Performance is observable, measurable, and important. But let’s get our priorities straight: While performance is important, our Heavenly Father stresses who we are in Him ten times more frequently. God knew we would be slow to believe and adopt the magnitude of His regenerative plan for us, His fallen creation. Consequently, He placed us in Christ and gave each of us a new—phenomenally, mind-bogglingly new—identity. It’s a great starting point!

We are no longer who we were in Adam. We are new men and women in Christ. Our Father is now the God of the universe. Our elder brother is, Jesus. The Holy Spirit lives in us. We are citizens of heaven and this world is not our home—we’re only passing through.

In His Word, our Father calls us His own, sanctified, justified, redeemed, loved, accepted, triumphant, and joined to Him with a bond that renders us inseparable.

This is the second essential. Our real identity comes not from what we do but from who we are in Christ. First essential: Christ in us. Second essential: us in Christ.

Next blog, Third of Three Essentials