Identity In Christ
10”And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead–Father, Son and Holy Spirit–and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].” Colossians 2:10 Amplified Bible
Someone once asked me to pray for their fiancé that she would have more confidence as she was job hunting. When we lack self-confidence it usually means that we need to remember who we are in Christ. Paul talks about this in the second chapter in His letter to the Colossians. In fact, two different times in the first ten verses he tells the Colossians (and us) to not be deceived by the words of men or the teachings of men and the natural world. When you read his warnings from the eighth verse in the Amplified Bible you clearly get the message from Paul that the teachings and wisdom of the world may sound wise and prudent, but in actuality, it is elementary and simple.
There are those that would explain away the miracles of the Bible and offer natural explanations for all the promises that the Word offers to us. Those words and explanations will probably sound plausible to our natural minds, but they are dangerous and will lead us to compromise. For example, the natural man would tell someone looking for a job in a bad economy that they should not get their hopes up. Logic would dictate that you lower your standards and take whatever you can get. The logic of the natural mind would advise that we lower our expectations because the reality is that things are bad, everybody is struggling and you cannot expect anything different. That makes sense in the natural, but it is what Paul warns us to protect against. He tells us not to be beguiled by such carnal advice. Remember, Paul said that those things are elementary.
Instead of expecting less, we can expect more because we are children of God and He is not bound by the economy of the world. I should expect that as I look to Him in faith, I will find His favor going before me and I will be blessed when others who subscribe to the philosophies of the world find disappointment and frustration. But Paul does not stop there. He lets us know why we should expect more. He said the mindset of the world and the natural mind is elementary. It may sound plausible to our natural ear and mind but it is simplistic and foolish. God wants us to reach higher. He expects us to be doing our post-graduate work in spiritual education, not stay in elementary school at a first grade level of wisdom. That is what the knowledge and advice of the world are equal to. I want to be out of Elementary School in spiritual wisdom and at least at the college level or above in the Lord’s wisdom.
How do we get there? Well, this is the assurance that we get from Paul in the tenth verse. He is reminding us that our identity as believers should not be in our own skills, talents or giftings. Rather our identity should be in who we are in Christ. What is that identity? He tells you that Jesus is the head over all things. He has ultimate and final authority over all things. The full power of the Godhead is realized in Him. But guess what. You are operating in the fullness of Him. You have reached the full spiritual stature of Jesus Christ, which means that all that power and authority are fully in you. The only thing that will stop me from accomplishing the supernatural is me when my identity is in self instead of in Him. You are not bound by the logic of the natural, by the reality of your natural circumstances or by your past. As a believer in Christ, His full victory, power, and authority are invested in you! Walk with the confidence of knowing who you are in Jesus. Find your victorious identity in Him!
J Todd Hostetler