He is and what He has done.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, 6 to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In Him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. 13 In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of His glory. [1]

As you read through these verses, did you notice the back and forth between who God is, what He has done and who He says we are? As I took notes, I ended up dividing my paper in half vertically to show the correlation. As I already said, we will just be looking at one layer of these verses today. I’m hoping to start Journey Through Ephesians verse-by-verse devotional soon, and together we can delve into more layers then.

Paul encourages us that in Jesus we are blessed. It is certain. We are assured of every spiritual blessing. They are already ours in Christ. Because of whom God is, we can be confident that He is able to provide what He says is ours. “Every spiritual blessing” is the best we can receive and completely secure. Earthly blessings can’t begin to compare. We respond with blessing God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We praise and worship Him out of love and gratitude.

There is nothing in you or I that makes us worthy of God choosing us to be blameless and holy. God chose us “in Him.” It’s all God. I could never stand before God holy and blameless on my own. Paul makes it clear that no one is good, not even one (Romans 3:10-12). Yet, in Christ and because of His righteousness that is credited to us, we are holy and blameless before God. This truth always blows me away because I know the daily sin in my heart, thoughts, words, and actions, but God sees me with Jesus’ righteousness – holy and blameless before Him. I want to live in accordance with who God says I am.

I have an affinity for adoption. I’m adopted. My two brothers are adopted. My parents chose me to be their daughter. God has done the same. It was His purpose from before time to adopt us to Himself, to make us His sons and daughters. Paul encourages us that God adopted us “in love.” Again, we see this is not because of anything good in ourselves. It is through Jesus we gain a loving Father who gives us all the rights and privileges of being His children. Why? To the praise of His glorious grace. How often do you think of God’s grace bestowed on you? How often do you meditate on and praise God for His glorious grace? This is grace that should drive us to worship our loving, gracious Father.

To varying degrees, we all long to be accepted. We value what others think of us, and we want them to value us. Since my first book was published, I repeatedly go to God with my struggle (sin) of looking for acceptance of my writing in sales’ numbers, “likes,” and compliments. How easily I forget that I am fully accepted by God because of Jesus. How successful or not I am in my writing by human standards doesn’t change who I am in Christ or how God views me. The only thing that matters is whether I am honoring God. As we considered a minute ago, we have been given Jesus’ righteousness. Jesus was accepted before the Father. In Jesus (the Beloved), we have His acceptance as ours. Praise God that we never have to worry about being accepted. We already are, and that status will never change.

We are redeemed. Jesus bought us with His own blood on the cross. We are forgiven because Jesus paid for all our sins – past, present, and future – once and for all. I love what follows. “according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.” Our Savior isn’t stingy with us. Just as we saw the awesomeness of His glorious grace. Here His grace is rich, abundant, and lavished on us. In Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, the Father’s justice was satisfied. His wrath was poured out on Jesus, so that in Jesus, we would know only the Father’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness. If you haven’t trusted in Jesus’ atoning work for you, repent and trust in Him alone for your salvation. For those in Christ, you can thank God that He has redeemed and forgiven you. Then gratefully walk in obedience.

God chose to make His will known to us. He had a plan from the beginning that salvation would be for the Jew and the Gentile. Not only that, but we have the hope that God will unite all things to Himself. In the fullness of time, God’s perfect time in His perfect plan, will make right what sin made wrong. Paul teaches that even creation is groaning until that time when God unites all things to Himself (Romans 8:22-23). What a day to look forward to!

In verses 11 and 12, we discover that God has made us His heirs. When we are adopted by God and made His children, we are partakers in all the rights and privileges that a natural born heir would receive. Paul teaches us the fullness of this when he writes, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirt that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Romans 3:16-17). That truth is hard to fully process. God chose us sinners and enemies of God to be His children and to be fellow heirs with Jesus. What belongs to Jesus belongs to us. I don’t have time to list all that this means, all that is ours, but I don’t know that we could ever make a complete list. Why has God so richly blessed us and made us His heirs? So, we might be to the praise of His glory (this truth keeps popping up). Paul continues to drive home that all is for the glory of God.

Paul wraps up this section with the promise that we have been saved and sealed by the Holy Spirit. I know I sometimes take the Holy Spirit for granted, but He is essential in our lives. In verses 13 and 14, we have a sure hope that we will be raised to new life and glorified because the Holy Spirit, God Himself, guarantees it. Earthly inheritances can be disputed. They can be taken away or changed. They are even taxed. But God guarantees that what He has promised to us, our inheritance, will come to pass. Why? Because it is to the praise of His glory.

As I thought about this section in Ephesians, I rejoiced that grace alone makes me God’s child. A short summary but overflowing with meaning and blessing. If I could hold onto these truths about who God is, what He has done, and who I am in Christ, my life would look different. I would never live as defeated or without hope. I would not fear man but live in awe of God. I would delight to obey God and bring glory to Him. Until the day we are complete in Christ, never to sin again, we can be grateful for what God has done, who He has made us, and that we are redeemed, adopted, accepted, and forgiven because of Jesus.

Reflection

1. What stood out to you about who God is and what He has done in Ephesians 1:3-14?

2. What about who God says you are impacted you? Were any of the truths hard for you to believe are true about yourself?

3. What is at least one truth you can meditate on this week? What is one thing you can change considering that truth? Be specific.

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 1:3–14.