“You have taken off the old self with its practices, and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Colossians 3:9-10
One of the great tragedies in the modern church is that many believers spend their entire lives trying to become what God has already made them. We work hard to feel accepted, loved, valuable, secure, forgiven, significant, and worthy. We strive, perform, compare ourselves to others, and seek affirmation from people, all while forgetting that the gospel has already settled the most important questions of our existence.
The New Testament writers seem almost obsessed with reminding believers who they already are in Christ. Consider just a small sample of what Scripture repeatedly declares:
- You are justified (Romans 5:1).
- You are reconciled (Romans 5:10).
- You are adopted (Romans 8:15).
- You are heirs (Romans 8:17).
- You are saints (Ephesians 1:1).
- You are seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6).
- You are God’s workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).
- You are light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8).
- You are complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10).
- You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).
- You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9).
Notice what the apostles are doing. They are not primarily telling believers what they need to become. They are reminding believers what God has already made them. That is a profound distinction and one that many Christians miss.
The pattern of the New Testament is almost always identity first and behavior second. The world says, “Change your behavior and then you can become somebody.” The gospel says, “God has already made you somebody in Christ. Now learn to live like who you already are.” That is a completely different way of thinking. One is rooted in performance. The other is rooted in grace.
I have often heard Christians describe sanctification as becoming more like Christ, and that is certainly true. However, I have come to appreciate Sinclair Ferguson’s observation that much of the Christian life is simply learning to become who we already are in Christ. That statement may be one of the most concise and accurate descriptions of sanctification I have ever heard.
Think about it. Justification changes our standing before God. Adoption changes our relationship with God. Both are accomplished by God and received by faith. Sanctification is different. Sanctification is the lifelong process by which the Holy Spirit brings our daily experience into greater conformity with what is already true about us. We are not trying to become God’s children. We are learning to live as God’s children. We are not trying to earn acceptance. We are learning to rest in acceptance that has already been secured through Christ.
This pattern appears throughout the New Testament. Paul continually reminds believers of who they are before instructing them how they should live. He establishes identity before behavior. He establishes position before practice. He establishes relationship before responsibility. The commands of Scripture are not ladders we climb to earn God’s favor. They are invitations to live consistently with the favor we have already received in Christ.
I am increasingly convinced that much of our struggle with approval, significance, insecurity, fear, and comparison stems from forgetting this truth. We spend our lives searching for a verdict that God has already rendered. We seek love when we are already loved. We seek acceptance when we are already accepted. We seek significance when we are already significant. We seek security when our lives are already hidden with Christ in God.
The approval seeker is often attempting to gain from people what God has already given through Christ. That is why the pursuit never satisfies. People were never designed to provide our identity. They cannot carry that weight. Only Christ can.
As believers grow in their understanding of who they are in Christ, something remarkable begins to happen. The applause of the world does not necessarily become evil; it simply becomes unnecessary. Encouragement is still appreciated. Kind words are still welcomed. Healthy relationships still matter. But the desperate need for validation begins to fade because the deepest questions have already been answered.
Who am I?
I am His.
Whose approval matters most?
His.
What must I do to earn His acceptance?
Nothing. Christ has already done everything necessary.
The Christian life is not fundamentally about striving to become somebody. It is about learning to live in light of what God has already declared to be true. The more deeply we understand that reality, the more freedom we experience from the exhausting pursuit of human approval and the more joy we find in living before an Audience of One.
[Derived from an upcoming book concept, An Audience of One: Finding Freedom from the Need for Approval]