Introduction

The New Creation represents a transformative shift in identity and nature, a transition from the old self to the new. Scripture invites us to embrace this fundamental change, where we are no longer defined by our past sins as merely saved “sinners,” but instead, we are redefined as the “Saints of God.” These two identities—sinners saved by grace and saints rebirthed into holiness—are mutually exclusive.

According to passages like 2 Corinthians 5:17, being “in Christ” means we become a new creation, where “the old has passed away, and behold, the new has come.” Thus, our self-perception and spiritual identity must align, or better said, re-align, with this scriptural truth: we are saints, called to live in the fullness of grace and holiness, transformed and set apart as God’s own. This reorientation not only shifts our understanding of grace but also compels us to live in a way that reflects our new, sanctified identity in Christ.

What’s The Problem?

Christianity addresses the issue of forgotten identity in a way that goes beyond other religions by focusing on a profound restoration of humanity’s true nature and purpose, anchored in a personal, transformative relationship with God. Thus we are not longer motivated by the basest instincts of fear and self preservation, instead we motivated by love, grace and our new Kingdom identity.

Many religious traditions recognize a kind of estrangement or loss of identity, often proposing practices, enlightenment, or ethical living to reconnect with a higher purpose. However, Christianity uniquely frames this loss of identity as a relational rupture and distorted original nature with the Creator and offers a mechanism to restoration through Jesus Christ.

Here are several ways Christianity uniquely addresses forgotten identity:

1. Creation in God’s Image: Christianity teaches that humanity was created imago Dei, in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We are not a random cosmic accident. This concept provides a profound sense of identity rooted in divine purpose, suggesting that our worth is inherent and established by God Himself. This contrasts with views where identity is self-constructed or based on karma or moral deeds. Christianity asserts that our forgotten identity can only be understood by recognizing our original design to reflect God’s nature.
2. The Fall and Loss of Identity: In Christian teaching, humanity’s fall (Genesis 3) led to a profound loss of identity and purpose. This isn’t merely an ethical fall but a relational and ontological one—we became alienated from God, the source of true identity. This loss brought confusion about who we are, often replaced by false identities rooted in guilt, shame, or worldly values. The Bible portrays the human experience as one of “lostness” and “deadness” (Luke 15:24), which means our true identity is not something we can recover on our own.
3. Restoration Through Christ: Christianity uniquely teaches that Jesus Christ came to restore our true identity. Through His life, death, and resurrection, believers are given a “new self” (Colossians 3:10) and are called “new creations” (2 Corinthians 5:17). This goes beyond self-help or self-realization; it’s a transformative re-creation by God Himself. Jesus reconciles us to God, healing the relational breach and restoring our identity as beloved children of God (1 John 3:1).
4. Adoption and Inheritance: The Christian understanding of identity includes the idea of adoption. Romans 8:15-17 explains that believers are adopted as sons and daughters, heirs of God’s promises. This adoption is not earned but given freely as part of God’s grace, restoring our true identity as part of God’s family. This permanent, grace-filled identity offers security and purpose, surpassing identities based on personal achievement or social status.Inheritance is a legal term that confers specific rights, privileges, and ownership on someone, often due to their relationship with the benefactor. In biblical terms, our inheritance through Christ means that we are legally and spiritually entitled to everything that belongs to Him, including His righteousness, favor, and the blessings of God’s kingdom. This isn’t earned by our efforts; it’s granted by God’s grace, making us co-heirs with Christ. Our spiritual inheritance carries the full authority and privilege of being children of God, allowing us to live in freedom, peace, and purpose as rightful heirs of His promises.
5. Empowerment Through the Holy Spirit: Christianity teaches that believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who reminds and reveals to them their true identity. The Holy Spirit acts as a counselor and guide, continually affirming the believer’s identity in Christ and empowering them to live out this new identity. This inner transformation provides a foundation for purpose and meaning, rooted not in worldly affirmation but in God’s eternal promises.
6. The Ultimate Identity in Eternity: Christianity uniquely points believers toward an ultimate, eternal identity. Revelation 2:17 speaks of each believer receiving a “new name,” symbolizing a full restoration and recognition of one’s true self, known fully by God. This points to a destiny beyond earthly life, assuring believers that their true identity will be fully realized in God’s presence.

In short, Christianity addresses forgotten identity not simply by encouraging moral living or meditation but by offering a restored, grace-filled relationship with God that transforms and redeems the whole person. This relationship redefines identity as being a beloved child of God, exactly the same as Jesus Christ, reshaping our purpose, values, and understanding of self in a way that reaches far beyond temporary achievements or earthly validation.

What’s The Problem?

