Our Identity - Neil Anderson

I have seen some criticism of Neil Anderson, mostly centering around the idea of whether or not we continue to be sinners, even after being saved. We know that the Kingdom of God is our new reality, yet we still live in the world. It is God who tells us who we are, and Scripture is full of identity verses.

The problem is that the Western intellectual discipline tends to be binary, that is, either/or. Much about God and His Kingdom cannot be dealt with on a binary basis, so it is no surprise that there is tension regarding the nature of sin. I suggest that there is no requirement that we reconcile the two natures.

In any event, we have to deal with the truth of these many biblical statements about who we are. Our identity is now in Christ, which makes each of these statements a description of how God sees us. It is for us to agree with God, it is our choice and our obligation:

1) Romans 8:5: "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."

2) Colossians 3:1-2: "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."

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Who Am I ?

(Taken from Neil T. Anderson's book, Victory Over the Darkness Pg. 45-47 and 57-69, Regal Books, 1990)

I am the salt of the earth (Matt.5:13)

I am the light of the world (Matt.5:14)

I am a child of God (John 1:12)

I am a part of the true vine, a channel of Christ's life (John 15:1,5)

I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)

I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit (John 15:16)

I am a slave to righteousness (Romans 6:18)

I am enslaved to God (Romans 6:22)

I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father (Romans 8:14,15; Gal. 3:26; 4:6)

I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him (Romans 8:17)

I am a temple a dwelling place of God. His Spirit and His life dwells in me (1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19)

I am united to the Lord and am one Spirit with Him (1 Cor.6:17)

I am a member of Christ's Body 1 Cor. 12:27; Eph.5:30)

I am a new creature (2 Cor. 5: 17)

I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5: 18,19)

I am a son of God and one in Christ ( Gal. 3: 26,28)

I am an heir of God since I am a son of God (Gal. 4: 6,7)

I am a saint ( Eph. 1:1; 1Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2)

I am God's workmanship-His handiwork-born anew in Christ to do His work (Eph. 2:10)

I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God's family ( Eph.2:19)

I am a prisoner of Christ (Eph. 3:1; 4:1)

I am righteous and holy (Eph.4:24)

I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now (Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:6)

I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:4)

I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life (Col.3:4)

I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved (Col.3:12; 1 Thess.1:4)

I am a son of light and not of darkness (1 Thess. 5:5)

I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling (Heb.3:1)

I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life (Heb. 3:14)

I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as s spiritual house (1 Peter 2:5)

I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of God's own possession (1Peter 2:9,10)

I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live (1 Peter 2:11)

I am a enemy of the devil (1 Peter 5:8)

I am a child of God and I will resemble Christ when He returns (1 John 3: 1,2)

I am born of God, and the evil one - the devil - cannot touch me (1 John 5:18)

I am not the Great I AM, (Exodus 3:14; John 8:24,28,58) But by the grace of God I am what I am (1 Cor.15:10)

I have been justified- completely forgiven and made righteous (Romans 5:1)

I died with Christ and died to the power of sin’s rule over my life (Romans 6:1-6)

I am free forever from condemnation (Romans 8:1)

I have been placed into Christ by God’s doing (1 Corinthians 1:30)

I have received the Spirit of God into my life that I might know the things freely given to me by God (! Corinthians 2:12)

I have been given the mind of Christ (! Corinthians 2:16)

I have bought with a price; I am not my own; I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

I have been established, anointed and sealed by God in Christ, and I have been given the Holy

Spirit as a pledge guaranteeing our inheritance to come (II Corinthians 1:21, Ephesians 1:13-14)

Since I have died, I no longer live for myself, but for Christ (II Corinthians 5:14-15)

I have been made righteous (II Corinthians 5:21)

I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I am now living is Christ’s life (Galatians 2:20)

I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3)

I was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and am without blame before him (Ephesians 1:4)

I was predestined - determined by God - to be adopted as God’s son (Ephesians 1:5)

I have been redeemed, forgiven, and I am a recipient of His lavish grace. I have been made alive together with Christ (Ephesians 2:5)

I have been raised up and seated with Christ in heaven (Ephesians 2:6)

I have direct access through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:18)

I may approach God with boldness, freedom and confidence (Ephesians 3:12)

I have been rescued from the domain of Satan’s rule and transferred to the kingdom of Christ (Colossians 1:13)

I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. The debt against me has been canceled (Colossians 1:14)

Christ Himself is in me (Colossians 1:27)

I am firmly rooted in Christ and am now being built in Him (Colossians 2:7)

I have been spiritually circumcised. My old, unregenerate nature has been removed. (Colossians 2:11)

I have been made complete in Christ (Colossians 2:10)

I have been buried, raised and made alive with Christ (Colossians 2:12-13)

I died with Christ and I have been raised up with Christ. My life is now hidden with Christ in God. Christ is now my life (Colossians 3:1-4)

I have been given a spirit of power, love and self-discipline (II Timothy 1:7)

I have been saved and set apart according to God’s doing (II Timothy 1:9, Titus 3:5)

Because I am sanctified and am one with the sanctifier, He is not ashamed to call me brother (Hebrews 2:11)

I have the right to come boldly before the throne of God to find mercy and grace in time of need (Hebrews 4:16)

I have been given exceedingly great and precious promises by God by which I am a partaker of God’s divine nature (II Peter 1:4)