Faith In The Ordinary

Before Scripture ever speaks, everyday life already teaches us something profound: our identity is not something we invent—it is something we receive.

In the most practical sense, none of us creates our identity documents. We do not design our birth certificate. We do not choose our citizenship at birth. We do not issue our own passport, national I.D., or driver’s license. These are conferred, not imagined. They are granted by an authority outside of us and recognized because of that authority.

A birth certificate does not ask how you feel about your name.
A passport does not depend on your performance.
An I.D. is valid not because you believe in it, but because the issuing authority stands behind it.

In other words, identity—real identity—has always worked this way. Scripture simply extends this reality into the spiritual realm. From the beginning, the Bible consistently teaches that identity is not something we invent; it is something we receive (Genesis 1:26–27).

IDENTITY WAS NEVER A NEW TESTAMENT IDEA

Identity in Christ did not begin with Paul, nor did it originate in the Gospels as a solution to human failure. It existed from the very beginning. Adam did not name himself, define his purpose, assign his value, or determine his role. God created him, named his position, and placed him within a relationship (Genesis 2:7–8). Adam’s identity was received before it was ever expressed.

Before Adam worked, he bore God’s image.
Before he obeyed, he belonged.
Before failure entered the story, identity had already been established.

Even after the fall, God continued to operate from this framework. He addressed people based on covenant, not performance. He named before He instructed and called before He commanded.

Throughout Scripture, God consistently establishes identity first—and then forms people into it. Adam is created in God’s image before responsibility is given (Genesis 1:27–28); Israel is called God’s chosen people before the Law is given (Exodus 6:6–7; Exodus 19:5–6); David is anointed king while still a shepherd (1 Samuel 16:12–13); and Gideon is called a “mighty warrior” while hiding in fear (Judges 6:12). In every case, God names who people are first and then patiently shapes their lives to align with the identity He has already declared. Identity in Christ is therefore not a foreign concept but the continuation of a pattern God has always used.

IDENTITY PRODUCES CULTURE—NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

Identity does not stop at documentation; it naturally produces culture. When a person is born into a nation and raised within it, they are immersed—often unconsciously—into a way of life. Language, customs, values, instincts, and assumptions are absorbed over time. Culture is learned, but it is learned because of belonging, not in order to earn it.

A child does not master cultural practices first and then receive permission to belong. They belong first—and then learn how people who belong live. Culture does not grant identity; identity produces culture.

No one proves belonging through perfect cultural performance. Culture may be expressed imperfectly or inconsistently, but identity remains intact because it was received, not achieved.

Scripture presents life in Christ the same way. We are not given a new identity because we live a certain way; we are taught a new way of living because we have been given a new identity (Ephesians 4:20–24).

The new way of living is not a strategy for earning identity; it is a response to having received one. Because we now belong to God, our way of life begins to reflect that belonging. We learn to live from trust instead of fear, from grace instead of performance, and from truth instead of self-protection. Obedience becomes relational rather than transactional—no longer “What must I do to be accepted?” but “How do I live in a way that fits who I now am?” (Romans 12:1–2).

IDENTITY IN CHRIST: DECLARED, NOT EARNED

Paul’s language is especially precise. He does not describe identity in Christ as aspirational or emotional, but as declarative. To be “in Christ” is not merely to feel close to God; it is to be placed into a new standing—relational and legal (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Paul consistently uses categories that cannot be earned:
Adopted (Romans 8:15)
Justified (Romans 5:1)
Reconciled (2 Corinthians 5:18–19)
Redeemed (Ephesians 1:7)
Sealed (Ephesians 1:13–14)

None of these are actions we perform; they are actions done to us. Adoption is not apprenticeship. Citizenship is not probation (Philippians 3:20). Justification is not temporary approval. Identity is not the reward for growth—growth is the fruit of identity.

WHEN IDENTITY IS BUILT ON PERFORMANCE

Religion reverses the order of identity. Instead of belonging first, it teaches behaviour first. Instead of identity received, it promotes identity achieved. In a performance-based framework, obedience becomes an application process and holiness becomes proof of eligibility. Acceptance is treated as provisional and fragile.

This kind of identity always produces strain. When behaviour becomes the basis of belonging, identity must constantly be defended. Failure becomes threatening, weakness becomes dangerous, and growth becomes fear-driven rather than grace-formed (Galatians 3:2–3).

This is why spiritual exhaustion is so common—even among sincere believers. Just as children are not expected to secure their place in a family by constant performance, believers are not expected to secure their place in God’s family through effort or consistency (Romans 8:15–16). Burnout does not usually come from loving God too much; it comes from trying to maintain what God never asked us to secure—sonship that was meant to be received, not managed.

WHICH I.D. ARE YOU LIVING FROM?

Every day, we live from an identity—not the one we affirm in theory, but the one we draw from in practice. It shapes how we respond to failure, correction, and pressure. When things go wrong, which I.D. do you reach for? The old one—marked by fear and striving? Or the new one—issued by grace and secured by belonging? One produces anxiety; the other produces stability.

Living from the wrong identity does not mean you no longer belong. It means you have forgotten whose name you carry. The solution is not trying harder; it is remembering more deeply (Colossians 3:1–4).

NOT EVERY I.D. GRANTS EVERY KIND OF ACCESS

In everyday life, identity is always jurisdictional. A work I.D. cannot authorize banking. A national I.D. cannot replace a visa. A meaningful document in one context may be invalid in another.

Sincerity is never the deciding factor. An I.D. is judged by validity—not effort, belief, or intent. At a place of authority, only one question matters: who issued this?

Scripture applies this same logic spiritually. Many identities function well in limited spaces—moral identity, cultural identity, professional identity, even religious identity—but none of these were ever issued to grant access to God (John 14:6). Not because they are meaningless, but because they were never designed for that purpose. The gospel does not offer an upgraded identity; it offers a new one.

WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST—AND WHAT THAT MAKES POSSIBLE

In Christ, identity is settled—and because it is settled, life opens. Weakness no longer disqualifies; it becomes the place where God’s strength is revealed (2 Corinthians 12:9). Failure no longer defines; grace reorients the story. Fear no longer governs; authority replaces it (Romans 8:37).

Authority flows not from personality or effort, but from position. Standing in Christ means standing under His name, His authority, and His victory. Because of this, we can approach God without fear (Hebrews 4:16), obey without striving, repent without despair, endure correction without collapse, live boldly without self-protection, and rest without guilt (Matthew 11:28–30).

Identity is not just who we are—it determines what is now possible.

THE QUESTION THAT REMAINS

Everyone lives from an identity. The only question is whether the one you are living from has the authority to take you where you are going. The Gospel does not say, “Fix yourself and come.” It says, “Come—and receive.”

Scripture ends where it began—with identity secured by God: “I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it” (Revelation 2:17).

Your final I.D. will not list your failures or your fears. It will not bear the names others called you. It will bear His name—because you belong to Him (Isaiah 43:1).

You are not who you were.
You are not who others named you.
You are who God says you are.

And the most important name on your I.D. is not yours—it is Christ’s.