Year 5, Day 93: 2 Corinthians 11

Theological Commentary: Click Here

Discipleship Focus: Identity

• Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father.  Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.

As I’ve gone through the Bible in this second cycle of reading, I’ve intentionally looked through the lens of discipleship.  It doesn’t surprise me that in the past 458 blog posts since January 1, 2014 that I’ve blogged the most on identity.  This will be the 62^nd post in a little more than 1.25 years.  That’s roughly 14% of the time reading through the Bible that I’ve been drawn to the issue of identity.  I’m not surprised.  In fact, I think I could have easily doubled this had I wanted to write even more frequently on identity.

Think about it.  What is the biggest challenge facing our humanity?  Submission.  In order to follow Christ, I have to abandon myself.  In order to follow Christ, I have to crucify myself and let myself die so that Christ can live instead of me.  Fundamentally, this is an issue of identity.  What do I care more about: asserting my own desires or obeying the desires of God?

It is no surprise that when Paul writes to a church that he cares about that he likewise spends a good deal talking to them about identity.  That is what this whole chapter is all about.  Paul warns them to make sure that their identity is actually coming from God.  He warns them against people who preach a Gospel other than salvation through Christ’s death alone.  He cautions them against people who are manipulating their hearts in order to fill their own pockets.  Church should not be about supporting other people’s lifestyle.  Church should not be about conforming to anyone’s standard other than Christ.

Paul boasts in Christ.  His identity is fundamentally rooted in Christ.  He boasts in the persecution that he’s received because of Christ.  He boasts in the hardship that he’s endured because of Christ.  As he boasts in Christ, we can tell that his identity is in Christ.  After all, if Paul’s identity was not in Christ, he would’ve left long ago.

I can’t help but ask where my identity is.  Is my identity in the place I worship?  Is it in the fact that I drink wine instead of grape juice at communion?  Is it in the fact that I was baptized by immersion instead of sprinkled?  Is my identity from the fact that I sit in the 5^th pew from the front on the left-hand aisle?  Or is my identity in Christ?  Am I willing to follow Christ and be persecuted for Him or do I prefer to continue on with my own human expectations in order to simply stay comfortable in my life?

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