Sunday School Class // January 14, 2024
View Series
This is a lesson I prepared for a Sunday School class and is based on the video series “The Basics of the Christian Life by Sinclair Ferguson | Ligonier Ministries” (Lesson 2)
Genesis 1:26 (ESV)
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
How would you describe yourself as a Christian?
This is an important question that we must be fully prepared to investigate and truly understand. Our identity in light of God’s declaration in the Bible is vital to our spiritual walk. If we are well grounded with a Biblical understanding of who we truly are in Christ, we will not be easily swayed and led astray by the ever-changing currents of our culture. We must truly reflect and meditate on what God’s word says about our identity and who we are. Two distinct pictures in the Bible help us better understand and answer this question: being a child and being a servant.
Child of God
- Genesis 1:26-28
- Image of God
- Sin leads to spiritual orphans
- Salvation brings spiritual adoption
- New status as a child of God
As Christians, we have a new identity in Christ as adopted children of God. God is now our Father. Our perfect heavenly Father who loves us completely and fully. We tend to fall into the trap of viewing God our Father through the lens of earthly fathers, whether for good or bad. This improper perspective leads us to believe less than what the Bible teaches us about our heavenly Father. Jesus spoke to us in the Gospel of John about the rich love and tender mercies of our good Father. Our heavenly Father is only ever full of love for his children. When we are far off from him, he runs to be with us. When we draw near to him, he draws near to us. He patiently waits for us as He brings correction and discipline in love.
- The Father has given us his Spirit to dwell within us to confirm the rightness of our new identity in Christ.
- How do you find yourself demonstrating your understanding of your identity in Christ?
- How do you find yourself falling into the trap of thinking improperly about your heavenly Father?
Servant of Jesus
- Jesus thought of himself as a servant
- Obedience is the evidence
- Free from the bondage of sin
- Free from the obsession with self
Our understanding of what it means to be a child of God is seen through the life of Christ. Jesus, although he was the only Son of God, he thought of himself as a servant of God. He was fully yielded to the purposes of God. Jesus was so grounded and secure in his identity that he was freely enabled to be a servant. He tells us that evidence of our love for him will be seen in our obedience. For if we love him, then we will obey him. Jesus has rescued us from the dominion of sin and we are now no longer slaves. No longer held in bondage to sin. Through the gospel of Jesus, we are now free. True freedom. And with this freedom, we become obedient children of God. Humbly coming before our loving heavenly Father to yield ourselves to his holy purposes. We come humbly before our true Father. We can do this because we have been set free from sin. We want to do this because we can taste and see the love of the Father through Christ for us. He has set his love on us and made us his children. And we as loving children listen, obey, and trust our loving Father.
- As you reflect upon your life, do you see evidence of your identity in Christ?
- How can you grow in your obedience? What are some steps you can take to start moving forward in this area?
- Come to your Father in humility and repentance. Come humbly before your loving Father and let him heal your wounds and wipe away every tear.