Identity is a big deal

Let’s talk about how Jesus knew who he was.

He didn’t just wake up one day and decide he was the son of God or anything. No, he got his understanding of who he was from what God told him. And that’s how it works for us too – we don’t get the real deal on who we are from what other people say about us or even from what we do.

No, we get it straight from God.

Now, before Jesus got sent off into the desert by the Holy Spirit, he got baptized by John and filled with the Holy Spirit. And let me tell you, those two things are super important if we want to figure out our own spiritual identities. We gotta get baptized and filled up with the Holy Spirit, just like Jesus did.

And then, after Jesus got filled up with the Holy Spirit, God spoke up and said, “This is my beloved son…”

God knew that Jesus was gonna go through some rough stuff and needed to be prepared for it. So, the words God spoke about Jesus were carefully chosen – everything God says is important, you know? And those words established Jesus’ identity as the beloved son of God.

Jesus totally believed what God said and meant about him, even when he was tempted to doubt it.

And it’s interesting to note that every time God spoke about Jesus in the New Testament, he always started by saying “This is my son…” Like, why do you think that is? It’s cause God wanted Jesus to know who he was and believe it with all his heart. And with those statements, God continually established Jesus’ identity.

God’s the one who establishes our identities too.

He created us, so he’s the only one who really knows who we are. And he thinks it’s super important that we know who we are too. He doesn’t want us to be fooled about who we were meant to be.

So, yeah, identity is a big deal to God, and it should be to us too.