Identifying with Christ

(I have for some time wanted to write about this subject but I was often overwhelmed by the various approaches I could take.  I am grateful now for the grace God has given me to pen what I can at this time)

Who was Jesus REALLY?

1. Born a BASTARD (by social standards) Matt. 1:18-20
2. Was not an attractive man Is. 53:1-3
3. Skilled in a common trade Mark 6:3
4. Disrespected by brothers because they did not believe in him  Mark 3:21, John 7:2-5
5. Waited 18 years before starting his ministry, and it only lasted 3 YEARS Luke 2:41-52, Luke 3:23
6. Hated and oppressed by the Pharisees – “the religious folk” (They desired his down fall) Matt. 12:14
7. Followed by thousands primarily for his (spiritual gifts) miracles NOT his message  John 10:37-39
8. Was not honored and could not do any miracles in his hometown  Mark 6:4
9. Hung out with the societal rejects (less popular crowd) John 8:1, Mark 2:13-17
10. Owned no possessions Luke 9:58, Matt. 21:2
11. Never married
12. Was mocked and ridiculed for his spiritual calling and was a man of grief and many sorrows John 19:2
13. Was a man of much prayer and fasting  Mark 6:46, Luke 6:12, Mark 1:35, Matt. 4:2
14. He had a ministry team of 12 he could not always count on and only one best friend  Matt. 26:21
15. Was fatally betrayed by one of his ministry partners  Luke 22:48
16. Was thought of as arrogant and  called a DEVIL Matt. 12:24
17. He KNEW God, was one with him, and beloved by him John 5:19, John 10:30
18. Was uncommonly wise, kind, compassionate and gospel minded Matt. 11:28-30, Luke 23:34
19. Was lied on and falsely accused  Luke 6:7
20. Was murdered alongside murderers amidst shame and ridicule  Matt. 27:38
21. In spite of it all, Jesus was and still remains to be the son of God, promised Messiah, mankind’s risen Lord and Savior who redeemed the world from sin, who’s sitting right now at the right hand of the Father, interceding for all the saints, who is returning to gather his Bride to reign with him for all eternity.

Review the attributes of Jesus as a suffering servant again.  Honestly consider, in your own heart, how are you identifying with Christ?  If you saw him today would you recognize him? Would you love him or hate him? Would you honor and respect him?  On the day of Jesus crucifixion if you were watching in the crowd, what would you be shouting… “SAVE HIM!” or “CRUCIFY HIM!” 

While every believer would agree that their greatest desire is to be more like Jesus, the reality is that there is a price to pay for following Jesus, a cross that we all must take up if we are to be true followers of Christ.  In John 3:1-21, Jesus presents some hard choices to a Pharisee, a wealthy man in Matt.19:16-30, and to his disciples in Matt. 16:24-26, all who passionately desired to follow Jesus.  Jesus told them until you are born again and forsake all things, only than are you truly my disciples.  So then, what is this PRICE, this CROSS that defines the journey and life of the believer who follows Jesus?  How do we know if we are paying it or carrying it?

I believe a good place to start in understanding what God’s people look like is to simply take a deeper look at the dual characters of Christ, the “Suffering Servant” and “Resurrected King.”   These names serve as markers to distinguish the believer’s journey of faith and key attributes such as love, humility, repentance, forgiveness, patience, and generosity, as well as their culture, character, values, and lifestyle among others in the earth.  Their testimonies, peace of mind, presence and influence wherever you find them will in some way testify to a reality that they are “Living Jesus.”   You see, to identify with Christ and to follow him, means to be clothed with a cloak of authenticity that will surely separate the “sheep from the goats”  as Jesus so cleverly put it (Matt. 25:31-46).  Truth is, at some point and time in every believer’s life their journey of faith will challenge them to identify with Jesus’ living narrative, just as his disciples did.

