OUR TRUE IDENTITY

OUR TRUE IDENTITY

He saw the best in me

When everyone else around

 Could only see the worst in me

See he’s mine and I am his

It doesn’t matter what I did

He only sees me for who I AM

{Song: The Best In Me By Marvin Sapp}

^{……………….} because as he is, so are we in this world. {I john 4:17c}

It is of utmost importance that the Church understands her True Identity because upon this knowledge lies her strength to run the race until the appointed time of the marriage supper. She must take cognizance of the fact that the father now sees the groom and his bride as one. She is the exact representation of Christ on earth as Christ represents her in Heaven before the father. ”As He Is in Heaven So Are We in This world”

Now we are Born of God and must of necessity look like our Groom who is also our elder brother and advocate. This is a great mystery.

² Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. {1John 3:2}

When He appears on the wedding day we shall be like Him. Therefore our true Identity is Christ. Christ is holy and so are we. Christ is not more righteous than us because we both are one. We live, move and have our being in Him. We are one body with Christ forever united.

¹⁷ But if you give yourself to the Lord, you and Christ are joined together as one person. {1Cor 6:17 TLB}

 WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER LET NO MAN SEPARATE.REMOVE EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS.LET NOT SIN NOR RELIGION GET IN THE WAY. Our life is hid with Christ in God.

³ For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.⁴ When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.{Colossians 3:3-4}

Note that Christ is our life… That is our true identity. We no longer live but Christ lives in us. I wish we will understand this and allow Christ live our lives for us. We must submit completely to our Groom for we have been loved extravagantly by Him

²⁰ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. {Galatians 2:20-21}

No longer should we struggle else we will frustrate the Grace of God and make void the death of Christ, our bride price. He loves us and gave himself for us so that we should no longer live by ourselves but through him.

The depth of his love for us is intensified by the truth that we are him, he couldn’t hate himself. He is incomplete without us and we are incomplete without him. To try to live without us would make him a head without a body and to try to live without him will make us a body without a head.

He is our head and we are his body. We are his flesh and bones.

²¹ Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

²² Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

²³ For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

²⁴ Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

²⁶ That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,

²⁷ That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.

²⁸ So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself.

²⁹ For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

³⁰ For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

³¹ For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

³² This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

³³ Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.{Ephesians 5:21-32}

You might want to read the above passage again with a deeper understanding for therein lies the mystery of God and His Church. Christ cannot become unholy so he cleanses us daily by the washing of water by the word. He must be spotless and so should we because we are one body. He purifies us daily removing every sin, wrinkles and blemishes so he could present us to himself a glorious church.

Take note that it is His job to purify us and present us holy.

The groom purifies his bride

 The head preserves the body.

The head nourishes the body

The head cherishes the body

The head must love his own body.

The Church must be ignorant of these truths for if she knew she would have submitted herself to her groom and not try to work out her own righteousness which is even as a filthy rag before his eyes.

² For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.³ For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.⁴ For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.{Romans 10:2-4}

We are the temple, the building of God. God dwells in us and we are one flesh in union with Christ who is the foundation and the head of the bride, the church. Not only are we the temple, we are also the priest and the sacrifice. We are always accepted in the beloved and through the beloved, Christ, we can access God whenever we want without the feeling of fear or guilt.

⁴ Come to Christ, who is the living Foundation of Rock upon which God builds; though men have spurned him, he is very precious to God who has chosen him above all others.

⁵ And now you have become living building-stones for God’s use in building his house. What’s more, you are his holy priests; so come to him—you who are acceptable to him because of Jesus Christ^[a]—and offer to God those things that please him. ⁶ As the Scriptures express it, “See, I am sending Christ to be the carefully chosen, precious Cornerstone of my church, and I will never disappoint those who trust in him.”{1Peter 2:4-6 TLB}

Listen up people of God, you are not your shortcomings

You are not your struggles

You are not that habit you are fighting with

You are not your temptations

You are not even that sin you fell into

You are not who people say you are

You are not who Satan says you are

Let the whole world see your faults but God sees the best in you

He accepts you because of Christ

He sees you for who you truly are

He has not beheld iniquity in you neither has He seen perversion in you

As He {Christ} is in heaven, so are you in this world.

Your true identity is Christ…that’s your real life.

The church is Christ and Christ is the church. The bible recorded that Paul was persecuting the church, killing every Christian who believed in Jesus Christ.

That very day the church in Jerusalem began to suffer cruel persecution. All the believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout the provinces of Judea and Samaria. ² Some devout men buried Stephen, mourning for him with loud cries.

