By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS: Concluding a 3-part series on identity, I explore the Christian’s true identity in Christ, (briefly mentioning the challenges of aging). Drawing from Spurgeon, Ferguson, & Lloyd-Jones, I emphasize union with Christ, eternal purpose, and living out the reality of who believers are.
In part 1 I examined women’s search for identity and meaning coming of age in the confusing turbulence of second wave feminism.
In part 2 I looked at my own testimony of the search for identity prior to salvation in that unsettled period.
In this final part 3, I am exploring who we are as Christians, our identity in Christ.
Before I get to the overview and conclusion, I’d like to look at one aspect of identity that is little discussed. It’s normal for us Christians to ponder who we believe we are and our purpose in life in the difference between pre-salvation and post salvation.
We know there are seasons in life besides pre-and-post salvation, important as that contrast is. We revise our perspective as we grow into the phases of life, such as child to adult, single to married, and married to motherhood.
Today, let’s think about our Christian identity as we grow from adulthood to elderly. As we age, we must make a shift in perspective once again. We retire from jobs, and no longer can claim that identity as plumber, executive, or teacher. We slow down and find that joining the volunteers at VBS is out of our reach. Physical changes may impact our ability to sit and listen to a sermon for long periods, or absorb it as readily as we used to.
The most important feature of the shift in search for identity as we age is, post retirement, wondering what or how we can be as useful to Jesus. Many of us consider our jobs a ministry, sharing Jesus as we are in the secular society, and being a living stone for Him in the world. If we retire from our job in the world, what then? How can I glorify Jesus, especially now as physical or mental limits force a change?
This past January, the Masters Seminary noted their top ten most read articles from the previous year, 2025. Coming in at #9 was-
The Grasshopper Drags Itself Along: The Dishonor of Aging and the Glory of the Resurrection
It’s a very good article that covers the ‘dishonor’ and messiness of aging. I haven’t seen many articles on that topic, and if you’re pondering your identity in Christ as an aging person, I commend it to you.
Who are we in Christ?
First, let’s look at the moment of justification. Spurgeon preached,
“When a man is converted and brought to Christ he has invariably become a new creature. If he has believed in Jesus only three minutes yet he is a new creature; and if he hath known the Lord seventy years he can be no more. A new creation is a new creature, and in this matter there is no difference between the babe in grace and the father in Israel. … This change is universal in the man; the new man is not full grown in every part, nor in fact in any part, and yet in all the portions of his regenerated nature he is a new creature.”
This dramatic change includes our union with Christ, our adoption into His family and His kingdom, a transfer from dark to light, from bondage to sin to freedom from the power of sin, and much more. Upon justification, our origin is in our first moment of salvation and our final destiny in Christ. That fact never changes.
We are “in Christ” individually, and we are in Him collectively, a part of and with every other believer on this earth and in heaven.
Sinclair Ferguson makes that observation in his book “Union with Christ” regarding the overused phrase “let Jesus into your heart”. Understanding this, and its opposite, will have a dramatic impact on how a Christian perceives himself as his identity in Jesus. Ferguson said,
“Let Jesus into your heart”…That has been commonly used language in the evangelical subculture to explain how to become a Christian: “You need to let Jesus in.” True, some passages in the New Testament speak about receiving Christ and of His subsequent indwelling of us. Yet the dominant emphasis in Apostolic preaching and teaching is not that we let Christ into our hearts but that we get out of ourselves and into Him.” [emphasis in the original].
That’s the first pass. We did not do something at the moment of justification to change our identity, we did nothing. Jesus did it all, including electing us for His ‘identity change’ from hell-bound sinner to beloved son or daughter in His family.
Our union with Christ is a union that’s unlike any other here on earth, even the marital where it’s said we become one flesh. In the heavenly relationship in union with Christ, we are eager to subsume, even mortify, our own identity, so as to better commune with Christ. Spurgeon in his sermon “Members of Christ” said,
“This union is very near, and very dear, and very complete. We are so near to Christ, that we cannot be nearer; for we are one with him. We are so dear to Christ, that we cannot be dearer. Consider how close and tender is the tie when it is true that Christ loved us, and gave himself for us. It is a union more intimate than any other which exists amongst men; for “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.“
Think on this, as Ferguson wrote- “Our union with Christ is rooted in God’s eternal purposes.” Doesn’t that fact shift our perspective on musing on our earthly identity as an individual, and enlarging it to a perspective so much bigger than ourselves?!
Now I’ll close with this timeless and impactful paragraph. Martyn Lloyd-Jones preached through Ephesians for years. In that multi-year sermon series, he repeatedly reminded his hearers about our new identity in Christ. That we must be holy and blameless, our lifestyle must rise to match that eternal identity. In the sealing of us by the Holy Spirit when He comes to indwell, this guarantees who we are. For our part, we must live that out. Famously, Lloyd-Jones said in his book God’s Ultimate Purpose: An Exposition of Ephesians 1-
“Our greatest need is to become who we already are in Christ.”
Amen!
Further Reading
In looking at our Christian identity in Spurgeon’s sermons, Ferguson’s book, and Lloyd-Jones’ sermons, they all expounded on Ephesians 1, that 202 word long beginning sentence that Paul wrote that opens the book. I encourage you to return to that passage and reflect on that scripture. Ephesians 1
Also: Lloyd-Jones’ Ephesians sermons are at The Martyn Lloyd-Jones Trust, here.
Sinclair Ferguson’s book Union with Christ: The Blessings of Being in Him is available at Ligonier or Amazon in various formats, and other outlets.
the-end-time.org 