I sit around way too often wondering how many people know who they are. I cannot tell you who I am based on my personality and interests, but I do know who I am on a fundamental level. I know who I am in Christ. I know my identity- the one given to every believer.
I am loved unconditionally. (Romans 5:5, 1 John 4:16)
I am a temple. (1 Cor. 3:16)
I am fully accepted. (Romans 15:7)
I am fully known. (1 Cor. 13:12)
I am worthy. (Ephesians 2:4-6)
I am God’s friend. (John 15:15)
I am a daughter of God. (John 1:12)
I am redeemed. (Ephesians 1:7)
I am righteous. (Eph. 4:24, 2 Cor. 5:21)
I am perfect. (Romans 5:1)
If you are a believer, then you are all of these things too, but I want to focus on one in particular because it has been weighing on my heart for many weeks. It is the last one. Perfect.
I hope you haven’t tuned me out already- but I am perfect because Jesus is perfect, and He made me that way. Not just in His design which was perfect, (Eph. 2:10) but in who I am.
God sees me as sinless, as blameless, as perfect because I am the beneficiary of His covenant with Jesus (Gal. 3:29).
Let me explain.
Jesus died on the cross to take away the punishment for our sins. With His blood Jesus signed, in agreement with God the Father, for the full payment of the sins of all the people who every lived and who will ever live (Rom. 6:10). In order to benefit from that agreement we must verbally sign the covenant (Rom. 10:9-10). When we accept Christ as our Savior we receive all the benefits and rights of the covenant Jesus made with God (Rom. 8:17).
One thing we gain is a new identity- one in which God sees us as He sees Jesus. And as we all know, Jesus was sinless, blameless, perfect. Therefore, I and all other believers are perfect too.
Let us remember, the deed is done. We cannot work toward it anymore. We signed on the dotted line. We cannot become more perfect in God’s eyes. (Hebrews 10:10)
However, we are living on this broken earth and are still attached to our human nature.
When we accept Christ we get a new software program installed in us (2 Cor. 5:17) but we are still hardwired in the flesh. Basically, this means we are in Christ and are able to choose whether or not we sin, but the original hardwiring has not been removed. We don’t get wiped clean so to speak. All our old behaviors aren’t suddenly deleted. What our flesh wants, it still wants. Only now, what God and the Spirit want are in us too. We must choose, and often we make the wrong choice. So, we still sin and therefore we are not perfect. (Gal. 5:16-18)
That sounds backwards, doesn’t it? It seems contradictory. But it isn’t. We are perfect, but we are also flawed.
Here is how this is possible:
The second we accept Christ our salvation (and perfection) are achieved. In that instance the work is finished. However, we are still on earth and still sin. We spend each day working to be more like Christ- working towards perfection (1 Peter 1:13-16). It both is and still is being done. At the same time when we die the work God has done in us will be made complete. It will be finished (1 John 3:2).
I’m not certain that made a lot of sense. So here is what I mean in a few sentences:
Simultaneously, God functions in the past, the present, and the future.
He completed His work in us at the cross, it was secured in us at the moment of our salvation, meanwhile He is working in us throughout our lives, and He will finish that good work when we die and finally see Him face to face.
Therefore, God sees us as perfect. But since we are still alive and in the flesh we need to continue to strive for perfection (holiness). When we die we will experience the fullness of that perfection.
How do we apply this to our lives? It’s pretty simple:
- We need to live out of our identity in Christ. We need to understand that God sees us as perfect and blameless. We do not need to beat ourselves up about our sins, shortcomings, and weaknesses.
- We also need to strive toward perfection- toward being more Christ-like. When we sin we need to acknowledge it and work to improve ourselves because we are not perfect yet.
- We need to look forward to the future and find our hope in Heaven where we will experience the fullness of our perfection.
Thanks for sticking with me on this complicated topic. I pray you understand who you are in Christ and that you live firmly planted on those truths. There is no better place to be than secure in who you are in Christ.
