In some ways, life is all about answering questions: who you’ll marry, what you’ll do for a living, and how you’ll spend your time and money. Most importantly, you have to decide what you will do with Jesus Christ and His offer of salvation.
The Bible is a great resource when it comes to finding answers in life. It offers wisdom for all the questions mentioned above—along with one other vital question: Who am I as a man? Another way of asking that is, What does the Bible say about our identity as men?
It’s an important question to ask because the answer affects everything we do.
What is identity?
One of the cool things about God is His creativity. He could have made us all alike, but He chose to give us different backgrounds, abilities, and interests. He made the human race a melting pot—partly so that we would learn to depend on Him and on one another.
So, when reflecting on the question What does the Bible say about our identity?, we need to realize—and even celebrate—the diversity that God has injected into our world. Your life is not part of a cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all model that the Lord simply put into motion one day. Despite some similarities, you are different from everyone else. God’s plan for you and your life is as unique as a fingerprint, and that plays a role in figuring out what the Bible teaches about identity.
Five Things the Bible Says About Identity
Scripture does reveal some foundational principles about who we are. So, while we may live out our identity in different ways, every one of us needs to understand and embrace these core truths. They are the key to knowing how to answer: What does the Bible say about our identity?
1. You are created in God’s image.
In the earliest chapters of the Bible, God made everything. When it came time to form Adam, the Lord created him in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27). Theologians call that the imago dei, and while they debate what it means exactly, one thing is for sure. It sets humans apart from the rest of creation.
To some extent, we share the qualities and characteristics of God. We can do a lot of the things He does—just not perfectly like He does. We’re a microcosm of His presence in the world. That gives us incredible value, and it’s the first stepping stone in answering the question, What does the Bible say about our identity? Our identity is rooted in God because we are made in His image.
2. You’re a new creature in Christ.
Of course, you know the rest of Eden’s story. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and rebelled against God’s commands. So, while we all share the imago dei, we also share a sinful nature passed down from generation to generation. Of all the people who have ever lived, only One got through life without sinning: Jesus.
Thanks to His sinless life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection, we have hope. We don’t have to live in the bondage of sin. He can make us new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). If you’ve accepted His offer of salvation, your identity has been transformed. You’re now a new man who can live out what the Bible says about your identity in ways you never could before you came to Christ.
3. God has a purpose for your life.
God is a God of purpose. As a result, everything—and everyone—He creates has purpose. He never does anything by accident. Understanding that is vital to answering the question, What does the Bible say about our identity?
Identity and purpose are two sides of the same coin in many ways. You won’t really understand your identity until you start living out God’s purpose for your life. Think about the apostle Paul. He spent years studying the Torah and then spent another season persecuting Christians. Eventually, he locked in on his purpose—being God’s messenger to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15-16).
Once he discovered God’s plan and started living it out, everything he once considered important fell by the wayside (Philippians 3:1-21). He had learned what God had to say about his identity because he had learned what God had to say about his purpose.
4. You are made for more than this world.
One of the things that drives men to succeed in life is the mistaken belief that this world is all there is. If what we see is all that matters, it makes perfect sense to chase what the world has to offer. But when we start thinking about what the Bible says about our identity, we realize that we were made for more than this life.
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul contrasts life on this earth with the life to come. He urged his readers to realize that their true identity rested in heavenly things, what he called the “eternal weight of glory” (4:17). He challenged them to focus on what is unseen more than what is seen (4:18). You are an eternal creature made for more than this world. That should shape how you see yourself—and how you answer the question, What does the Bible say about identity?
5. Nothing can separate you from God’s love.
You’re not perfect. You’ve fallen short. You’ve made mistakes. You’re a hot mess more times that you care to admit. Guess what . . . God loves you anyway. And nothing can change that. His love never fails (Psalm 136:1-26; Lamentations 3:22).
Nothing you do or say or think is enough to make God stop loving you. You’ll never cross a line that puts you beyond the reach of His affection. In his letter to the Romans, Paul said that absolutely nothing—living or dead, natural or supernatural, past, present, or future—can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:31-39).
Why identity even matters
The world has a lot to say about identity these days. The sheer number of voices trying to speak into the subject just adds to the confusion. In a world where the squeakiest wheel gets the grease, it might be tempting to simply fall in line with the loudest noise.
That’s why it’s important for Christ followers to ask, “What does the Bible say about identity?” We can’t afford to follow the crowd or accept conventional wisdom. If we’re going to be men of God, we’ve got to know His thoughts—and that means spending time in His Word.
What’s more, we can’t really become all we’re created to be without Him. We can’t know and live our identity on our own. We need His help and His wisdom (James 1:5). If we insist on doing our own thing, we’re just setting ourselves up for frustration and failure. But if we follow Him, we’ll learn what the Bible says about our identity.
We will be able to become the men He has created us to be.
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