Remember Your Identity in Christ
ICS Daily Devotions
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NKJV) For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Jesus promised to give us abundant life (John 10:10), but we must know what belongs to us to stop the devil from stealing. There is a war between carnality and spirituality in our lives. We have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness, whose ruler is the devil, into the kingdom of light, where God rules supreme. Therefore, the renewal of the mind is critical to fending off the devil’s fiery darts in our lives.
Many Christians are passive regarding spiritual things, which affect the natural realm because everything that happens in the natural starts from the spiritual realm. Therefore, we need to take authority over the spiritual realm. We need to take hold of what belongs to us and not give in to the devil’s cheating or taking advantage of us.
Ephesians 6:10 (NASB) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
This Scripture does not refer to being strong in ourselves but in the Lord because the battle cannot be fought with our flesh. Spiritual weapons are needed to fight a spiritual foe. However, we can be strong in the Lord because of our position in Christ; believers are now one with Christ. Nevertheless, it does require that we humble ourselves and submit to His Lordship.
The mind is the final battleground in the spiritual war. Yet, we are not left defenceless. The Word of God is our mighty weapon, capable of countering all these influences, and by renewing our minds with the Word of God, we can cast down every argument that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.
The devil has led many of us to build our identity on worldy values, but we must not let them define us. We set high expectations of ourselves and desire the affirmation of the people whom we hold in high regard, such as our parents, bosses, and peers. We might even be our enemy by setting high expectations for ourselves.
Unfortunately, we live in a broken and fallen world, so people will fail us. When that happens, the devil will capitalise on these thoughts to destroy and steal from our mental and emotional health. He will use periods of transition to make us feel hopeless.
We need to pull down all these strongholds, take captive our thoughts, and submit them to the Lordship of Christ by remembering our identity in Christ: I am a child of God. I have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. I am seen as righteous, holy, and blameless. This is my identity, and this is how I will choose to behave in this world. This is the best identity one can ever have on earth and in heaven.
Sermon Series: THE WEAPON OF OUR SPIRITUAL WARFARE
