transformed
our identity in christ
transformed
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Editor
Margie Williamson
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Margie Williamson
Copyright © 2010 + Clarity Publishers No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations within critical articles and reviews. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Life Bible Study P. O. Box 36040 Birmingham, AL 35236 To order additional copies of this resource, call the publisher at 877.265.1605 or order online at www.lifebiblestudy.com.
Margie has served as a writer, editor, seminary professor, associational worker, youth minister, and minister’s wife. She began writing in 1982 and has written Bible studies and devotions, Christian magazine articles, a training book for teachers of teenagers, academic articles, textbook chapters, and a dissertation. She joined the staff of Clarity Publishing in 2007 as the executive editor of LifeBibleStudy. Margie met her husband Bob while they were students at the University of Georgia. She was studying journalism and social work; he was studying forestry. Neither used their degrees after gradation; both have drawn upon them continually in their lives. They have two adult children: Scott is a certified fire fighter and E.M.T. and is married to Wendy; and Jenna, along with her husband Benjie, is a student at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Margie has only one grandchild––something that she continues to complain about. Margie has been able to travel extensively through Israel, Greece, Rome, and parts of Turkey to experience the places in which God has revealed His plan. She continues to be transformed by the gift of God’s grace upon her life.
table of contents
how to use this book ...
Introduction
Session 1, page 1: Transformed Identity (Gal. 2:15–21) Session 2, page 7: Transformed Citizenship (Eph. 2:11–22) Session 3, page 13: Transformed Purpose (Eph. 4:1–5, 4:15–16)
This study has been designed for preparation for a group Bible study experience, for use during a group Bible study experience, or for use as an individual Bible study guide. Every lesson is divided into four to five sections; each section concludes with a devotional suggestion and journaling directions. To get the most from this study, consider the following suggestions:
Session 4, page 19: Transformed Actions (Col. 3:1–11) Session 5, page 25: Transformed Walk (Eph. 5:1–14) Session 6, page 31: Transformed Attitude (Phil. 2:1–11)
1. Get your favorite Bible, a pen or pencil, a highlighter, and a journal or notebook together before you begin. As you study the lesson, read the assigned passage first. Then dig deeper into some of the verses within each section. 2. Use the learner commentary to guide your personal Bible study. 3. Complete each day’s study with the devotional suggestions and journaling assignments at the end of each section. Allow God to transform you through your study and your time with Him.
Be prepared to consider, examine, and evaluate God’s Word as you move through this study. Our prayer is that this study will give you the opportunity to examine how God has transformed you through the sacrifice of His Son on the cross.
8 Essential Truths
introduction to change in composition or structure; to change the outward form or appearance of; to change in character or condition
We throw the word transformed around with a variety of meanings and nuances. We transform our homes by redecorating and our bodies through diet and exercise. Often, those transformations don’t last. Rooms will need redecorating and bodies will often return to former size and condition when the emphasis is no longer on diet and exercise. Our transformation in Christ is not meant to be temporary. In Christ, we become new. Everything that we are becomes new as we reflect our identity in Christ. In this study, we’ll consider six characteristics of that transformation:
• Our identity is transformed into who we are in Christ. • Our purpose is transformed to create unity between believers. • Our citizenship is transformed into a place in God’s kingdom. • Our actions are transformed to be more like Christ’s. • Our walk is transformed to demonstrate the light of Christ to the world. • Our attitude is transformed by imitating the character of Christ.
This study gives us the opportunity to delve into the character of Christ and to examine how we are transformed into our new identity in Him. Allow this study to help you focus on your identity in Christ and how He continues to help you to be transformed into His image.
God Is
Only one true and living God exists. He is the Creator of the universe, eternally existing in three Persons—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each equally deserving of humanity’s worship and obedience. He is infinite and perfect in all His attributes.
The Bible is God’s Word
The Bible is God’s written revelation to people, divinely given through human authors who were inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is entirely true. The Bible is totally sufficient and completely authoritative for matters of life and faith. The goal of God’s Word is the restoration of humanity into His image.
People are God’s Treasure
God created people in His image for His glory. They are the crowning work of His creation. Yet every person has willfully disobeyed God—an act known as sin—thus inheriting both physical and spiritual death and the need for salvation. All human beings are born with a sin-nature and into an environment inclined toward sin. Only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ can they experience salvation.
Jesus is God and Savior
Jesus is both fully God and fully human. He is Christ, the Son of God. Born of a virgin, He lived a sinless life and performed many miracles. He died on the cross to provide people forgiveness of sin and eternal salvation. Jesus rose from the dead, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return in power and glory.
The Holy Spirit is God & Empowerer
The Holy Spirit is supernatural and sovereign, baptizing all believers into the Body of Christ. He lives within all Christians beginning at the moment of salvation and then empowers them for bold witness and effective service as they yield to Him. The Holy Spirit convicts individuals of sin, uses God’s Word to mature believers into Christ-likeness, and secures them until Christ returns.
