Starting Over with a New Identity

Starting Over with a New Identity

by

Jimmy Humphrey

Imagine for a moment that you were witness to a ghastly crime, where the main villain was a shady Chicago businessman, who just so happened to have an Italian last name, dressed in nice suits, and was known for the large gold chains that draped around his neck. In order to ensure you are alive and able to testify in court, the police temporarily enroll you in the witness protection program. In it, you are assigned a new identification. You receive a new name, a new job, and are suddenly moved into a remote rural town. You are no longer who you once were, and if you wish to remain alive, you will distance yourself as far as possible from your old life.

Our identity is a very important thing. When you meet a stranger for the first time, we will often engage in a lot of small talk that centers around basic biographical information. We’ll size each other up, talking about where we were born, where we went to school, where we work, family life, and the like. We ultimately look to share information about who we are and what we are about. As the conversation continues, we’ll look for some sort of common points of identification that gives us the excuse to continue lingering with one another in conversation, or should we fail to do that, we’ll look to excuse ourselves from any further conversation.

Our identity is a very curious thing. Not only is our identity an expression of who we are, but in many ways, our identity molds us into the people we become. Artists become artsy. Kings become regal. Football players become jocks. And Christians, Lord willing, become more like Christ.

The apostle Paul said:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” (Galatians 2:20; NASB)

The more I live, the more I am convinced that understanding who I am in Christ is one of the most important things I can ever hope to grasp. My identity is bound up in Christ and who He is in me. And the more I understand this truth, and the more I live my life in light of whom I am in Christ, the more I find myself flourishing. But in those areas of my life that I fail to identify with Christ first and foremost, I find a worldly carnality that chokes me to death.

When I think of myself, I should not think of myself as a young, white, middle-class, college-educated male, who works for one of the largest banks in the world. I should not think about the name on my jeans, the car that I drive, or the size of my bank account. I should not think about myself as a politically conservative minded American, who cheers wildly for the local professional sports teams. I should not think about my height, my weight, or any other such thing.

For when I bind up my identity in these things, I limit myself, and become a slave to these labels. But when my mind is on who I am in Christ, and my identification with Him, I have access to all things, and am truly free. I become whoever Jesus Christ says I am in Him.

I am saved. I am righteous. I am holy. I am forgiven. I am a child of God. I am worthy. I am a citizen of a heavenly kingdom. I am a part of the family of God. God loves me, and is working all things for my good. I have been given everything pertaining to life and godliness. I lack for no good thing. My cup runneth over. I am the head and not the tail. I am blessed in my going in and in my going out. I have a purpose. I am making a difference. I am altogether awesome and wonderful. I can do all things. I am more than a conqueror. I am risen with Christ. I am seated in heavenly places. I am a new creation.

But instead of identifying with many of these Scriptural truths, and understanding how they apply to us, many of us find our identity in the million other things this world wants us to embrace. We become people who can’t think of ourselves apart from our nationality, ethnicity, gender, height, weight, age, social status, job title, sexual orientation, or political party. And as is often the case, one of these particular identities ends up having a stronger hold on us than the rest.

Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying there is anything wrong in and of itself with identifying yourself with a particular nationality, ethnicity, etc. As people, and even as Christians, we will certainly have an identity that touches upon all of these things. God in His wisdom is not looking to dissolve us of all the unique distinctions we embrace. But with that said, God does not want us to be grounded in an identity that isn’t centered in who we are in Him.

If we were to survey the world around us, we would learn that there is a great danger in being caught up in our own identity apart from Christ. Six million Jews know how terrible it is when people become intoxicated by their German nationality. The caste system has caused millions of people in India to starve. Homosexuals become unable to escape their sinful lifestyles because they can’t think of themselves as somebody other than a homosexual. Managers violently handle their employees in the workplace. Over ninety-percent of blacks voted for president Obama in the last election. And many Southerners still fly the flag of a nation that hasn’t existed in 150 years.

As you can see, ultimately at the end of the day, you and I need to be saved from all this stuff. But you and I will never learn to be saved from all this stuff until we are saved from ourselves. Germans need to be saved from being German. Blacks need to be saved from being black. Baptists need to be saved from being Baptist. Cool young pastors need to be saved from their coolness. Bono needs to be saved from Bono. I need to be saved from being me.

We are ultimately in need of a new identity. An identity that is bound up with who Jesus Christ is, and who He has made us to be. In Jesus Christ, I am no longer a middle-class white boy who went to college and works for a bank. Like somebody enrolled in the witness protection program, I have seen something amazing, and I have been given a new identity. In a moment, everything about me was changed. It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me.

