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The Identification Truths & Your Position in Christ
After a person accepts Christ into his or her life, there will come a gradual
awareness that the Holy Spirit is pointing the individual toward deeper truths
about the Christ-life within. It may take years for one to realize this. Even in
Bible-preaching churches, there is some pressure to keep the message basic on
the first step of salvation. Those searching for Christ are not ready for the
identification truths—they need to find Christ first. It is true that even in a
congregation consisting mostly of born-again Christians, there will be some that
are still not ready for these truths. It takes time and a sincere need to
prepare an individual for this life-fulfilling aspect of the Gospel. The
preparation that we usually experience is rooted in our failure to lead a life
that truly glorifies Christ. We must grow tired of our worldly ways that always
lead to failure. We can not hurry this process, nor improve upon it by any
fleshly endeavor. It seems that Christ, always walking with us, must reveal this
need for His life in our life. Left to ourselves, we may, as did Paul,
struggle for our freedom in Christ prior to realizing that the life He gives is
already there for our acceptance.
What are the Identification Truths? Many of these truths have been promoted by
Miles Stanford in a series of published texts such as “Principles of Spiritual
Growth”, and “The Green Letters”. Many are still available at Amazon.com or
various web sites. See for example http://www.bible.org/docs/splife/stanford/spg.
Another source is the work of Watchman Nee, “The Normal Christian Life”. They
are not alone in their approach to Scripture, nor is it a new one. Others who
understood and taught similar themes are John Darby, A. H. Strong, Alexander
Hay, George Mueller, T. Austin-Sparks, William R. Newell (author of Romans.Verse
by Verse), J. C. Metcalfe, J. B. Stoney, Evan Hopkins, Andrew Murray, Lewis
Sperry Chafer, L. E. Maxwell, Norman B. Harrison, F. J. Huegel, J. Penn Lewis,
to mention a few.
Specifically, the identification truths define the source of our life,
our position relative to God, and the expression of our life here
on earth and in heaven. Paul has expressed these truths rather succinctly when
he said, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” (Galatians
2:20). This statement summarizes all the truths about our new life in Christ,
and it represents the goal achieved when we appropriate these truths by faith in
Him. The Christian who begins to reckon or count on these truths will discover
the following:
-Christ is our life. We are to be an expression of Him as we walk this earth.
-Christ is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. (1
Corinthians 1:30). (We are not to strive for these matters; they are ours by
faith, already achieved by Christ.)
-We are complete in Him. (Colossians 2:10)
-Christ is our peace. (Ephesians 2:14)
-We are fellow heirs with Christ. (Romans 8:17)
-We are a new creation in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
-Our position or citizenship is already in the heavens. (Ephesians 2:6,
Colossians 3:1)
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