Reflections on Identity - Romans 8
“So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons and daughters. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—seeing that we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
- Romans 8:1-17
The world wants to exert its influence on us and constantly push us to partner with fear - to be ruled by fear (1 John 5:19, Eph 2:2-3). In its simplest definition, fear is rooted in separation and distance from God; this is the agenda of the ruler of the world. The Spirit of God wants us to experience and live into His peace (John 14:27) and abundant life (John 10:10) on offer by becoming ever-closer to God through Jesus.
So here we exist, slap bang in the centre of this battle; this is the essence of every single spiritual attack and battle we face and stand against. Jesus says “come to Me” no matter what’s going on, or how we’re feeling - His invitation is constant and always open to us. On the other hand, every single spiritual agenda of the enemy is to drive us away from Jesus, as the devil knows that he is defeated and ever-powerless the closer we get (and stay) to Jesus. Satan knows that if we open a door to shame, guilt or any other weapon of his, then he can use that to force us away from God’s loving presence, guidance and protection, by keeping us in the darkness of fear. His agenda is ‘hide, run away’ (Gen 3:1-14), but Jesus’s agenda is “Come to Me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest…” (Matt 11:28-29).
I don’t know of any more spiritually debilitating burdens than shame & guilt. But Jesus says specifically that if you are wrestling with these heavy weights and wearied by them to come to Him. He wants us to bring into the light what the enemy wants us to keep hidden. In fact, in His own extravagantly epic way Jesus declares to us that these things, which form the essence of condemnation, no longer need exist for us (Romans 8:1). For in His marvellous light (2 Peter 2:9b) there is rest, closeness to and help straight from the hand of Him who instantly disarms the darkness, and removes the fear that so often cloaks us and keeps us from running to, and staying right next to our Lord and Saviour.
“Where can I go to escape Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, You are there.
If I live at the eastern horizon, or settle at the western limits,
Even there Your hand will lead me; Your right hand will hold on to me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”—
Even the darkness is not dark to You. The night shines like the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You.”
- Psalm 139 :7-10
This is why finding the space, setting aside the time, and stepping into that quiet place with the Lord is hard. I want to encourage you to not pre-condemn yourself for feeling and sensing that - it’s just a reality that we live in, and it isn’t personal to you. We may get more practised at the rhythm, or find ourselves in a season of favour, but it’s never ‘easy.’
Think about this - every time you posture intentionally towards spending time with the Lord, you are stepping onto the front-line of battle.
But here’s the thing, God’s word tells us that we are equipped with weapons that are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds (2 Cor 10:4), and that we exist as more than just conquerors, more than just victorious (Romans 8:37). These weighty truths are just the beginning for us - the tip of the iceberg. But we can only partner with them (and the more) if we align ourselves in faith to these truths that God speaks over us. Therefore stand (Eph 6:11) and believe - the rest is up to God, and the battle is His (2 Chron. 20:17).
This first and most important of spiritual battles happens in each of us personally, in our innermost being, and is wholly centred around claiming, believing in, and walking out your true kingdom identity. This is the game-changer. Walk in your true Jesus-identity and everything else will flow from this. Remember He is constantly working within us to transform us into more of His likeness (2 Cor 3:18), ever-strengthening us in our innermost beings (Eph 3:16), building us into His royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) as people who are defined by a Spirit of power, love and deep revelation of Him (2 timothy 1:7).