Christianity not only addresses the issue of forgotten identity but also acknowledges humanity’s inability to regain it on its own. After the fall, humanity’s original identity—created in God’s image—was marred and distorted by the weight of sin (Romans 3:23).

Sin didn’t just obscure our identity; it fundamentally altered and damaged our capacity to reflect God’s nature. This distortion is so deep that human effort, wisdom, or self-discovery is incapable of restoring us to our original design. Sin created an insurmountable barrier, corrupting both our relationship with God and our understanding of ourselves.

Because of this weight of sin, humanity is described as being “dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:1). Dead means dead and emphasizes that we are powerless to lift ourselves from corruption or even rediscover our true identity. Christianity teaches that, left to our own devices, we are trapped in a cycle of brokenness, unable to restore the image of God that was lost. This broken state of humanity requires something beyond human effort or enlightenment—it requires a divine intervention.

This is why Jesus’ mission was to rescue and restore us, not merely to guide or teach.

Jesus, after all, is not just another philosopher, economist, teacher, or politician. He is the Saviour—the unique and definitive Saviour sent by God to redeem all of humanity. While many throughout history have offered insights or guidance on how to live, Jesus stands apart because He is not merely a guide or a moral teacher. He is the only one capable of rescuing humanity from its deepest plight: the shackles of deep corruption and separation from God.

Unlike other figures who may inspire or influence society through ideas or leadership, Jesus is the embodiment of salvation itself. He is the one who bridges the gap between humanity and the Creator, offering not just teachings or philosophies, but the very means of reconciliation. Through His death, resurrection, and the grace He extends, He alone provides the path to true restoration and eternal life.

Jesus is the universal hero because His work transcends time, culture, and circumstance. He came for all people—regardless of race, background, sex, or status—and His sacrifice offers salvation that is not earned by human effort, but freely given by God’s love and mercy. He is the Saviour who doesn’t just point to a way of salvation, but who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). No one else can fulfil this role; no other person or philosophy offers what Jesus offers: total rescue, restoration, and eternal transformation.

Colossians 1:13-14 reminds us that God,

“Has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

This rescue was necessary because humanity’s true identity, crushed under the weight of sin, could only be restored through divine intervention. Jesus took on our brokenness, bearing the weight of sin that we could never lift, and through His sacrifice, He provided a way to be reconciled to God.

In this rescue, Jesus not only frees us from sin but restores our true identity as children of God, remaking us in His image (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are not merely forgiven; we are made new, transformed into the likeness of Christ, enabling us to embody God’s nature once more. Only through Jesus are we rescued from our state of lostness, restored to our true identity, and empowered to live as sons and daughters of God. This divine restoration is unique to Christianity, offering not just forgiveness but a complete recovery of who we were always meant to be.

From Darkness to Light: Embracing God’s Kingdom

The Bible speaks powerfully of a transition—a passing from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Paul, in Colossians 1:13-14, captures this shift:

“He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

This profound verse reveals that salvation is not merely about avoiding punishment; it’s a complete transfer from one realm of authority to another.

In the kingdom of darkness, under Satan’s control. Jesus calls Satan “the ruler of this world [system]” (John 12:31), a sobering reminder that there’s a real power seeking to keep people blinded and bound. As Matthew Henry writes,

“Sin and Satan, and all the powers of darkness, have dominion over every person till he is brought into a state of grace.”

Without Christ, we remain in a state of “lostness,” enslaved to sin and subject to Satan’s influence.

However, through Christ’s sacrifice, God offers a radical new citizenship in His kingdom, marked by light and truth. Paul uses the word rescue, emphasizing that we couldn’t free ourselves—only God’s intervention could transfer us. Commentator Albert Barnes says,

“It is as if we were prisoners bound hand and foot, shut up in a dark dungeon, where death and despair were our only companions, and the doors were all locked.”

Isn’t that what the resurrection of Lazarus demonstrates? (John 11). In the kingdom of God, the landscape changes. Instead of confusion, there is peace; instead of bondage, there is freedom. Jesus declared,

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life” (John 8:12).

This kingdom of light isn’t just a hopeful metaphor—it’s a lived reality for those in Christ.

The Struggle of the Ages

Identity is destiny; the struggle of humanity to reclaim its true spiritual identity and destiny, can be traced back to the very first exile—when Adam and Eve, our earliest ancestors, exiled from Eden. Since that profound moment of separation, a kind of universal amnesia has plagued us, haunting our subconscious with a persistent feeling that something essential has been lost.

It’s as though every existential crises, every confrontation with sickness and death stirs within us a deep, wordless knowing that such suffering is somehow foreign, wrong, and even alien. We sense that we were made from something more, something eternal.

The echoes of truth, sound in the hidden recesses of the human heart, transcends time and culture.