The call to follow Christ is much more than weathering through a test or trial here and there (while they indeed serve a divine purpose).  I believe more accurately, it is the test and trials that God uses to shape our faith and deepen our relationship with Jesus as a sovereign yet unique design for each of us.  He does this so that we may mature and obtain the courage to one day fully take up our cross and follow him.  Now that’s something quite different isn’t it?   You see, God’s ultimate desire in this life of ours is to transform the believer into the image of his son.  So the obvious question is, how can you become the image of something unless you have been formed by the same instruments?

To be transformed into the image of Christ means that God is looking for every believer to discover who they are in him through Jesus Christ.  Their spiritual identity was not a title to merely be admired in name only but to be a tangible and most intentional presence in the earth.  God knew that the believer would feel like foreigners in a strange land when they were born into the family of God and as foreigners, they would have to courageously fight to be authentic and make their presence known.  The challenge however, is that if we don’t like fighting, don’t know what we’re fighting for, and don’t know who we are in God, the believer will easily retreat to the four corners of the boxing ring and sit down or worse, jump rope and join the audience of spectators!

Without flinching, Jesus told those sincere inquirers of his message to leave EVERYTHING and follow him, don’t even take time to bury your dead (Luke 9:60-61).  In another passage Jesus says he came to divide…

Matthew 6:34-42

³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
³⁶     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]

³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

So you see, following Christ has a serious effect on our lives…should we be surprised?

The Cross of Christ

This is the cross of crucifixion that Jesus had to carry and be nailed to.  If this is His cross, then the first thing you will want to realize and fully commit to, with a clear understanding, is that YOUR CROSS (your call) will not spare you similar pain if you are truly committed to following Jesus.

What that means is that the road to developing you in your call will challenge the authenticity of your relationship with Jesus as it pertains to your vision, your intentions, your motives, your attitude, your heart, your values, your character, your thoughts, your dreams, your code of ethics, your financial stewardship, your relationships, your temperament, your patience, your love, your pride, your walk of faith and faithfulness and ALL this, will require you to “die on a cross” to any and everything you insist on controlling or having your way.  This is a cross that cannot be fabricated or manipulated by sincere sounding prayers, good works or Christianeese.  It is a cross that is able to penetrate even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow and it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb.4:12).  This cross you are proposing to carrying will require you to surrender everything you value in exchange for the refining hand of God to take the seed of HIS truth and replant it more deeply into the soil of a vessel that he has redeemed, renovated and resurrected in his glory.  That vessel is YOU!

Obviously, your cross is not a literal cross like the one Jesus carried.  However, the weight of the burden of sin that he carried on that cross and the faith that was required as a man to endure the cross will feel the same.  This is the work that must be accomplished if you truly want to be a representative of Christ in his purpose, presence, and power.

Romans 8:16-18

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

When the believer TRULY decides to take up their cross to follow Jesus it usually comes with a conviction (deep desire) and revelation to live life according to the reality and truth we see in Jesus.  This passionate inquiry will open a door that will reveal to them who Jesus REALLY is.  It will invite them to live life with a divine sense of purpose and to walk committed and in tune with God’s word as an honor to their creator.  Consequently, this cross of Christ will be handed to them, they will say yes, and the journey will begin.  So, what does that mean?

It means that God will start ordering your life in surprising ways because he is now in full control.  It means that he’s going to require you to let go of your idols, values and anything you have adapted from the world in order to take on his values, principles, wisdom and perspectives.  It means he’s going to challenge you to confront, acknowledge and surrender every fear, wound, hang-up and soulish nature that separates you from God and from functioning in his life and freedom.  It means you will need to trust and obey him (his word) more than you trust yourself.  It means to be clothed with the nature of  Christ which (by the way), will cause you to be underestimated, misrepresented and misunderstood.  It means to follow after his ways, which will cause you to be hated, mocked, ridiculed and even persecuted by strangers and those near and dear all because you will not conform to their values, lifestyles and views.

It means God will orchestrate your life through steps of faith in such a way that it will cause you to no longer live life in the “safe zone” while forcing you to continually surrender to self and let God establish your steps according to his will and his way.  It means to trust God completely and allow your faith to mature in the shelter of his grace instead of the fire of your fears and the fears of others.  It means you will have a conviction to live life with a sense of “divine purpose” instead of living through “carnal ambitions.” It means your life and character will start looking and feeling like Jesus’ life and character… “an image of your Savior.”