Salvation is by Faith Alone
All human beings are born with a sin nature, separated from God, and in need of a Savior. That salvation comes only through a faith relationship with Jesus Christ, the Savior, as a person repents of sin and receives Christ’s forgiveness and eternal life. Salvation is instantaneous and accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God. This salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus Christ and not on the basis of human works. All the redeemed are secure in Christ forever.
The Church is God’s Plan
The Holy Spirit immediately places all people who put their faith in Jesus Christ into one united spiritual body, the Church, of which Christ is the head. The primary expression of the Church on earth is in autonomous local congregations of baptized believers. The purpose of the Church is to glorify God by taking the gospel to the entire world and by building its members up in Christlikeness through the instruction of God’s Word, fellowship, service, worship, and prayer.
The Future is in God’s Hands
God is actively involved in our lives and our future. Through His prophets, God announced His plans for the future redemption of His people through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son. With the call of the disciples, God prepared the way for the future of His Church. In Scripture, God promised that Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth to resurrect and judge the saved and unsaved. As the allknowing and all-powerful Creator and Judge, God can and should be trusted today, and with our future.
transformed
God’s Grace
Biblical Passage: Galatians 2:15–21 Supporting Passages: Romans 1:17, 6:11, 8:10; 2 Corinthians 5:15;
Many of Paul’s letters were written to address serious problems within a congregation. The letter to the Galatians is no exception. Paul had spent time in Galatia and cared about the church there. But the believers there were in danger from bad teachings. Once again the Jewish believers had tried to convince the new Gentile believers that they had to rely on the Jewish laws to find favor with God. Paul had taught that grace was God’s free gift that could not be earned by keeping laws. If not addressed, these contradictory teachings had the capability to tear the Galatian church apart.
Galatians 5:24
Memory Verse: Galatians 2:20 Table Talk Question: What does it mean to have a transformed
identity?
Biblical Truth: Our identity is transformed when we exchange our death for life through faith in Christ.
Imagine how strongly both sides of this controversy felt. The Jewish believers were part of a religious system that had existed for centuries and was based on following an involved and explicit set of laws. The Gentiles, on the other hand, had followed belief systems created by man to try to explain the universe around them. Their system was not a system of laws, and it didn’t create the opportunity to have a relationship with God. It’s easy to see how difficult these two sides had it when it came to truly understanding God’s gift of grace.
consider Our identity is defined by those illusive traits that make us individually recognizable. The way that you can recognize a good friend from a distance is because of the way that he stands or the way that she pushes her hair out of her eyes. The gesture is immediately recognizable. Developmental theorists claim that our identities are made up of the way that we see ourselves as well as the way that we perceive that others see us.
Paul even admitted to his own struggle with accepting God’s grace instead of being “good enough” to earn God’s grace through obedience to the Law. Read Romans 7:21–25 and underline those phrases that indicate why keeping the Law isn’t enough. Notice that Paul recognized that no matter how hard he tried to be obedient, his sin nature would always make him fail.
The apostle Paul probably would have argued with that. He would claim that the only part of us that defines who we are is the presence of Christ in our lives. Further, he would remind us, as he did the members of the church in Galatia, that our relationship with Christ transforms us into a new person in Christ. As you study this passage, seek answers to the following questions: What does it mean to be transformed in Christ? Am I a new creature in Christ? How can I tell?
Set Free
Read Romans 8:1–2. Paul didn’t end this section of his letter by agonizing over his personal failures but rather by rejoicing in the new life that he had been given by Christ. Paul knew that he could never successfully put his sin nature away. Yet he celebrated that Christ had set him free from being under the control of that sinful nature. As you journal, consider: How does your relationship with Christ set you free from your own sin nature? How could you describe that to a nonbeliever?
If you look up the word transformation in a thesaurus, you’ll find some of the following synonyms: • metamorphosis • radical change • revolution • refitting • about-face • conversion Which of these terms makes the most sense in describing your transformation in Christ? At the end of this chapter, review your response. Does the passage change your understanding? How so?
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Pause to Pray:
Justified with Christ
Thank God for His gift of grace that you cannot earn, for the abundance of the gift so freely given, and for the love that He shows you when you are unsuccessful in controlling the sin in your life.
Read Acts 13:38–41. Throughout his ministry, Paul taught about being justified (made right) in Christ. In this passage, he reminded the Jewish worshippers at the Temple in Jerusalem that they could not find justification in anything they could do but only in what Christ had already done. As you journal, consider: What does it mean to you to be given the gift of being made right with God? How does that impact your relationship with Christ?
