Identity In Christ And Concept Of God

In episode 1 of the We Are Recreated Podcast, we’re introducing two big questions Christians should answer from a biblical perspective so that they can live in the fullness of the abundant life that Jesus promised to those who put their faith in Him.

✅ Who is God and what is He like?
✅ What is my new identity because of Jesus and the cross?

We’re using 2 Corinthians 5:17 as our springboard to start uncovering God’s answers to these questions. In Him we are brand new creations!

TRANSCRIPT:

Today we’re going to talk about the two most important things that can change your world forever! We’re glad you’re here,  New Creations! Let’s dive in…

Welcome to episode one of The We Are Recreated Podcast where we talk about what it means to be recreated by Jesus so that we can live this abundant new life that He promised for those who trust Him.

If we’re just meeting, my name is John Matthew and this is Kim. We’re the Goodwins, and we’re passionate about pursuing Jesus and experiencing the grace that He’s poured out through the cross. What we’re finding is that to discover and to experience this grace, we have to be able to answer well two big questions. And these are the questions:

1. who is God, and what’s he like?
2. And who am I because of Jesus and the cross?

Now, just a little bit about us: we both grew up in the church; we’ve both been involved in church ministry for a lot of years – I was a pastor for a decade here in our hometown; we both love to make music; and we both love to travel the world to tell people about the love and the grace of Jesus for them.

And what we’ve found is that our answers to these two big questions will affect our life more than any other thing. They affect our interactions and our relationships at school, with friends, with parents, at work, in our marriages, in our parenting, in our churches… even with those we struggle to get along with. And it also affects how we view ourselves – how we approach God, and how we walk with Him. It is really, really significant. So, it’s worth taking the time to establish what we believe about God and ourselves in a really intentional way. The opposite of that is that by default we may end up believing wrong or thinking wrong, and as a result living wrong or short of the abundant life that Jesus promised.

There’s another way to think about these questions. First is to think about your concept of God: how do you think and feel about God on your good days, but particularly on your bad days?

• Is God angry?
• Is He distant?
• Is He spiteful or vengeful?
• Is He indifferent towards you?

Or do you believe…

• That He’s kind?
• That He’s close
• Loving
• Gentle?
• That He cares about you?

You can also think about this in terms of your identity. Who are we because of Jesus?

• Are we broken?
• Are we shameful?
• Are we damaged?
• Are we hopeless?
• Are we inadequate?
• Am I a dirty, rotten sinner?

Or do I believe that what He says is true:

• That I’ve been recreated!
• That I’m a child of God!
• That I’m righteous!
• That I’m called, and I’m complete in Him!
• That I’m a chosen, accepted saint.

Maybe you don’t know yet who He’s made you to be. Or maybe you’re in the process of learning, like us, who He’s made us to be and how to live that out. So, we’re going to talk all about it.

And we’d love for you to help start developing the Recreated Community. Would you comment below and let us know which is a bigger hurdle for you? Is it trying to believe that God is who He says He is? Or is it a bigger hurdle for you to hold on to the truth of who He’s made you to be? You know, if we learn the truth from God to answer these questions accurately we’ll be well on our way to living in freedom and in the fullness of life that He’s promised for us.

So, for the rest of season one we’re going to unpack the verse that inspired this podcast, and the name of this podcast, setting us in this direction. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says this: “If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old has passed away and behold the new has come. All of this is from God.”

There’s tons in there to help us start answering these two big questions, and there’s so much more beyond this one verse to explore. So, if you’re excited about discovering and soaking in the awesome identity and reality of who we are in Jesus and who He is to us and for us then why not to take a minute and subscribe? Hit the notification bell so that you can be updated about future videos, and we’re going to talk all about these things together.

We expect that as we trust Jesus together we’ll find identity and purpose and power, encouragement, strength, hope… all found in him because He’s so good!

Stick with us! In the next episode we’re going to start taking a deeper dive into where we’ve come from, why we need transformation, and the awesome exchange that takes place when we put our trust in Jesus. And until then, remember: We Are Recreated!