Heavenly Bodies || Who I Am || Week 6

Welcome back to our “Who I Am” series. This series is about learning our identity in Christ. Last week, we looked at four titles we can claim in Christ that remind us to love and be strong. We said: 

• I am greatly loved by God.
• I am called by God to obey the voice of His praise.
• I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me.
• I am strengthened with all might according to His glorious power.

This week we look at three titles we can claim in Christ about our heavenly status. 

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The first title we’ll discuss is: I am his elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and longsuffering. 

Colossians 3:12 says this: 

12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 

What are these terms based on their biblical context? Mercy is a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion. Kindness is the quality or state of being affectionate, loving, sympathetic, helpful, or gentle. Humility is the quality of being meek or gentle. Gentleness means being mild-mannered or soft. Patience means bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint. How many of you are strong in these areas? What areas are you weak in? I feel like I am humble and patient most of the time, which is ironic because calling yourself humble isn’t really humble. I also feel like I need to work on my patience and mercy. How can we work on that? I have some words from Paul to share with you. 

Ephesians 4:2 says: 

2 Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. 

We need to allow others to be imperfect. No human on earth today is perfect. The only perfect human that existed throughout all of humanity was Jesus. The rest of us have messed up at least once and will likely mess up multiple times throughout our existence. Setting the bar of perfection on others is unrealistic. We should strive for perfection and progress to it (as John Wesley believed), but expecting people to be perfect at all times is impossible. 

We must accept and love everyone, even with their faults. If you recognize faults in others, be patient and gentle with them. It’s easy for us to call the faults of others out, but we tend to do it with judgment and harshness. Paul encourages us to be patient with others as we recognize them and be gentle in talking with them about it. When we see those faults, we should pray with and for them first and foremost. Getting God in the middle of all of this is crucial because he is the one that can solve the problem. It takes the weight off of our shoulders and allows us to be the cheerleader for this person. We should be spending time with this person, understand who they are and where they came from, and try to learn how this person is who they are. This mindset is a significant reason why I have psychology and sociology a lot. Learning how others are and why they are that way has always fascinated me. It helped me a lot in my ministry work, and I believe it will continue to help no matter where God places me. 

Paul says this a little later in Ephesians 4:32:

32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. 

God forgives us because of the great mercy he possesses. God asks us to forgive others in that same way, taught to us through the Lord’s Prayer. It’s an essential part of what it means to be a Christian. Jesus showed us the importance of this throughout his ministry, even being willing to forgive those who crucified him. Remember? “Forgive them, for they know not what they do,” Jesus asked God to forgive the audience, cheering for his death because Jesus believed they didn’t know what they were doing. 

We will continue to learn about God’s mercy throughout our Christian journey. Our goal should again be to forgive others as God forgives us. How we can forgive should be unnatural to the world as we know it. Without going into detail, I’ve recently gone through this. I had a situation where I felt hurt because of responses from others to something I did. I’ve told myself that forgiveness for how I got treated would be helpful, which it has. I may never receive the forgiveness I’d like, but godly forgiveness doesn’t come from that self-centered place. I have had to accept that, offer my forgiveness for that situation, and recognize that it would be sufficient. It’s difficult to encounter and wrestle with, but it is possible. 

Peter tells us this in 1 Peter 1:2: 

2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace. 

At one time, the Israelites could claim the title of God’s chosen people. Jesus changed that, though. Now all believers can claim this title. God gifted us our salvation and security; nothing can take that away. Think of how special this is. 

God the Father prepared these gifts for us before we were even born. Jesus sacrificed his life for us so we could have a relationship with God and access these gifts. The Holy Spirit guides us on how we can use these gifts and helps us understand the benefits that come with these gifts.

God created the process for our salvation through his grace. We have no control over how God creates our salvation, nor do we have a say on how we get this gift. The journey doesn’t end when God gifts us our salvation. We need to choose to accept this gift. It’s great that God created this for us and gifts it to us, but it’s worthless if we don’t accept and live our lives according to it. God chose us for a reason. Our journeys through life show us what that reason is. 

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The second title we’ll discuss is: I am a part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a purchased people. 

1 Peter 2:9 says this: 

9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the good of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

How are we royal priests or a holy nation? Does this even make sense in 2023? Let’s get some context for this. 

Peter wrote this letter to encourage Christians suffering in Rome and surrounding areas. Beginning with 2:4, Peter shares how those coming to Christ are like living stones for God’s house. This analogy comes from the Old Testament. His audience would’ve been familiar with the language as it pertained to Israel. Peter takes it and applies that image of the cornerstone to Christ. Peter sees the church as a living temple of God with Jesus as the foundation and each believer as a brick of its building. 

