Once we become Christians, we are no longer defined by our sins or our past life. Instead, we can cling to the empowering truths God has for us. We are defined by Christ, His love, and the truths that are found in His Word. Learn these 10 Truths That Empower and Define a Christian today.
God knows our flaws, and yet He still offers us some empowering truths about ourselves that He made true by the blood of His own Son. We are broken, but God calls us His and gives us His Spirit. He lifts us and calls us to higher things.
For those of us who follow Jesus, it is important that we understand the ways in which we are defined by Christ. It is crucial that we know the truth that God speaks about us so that we can combat lies, renew our minds, and live as the peculiar treasures we were created to be.
So today, I'm sharing 10 empowering truths that define Christian men and women alike. This is not a comprehensive list, but it's a great place to start.
We Are Redeemed
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding..." (Ephesians 1:7-8, ESV)
The gospel tells us that in God's great mercy, we are redeemed. We were dead in our sins (Eph. 2:4-5) but God redeemed us by sacrificing His son to pay our debts. This is the beauty of the Christian life: that we are redeemed and called righteous when we deserved death and eternal separation from God.
Related: What Is the Gospel?
We Are Loved
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." (Jeremiah 31:3, ESV)In my experience, we as Christians are inexplicably prone to doubting or forgetting how much God loves us. We tend to base God's love for us on how we feel, our current circumstances, or even how other people treat us. But God's love is incredibly clear in the truth of His Word.
God loved us enough to save us before we cared about Him (Romans 5:8), He loved us enough to give us the Spirit when Jesus ascended back into Heaven
(1 Corinthians 2:12), and He loved us enough to give us gifts that are needed to build up other believers (1 Corinthians 12:15-26).
Doubting God's love for us is silly, pointless, and sinful. God has already proven His love for us, even if the rest of our lives turn to ruin.
We Are Protected
"But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one." (2 Thessalonians 3:3, ESV)
God promises to guard and protect His children. This isn't necessarily in a physical or monetary way. We were never promised that we would be shielded from heartache, pain, sickness, or any other sort of physical burden - in fact, God tells us that we should expect persecution and that we should stand firm while we go through it (1 Peter 4:12-13, 2 Timothy 3:12).
But thankfully, regardless of our earthly circumstances, God promises to protect us spiritually. He promises to stand by our sides (2 Timothy 4:17), to work all things for our good (Romans 8:28), and to bring us safely to Him at the end of our lives (2 Timothy 4:18).
But thankfully, regardless of our earthly circumstances, God promises to protect us spiritually. He promises to stand by our sides (2 Timothy 4:17), to work all things for our good (Romans 8:28), and to bring us safely to Him at the end of our lives (2 Timothy 4:18).
We Are Empowered
"And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20, ESV)
God has given us power through the Holy Spirit to carry out His will. This means that we have not been left alone to fumble around, nor does God expect us to live this life on our own. Instead, in His goodness, He empowered us to fulfill the life He has called us to live. He has made us capable of fulfilling our purpose in Him. He has prepared us for our calling.
We Are Delighted In
"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV)
This concept is so hard for me. The New International Version says that the Lord "takes great delight" in His children. I often get caught up in the fact that I am far from perfect, and quickly forget that when God looks at me, He sees the righteousness of Christ - not my failings. And because of this, I can know that God delights in me as He delights in His own, perfect son. My standing with God is reflected by Christ's standing, which means I can stand before God confidently, without fear, and without shame (Hebrews 4:16). God delights in me as His holy child, since Christ's holiness covers me.
We Are Known
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5, ESV)Being known by God can feel a little scary sometimes. The fact that God knows my every thought and intention can be intimidating since I am not always proud of those thoughts and intentions. But the beauty in being known by God is that it displays His love for us even more clearly. Before we knew Him or loved Him, God loved us and sent Jesus to die for us. He saw our hearts at their worst, before they were redeemed, and He still decided to give us mercy, love, and salvation. Being known by God means that even our worst thoughts and intentions didn't scare Him away, which is even more proof that He isn't going to leave us now.
We Are Never Alone
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9, ESV)We will never walk alone on this earth if we know Jesus. Therefore, no matter what we are facing, we can and should have courage and be strong. If the Lord is on our side, no one can truly stand against us (Romans 8:31). No matter what our current circumstances look like, we know we can persevere and stand strong because we know that we have not been left to fend for ourselves.
We Have Hope
"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15, ESV)The Bible is very clear: those of us who know Christ have an unshakable hope. Hope in the biblical sense is sure and strong. We Can trust God for it because He is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
Hope in this case is not "I hope this works out - I hope I will get salvation." Instead, hope is secure. We know whom we have believed, and we know that His promise is sure.
We Are Free
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:17, ESV)We are free in Christ when we claim His blood and hope in Him. We are given freedom to live a thriving life in the Spirit. This doesn't always look like the world would view freedom - in fact, it rarely looks that way. Being free in Christ means we are no longer slaves to sin. We are slaves to Christ, which ironically, brings the most freedom. This is because being a slave of Christ and glorifying God is what we were created to do, and we will find the most joy, meaning, and purpose when we live freely for Him - unshackled by the sins that once held us in chains.
Related: How to Live Free in Christ
We Are Complete
"and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority." (Colossians 2:10, ESV)We are made complete in Christ. On our own, we are missing a part of us that is only fulfilled in Christ. But once we have Christ, we are made whole. Our spirit is suddenly whole. Our soul is suddenly in tact. We are covered in the perfect holiness of Christ. So even though we will still fall short, Christ's complete work makes us complete.
10 Truths About Christians
- We are redeemed
- We are loved
- We are known
- We are protected
- We are empowered
- We are delighted in
- We are never alone
- We have hope
- We are complete
- We are free
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