Our Identity Has Been Restored

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DAILY VITAMIN

- Our Identity Has Been Restored

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)

The theme scripture says we are the righteousness of God. The term 'the righteousness of God' means the very image of God. That means that when God looks at us, He sees Himself. He sees His qualities.

And how is this so? Christ restored our identity. 

You see, when Adam fell, he lost two things--his authority and identity. However, while God restored man's authority in Genesis 9, his identity was still lost. He was still mere flesh and nothing more. But even with his restored authority. he still couldn't use it against the devil that much. The Bible says that a slave can't be greater than the master; and since the devil had become man's master because of sin, he couldn't exercise any dominion over him. That's why no man could cast out a demon in the Old Testament. Go search through the scripture, you won't find one person who did. And even those who did in Jesus' day did at the credit of His identity.

So, what did Jesus do for us? He came with everything God had given the first Adam; thus He is called the second Adam. He said He came that we might have life in abundance (John 10:10). What life? The life of God (1 Peter 1:23). He came in the original identity of mankind and ransomed us from our fallen nature and identities. Thus, this is said of us:

"what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them[d] with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their[e] feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas." (Psalm 8:4-8 NIV)

Now we can boldly declare that we are the children of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Now, when we speak, demons flee. Now, when God sees us, He sees a class of His own. We are no longer strangers, we are family (1 Peter1:3). No longer slaves but sons-- a position we share with and in Christ; a position of belovedness and power with the Father. A position of righteousness with God and man.

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