Identity
“If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.“ John 15:5
For every person, the question ‘Who do you think you are?’ influences the way we live our whole lives. Our actions, our thoughts, our motives, our dreams, our relationships all flow from how we view ourselves and others and what we think we’re doing on planet earth. It is vital that we comprehend, in our heads and our hearts, our God-given identity. Without it, we’re bombarded with the world’s values like success, looks, intelligence or power, but lacking the reference-point to navigate them well. With God’s identity comes our motivation to live the Christian life of radical discipleship.
We believe that God designed humans to be like Him, and to know Him as a companion and friend through life, as Father and as awesome King. We believe in a heavenly Father who loves us, who reaches out to all people, like the dad of the famous prodigal son (Luke 15) – searching for us, welcoming us home when we’re sorry for letting Him down, restoring us to a place of family, friendship and favour.
We are called into a relationship (called Covenant) which cost Jesus greatly but is a free gift to all who believe in Jesus. Our identity becomes that of Jesus Christ – he takes our sin, so we might become sons and daughters (2 Cor. 5:21). As chosen children we are heirs to God’s promises and provision on earth (Rom. 8:17; 1 Peter 2:9). We have a divine assignment to live out, we are called to partner with God in extending His rule and reign, his promise and peace on earth (called Kingdom).
Every follower of Jesus can experience the reality of this identity in their lives, through the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. When we begin to comprehend these truths, everyone’s search for significance takes a new turn. Our God-given identity means we are secure enough to live life by God’s natural rhythms of life like ‘being’ and ‘doing’, receiving and giving away, being rooted in love and moving in power. In short, a life defined by Covenant and Kingdom.
In Genesis, the 7th day of creation became humankind’s 1st weekday, a day of rest. The bible sets out for us the example of a healthy natural rhythm: we are not to crash into resting from work, we are to work from a place of rest.
The Lifeshape which informs our identity is the Semi-Circle.
It represents a pendulum swing: a process that helps us identify rhythms and patterns in our lives of work and rest, fruitfulness and pruning. When our identity is correctly set, we abide always in love (John 15) and learn to operate effectively for God’s Kingdom by rooting ourselves in his Covenant and recognising His timing for our lives.
WE VALUE
- A covenantal understanding of Jesus and the cross, where our identity and sin is exchanged for His identity and grace
- Learning to abide in God’s love, truth and power amidst ALL circumstances
- Engaging with the process of identity change through believing God’s word and accepting His love
- Recognising that the grace of God flows from identity to activity, from ‘being’ into ‘doing’
- Expecting provision, promise, protection, peace, power of Covenant
- People experiencing seasons of pruning, as well as growth and fruitfulness
- Viewing people how God sees them and their potential
- Continuous death to self - alive in Christ (Rom. 6:11)
- “Bearing with each other in love” and forgiving each other because our identity and value comes securely from God
- Experiencing God’s love and giving it away
- Expecting God’s blessing and generosity and responding with generosity to others