I have been given a new name, a new residency, and a new profession. My life is no longer what it once was. With my new identity, I am liberated from the troubles of my old life. My past with all its complications have nothing to do with what I have become. I am free from all prior entanglements and loyalties. For the identity I now have has set me free. With the past now behind me, I have nothing but the future to look forward to. I have been given a new life. A life that is truly hid in Christ.

And that new identity and that new life are available for all who would believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It is available for all who would be willing to lay aside their old lives, and put on a new one. It’s available for all who would be buried with Christ and raised again in the newness of life. It’s available for all who are willing to think differently, live differently, and act differently. It’s available to all who would lay upon an altar everything that is their life. This new identity is available for everyone who would dare to be recognized as the citizen of another kingdom. It is for everyone who would dare to call another group of people their family. It is for everyone who would say they are part of a new race of men. It is available for all who are ultimately willing to part ways with the first creation, so as to make way for God’s new creation.

http://www.iamadisciple.com/articles/new_identity.php

King Jimmy,

You have obviously put a lot of thought into this article. You cover a wide range of points about identity. It's so true what you say - about how our identities restrain us. They are like an invisible boundary that say to us: "Do not trespass beyond this point". We are not particularly conscious of their power on us.

I deal with these identity "restraints" everyday in my teaching - especially adults. They believe they cannot go on to higher levels of achievement. It's just not them. But it's simply that that they never did it before.

I think it's that way in our new Kingdom identity too. We can be restrained by an overly limiting sense of identity as redeemed people - like Peter when the sheet of animals came down in a vision from heaven.

Diane

I was always amazed in school how many people defeated themselves in their own minds when it came to test taking. Even in Bible college people who knew they could do all things in Christ would buckle in fear of the dreaded test.

i think we must be wary of lying to our selfs and saying somthing that we are not also ,, think we need to be humbled in the process of identafication ,,,,,if we are not filled with the spirit ,we should not lie and aferm that we are ,,if we are not mature we should not identafie our selfs as such ,,,we need to be carfull and tell the truth in this we cant talk our way into mature holiness ,,
...

but the princale is a valid one for sure

I am a citizen of a heavenly kingdom

KingJimmy: How about writing a book called “Identity Crisis in American Christianity”?

I think that should encompass about every “sin” problem. And of course the scripture basis would be the return of the Prodigal Son. He returned, hoping against hope that at least he could be accepted as a meager slave. That’s not much of a vision. But then low and behold his Father bestows him with all the symbols of a royal identity, sonship in the Father’s family: robe, ring, sandals, celebration….

A question: What was the older brother’s “identity” problem?

Diane

How about writing a book called “Identity Crisis in American Christianity”?

I think the crisis is more widespread to humanity then just the Southern half of the North American Continent;) It's ironic that we often attempt to resolve the identity crisis of another by giving them an identity of our own choosing..."American Christianity."

A challenge we have as human beings is that we live inside the mental models in our heads. None of us actually interact with the "real world", but with abstractions of the real world modeled in our brains.

And these models are always metaphors instead of "actuality", that in turn become narratives instead of "facts", populated with personas instead of the creatures we really are. It doesn't matter who you are, without metaphors, narratives, and personas, you wouldn't be able to organize the immense data contained in your noodle. (metaphor;) It's simply how our minds categorize and retrieve information.

I believe it is impossible to think outside of these models in our head. It would be like asking a computer to think outside of it's Firmware and Operating System. Our brain, in this present mortal frame, is a modeling organ. Everyone's task is to discover which model God would have us believe in, and work hard to make room in our thinking accordingly. I believe this is a central provision of scripture. While we may read other books, the bible is the only book that reads us. I believe committing to the right biblical mental models is the renewing of our minds.

(On another topic, I also believe this explains the limitations of mysticism...if our meditation is based on heuristics instead of revelation, we will never get anywhere in the renewing of our minds.)

Now the problem we as Christians face, is that even within the framework of Scripture, we still manage to construct a hundred different conflicting narratives of who we might be. For instance, we could be the American Christian or the true Christian. We could be living in Babylon or in Rome or we could be of Jerusalem. We could be the modern pharisee or the pious saint. We relate to ourselves and one another with just such narratives. We say "calm down" to create a narrative that someone is being irrational or we might say "You have heard from God" to create a narrative that someone is trustworthy. These are the type of narratives we toss at one another with out so much a thought. And we see how central these narratives are to the way we think by the emotional reactions they cause. Someone will offer a single narrative about ourselves and it either makes our day or ruins it!

So with so many scripts for us to pick from...it's no wonder we have a hard time knowing who we really are. :)

Blessings,

MC

I agree with you JIG...what we read or expose ourselves to is very influential to our internal frameworks and identity.