Vs. 5-6 has Peter referring to believers as holy priests. Through learning scripture and its application in daily life, Peter shares how they offer the spiritual sacrifices that please God. Again, another Old Testament analogy that Peter uses to help his audience understand what he’s saying. Back then, a priest would have to kill an animal, cut it into pieces, and place it on the altar. Today, God wants us to offer ourselves. Here are four ways that this can look: 

• We give our bodies and wills to God’s control.
• We offer our love to God and others.
• We give money to help in ministry.
• We offer praise to God.

Vs. 7-8 has Peter referring to the non-believers. These people look past the one that can give them eternal life and give meaning to their earthly lives. These people get submitted into God’s hands for judgment. We now pick up verse 9, Peter telling his audience that they aren’t like those who reject him. We understand now that we can go directly to God without fear and have the task of bringing others to him. 

A couple of passages from the Old Testament can help build our understanding of what it means to be God’s chosen people. Let’s start with Exodus 19:5-6, which says: 

5 Now if you obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 

6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation. This is the message you must give to the people of Israel.

God chose Israel for God’s love and mercy, despite what wrongs Israel committed and would commit later. Israel had the following tasks: 

• Represent God’s way of living
• Teach God’s Word
• Be an agent of salvation to the world

Little did they know that it would take almost 1,500 years to get it right. That’s not to say they didn’t do anything good during that span, but we see these three critical tasks happening frequently during Jesus’s ministry.  

Deuteronomy 7:6 says: 

6 For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God had chosen you to be his own special treasure. 

God chose Israel by keeping his promise to their ancestors. This promise will be the focal point of my next series. The promise they’re referring to is Genesis 12:1-3, which says this: 

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.

2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 

3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

The promises of the Promised Land, many descendants, and many blessings are the promise from God that everything gets built on. God kept this promise to Abram, or Abraham, throughout the Old Testament. The New Testament changes the promise. It keeps what the promise was but changes who receives it. God promises us the same thing that God promised Abraham. The same specialness that God saw in Abraham is the same specialness that he sees in us. 

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The last title we’ll discuss is: I am raised with Christ and seated in heavenly places. 

Ephesians 2:6 says this:

6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realm because we are united with Christ Jesus. 

Paul is sharing what life after death will look like with Jesus. Because of Jesus’s resurrection, we know that it isn’t the end but the start of a new beginning when we pass on earth. We have the Holy Spirit residing with us as Jesus did, which shows that we also have the power of resurrection within us as Jesus did. This power is unbelievable to wield. Life has dealt its blows in life. It was losing three out of four grandparents before the age of ten. It was getting terminated from a job I loved and worked at for the last seven and a half years. It was losing a relationship or a friendship due to my insecurities and mistakes. It was losing my last grandparent after being their primary caregiver for a few months. Life isn’t easy at all. Life is all about the ends of the spectrums and how we act between those periods of highs and lows. I must remember that while life on earth can be rough, the eternal life that God has for me is waiting. I have a relationship with a great almighty Father and know that the victory of the battles of life is coming. 

Colossians 2:12 says this: 

12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

The power of baptism is what Paul is referring to here. Baptism is often a struggle for me to talk about. Growing up Methodist, I didn’t understand what baptism meant. After working in a Methodist church for as long as I have, I didn’t always agree with our views of baptism. I understood it. I comprehended it. I just disagreed with it. Any conversation that follows this that pertains to baptisms will come from my perspective rather than primarily focused on denominational views of baptism. (I hope that made sense.) Baptism is about being re-born, as Jesus taught Nicodemus in John 3. Throughout many biblical stories, water gets associated with life and death, from the primordial waters in Genesis 1 to the great flood in Genesis 6. From the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus to the storms the disciples rode through in the New Testament. When we become baptized, we’re putting to death our old earthly selves and becoming reborn into our new spiritual selves. The power of Christ resides within us to guide our paths into embracing and living out what it means to be a Christian. 

Ephesians 1:19-20 says this: 

19 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power

20 that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realm.

How often do we sit back and reflect on God’s mighty power and how it impacts our lives? This power created every part of the universe down to the atoms and molecules. This power raised Jesus from the dead. This power lives in each one of us. It allows us to grow and mature in our spiritual walk. It allows us to change our perspective on life and other people. It allows us to love each other how God wants us to love. Because of this power, we can get up each morning, battle through what we have to deal with, share our story with others, and what our God is incredible. 

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Let’s wrap up the sixth week of our new series. We examined three statements we can claim as a follower of Christ that remind us of our heavenly status. Here they are again: 

I am his elect, full of mercy, kindness, humility, and longsuffering.

I am a part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a purchased people.  

I am raised with Christ and seated in heavenly places. 

I encourage you to go through this week and say one each during your prayer time or to yourself in the mirror and see how your mood and day change. If you do this, let me know how it went down in the comments below or message me on the Bible Study Vibes Facebook page. 

Next week, we’ll look at three more statements we can claim as a believer in Christ that is good to know. Our next blog will be the finale of this series. Until then, stay blessed.