When you truly take up your cross you will become so acquainted with Jesus sufferings and sacrifices that you will learn to say okay, “I totally get you Lord.”  You will mature and be groomed for the Father’s will in your life that will be according to the same template he groomed his son and likewise, in the same way Jesus groom his disciples. You will learn to be okay with the process chosen for you because you’ll realize this is the nature of true spiritual development; the divine plan of Jesus (through the Holy Spirit) in how he disciples the people of God.  Certainly in this generation, your personal sacrifices, sufferings, persecutions, imprisonment, death, burial and resurrection may not look exactly like our spiritual ancestors, but one thing is for sure, your spiritual wisdom, character and courage to represent Jesus, your spiritual identity, keen sense of mission, spiritual gifts, love and fellowship, your divine anointing and power in God, will ALL be the fruit born from such a journey.  It is without a doubt, the identifying marker of a life commissioned and transformed into the image of Christ Jesus.

Who is the Resurrected Jesus? 

• One whom the governments of God rest upon his shoulders. He is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Is. 9:6
• Immanuel (God with us).  Matt. 1:23
• Great High Priest (Chief spiritual leader/mediator and intercessor for the Saints)  Heb. 4:14-16
• Seated at right hand of the Father (Reigning with God)  Mark 16:19
• First born of God (First born of redeemed mankind)  Col. 1:15
• Savior/Redeemer (Mankind’s eternal salvation)  Acts 4:12
• Lord/Reigning King (The believer’s eternal headship) Rom. 10:9
• Bride Groom/ Husband (Spouse of the Church/their kingdom reigning partner)  Rev. 19:7-9
• Promised Messiah (God’s fulfilled promised hope for mankind’s redemption)  Matt. 5:17, Is. 7:14
• Friend (Endearing confidant and companion of the people of God) John 15:15
• Spiritual Helper/Counselor/Comforter (The Holy Spirit – the spiritual presence and power of Jesus living inside every believer empowering them to live holy and to guide them into all truth) John 14:26, John 16:13
• Healer/Deliverer (The believer’s freedom fighter)  Ps. 18:2, James 5:14-15, Jer. 30:17
• Shepherd (A keeper/protector of God’s people)  Ps. 23
• Bread of Heaven (Eternal nourishment/provision) John 6:35
• The Infallible Word of God (The believer’s standard, creed, story of their heritage, weapon, and main resource for supernatural living) John 1:1-14
• Returning, Conquering King ( He who will rapture the Church and then judge the former world once and for all) Mark 13:26-30

Who are the Redeemed?

• Children of God (Begotten of God and recipient of their heavenly Father’s inheritance) John 1:12
• Peacemaker (Given a ministry of reconciliation/sons and daughters of God)  Matt. 5:9
• Friend of Jesus (Close companion of Jesus) John 15:14–15
• Disciples of Christ (Missional servants of Christ) Luke 14:33
• Follower of Christ (Believers in Christ’s who follow is teachings) 1Peter 2:21
• Holy People/Saints (Holy – set apart for God in character, principles and lifestyle) 1Peter 2:9
• Ambassadors of Christ (Government representative transacting business on behalf of God’s kingdom on the earth)  2Corin. 5:20
• Bride of Christ (Jesus betrothal and reigning eternal marital partner)  Rev. 19:7
• Abraham’s Seed (Descendant of Abraham’s promise)  Gal. 3:16, 29
• The Church/Body of Christ (Corporate/universal people of God and human living expression of Jesus Christ in the earth)  Col 1:18
• Family of God (A people born of the spirit of God) 1John 3:2-3, 12:50
• Royal Priesthood/Kingdom of Priest (A heritage and nation of Kingdom ministers) 1Peter 2:9
• A Peculiar People (Odd, strange, unusual, irregular, weird people of God)  2Corin. 5:7, 1Peter 2:9
• Zion/ Temple of God (God’s dwelling place)  Ps. 132:13, 1Corin. 6:19-20
• Light of the World/Salt of the earth (Bearers of God truth and spiritual influencers in the earth)  Matt. 5:13-14
• Armed Warrior (Armed solider)   Eph. 10:10-18