On that note, I personally feel the modern Christian bookstore is rife with identity confusion.

I actually find it much more clarifying to read something the polar opposite to my beliefs, then the various modern evangelical attempts at cultural synthesis.

We can imagine the problems we set up for people's identities when, in the name of "cultural relevancy" we try to live half way between worldly frameworks and biblical frameworks...some netherworld where identity remains filled with contradiction.

Imagine if we affirmed the following narratives rather then the "practical" frameworks of modern evangelical cultural synthesis.

The Narrative of Being Made Alive in Christ

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful naturea and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

How often do we take away these remarkable narratives from one another and offer our own miserable fiction instead...just because of someone's political affiliations, their country of birth, their denominations, or their economic situation?

We take these biblical narratives away from others because they probably aren't real enough to even ourselves. What is real to us is this world, and so we interpret one another through the lens of this world.

MC

So with so many scripts for us to pick from... it's no wonder we have a hard time knowing who we really are

Speaking personally, I can assume a denominational identity from a range of past affiliations. At the moment it works best to be Presbyterian. Well, at least I try. I always find out when I threaten the mold by inadvertently mixing it with a “spurious” identity. I’ve been told on occasion: “But that’s not who we are!” Humor aside, it seems that my actions at times serve to expose the power of the Presbyterian identity – and that’s a good thing.

Interestingly, once in conversing with an elder, the topic was raised about the trend in church closures. He said to me, “What if our church ever had to close! Who would we be???” What a question! It’s so true: When your symbols of identity die, you die too, or at least your sense of who you are. And that potential loss is a huge source of anxiety and fear. We can’t underscore the power of this psychic force in our population.

This dear elder, an elderly Scottish immigrant, will need to surrender his own ethic religious identity as it exists in his mind, before he and likewise the people, can move forward together into God’s calling for today – and, I might add, continue to exist.

(All you “contemporary” church folk – your turn is coming!)

It's ironic that we often attempt to resolve the identity crisis of another by giving them an identity of our own choosing..."American Christianity."

I believe committing to the right biblical mental models is the renewing of our minds.

Speaking personally, it seems that much of this renewal work involves the process of recognizing, untangling, and shedding the former illusions. And considering how deeply any identity is webbed into our relationships, our work, our doings, emotions, etc, this is indeed intensely revolutionizing for the mind. I have no clue what fabrications still rule my mind – relating to various identities I may have assumed.

But I praise God that he helps clear the way in this life journey deeper and deeper into our new homeland.

Diane

When considering the Biblical implications of our new life I always try to force myself to find a Biblical word for the concept. Now Jimmy, what Biblical word would you substitute for 'identity'? ;-)

How else can we identify it? And if you can’t identify it – can you really conquer its power over you?

Interesting. Unraveling who we are not, to see who we are.

At the end of our lives, some of us may find that we have wrapped ourselves in so many idealistic disguises that who's revealed underneath is actually a stranger to us. In a very real way, a person who dies and stands before God is actually going to have to finally face not just one being, but two beings for the very first time; God and themselves.

"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." Romans 14

MC

Why would we desire our old identity,

http://letterstojessica.embassyofheaven.com/index.htm by Robert Bissett

Here’s some quotes from it:

“Grownups like to play make-believe just as much as children. Only they do not admit they are playing a game.”

“Grownups have been tricked into obeying the laws of humbugs, rather than the laws of God. When Americans stopped believing that God rules them and the world, Americans stopped being free. That means they are slaves to the humbugs and ruled by wizards."

“Over all these Great Wizards is one Supreme Wizard called the United States, which is imagined to rule over all of America.”

Diane

So with so many scripts for us to pick from...it's no wonder we have a hard time knowing who we really are. :)

The concept of a "narrative" is definitely crucial. You see this demonstrated wonderfully, especially in the Old Testament. The historical books were written to further a particular narrative. And the prophets were raised up continually to remind Israel of her roll in the great redemptive narrative that God was writing. And still yet today, we are called to continue on in this task, of telling of God's redemption story, and to invite men to participate in the ultimate cosmic drama :-)

Brother Jimmy, I believe that we become or identify with what we read. What books or writings that we read, relate to or prefer. Of all things, I believe that shapes and defines our identities more than anything else on earth.

Absolutely. Without trying to sound like a heretic, I think such things constitute a "personal canon" if you will.

That means they are slaves to the humbugs and ruled by wizards."

Raises an interesting point...for thousands of years the identity of a person could be established according to who their "master" was. Perhaps the concept is unchanging, and only the form of the "master" changes from person to cause to thing.

