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7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the old prophets had risen again. 9 Herod said, “John I have beheaded, but who is this of whom I hear such things?” So he sought to see Him.
18 And it happened, as He was alone praying, that His disciples joined Him, and He asked them, saying, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”
19 So they answered and said, “John the Baptist, but some say Elijah; and others say that one of the old prophets has risen again.”
20 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said, “The Christ of God.”
Luke 9:7-9, 28-20
The matter about identity is real. If you examine the above Scripture, one might be tempted to think that Jesus was confused at some point about His identity. Now, Jesus didn’t ask this question because He was suffering from some kind of identity crisis, don’t get it wrong. Jesus knew where He came from and what His mission was on earth. In John 8:14, the Bible says: “Jesus answered and said to them, “Even if I bear witness of Myself, My witness is true, for I know where I came from and where I am going; but you do not know where I come from and where I am going.” This statement clearly shows us that Jesus does not have or suffer from any identity crisis whatsoever. But He needed an answer to that question so that He can at least have a feeler about who or what people think about Him.
All over the world today, people are busy looking for their true identity. By the year 2100, the world’s population is expected to be 10.9 billion people, and yet, there are millions upon millions of people who don’t know who they truly or really are. Many people today in the world have changed (and are changing) their sex from male to female or from being female to being male simply because they think they aren’t what they think they are. In today’s world, men are getting married to men while women are getting married to women, all rooted in this identity crisis.
There is a subliminal identity crisis that culture and tradition have created. There are many today that culture and tradition have define who they really are and who they are not. You will hear people say “this is what we do and who we are based on our culture and traditions.” Religion too have been instrumental in creating some identity problems. Many people today behave in certain ways and manners simply because their religion tells them to do so. You will hear people say “this is what my religion says we can do and this is what it says we cannot do.” Their identity has been shaped by the dictates of their religion and those who brings such doctrines to their consciousness.
What about the social media too! Many today live and go through their world expecting validation from social media. When those validations don’t come, they go depressed and sometimes, it appears that their world is crumbling. There are even news and reports of those who have even committed suicide simply because certain folks said certain things to them on social media, people they haven’t really met in real life. All these crisis are simply rooted in the identity crisis we are talking about.
What about the body of Christ too? Even the body of Christ today is fast losing its identity as well. There are many doctrines and beliefs that have erroneously entered the church and believers have come to accept simply because it want to sound a little bit as the world sounds. And so today, you have some churches that are joining homosexuals together in marriage and putting forward all manner of doctrines that aren’t consistent with its true identity.
What Is Man’s True/Original Identity?
Man’s true and original identity was first sourced in God. From the beginning, man was not confused or have any iota of doubt where he came from or belong. If you read the book of Colossians 3:10, it tells us “and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” If you examine this statement critically, it shows us that man was made in the image of God who created him. Most of the time, when a manufacturer sets out to make something, the first idea that comes to them is how the thing would look like when it is made.
So, when God was making man, He looked at Himself and then made man. Genesis 1:26-27 tells us: “Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” This tells us that man’s identity was sourced in God, and not from anything else.
So, man does not evolve from evolution or Apes, as some scientist would have you believe. Man is sourced by God. In case this aren’t clear to you yet, let us read Ephesians 1:3-11. The Bible says:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,”
The Beginning Of Man’s Identity Crisis
Man’s ordeal began when he gave up his true identity to pick up another one. The devil didn’t wrestle with man to change its identity, there was no physical contest whatsoever that took place. Man simply gave his true identity out on the platter of ignorance, the same ignorance that is still plaguing many today. This is why the Scripture says in Hosea 4:6 that “my people are destroyed because they lack knowledge.” They lack knowledge is not the same thing as they don’t have it in sufficient quantity. People may have something, but it may not be sufficient. It is different from when they lack it.
Somebody may be wondering, how did this happen? It happened when man literally went against God’s commandment in Genesis chapter 3. This was where the problem began from. The Bible says:
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”
Before that time, they didn’t know they were naked, and there was no problem. Before that time, there was no knowledge of good and evil, and there was not problem. But the moment they ate of that tree; they became aware of something they had not known before. This was where the whole challenge of man’s identity began from. They let go of the identity of God, in whom they were originally sourced, and took upon themselves the identity of the devil. No wonder Jesus said in John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”
Don’t forget that the word “Father” means “Someone who source and sustains.” The devil became their father and they began to live according to his dictates because they now have his nature in them.
The Way Out of Man’s Identity Crisis
When we drift away from God’s original plan for our lives, there is bound to be an identity crisis. This was what happened in the beginning as evidenced in the life Adam and Eve his wife. So, the only way out of this quagmire is to go back to God who sourced us initially. If a product is bad, what you do is to simply take it back to its maker. Before man drifted away, there was a plan of God for his life. God is saying “come back to me, let me give you again a sense of identity and purpose. Let me give you what to live for and stand for.” God has made a way out of every of man’s crisis and confusion.
There is a solution in Christ already. He said in Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” There is a form of rest that comes from following the Lord and doing His will. In John 8:12, the Bible says “Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying “I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
I believe you have been blessed!
[Centre for New Dimension Leadership]
