Category: Identity

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.” Believe it or not, that was basically what the church of the city of Corinth told the Apostle Paul in the spring of A.D. 56. This was tragic because this was a church that Paul himself had founded just six years earlier. What got them to that point? Basically, Paul called some of the members out on sexual sin that was going unchecked in the church, and in multiple ways, they did not respond well. He visited them, they rejected him, and they sent him on his way. He wrote them a letter confronting this sin once again in love. And this time, he had to wait to find out what happened. His co-worker, Titus, had been sent to ascertain how the church was doing and was supposed to meet Paul in the city of Troas. But when Paul arrived in Troas, Titus wasn’t there (Acts 20; 2 Corinthians 2). 

So, 2 Corinthians 2:12–13 indicates that Paul was upset and anxious when he could not find out the result of his confrontational letter. Now, to avoid any suspense, I’ll just tell you up front that in chapter 7, Paul indicates that he did catch up with Titus who gave him a great report that all was well between Paul and the Corinthian church. But the big question is: What did Paul do in the meantime? While he was anxious and awaiting word from Titus? He gave thanks, and for a very surprising reason. Paul describes this giving of thanks: “But thanks by to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14). 

“Oh, I get it,” you might say to yourself, “Paul was having victory in the Lord even while he was in this anxious state. And he was acting as the ‘fragrance of Christ,’ a victorious Christian life of confidence and triumph.” And this would be a reasonable assumption given the phrase “triumphal procession.” But his posture or attitude is not one of victory but of surrender. Let me get to that shortly . . . 

Paul was referring to the ancient Roman practice of a victory parade called a triumph. It was a celebration in the city of Rome for a conquering general to parade himself, his army, and the spoils of war before the people of Rome. For weeks before the triumph—which could last as long as three days—scaffolding was erected on the streets of Rome to made “grandstands” of a sort and rolling stages were constructed. On these rolling stages, actors would reenact key battles in the war as the stages were rolled through the streets. Artists worked tirelessly to paint pictures of cities that were conquered to be paraded as well. But the climactic portion of the triumph was the leading of captives from the conquered land. 

In that context, some might say that Paul is asserting his “triumph,” that in Christ, Paul is a winner so to speak. He is like the conquering general or part of the winning army of Christ. But the phrase, “leads us in triumphal procession” is one long word in the Greek text of the New Testament and in this particular form it always refers to the captive, not the conquering army. Paul is not representing himself as a conquering victorious general or soldier in the “army” of Christ. Rather, he pictures himself as a conquered prisoner of Christ. Romans 5:10 says that the Christian was formerly the enemy of God. Ephesians 4:8 says that Christ has led a “host of captives.” But what was the weapon of Christ to take these captives? Second Corinthians 5:14 says the Christian was captured by the love of God. And this love was expressed most fully in the sacrificial death of Christ to make payment for sin.

So, Paul is motivated and eager—even in the midst of pain and suffering—to be the “fragrance of Christ”—to live a life filled with obedience to God and the Bible precisely because he is a captive of Christ Himself. The paradox of the Christian life is that you are dead to yourself and alive to Christ (Galatians 2:20). And your new life in Christ is your greatest motivation to holiness and obedience to the Lord. He is your Master and you have been conquered by His love.

By Dr. Steve Swartz, Senior Teaching Pastor of Grace Bible Church of Bakersfield and featured speaker on Steadfast in the Faith (www.steadfastinthefaith.org).

The struggle of living a holy life in a fallen world can be overcome if believers find their identity in Jesus Christ, instead of some cheap substitute. 

In an interview about his book Dangerous Calling, Paul David Tripp said, “The normal human struggle is “I look for identity horizontally, when I was hardwired by God to get it vertically.” This is a simple concept, but it is incredibly profound. If a Christian understands that his identity is wrapped up in Christ, then he is mentally equipped to resist the desires of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The apostle Paul understood this. He wrote, “Whatever gain I had I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Philippians 3:8 ESV) Paul was able to write “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” because his identity was centered upon the person of Jesus Christ. Instead of finding purpose in legalistic religious tradition, Paul was consumed with serving Jesus Christ and bringing glory to his heavenly Father.

This really hit me when I was preparing for our church family’s sermon series on Philippians. I was struck with how much time Paul spent helping his readers understand their identity as followers of Christ. He mentions more than a dozen illustrations that help create a vivid picture of how a Christian is supposed to see themselves. 

One of the most powerful illustrations is found in Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.” 

Jesus Christ is our king and we are his citizens. This can be difficult for us to grasp because there is no flag for Heaven. God does not have a political embassy on Pennsylvania Avenue. 

A day is coming when his spiritual kingdom will be gloriously established as a physical domain here on the earth, but until that day comes we have to live as spiritual citizens of heaven. 

This is difficult to do because we are surrounded by a society that constantly distracts us from our spiritual citizenship. As Americans this can be a great struggle because we are taught to ground our identity in our homeland. We are taught to salute our flag and pledge our allegiance to the great ideals that this country was founded on. And I agree that our constitution has a wonderful standard for protecting the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but as Christians we must never forget that those ideals pale in comparison to what awaits us in heaven. 

I think one reason I have been so impacted by this is because I have spent almost half of my life outside of the United States. Whenever I have travelled elsewhere as an adult I have understood that I am an American traveling abroad. I am just visiting. I know these other countries are not my home. I am just a passing through. This mindset has helped me grasp what Paul was talking about in Philippians. As a Christian, my citizenship is in heaven. I am just a sojourner on this world. I am grateful for the time God gives me in the United States, but I know it pales in comparison to what God has in store for us when the Eternal State is established on the earth. Revelation 21:23 says, “And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” 

When life is difficult here on the earth I find great comfort knowing this is not my eternal home. I  can give up the fleeting pleasures of this world because I know lasting treasure is only found in heaven. I pray this will be an encouragement to you today. Remember as a Christian you are a citizen of heaven and that can give you the peace needed while living on this tumultuous earth.