Dual Identity

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (John 3:6)

Coming from where my thoughts led me yesterday, I see in this verse new perspectives about heritage and identity.

There are a number of different ways to view what this text may be indicating, and it may not be necessary to assume that it must only mean one particular thing. I have heard discussions presenting various interesting ideas about what these words may be implying and most of them have good merit to validate them. Right now what I sense here is that being born of flesh means that I am first born as a human being and being born of the Spirit involves embracing my identity as part of the new race of humans that was formed in the person of Jesus Christ the Son of Man.

What I have been learning in recent years that was never part of my upbringing is the fact that all of humanity has been redeemed at the cross. Jesus revealed on Calvary that God has unconditionally forgiven all sins as far as what is in His heart is concerned. But what remains is the effects of sin in our hearts that yet needs to be removed and healed (the English word forgiven) before we are safe to come into full fellowship with Him.

While it is becoming more clear to me that salvation is far broader and more real than I have ever perceived before, it is also clear that just because everyone has been given eternal life does not automatically mean they will all experience that for eternity. There is a choice that has to be made by each person in regards to this new reality created by Jesus. There is a choice to embrace and experience this thing that Jesus describes as a new birth in order for humans to benefit and accept personally from all that God has put into place to save us from the effects and infection of sin. It is like receiving medicine for fatal illness that is guaranteed to cure us but failing to take that medicine. Unless we believe and continue to embrace the salvation provided for us we can still suffer the wages of sin that infects our hearts and lives.

Looking at this from the perspective of entering fully into a new kind of humanity, I see this verse as alluding to my need to believe both the truths about God and the truths about my own new ancestry in Christ. In fact, it may be that I experience something like dual citizenship, though my loyalty must be firmly placed only on the new family/kingdom that I have been adopted into and not have conflict of loyalties with my old kingdom inherited from sinful Adam. Paul elaborates on this considerably when he talks about the old and new Adams and how it relates to our identity. But all of this is to say that Jesus formed the foundation of this new kingdom and literally fathered in the spirit realm a new race of humans into which everyone is to be adopted or grafted in, whichever analogy we wish to choose.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)

My choices as to how I perceive my heritage through ancestry is very important, for they strongly influence my sense of identity and worth. Humans are wired to cling tenaciously to their association with their ancestors and draw their sense of purpose, identity and destiny from their past. God made us this way, so in order to provide us with a new sense of identity and destiny He also had to provide us with a new history. In this new breed of humanity we can learn that our history can effectively be viewed now as really His-story instead of the sordid past that we assumed was ours by birth from our sinful human fathers.

This is something that I really want to understand and experience much more clearly myself. I was introduced to this a number of years ago and the effect on my spirit was profound. But because it was not real clear and not reinforced enough, the effects on my life have been far too limited. I find myself being reminded of this again as I look at this passage and again desire to experience much more clarity about my true identity in Christ. I want to more deeply rest and rejoice in this new kingdom/race that Jesus is drawing me into.