Tolstoy has some interesting thoughts on this topic. Here is a passage where he demonstrates how one is defined by the object of their fidelity. And he also touches on the "game" that adults play, including the "dress-up" costume.. (showing how we are caught in our own models and narratives.)

"In 1892, the same William, the Enfant Terrible of state authority, who says plainly what other people only think, in addressing some soldiers gave public utterance to the following speech, which was reported next day in thousands of newspapers: "Conscripts!" he said, "you have sworn fidelity to ME before the altar and the minister of God! You are still too young to understand all the importance of what has been said here; let your care before all things be to obey the orders and instructions given you. You have sworn fidelity TO ME, lads of my guard; That means you are now my soldiers, that you have given yourselves to me body and soul. For their is now but one enemy, MY enemy...it may come to pass to that I command you to fire on your own kindred, your brothers, even your own fathers and mothers---which God forbid! ---Even then you are bound to obey my order without hesitation."

"All the young men through the whole of Europe are exposed year after year to this test, and with very few exceptions they renounce all that a man can hold sacred, all express their readiness to kill their brothers, even their fathers, at the bidding of the first crazy creature dressed up in a livery with red and gold trimming, and only wait to be told where and when they are to kill. And they actually are ready.

"They say to him: "You must become my slave, and this slavery may force you to kill even your own father;" and he, often very well educated, trained in all the sciences at the university, quietly puts his head under the yoke. They dress him up in a clown's costume, and order him to cut capers, turn and twist and bow, and kill--he does it all submissively. And when they let him go, he seems to shake himself and go back to his former life, and he continues to discourse upon the dignity of man, liberty, equality, and fraternity as before."

MC

On that note, I personally feel the modern Christian bookstore is rife with identity confusion.

I never feel at home or comfortable at most Christian book stores.

We can imagine the problems we set up for people's identities when, in the name of "cultural relevancy" we try to live half way between worldly frameworks and biblical frameworks...some netherworld where identity remains filled with contradiction.

I think this is a major issue. You see it with a lot of contemporary church plants these days. Whether the pastor is 25 years old or 50, most of them are trying so hard to be "cool" and "trendy." Thus, many for the first time in their lives start putting gel in their hair, wearing skinny jeans, and listening to U2. Many are trying so hard to be somebody else, instead of simply conforming themselves to the image of Christ.

How often do we take away these remarkable narratives from one another and offer our own miserable fiction instead...just because of someone's political affiliations, their country of birth, their denominations, or their economic situation?

We take these biblical narratives away from others because they probably aren't real enough to even ourselves. What is real to us is this world, and so we interpret one another through the lens of this world.

What a great question. I think you've hit the nail on the head here. And you've provided an equally great answer. We sell alternative visions and narratives because we've yet to latch ourselves onto the narrative of Scripture. We invent these stories because there is just something in our walk that identifies itself with the narrative that runs through Scripture. We lack "reality."

It grieves me to no end to hear somebody preaching on the gospel message of whom you can tell the message is just doctrine for them. There is a terrible sense that the man speaking is just performing something, and saying the right words, because he knows he has to say them. He lacks an apparent "grip" on his heart and mind that causes me to believe many really don't even get or understand in their depths what it is they are saying. They believe what they are saying. And they say it because they know they must. But you can tell it is a story which has yet to truly disturb them. There remains a disconnect between the words they are saying and the lives they are living.

And I think we choose these other narratives because we don't want to be disturbed. We as a church give birth to one vision after the next, because the reality of the vision we have been already given is just too terrible for us, and the place we are at in our lives. We want to remain comfortable. We don't want to truly turn aside to see, for we know truly seeing will bring about the end of us, and we find that too great of a cost.

When considering the Biblical implications of our new life I always try to force myself to find a Biblical word for the concept. Now Jimmy, what Biblical word would you substitute for 'identity'? ;-)

LOL. Great question Ron. Some "Biblical" words for this would be "likeness" and "image."

Occasionally, when the conversation of identity comes up, the idea of personal annihilation sometimes comes up. The idea goes something along the lines that the person we are should cease to exist and literally be "replaced" by Christ.

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal.2:20

Is it the New Testament's concept of life that we are to be annihilated as individuals so that Christ may instead occupy our space?

Here is a verse that, to me at least, suggests otherwise.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." Revelation 2:17

It seems to me that important part of the Biblical concept of life is that there is a persistent person known only by God and that person.

In agreement with Jimmy's original post, the reconciliation between these two verses is found somewhere in the persistent picture of the "New Man". I welcome better insights then mine, but basically I feel the New Man is talking about a literal merger of Christ and our persons.

"We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."

"He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace,"

"...put on the new man who has been created in God’s image– in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth."

"Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all."

MC