New Relationship (Gal. 2:15-18) Faith in Christ transforms our relationship with God. The early Church knew that the question of following Jewish Law, especially the act of circumcision, was going to create problems for Gentile believers. Therefore, the Church leaders met in Jerusalem to decide what was necessary. (See Gal. 2:1–8 for Paul’s account of that meeting.) Paul must have been frustrated at having to deal with this same issue once again. You can feel that frustration as you read verse 15. Paul began by stating that “we” (meaning himself and Peter) knew that salvation could not be earned through following the Jewish Law but only through faith in Christ. In fact, Paul stated, the Law could do nothing for them; only through Jesus could they become justified— or be made right with God (v. 16). Although believers could never be obedient enough to become right with God, they could be given that righteousness through Jesus’ sacrifice for them on the cross.
Pause to Pray:
justification (dikaioma)
Thank God for His gift of grace that you cannot earn, for the abundance of the gift so freely given, and for the love that He shows you when you are unsuccessful in controlling the sin in your life.
Justification is the declaring of a person to be just or righteous. In the ancient courts, justification referred to a person who was tried and acquitted. Paul used the term to describe the action by which God declares the guilty sinner to be innocent and restores the relationship between Himself and humans. All persons are justified or made right with God by faith in Christ, whose atoning death on the cross made salvation available. Justification not only gives the believer a new status before God but a new character as well.
New Life (Gal. 2:19-21)
Paul then answered the obvious question: Since we’re sinners, does that mean that Jesus promotes sin in our lives? The real question was this: If we can’t earn God’s love through obedience, can’t we live any way that we want to live? Paul answered, “Absolutely not!” (v. 17) This phrase can also be translated as “Let it not be!” or “By no means!” Neither of these translations, however, adequately conveys the shock that Paul felt at the very suggestion. Paul explained that if we go back to a life of sin, hindering that which was created in Christ, we have only proven that we are sinners (v. 18).
Faith in Christ transforms our life. To explain this new life, or identity, that we have in Christ, Paul explained that he had already died to the Law and accepted that he could not control his own desires in order to live in Christ (v. 19). In fact, Paul exclaimed that this death allowed Christ to live within—and even to take over—his life. Therefore, everything that Paul did in his life was now given over to Christ (v. 20). 3
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Freedom in Christ
die (apothnesko) This term has differing uses throughout the Bible. It can literally mean “to die a natural death.” It can also mean “to be dead to something specific,” like sin. In Galatians 2:20, Paul had abandoned sin because of his relationship with Christ. In the example of being dead to the Law, the term indicates that the believer no longer depends on the Law for justification and salvation.
Paul’s letter to the Galatian church has been called the Magna Charta of Christian Liberty and the Christian’s Declaration of Independence. That’s because it declared the true freedom that is found in Christ––that salvation releases us from slavery to sin and brings us together as new creatures in Christ. For us humans, it is often difficult to give up control over our lives in order to allow Christ to become the center of who we are. Yet it is that action that is necessary for us to receive our new identities in Christ.
Paul had been given a new life and a new identity in Christ. Paul concluded this section with an important reminder to believers: If believers could do anything on their own to obtain grace, then Christ’s death on the cross would be meaningless and unnecessary!
Read 1 Corinthians 1:22–24. Paul recognized how difficult it was for Jewish believers and Gentile believers to understand the gift of grace. He pointed out their differences in these verses. The Jews wanted miraculous signs (such as the coming of the Messiah) and the Gentiles wanted wisdom in order to debate the idea. Paul knew that both thought processes would cause them to miss out on what God offered them. As you journal, consider: How difficult is it for you to accept this new freedom in Christ? Are you able to accept God’s grace without feeling that you still have to work for it? Why?
Grace through Christ
Read Romans 7:4–6. In his letter to the Romans, Paul explained the result of dying to the Law and living in Christ. Paul pointed out that when we were controlled by sin in our lives, we bore sinful fruit. Being given new life in Christ allows us to bear fruit that reflects our identity in Christ, not of our sinful nature. As you journal, consider: What fruit do you see in your life? Is it fruit that is based on your “old” life before Christ or the “new” life that Christ has given you?
Pause to Pray:
Thank God for the freedom that He provides from keeping a Law that you are incapable of keeping.
FOR FURTHE R THOUGHT
Pause to Pray:
Pray that God will help you see the areas in your life that bear fruit that reflects your new identity in Christ. Ask God to help you reflect your identity in all areas of your life. 5
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“We are justified, not by giving anything to God, what we do, but by receiving from God, what Christ hath done for us.”-William Gurnall
Through Christ, you become new. Everything that you are becomes new as you begin to reflect your identity in Christ. In Transformed, you’ll consider six characteristics of that transformation: ·Your identity is transformed into who you are in Christ. ·Your purpose is transformed to strengthen unity among believers. ·Your citizenship is transformed into a place in God’s kingdom. ·Your actions are transformed to be more like Christ’s. ·Your walk is transformed to demonstrate the light of Christ to the world. ·Your attitude is transformed by imitating the character of Christ. Transformed gives you the opportunity to delve into the character of Christ and to examine how you are Transformed into a new identity in Him. Allow this study to help you focus on your identity in Christ and how He continues to help you to be Transformed into His image.