Key verses:

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Psalm 139:13-14 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Genesis 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Key thought: A good understanding of who we are in Christ enables us to develop further who we are and maximize our effectiveness on the journey to Christlikeness.

One of the biggest challenges in our generation is identity confusion of who are in Christ

One easy way the devil attacks believers is to just cast doubt and throw confusion on their identity.

A faulty understanding of our identity as disciple makers will be transferred to our disciples.

We cannot talk about discipleship without a focus on who the disciple is.

Discipleship in this case is helping our disciples discover, develop and maximize the potential of who they are in Christ.

Our identity in Christ is the understanding of who we are and position in our union with Christ.

Our identity must be framed most importantly by who God says we are.      

It is important to remember that in Christ we are complete as regards our salvation and spiritual standing, but at the same time we are being transformed to become Christ like

It is this journey to transformation where we must allow our God given identity to take center stage over our personal or human identity

The profile of Timothy - his identity

He was born of a believing Jewish mother and Greek father, probably a non-believer

His grandmother Lois was a believer too

He is a young born again believer (1Timothy 4:12)

He was shy, timid - he was most likely an introvert 2 Timothy 1:6-8

How can we maximize the potential of our identity in Christ?

How did Paul encourage young Timothy to maximize his identity should a child of God and as a servant of the Lord

1. We must recognize our calling to faith as defining place for identity formation

Our calling to faith is at the core of our identity –it affects our character

Regeneration is being recreated into the image of God

2. We must Develop our capacity in relation to Christ says we are

Recognizing that we are gifted and called by God is an important starting point

Paul encourages Timothy fan into flame the gift of God in him, we are all gifted by God

3. We must protect what we have

Identify what is non-negotiable, and protect what is at the core of our identity

Salvation for example is only possible by the grace of God, we must therefore work out our salvation with fear and trembling

4. We must protect ourselves from external influences

Other influences that can mess our God given identity come from outside influence

There are certain forms of lust that different people of different ages will struggle with, Paul when he looked at Timothy’s age, he told Timothy; ‘young man instead of chasing after these passions he is supposed to pursue godly virtues like righteousness’

Lusts and sin distorts the perception of our identity, it makes us ineffective to fulfil our purpose.

5. The word of God must be at the center of our formation and life

We must use the word of God as the foundation to shape who we become

We become complete and fulfill our potential when the word of God transforms and shape everything about our lives

Conclusion

What are of the areas of our personal identity, or traits that need to be shaped by who God says we are?