Genesis 2:24 25 Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
Genesis 3:6-11 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
In creation – God created a man in His image and likeness to represent Him. The invisible God is made visible by His sons on the earth. Genesis 2:27 So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them.
Hebrews 1:1-4 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
Romans 8:19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. (Made open, for the sons of God to be made visible – actual – plainly recognized, visible- that is the son of God) at the cross Matthew 27:54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”) Jesus in the days of His flesh fully embraced his identity as a son of God, at His death we see others declaring that who He said He was, was true- a son of God. Romans 8:19 implies fully embracing Christ as my new identity and decisively moving away from that which defined me before. To accept wholeheartedly that I am a son of God, I take into my hands the new identity that is not born of natural descent, not a human decision or husband will but born of God – that is my identity positionally when I come into Christ and practically as I effectively live my life from Him as Paul says in Galatians 2 I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. The decisions I make must be examined in the light of this new identity to see if they pass the test. When I speak you know I am from Kenya – my mannerisms, food, and accent betray where I come from- my source.
Biblical definition is that shame is a consequence of sin. Sin we have said previously is “missing the mark”. Breaking the boundary that God Himself has set for us. This is what we see happening with Adam and Eve after they sinned. Shame entered the picture. Joshua Finley says “Shame doesn’t just want to remind you of WHAT you’ve done, it wants to reshape how you think about WHO you are. Guilt deals with activity. Shame revolves around identity.”
Before Adam and Eve sinned, we them enjoying their, lives as sons of God. The temptation in the garden is centered around the self. In an environment where man had everything from the Source- His Father, contrary thoughts are introduced that exalt “self” independent from God. We see man’s position usurped, we see man’s provision and protection affected by the change in this position. Man missed the mark. Thamo Naidoo defines sin as wandering from the path of uprightness and honor! To sin I must know the target/boundary/mark. Man shall live by every word that proceeds from the Word of the LORD. A quick example from the temptations of Jesus illustrates the mark and not missing it.
Matthew 4:3-7 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6 “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:” ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.
Jesus in the above temptations does not do anything out of his own human will.
Jesus in John 5:30 is showing us the heart position of a man who does not miss the mark since sin is truly a heart issue. By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but Him who sent me.
Romans 10:11NIV As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
Romans 10:11 AMPC For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations].”
Ephesians 2:10 NIV For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 Mirror We are engineered by his design; He molded and manufactured us in Christ. We are His workmanship, His (1)poetry. We are (2)fully fit to do good, equipped to give attractive evidence of his likeness in us in everything we do.
God finds inspired expression of Christ in us. The Greek word for workmanship is 1poeima. God has done everything possible to find spontaneous and effortless expression of His character in us in our everyday lifestyle.
The word “fully fit”, 2proetoimatso, translates a notion that God has prepared a highway for us to lead us out like kings, just like the Oriental custom, where people would go before a king to level the roads to make it possible for the king to journey with ease and comfort. Isa 40:3-5.)
Timothy Keller has said that to have an identity is to have something sustained that is true of you in every setting. I love this! Christ is my truth, my worth, The Word of God tells me who I am, and what I do with what His word tells me determines my future. Someone has said that Paul’s philosophy of my identity as a believer begins with an obituary! I am dead as we read in Galatians 2. My life meaning, my life purpose is Christ. What does it mean to live in the death of Christ – we will explore as we reflect on identity
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