As you can see, the child of God does not only share in Christ’s suffering but also in his triumphs. If we are transformed by his sufferings on the cross, it is apparent our lives will also be glorified through his resurrection.  As a profound work of the cross, Jesus declares to his disciples a stunning revelation following his resurrection (Matt. 28:16-20),

The Great Commission

¹⁶ Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me”  Wow!  What a reestablishment!  As you can see, Jesus has authority in heaven and also on earth.  Now, this is sounding very familiar…

Luke 10:16-24

¹⁶ “Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

¹⁸ He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

²¹ At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

²² “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

²³ Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. ²⁴ For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

As God’s beloved children, we have received an inheritance from our heavenly Father…and it is the KINGDOM!  This is what Jesus was talking about in Luke 10.  You see, our spiritual inheritance should not be misinterpreted in the same way Jesus first coming (as the Messiah) was misinterpreted by the Hebrew people. We should be clear in our understanding of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and why.  God has spiritually redeemed us, positioned us, equipped us and commissioned us as Christ’s Ambassadors to execute his redemption plans and purposes in heaven and on the earth until Jesus return.  When Jesus redeemed us we did not become free agents, we became agents of Christ!  Well, agents have superior officers and agents have “assignments.”  It is within the parameters of the assignment that our freedoms and limitations are defined, and the word of God has prescribed this well for us.

This earth is not the believer’s home it is merely a place where we, as the children of God, have been temporary assigned (Heb. 13:14, 1Peter 2:11-12).  We are only here to accomplish a work that is passionately at the heart of God and the mission is still in progress.  When an agent becomes influenced by their enemy or loses sight about the nature of their assignment, they are described by their superiors as being “COMPROMISED.”  This is a serious problem because it means their agent’s mission has become compromised also.   This is what it is like when the believer defines their walk of faith and spiritual identify according to the passions, philosophies and systems of this world.  Remember, this world is not our home… “we are IN the world but not OF the world” (John 17:16).  Therefore, as Christ Ambassadors, we should be inquiring of God what our individual and corporate assignment (presence in the earth) should look like and of course this prayer of divine purpose will confront you with the inescapable question… “Will you take up your cross and follow Jesus?”  I perceive this is a question that confronts every new believer and continues to speak throughout their life (as a still small voice) in effort to obtain a definitive response.  It is a question that Jesus suggest we all will answer either now or during an era referred to as the “Great Tribulation” (Rev. 7:14).  My hope is that one day, you will ponder over this question again and have the courage to fully say YES!

“Meat for Meditation”

Review the attributes of Jesus as a triumphant King again.  How is your walk of faith, relationship with Jesus, and pursuit of divine purpose genuinely reflecting this knowledge and truth?  This may be a hard reality for some of us to face but this is why Christ died and rose for our sake, so we might be able to overcome and dominate the earth with his power and presence.

Review the attributes of the Redeemed.  When our lives are sharing in Christ’s resurrection, we will be adorned with a glory that displays him in purpose, presence and power.   How are you representing the joy of Christ’s resurrection (as a Redeemed Child of God) through your personal and spiritual attributes?  How is the reality of the triumphant Jesus being intentionally conveyed, seen and felt by others through your personal life and spiritual assignment?  How is God experienced supernaturally through your spiritual gifts as an Ambassador of Christ?  What do you think might have to decrease in you in order for Christ to increase and show forth God’s glory and power more authentically and genuinely?

Considering the TRUE image of Jesus as a Suffering Servant and Resurrected King, what do you think God might consider to be his TRUE riches of his kingdom?  What would you propose to be the image of Christ in your life as a suffering servant and reigning king (for queen)?  What do you propose are the byproducts of such glory and goodness that would be manifested in your life on earth?