³ But Saul tried to destroy the church; going from house to house, he dragged out the believers, both men and women, and threw them into jail. {Acts 8:1-3 GNT}

Did you notice that the bible verses above didn’t say Paul was persecuting Jesus? It says Paul was persecuting the Church. Jesus was already in heaven at the right hand of the father. Now let’s see who Paul was actually persecuting.

 On his way to Damascus to persecute the Christians and bring them bound to Jerusalem, he had an encounter with the Lord. Listen to what Jesus said to Him:

 In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest ² and asked for letters of introduction to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he should find there any followers of the Way of the Lord, he would be able to arrest them, both men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem.

³ As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” he asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you persecute,” the voice said. ⁶ “But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.”{Acts 9:1-6 GNT}

Now notice what Jesus said “Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me?” He didn’t say “why do you persecute the church”. In other words, He puts himself in place of the church. He said I am Jesus (the church) whom you persecute. This shows that Jesus is the church and the church is Jesus. The groom and His bride are one flesh. This also shows that though Jesus Christ is in heaven, He is also here on earth as the church. The church is the Jesus Christ that rules here on earth .As He is in heaven so are we in this world. Our life in this world is the same as Christ’s.

¹⁵ If we declare that Jesus is the Son of God, we live in union with God and God lives in union with us. ¹⁶ And we ourselves know and believe the love which God has for us.

God is love, and those who live in love live in union with God and God lives in union with them. ¹⁷ Love is made perfect in us in order that we may have courage on the Judgment Day; and we will have it because our life in this world is the same as Christ's. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love; perfect love drives out all fear. So then, love has not been made perfect in anyone who is afraid, because fear has to do with punishment. {1John 4:15-18 GNT}

We must now submit fully and know that our union with the Groom is the end of all our struggles with the law. We have been loved with perfect love. Nothing to fear. No punishment but love. Does it mean nothing is required of us by our Groom? To answer that question follow me as we look at how to please Him……..NEXT ARTICLE

                   

NOTES FROM CHAPTER 5

(1}The true identity of the church is Christ

(2) Christ and the church is one and inseparable.

(3) Christ is the head and the church is His body

(4) To try to live without Christ is to become a body without a head

(5) To try to live without the church will make Christ a head without a body.

(6) He purifies the Church daily because He cannot be unholy

(7) He presents her to himself a glorious church without spot nor wrinkles.

(8) All the church needs to do is to submit to Him because He loves her much

(9) We must not struggle to be righteous but allow Christ to live through us. We must depend on Him alone and not on ourselves.

THE BREAST-LESS BRIDE

THE BREAST-LESS BRIDE

It doesn't matter what You've done
It doesn't matter where You're coming from
Doesn't matter where You've been
Hear me tell You I forgive
You're not guilty anymore
You're not filthy anymore
I love you, mercy is Yours
You're not broken anymore
You're not captive anymore
I love you, mercy is Yours
Can You believe that this is true?
Grace abundant I am giving you
cleansing deeper than you know
all was paid for long ago
there is now
therefore no condemnation
for those who are in Jesus

{Song: Not Guilty Anymore by Aaron Keyes}

1     We have a little sister, and she hath no breasts: what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for?⁹ If she be a wall, we will build upon her a palace of silver: and if she be a door, we will in close her with boards of cedar.{Songs of Solomon 8:8-9}

. 14Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness {Ephesians 6:14}

For the bride that keeps falling in Sin, what can be done for her? Her breast {righteousness} is not well formed and her marriage is soon. The groom loves her so much and will not allow her lack of proper breast development {righteousness} prevent their marriage. He had to do something to cover her up lest the marriage cannot hold. No man wants to marry a breast-less woman. 

Thankfully our groom has got what we lacked. We were too young to have developed breast. We were totally void of righteousness yet He was still interested in reconciling us to himself in marriage. He couldn’t wait any longer. He had waited for many years yet we were stunted in growth regarding our righteousness. Even if He waited a million years longer, man would still not have been able to grow righteousness by himself. We got a mutated gene from Adam that affected our breast {righteousness} formation. God will have to intervene. He had to step in to help us. He acted as the surgeon to carry out a breast transplant procedure. We are the recipients and Christ is the Donor. Yes! Our groom had to give us His righteousness by becoming Sin for us so that we might become his righteousness.

 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. {2Corinthians 5:21}

Everyone who accepts Christ Jesus as Lord and saviour goes through this transplant procedure. Now our breast is well formed. We have a righteousness that came from our very groom. He recognizes it whenever He looks at us. This righteousness is not the one that comes from the laws of Moses or religion. No! It is the very graft from God. We now host His righteousness in us.

We are set and mature for the wedding now. Whenever He beholds us, He is delighted at what He sees.

