Deeper Community
“ 6 And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. 7 Let your roots go down deep in him, and let your lives be built upon him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” —Colossians 2:6-7
“ 15 ‘But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ 16 Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ 17 Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.’” —Matthew 16:15-18
“ 25 Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” —Ephesians 5:25
(1.) In God’s family: I learn my true identity
“ 19 Now you are no longer strangers to God and foreigners to heaven, but you are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” —Ephesians 2:19 (LB)
Your Identity in Christ
(a.) You are declared “not guilty” of sin (Romans 3:24)
(b.) No condemnation awaits you (Romans 8:1)
(c.) You are free from the vicious circle of sin and death (Romans 8:2)
(d.) You are acceptable to God through Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:2)
(e.) You are pure and holy (1 Corinthians 1:30)
(f.) You are brand new people inside (2 Corinthians 5:17)
(g.) You are adopted into God’s family (Ephesians 1:4-5)
(h.) You are full of God’s goodness (2 Corinthians 5:21)
(i.) You are one in Christ with all other believers (Galatians 3:28)
(j.) You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Ephesians 1:3)
(k.) You are holy, faultless, and covered in God’s love (Ephesians 1:4)
(l.) You will live with Christ forever; you are a gift to God (Ephesians 1:10-11)
(m.) You are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13)
(n.) You will have eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10)
“ 11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.” —Hebrews 2:11
(2.) In God’s household: I’m encouraged and strengthened by others
“ ‘ 19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself the chief cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” —Ephesians 2:19-22
“ 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong — 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” —Romans 1:11-12
(3.) In Christ’s body: I discover my Kingdom purpose
“ 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.” —1 Corinthians 12:12
“ 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, ‘Because I’m not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not be for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.” —1 Corinthians 12:14-18
“ 27 You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is part of it.” —1 Corinthians 12:27
(4.) In God’s flock: I’m defended and cared for
“ 3 Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.” —Psalm 100:3