A Sunday School Lesson On Identity In Christ

Here is a Sunday school lesson or Bible study on the subject of our identity in Christ.

Identified with Christ

Romans 6:3-4 “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

Some believe that when someone is baptized they are identified with Christ. If we are to be identified with Christ or learn about our identity in Christ, then we must understand that we were buried with Him, which is symbolic of the believer’s baptism, and being “baptized into his death” we should “walk in newness of life.” This doesn’t mean walking in perfectness but walking in newness, at least. After having “been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Rom 6:5) because “our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom 6:6).

Does the old man or woman die easily (Rom 7:15-25)?

Should our “newness of life” be obvious?

What does it mean we were baptized into His death?

Being In Christ

Romans 3:23-25 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”

To be in Christ is to really have faith in Christ. God justifies us by His free gift of grace (Eph 2:8-9) but that comes only through the redemptive work of Jesus’ own blood, so it is “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe” (Rom 3:22). We are finally “in Christ” after repentance and faith in Him (Mark 1:15) and believing in the Man of Salvation (John 3:16). The only place to find eternal life (Acts 4:12) is through “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23b). The bottom line: “Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Rom 8:9b-10). If you’re not in Christ you’re still in sin.

Why else besides faith is required to be saved?

What was the main reason Jesus shed His blood for us (Rom 3:25)?

Do you know people who believe that there are “many paths” to God?

Hidden in Christ

Colossians 3:3 “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

The psalmist uses similar language when writing that God “will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock” (Psalm 27:5) and “In the cover of your presence you hide them from the plots of men; you store them in your shelter from the strife of tongues” (Psalm 31:20) but Paul is not speaking about “plots of men.” He is telling us to “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Col 3:5a) and the next few verses show just what those fleshly fruits are (Col 3:5b-9). If your old man or woman has died then your new life in Christ is hidden with Christ in God. That doesn’t mean we are hiding our faith but Christ is hidden in us and it shouldn’t make it hidden to anyone that knows you.

Does being hidden in Christ mean hiding Christ from others?

What is “earthly” in you that you’d like to “put to death?”

Has part of your old self not died yet?

New Creation in Christ

Second Corinthians 5:17 “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

I can’t see how we would be the same person after conversion because 2nd Cor 5:21 says that it was “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Since we’ve become the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ, how can we not be new! The old does pass away; sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, and how fast it happens is determined by each individual and how they yield to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We do know that everyone who’s born again (John 3:3-7) “is a new creation” and “the new has come” but the old still surfaces.

Do you feel and act like “a new creation” in Christ?

Did all of the old things pass away immediately?

Is there any hope of even one person being righteous enough to be accepted by God (Rom 3:10-12, 23).

Conclusion

I urge you in your study to look at all of the Bible verses and read them aloud in the class so that you can get the most out of this lesson and learn more about who we are in Christ Jesus and what our standing is before God. Until we repent and believe we have God’s wrath abiding on us (John 3:36b). That’s not a good state to die in (Heb 9:27). To be identified with Christ means to believe in Him and His Word (the Bible) and know that He lived a sinless life to make the perfect sacrifice for our sins, redeeming us from the wrath of God and taking us to the grace of God.

Do you tell others about Christ?

Is the gospel complete without mentioning repentance and belief (Mark 1:15)?

What have you learned about your identity in Christ?

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.