 I was a virgin, like a wall;
    now my breasts are like towers.
When my lover looks at me,
    he is delighted with what he sees. {Songs of Solomon 8:10 NLT}

Once we had no breast but now we have it in abundance

Once we were too young for the wedding but now we are mature

Once we weren't qualified for the wedding but now we are.

Thanks to God who stepped in and covered up our shortcomings. He has always covered up our mess. He loves us so much so that He would do anything to keep us from shame even if we deserved the shame. He finds pleasure in always helping us and rescuing us. Whenever we think it’s too late, our Hero steps in and salvages the situation. Look at what He did for Adam when Adam brought shame upon himself.

And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. {Gen 3:21]

Did you notice how He covered them up? He made clothing to cover their nakedness.

Just as God killed an innocent animal and made a covering for Adam and Eve, so Christ was sacrificed to be a covering for our sins, unrighteousness and shame. The groom is the lamb that was slain from the foundations of the world to cover our breast-less life.

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins. {Isaiah 53:11 NLT}

He had to suffer so much for us. Bruised and pieced just so that we can be qualified to be called righteous.

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.² And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.

³ Thou shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God.⁴ Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.⁵ For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.{Isaiah 62:1-5}

This is the mind of God spoken through the prayer of Isaiah the prophet. God could not also hold His peace until our righteousness came forth. As soon as He gave us His righteousness, He also gave us a new name. A name that shows that we are now qualified to be called His bride.

Our groom rejoices over us and takes delight in us. He smiles whenever He thinks of us. He doesn't behold Iniquity in us but His righteousness reflects from us. Now He can rest because we are now reflecting His glory and the gentiles now see our righteousness. We have been called by a new name “Royal diadem, Hephzibah, Beulah, My Delight, and My Bride”

This is exactly what Christ did for the church. He saved us and made us righteous, a righteousness that shines brighter and brighter, a righteousness that darkness cannot comprehend, a righteousness that sin cannot diminish. An everlasting righteousness. A robust kind of righteousness. Now we have our breast well developed and He calls us His Delight, His Bride. We are fully decorated and prepared for the marriage.

21He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him {2 Corinthians 5:21}

Now we are His righteousness and it is everlasting as long as we agree to marry him. This righteousness we now have is not dependent on our works, weaknesses or strengths. It is purely his gift to us to cover us up and make us fit for the wedding. Now we can reign in life without shame or guilt. We don’t have to compare the size of our breast {righteousness} with our friends’ any more. Our groom has accepted us now with this righteousness gift.

¹⁷ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!{Romans 5:17}

Now we have been established in righteousness and our groom rejoices over us because we are qualified for the wedding. This is abundant grace at work. We can no longer be accused. No one can condemn us because the only one who is qualified to condemn us is the same groom who is covering us up in legal justification

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.{Romans 8:1}

³³ Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.³⁴ who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.{Romans 8:33-34}

This is awesome and I wish we understand this. We have been justified but why do we still condemn ourselves. We think He gets mad at us whenever we fall into sin. We simply do not understand 1John 2:1-2:

 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:² And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

He sees us as bride and as children. He understands our frame and knows we are weaker vessels yet loves us deeply and doesn’t punish us after the manner of our sins. Maybe we need to understand Psalm 102:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
    slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
    nor will he harbour his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
    or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
    he remembers that we are dust.

What a blessedness it is to be His bride, to have a relationship with Him in which sins are pardoned without punishment. This is how Paul explained it in Romans chapter 4:6-8

 ⁶ This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of the person whom God accepts as righteous, apart from anything that person does:

⁷ “Happy are those whose wrongs are forgiven,
    whose sins are pardoned!
⁸ Happy is the person whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!”

What a privilege it is to be this loved. Now our unrighteousness is covered with His righteousness, our weaknesses with His love. We must understand His Love and His Grace towards us. We are the rose for which He died, the bride He paid the costly price of His blood for. If He punishes us for our faults then He must have died in vain. Now we must understand how He sees us. He cannot punish himself for truly we are Him………..

  NOTES FROM CHAPTER 4

(1)                A breast-less bride is one who has no righteousness because she falls into sin over and again.

(2)                A breast-less bride has weaknesses and shortcomings and hence is prone to sin

(3)                The groom covers up her shortcomings and doesn’t punish her sins

(4)                Christ gives us a gift called righteousness in place of our unrighteousness.

(5)                Now nobody can condemn us, we are beyond accusation because we have the gift of righteousness.

(6)                God doesn’t keep account of our sins any longer. Whenever we fall into sin, we receive pardon.

(7)                We are now His Delight and Bride.

(8)                We are the rose for which He died

(9)                His love covers all our multitude of sins.

           

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
    he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
    my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
    for he will bear all their sins. {Isaiah 53:11 NLT}