Identity is important. It is who we are. Our identity is the qualities, beliefs, characteristics, personality and our expressions. It is the way we think about ourselves. Identity is a huge part of what makes us human. We are not alive without an identity. Is this important to God? The answer is yes. Here are three reasons why identity is important to God.

Reason #1 God is Our Creator

Genesis 1: 1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Not only is God our creator He is the “Creator”. Genesis 1: 26 – 27 shows God as creator of mankind (male and female).
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

There is nothing or anyone that exists outside of God. Out of all God’s creations, His creation of mankind was His best because we are made in His image and after His likeness. There is no other creature on earth made in Him image and after His likeness. Identity is important to God because we mirror His image and likeness. That makes us important and valuable to God. Dominion is a part of our identity because it is one of the ways we are like Him. This is how we identify with His image. When this verse talks about likeness, it talking about man’s moral ability and capacity of obtaining holiness. Unfortunately, the fall of mankind changed all of this. What I find amazing is that God created mankind the same but we are all unique. We are all the same in the sense, that we are all made in His image and likeness. Also, physically we all have two hands, two feet, eyes, etc. We are unique because no one has the same finger print, and all image bearers of God have different personalities, characteristics, traits, etc. If identity was not important to God, He would not have paid so much attention to detail in creating us.

Reason #2 Attention to Detail

Psalm 139 13 – 15
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
In these verses we see God’s hand in forming us in the womb before birth. God making this a priority shows why identity is important to Him. In one translation the first part of verse 13 says, “For thou hast possessed my reins”. Reins means the kidneys and then it denotes the inward parts. The mind, the soul, the seat of the desires, affections, and passions. God is and was intentional when creating us while in the wombs of our mothers. Not just the physical body but things where the identity dwells the mind, soul, seat of desires etc. Sadly, the fall of man affect all of this as well. Mankind now desires to identify themselves outside of God. When scriptures say in John 5:15, “apart from God we are nothing”. However, God original intent was for us to have our identity in Him through Jesus Christ.

Reason 3# We Are Christ’s Ambassadors (Representatives)
2 Corinthians 5: 19 – 21
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

For every believer in Jesus Christ our identity is important to God because we represent Him as His ambassadors. What is an ambassador? An ambassador is a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative. In other words, an ambassador represents his country and when he says something it is as though his country is speaking. Every believer is a representative of God and His Kingdom. We represent Him in character, deeds, what we say, and how we carry ourselves. We speak on behalf of God. Now, this is an enormous responsibility. We as fallen human being cannot speak on behalf of God or represent Him. This is why we had to be given a new nature or a new identity because we no longer represent ourselves, we represent Christ. We have been given the Holy Spirit (God’s Spirit) who empowers us to accomplish this awesome responsibility. We have also been given a message which is be reconciled to God. In other words, we were estranged from God because our sin. That estrangement has ended because of the Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection. Jesus’s blood was shed so that we may have right standing and relationship with God.

Identity is important to God because as creator He was very meticulous in creating us with such care and love. We the undeserving, God allows us to be his ambassador’s as well. Knowing who we are should be important to us as well because it is important to God.

Advertisement