Forgotten in The Mists of Time

Deep within the recesses of our subconsciousness, lies a profound existential crisis. Christian tradition, along with many spiritual teachings throughout the ages, calls us to “wake up”—to remember our true identity. However only Christianity offers restoration where we are, not just mere sinners saved by grace, but saints, as new creations in Christ.

The Apostle Paul writes,

“If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

This truth redefines us, reshaping the narrative of who we are—redefines our identity. We are not identified by sin but by our transformed nature.

The True Identity of the Believer

Identity stands as the foundational pillar upon which every aspect of human behaviour rests. It shapes the very core of our thoughts, decisions, and actions, directing how we respond to the world around us.

What we believe ourselves to be—our self-perception—has an undeniable impact and determines how we navigate life, how we relate to others, and how we approach challenges. In essence, identity is the invisible thread that weaves together our experiences, guiding our choices and dictating the nature of our interactions.

Saved, Not “Going To Be Saved”

As saints, we are not aiming at achieving salvation—our new identity is “saved.” Through the work of Jesus, we have already been redeemed, and our position before God is secure in Christ.

We are the garden of God, ordered according to the pattern of heaven, planted in the midst of the chaos and darkness of the world.

Salvation is not something we strive to attain; it is a gift that we have already received by grace through faith. This new identity defines who we are, and it is through this identity that we live and move in the world.

However, while our salvation is secure, we are called to actively live out and enforce this new identity in our daily lives. One of the primary ways we do this is through the Word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17) we can use to combat lies, old patterns of thinking based on those untruths and the consequent behaviour they illicit.

The Word empowers us to align our thoughts, words, and actions with the truth of who we are in Christ. As we speak God’s truth and apply it to our lives, we actively reinforce our new identity, not just for ourselves but for the world around us.

This is an ongoing process—our identity as “saved” is a foundational truth, but we are called to continually live it out and enforce it through the Word of God. We are to declare God’s promises, resist the lies of the enemy, and walk in the freedom and victory that Christ has already secured for us. We will dive deeper into how we enforce this new identity and its practical implications in a future post.

Identity: The Foundation of Human Behaviour

When we understand and importantly, accept, our true identity—rooted in the divine image and purpose we were created for—it fundamentally alters our perspective and empowers us to live with clarity, conviction, and purpose.

On the contrary, when our identity we hold of ourselves is fractured or distorted, our behaviour follows suit, often leading to confusion, misplaced priorities, and unfulfilled potential. It does not matter whether this identity is real or perceived—once we embrace it, it wields tremendous self fulfilling power, much like the reins of a horse or the rudder of a ship.

Identity not only informs our individual behaviour but also shapes how we contribute to the collective narrative of humanity, impacting societies, cultures, and relationships at large. It defines whether we play large or small, victor or victim, lost or saved.

Thus, the quest for self-awareness, rooted in a deeper understanding of who we are and whose we are, becomes the key to unlocking the full potential of our lives. Understanding our true identity allows us to break free from the limitations imposed by external labels or false narratives, aligning instead with a higher calling that elevates our actions, thoughts, and relationships to a level of profound authenticity and alignment with God’s eternal purpose.

The Dangers of Identifying with a Past We’ve Been Delivered From

Yet, how often do we fall into the trap of identifying with a past we have been delivered from? As Witness Lee has pointed out, Christ’s redemptive work did not leave us in a static state of forgiveness alone, but in a dynamic, resurrected life—the new kingdom identity, nature and reality.

We are no longer merely “sinners saved by grace”; we are transformed, equipped with a new operating system, an “upgraded OS” infused with God’s Spirit. This new “OS” enables us to think, act, and live from our spiritual identity. As Matthew Henry notes,

“Christ died to take away sin, not to indulge us in it.”

And if we are still “sinners” then Christ has failed in His mission and we are still lost.

The Covenant of Transformation

The Prophet Jeremiah foretold this transformation, saying,

“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33).

This is a profound shift: God’s law is not merely a set of external commands; it is internalized and woven into the very fabric of our hearts and minds. It informs the very nature of the New Creation, like an upgraded operating system, guiding us from within.

This is no small covenant; it is a call to rise into a kingdom consciousness and reality where our very desires align with God’s own nature.

From a theological perspective, as A.W. Pink observed, sin exerts influence in four ways: the penalty, the power, the pleasure, and the presence of sin. Christ’s mission was not only to save us only from the penalty of sin, which he accomplished at the Cross and which we usually make the focus of, but also from its power, pleasure, and even, from its presence.

This means that in Christ, we are empowered to live above the dominion of the corruption of sin now, not merely in some future afterlife. We participate in the divine nature, as Peter writes, through Christ, who has,

“Given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world” (2 Peter 1:4).

