Who Am I?

Introduction

If someone were to ask you, “Who are you?” your answer would be telling. Most would answer with something that they do: “I work for…” or “I go to school at…” Or we might answer in terms of descriptive phrases such as “I am old, young, slim, heavy, tall, short.” But none of these things tell who we are. It may describe what we do or describe some physical characteristics but it doesn’t say anything about who we are.

This lesson is not difficult to understand; it is difficult to implement. Here is the point: who you are is who God says you are. The truth is that we get messages from all sorts of folks in our lives. As we grow up our parents give us messages about who we are. Some heard “you are stupid” or “you will never amount to anything.” Those messages say that we are not valuable. Some have heard different messages such as “you are so smart” or “you can do anything you set your mind to.” These messages endorse a view that you are valuable and special.

As we get older we hear messages from our peers. “You aren’t any fun” or “you are weird.” These messages speak of ostracism and isolation. Or we hear messages of acceptance such as “you are easy to talk to” or “you are popular.” Then into the adult world, the messages are much more subtle but nonetheless defining. “You’re hired” or “you didn’t make the cut” speak of acceptance and rejection, of success and failure. Such adult messages confirm what others have said about us.

For some we have already gone too far into some psychological perspective and you would like for us to head in another direction—something more spiritual. Listen to John 13:1–5. Jesus knew who he was. And knowing who he was allowed him to do what he did. Secure in knowing that he was from God and that he was returning to God, Jesus washed feet. He wasn’t “too good” for such an act. It wasn’t “beneath him” to stoop and serve. Knowing who he was allowed him to serve in this beautiful way. Jesus knows that he has been given the highest place so he takes the lowliest position to serve his own.

Isn’t this just like the way Jesus has expressed himself throughout his ministry? He encourages his followers to win by losing, to be last so that they will be first. He takes on the same role. Knowing he is preeminent, he takes the lowliest position. Not because he has to, but because he knows who he is he can serve the lowliest. For he will wash Judas’ feet as well.

Who Does Jesus Say He Is?

As we look through the gospel of John, Jesus along with others say things to describe who he is in this world. The entire gospel of John is a testimony about who Jesus is and how others viewed him. Let’s look at a few of these.

John 1:1 tells us that Jesus is the Word and the Word is God. John 1:29 describes Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away sin. John 4:26 records Jesus saying of himself that he is the Christ. John 6:41 has Jesus declaring, “I am the bread of life.” John 8:12 has him saying, “I am the light of the world.” John 10:7 has him proclaim, “I am the gate for the sheep.” John 10:11 says, “I am the good shepherd.” John 11:25 contains, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And John 14:6 has him saying, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

Do you get the impression that Jesus knew something about who he was in this world? Knowing who he was allowed him to fulfill his mission with great clarity and focus. The same is true for us. If we understand who we are in this world, then we are empowered to complete our mission with great clarity and focus. Who am I becomes more than a psychological question. It becomes a spiritual question, for as God’s people our mission is consistent with who God says we are. Let’s look at a few passages in which God has told us who we are so that we can complete our mission.

Who Am I?

Matthew 5:13 tells us, “You are the salt of the earth.” The word for salt here carries the idea of fertilizer, not table salt. It is the idea that we are to help others grow in their relationship with Jesus.

Matthew 5:14 says, “You are the light of the world.” We illuminate our sphere of the world. No candle lights the whole world, but it is able to dispel darkness in its own room. This is what we do.

John 15:14 declares, “You are my friends.” When we walk with Jesus, we are his friends.

2 Corinthians 3:3 states, “You are a letter from Christ.” We reveal the work of Jesus in our lives. We touch people’s lives so that they may know Christ as well.

2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us, “We are a new creation.” The old is gone. Our faith has resulted in us being transformed so that we, too, can share the same message which was shared with us—be reconciled to God.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are Christ’s ambassadors.” This not only defines who we are but what our mission is. We speak for God. We do not speak our own words but the words of God.

Galatians 3:26–27 proclaims, “You are sons of God through faith.” We are God’s children. Our baptism transforms us so that we wear the clothes of Jesus rather than this world’s clothes.

1 Peter 2:9 states, “You are a chosen people belonging to God so that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Who God says we are determines our actions and our mission. Our problem may lie in not accepting God’s words. This is a problem of the will. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior, then our will must yield to God’s view. For some the problem is not accepting God’s words because we know that our life cannot measure up to such expectation. This is a problem of understanding the nature of faith. Faith does not mean perfection or the absence of sin, but that our trust is in one greater than ourselves. When we place our trust in Jesus, then we are declared righteous even though we are not sinless (Romans 4:23–24).

Who am I? I am who God says I am. When I understand who God says I am, then my mission is clear. I honor God when I live consistently with who I am. And when I willfully ignore God’s designation or mistrust his words, then my life is filled with inconsistencies and I struggle to find my place and purpose in this world.

Jesus knew where he was from, where he was going, and what had been given to him. How did he know? Because God told him so. In the same way, God has spoken about us and we can know where we are from, where we are going, and what has been given to us.

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