Assignment for September 5, 2018

My Identity in Christ

We will discuss the scriptures listed below. Please look them up and jot down some thoughts, ESPECIALLY if they speak personally to you.

It is very important for us as believers to have a clear understanding of who we are in Christ. We must see ourselves as God sees us.

Once I have received Christ as my personal Savior I am born-again. A great transformation has taken place. I was dead and now I am alive. I was blind but now I see. I was a sinner but now I am a saint.

2 Cor. 5:17

In the NIV Bible, the word “saints” is used 45 times.

“Saints” are sanctified ones

The Greek word for the noun “saints” is hagios- (#40 in Strong’s concordance): the core meaning is "different." The technical meaning is "different from the world because like the Lord." It means to be set apart by God or for God, holy, sacred. It means we have a "likeness of nature with the Lord."

Hagios is the word used in “Holy” Spirit

The verb form of hagios translated “sanctify” or “make holy”- hagiazo (#37 in Strong’s Concordance) means "to make holy, consecrate, sanctify; to dedicate, separate"

“Sanctify” is used 15 times in NIV and “made holy” 7 times.

All these English words come from the same Greek root word so we must look at them as a group.

The Bible calls every believer a saint:

Eph. 1:1

1 Cor 1:2

Being a saint involves 2 parts: 
Separation FROM something and dedication TO something else.

Eph. 2:1-5

What is the difference between transgressions and sins?

How are we sanctified?

John 17:17

Ro. 15:16

Hebrews 13:12

Sanctification is both instantaneous and progressive. This will take some thought, prayer and reflection to understand but it is HUGELY important that we do understand it.

Hebrews 2:10-11