In Jewish commentary, Rashi and Rambam discuss the nature of sin and the heart’s inclination; it’s yetzer hara (יֵצֶר הַרַע‎) or congenital evil inclination (Genesis 6:5, 8:21). But this inclination does not define the true essence of the person. Christianity echoes this, teaching that in Christ, our hearts are not bound to sin’s pull anymore since it has been renovated in Christ.

The Apostle Paul emphasizes this transformation in Romans 6:6-7, saying,

“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.”

In Christ, our true selves are not slaves and sinners, but saints and Royal priests, redeemed and reformed into His image.

Radical Identity, Radical Transformation

This identity is our new nature. The old self, with its sin and self-centred identity, was crucified with Christ. In its place is a new self, the “new man” in Christ. We are no longer ruled by sin; we are, in fact, dead to it, separated from it and removed from it.

And how can Christ be united with “sinners“? Naturally, He isn’t.

A Shift in Perspective

The Greek maxim, “Know thyself,” takes on profound new meaning for the believer. To know ourselves in Christ is to awaken to a new consciousness, a new reality:

“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). In this, we find our true self, hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

This brings us full circle to what Anton de Saint-Exupéry meant when he said,

“What is essential is invisible to the eyes; one only sees rightly with the heart.”

True knowledge of ourselves, of our identity in Christ, is something perceived with the heart, not the mind alone. Or as Anaïs Nin put it,

“We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.”

In our fallen state, we perceive the world through a fractured lens, identifying with brokenness. But as new creations, we see through the lens of Christ’s resurrection. Our perspective shifts from focusing on sin to embracing righteousness.

Embodying Our Kingdom Identity

In the kingdom of God, we are called not simply to resist sin, but to embody His holiness. This is why Paul addresses his letters to the saints—literally, “the holy ones,” or hagiois (ἁγίοις) in Greek and not to the “sinners.” Through this term, Paul emphasizes our identity as those set apart, reflecting God’s holiness in a world marked by brokenness—we are the New Eden.

Is Paul mistaken in his theology? Absolutely not. Paul fully grasps the profound reality that believers have undergone a radical transformation—a spiritual shift that has moved them from the realm of sin into the sphere of holiness.

This change is not merely symbolic but a deep, inward transformation that redefines our identity in Christ. Paul recognizes that through Jesus’ sacrifice and the work of the Holy Spirit, we have been repositioned spiritually, no longer defined by our sinful nature but now as sanctified individuals set apart for God’s purposes. This shift is foundational to the Christian faith, highlighting that holiness is not an abstract ideal but a present reality for all who are in Christ.

Our new creation reality however is not the antidote to the amnesia that keeps humanity in chains, blind to its true essence and calling. “remembering” is a by-product and function of the spiritual practice of communion.

Finally

Many of the problems we face—personally and in society—stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. When our sense of identity is distorted, confusion and suffering often follow, sometimes leading to subtle but insidious evils. One of the most widespread yet overlooked misconceptions is the belief that we must work to become “more like Jesus.” This may be sincerely, but it is sincerely wrong.

In truth, if we are saved, we are already like Jesus in essence because our standing with God is based solely on Christ’s righteousness, not on our personal efforts to imitate Him. If we are not exactly like Christ, then we are effectively lost.

If we recognize that our salvation and identity in Christ are not based on our effort, then why are so many of us still trying to earn it? Why do we keep striving to “become” something we already are in Him? If we’re honest, we know that trying to transform ourselves into Christ’s likeness on our own is a losing battle—one that we feel defeated by before we even begin.

This leads many to go through the motions of caring, pretending to try, yet secretly knowing that it’s impossible to reach that standard on our own. No one engages wholeheartedly in a battle they believe they’re destined to lose. But the truth is, in Christ, we are not fighting for victory; we are living from victory. This isn’t about trying to become something else but resting in who we already are in Him. It’s a fundamental shift from striving to abiding, and when we grasp this, we find the peace and strength to live authentically from our true identity.

The only question each of us must answer for ourselves is, Are we trying to earn something we already possess?

If we are not saved, then no amount of imitation will transform us into what we are not. Recognizing this truth is crucial, as it defines not only our spiritual reality but also the peace, joy, and purpose we experience in this life. Our understanding of who we are in Christ can mean the difference between experiencing heaven and hell on earth. So, I urge you to deeply consider where you stand on this point—it is a matter of life, both now and for eternity. Although salvation is a one time event, working it out—expressing it—is a process.

Holiness is not something we achieve, holiness is something we receive.

We are called to see ourselves through God’s eyes. When we do, we’ll start to notice real change. As the saying goes,

“When we change how we look at things, the things we look at change.”