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Identity

As we move through Philippians 3 to verse 10 we find the reason why Paul turns away from all of his own achievements and focusses only on Christ as his source of righteousness. Paul states that reason like this: “that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

We could spend a long time going through this quotation, taking the whole section apart, looking at each phrase individually, considering each component separately and then putting it all back together again, but I want to think of these things as a whole. Looking at it this way, the word that leaps to mind is “identity.”

Every psychologically healthy person has a sense of identity which they use to navigate through their relationships with others. Paul identified himself with Christ. His relationship with Jesus gave him his sense of self. In the past, he had identified himself by his religion, his ethnicity, his moral standards, his politics and his character. After meeting Jesus, he desires to draw his identity only from his relationship with the Lord. Paul identified so strongly with the Lord Jesus Christ that he wanted to be like Him in every way, even in death.

Where do you get your sense of identity? How you answer that question gets right to the point. Paul said, “I’ve let all this stuff go, all that matters to me is to know Christ. He’s the one who gives me my identity.”

My wife and I have four children and I’d be happy to tell you about them for as long as you’d listen. Some of us identify ourselves by family, parents, children, or spouse. But kids grow up and go away. Parents die. Spouses let us down. Some people lose their sense of self when change rocks the family structure.

Some of us identify ourselves by our jobs. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but if that is the only way you know who you are, then Paul would say you are not as mature as you think you are. Some identify themselves by the toys they have, or by the technology they master. They take hold of that stuff and it dominates their lives to the point where they can’t tell if they took hold of it or if it took hold of them.

Some people identify themselves by their religion, their denomination, the movement of which they are a part, or the church where they serve. But when it comes to measuring our spiritual maturity by Paul’s standard, we have to let even that fade into the distance.

At the end of this passage Paul says, “... let us hold true to what we have attained.” (Phil. 3:16) His exhortation reminds me that we can drift from maturity into immaturity. Some who once identified themselves first and foremost as Christians come to see themselves as something else, drawing their sense of self from some transient feature of their physical life.

Check up question 4: Does my identity rise primarily from my relationship with Jesus?

Ron Hughes
© November 2008