Our Identity
Children of God
If you have placed your trust and faith in Jesus Christ, you are a child of God!
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:12-13
Don’t listen to yourself or the opinions of others, listen to the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Romans 8:16-17
Not self-righteousness but faith in Jesus is the key!
Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.
But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:21-26
What does it mean to be a child of God? If we are truly a child of God, then it’s evident in our lives!
We will allow the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Galatians 5:22-23
We will love others the way God wants us to.
Fellow Christians
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35 (John 15:12, John 15:17, Romans 12:10, Galatians 5:13, Ephesians 4:2, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 Peter 4:8, 1 John 4:7-11)
Unbelievers
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:43-48
Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbour has fulfilled the law.
Romans 13:8
We will imitate Christ in all we do.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain.
Philippians 2:14-16
If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
James 2:15-18
We are not saved by our works/achievements but if we are truly followers of Christ, what we do will reflect who we are in Him!
We will choose to abide in Christ everyday.
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
Matthew 16:24
I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:1-5
We must make a choice everyday to follow our Lord and Saviour Jesus OR to follow the desires of our flesh.
Our Father
Created us.
God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Genesis 1:27
For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.Psalm 139:13-14
We are not accidents or products of chance, but created in love by God our Father!
Chose us.
For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.
John 6:37
No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:44
You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
John 15:16
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
Ephesians 1:3-6
Does the sinner respond to God’s grace against his own will? No, he responds because God’s grace makes him willing to respond. The mystery of divine sovereignty and human responsibility will never be solved in this life. Both are taught in the Bible (John 6:37). Both are true, and both are essential. – Warren Wiersbe’s BE Series
Loves us.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,
“For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 8:35-39
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10
On this side of heaven, we will never fully comprehend the full measure of God our Father’s love for us but rather than figuring it out, what’s important is that we stand firm in that truth!
Forgives us.
If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10
God our Father knows everything but wants us to choose honesty with Him over deception. When it comes to sins, we can cover it up or confess it (and be renewed and refreshed) and conquer it with help from the Holy Spirit!
Provides for us.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
“So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:24-34
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
Those who are in the world will chase after the things of the world but God our Father wants us to be about His business and He promises to meet all our needs.
Corrects us.
Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
Revelation 3:19-21
- Explanation
- When we are not walking with the LORD, He will chasten us out of His love for us (Prov. 3:11–12; Heb. 12:5–6). He allows things to happen so that we might become what He wants us to become.
- Exhortation
- We have a choice to repent when He chastises us.
- Invitation
- We can accept Jesus’ invitation so that fellowship can be restored and we can continue to abide in Him. When we choose to do so, we become overcomers, just like Jesus!
Works things out.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28
We will make mistakes and things will happen to us or be done to us but no matter the consequences, if we are in the will of God our Father, He will work everything out for our good and His glory.
Is always with us.
But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say.
Matthew 10:17-19
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19-20
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
Romans 8:31
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say,
“The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me?”Hebrews 13:5-6
We are never alone for the Lord our God, our Father, is with us every step of the way!
Remember your identity in Christ and who your Father is!
Happy father’s day and God bless you!