Discover Your Identity

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"Who am I?” 

I’ve asked myself this question. You’ve asked it. In fact, we ask this question in every season of our lives--a recurring constant whether it’s middle school or a mid-life crisis, launching a career or retiring from it.

What if, to truly discover who we are, we must take our eyes off ourselves and look to the one who created us?

It is in humanity’s entrance onto the scene of history that we realize the need to discover the identity of our Creator in order to discover our own identity.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27, NIV)

Humanity--male and female--was created by God as his image. If being God’s image is central to humanity’s identity, then to discover ourselves, we must first discover God. 

Our identity is intimately and inseparably connected with God’s identity. John Calvin, the French theologian from the 16th century, famously said in his Institutes, “Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God… Without knowledge of God there is no knowledge of self.” Plenty has been written about self, so let’s back the train up and first seek knowledge of God.

Good news! God wants us to know him. In fact, he intentionally reveals himself to us both generally and specifically. Generally, God reveals himself through creation, universal theism (the general belief that there is a supreme being or beings), and morality. General revelation of God is available to all people, at all times, in all places.

In addition, God reveals himself more completely to specific people, at specific times, in specific places. Examples of specific revelation include movements in history, visions and dreams, signs and miracles, prophecy and preaching, and Scripture. The most evident form of specific revelation is the person of Jesus.

John, a close friend and follower of Jesus when he walked the earth in the 1st century, opens his biography of Jesus’ life this way, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1, NIV). John quickly thereafter reveals the Word as Jesus, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

To recap, in order to discover our identity, we must first discover God’s identity, and God’s identity is most clearly revealed to us in the person of Jesus. If we know Jesus, we know God--and we not only know about God, we know God like my daughter knows me as her father.

Let’s be strategic in our pursuit of self-discovery, and let’s first focus our time, attention, and energy on discovering Jesus’ identity. Here are three steps to discover Jesus and your identity in him:

  1. Read Jesus “I am” statements. Seven times, Jesus clearly states his identity, “I am…” Use our “Who am I? Study Guide” to read and reflect on Jesus’s identity from his own mouth.

  2. Talk with God about who he is and how you relate with him. Central to God’s desire for us to know him is for us to have a relationship with him--a relationship made possible through Jesus. Similar to how you talk with a parent, spouse, or friend, conversation is central to a relationship with God, so talk with him. Not sure where to start? Try using the acrostic PRAY to guide your prayer: 

    1. Praise God for who he is.

    2. Repent of your sins and receive God’s forgiveness.

    3. Ask God to move in the world and also provide what you need.

    4. Yield to God’s leading and deliverance.

  3. Talk with others. Join the conversation and connect in a Rooted Group with us where we explore deeper who God is and who we are in him. Just click the “Connect in a Group” button below for more information and to register. Also, share what you are learning with those around you, so they too can discover their identity by discovering a relationship with God.

The clearer we see Jesus, the clearer we see ourselves because it is through Jesus that we relate with God--our Creator and the one whom we represent to the world around us.

Reflection Questions:

  1. What did I learn?

  2. What action step am I going to take?

  3. With whom am I going to share this?

Connect in a group to join the conversation and grow alongside others. As we practice social distancing, all of our groups are meeting online via video calls.

Chris Flathers