The 8 Arenas – Identity – Galatians 2:20

The 8 Arenas of Life – Week 7: Identity

Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Introduction:

• Who do you think you are?
• That might sound like an accusation
• But today it’s an honest question.
• Because whether we realize it or not,
• We’re all answering that question every day.
• Every decision,
• Every relationship,
• Every fear and
• Every ambition
• It all flows from who we believe ourselves to be.
• And here’s the truth:
• Most of us are walking around
• With broken definitions of identity.
• We define ourselves by what we do:
• “I’m a nurse,
• A teacher,
• A stay-at-home parent,
• A student,
• A business owner.”
• We define ourselves by what’s been done to us:
• “I’m divorced.
• I’m abused.
• I’m overlooked.
• I’m abandoned.”
• We define ourselves by who we’re connected to:
• “I’m a Smith.
• I’m a dad.
• I’m a widow.
• I’m someone’s ex.”
• We define ourselves by how we feel:
• “I’m anxious.
• I’m depressed.
• I’m confident.
• I’m overwhelmed.”
• But what happens when those things change?
• When the job goes away?
• When the relationship ends?
• When the emotions spiral?
• When your strength gives out?

If your identity is built on something that can be lost, your sense of worth will always be fragile.

• And far too many people
• Even in the church
• Are trying to hold their lives together
• With broken pieces of identity.
• But the good news today is this:
• Jesus doesn’t just save us
• He gives us a whole new identity.
• In Christ, you don’t have to wonder who you are.
• You don’t have to chase the approval of others.
• You don’t have to build your worth on performance
• Or pretend you’re someone you’re not.
• Instead, Galatians 2:20
• Gives us the anchor for this entire message:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.”

• That’s the identity we’re invited into.
• Not just something you work toward,
• But something you receive because of Jesus.
• It’s not earned.
• It’s not performed.
• It’s rooted in the love of the One
• Who gave Himself for you.

Series Connection:

• We’ve been walking through the 8 Arenas of Life
• Eight domains that every person navigates.
• And we’ve asked:

What Would Our Lives Look Like If Jesus Were The One Voice We Followed In Every Arena?

We’ve looked at:

• Our influences,
• Our relationships,
• Our politics,
• Our education,
• Our money,
• And our work…
• But today
• May be the most important arena of all
• IDENTITY
• Because how you view your identity
• Shapes how you live in every other area.
• And here’s the truth:
• We are all being discipled.
• Every day,
• Someone—or something—is shaping how we see ourselves.
• Culture tells us:
• “Be true to yourself.”
• Social media tells us:
• “Curate a better version of yourself.”
• Achievement tells us:
• “You are what you do.”
• Failure tells us:
• “You’ll never be enough.”
• But what does Jesus tell us?
• Because when Jesus becomes your One Voice,
• Your identity becomes rooted
• Not in how you feel,
• Not in what you do
• But in who He says you are.

The Identity Triangle

• To help us see this clearly,
• We’ll be using a visual framework we’ve taught before:
• The Identity Triangle. (SLIDE 1)
• This tool shows us what’s true in Scripture:
• At the top: God sees us through the finished work of Jesus.
• On the right: That identity in Christ is given to us, not earned by us.
• At the bottom: Our obedience and actions flow from our identity, not the other way around.
• But when we go backward (SLIDE 2)
• When we start with behavior
• And try to earn our way up
• We distort the gospel.
• We turn identity into performance.
• We make God’s favor something to be achieved, not received.

And so today, we’re going to ask:

• What does God say about who we are?
• What lies have we believed?
• And how does Jesus give us the identity we’re longing for?
• Let’s begin at the top of the triangle:
• How does God see us because of Jesus?
• Because once you know how God sees you,
• It changes everything.

Let’s look at Point 1…

Point 1: God Sees You Through Jesus

• Let’s go back to our anchor text—Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

• That verse is a declaration of identity.
• Paul is saying:
• “My life isn’t mine anymore.
• I’m not defined by my past, or by my performance.
• I’m defined by Jesus.”
• If you’ve placed your trust in Christ,
• God no longer sees you through the lens of your sin
• He sees you through the perfection of His Son.
• He sees you as forgiven, loved, chosen, adopted, clean, holy, and secure.
• Not because of what you’ve done,
• But because of what Jesus has done on your behalf.
• Let’s pause here
• Because this is where so many people get stuck:
• We might say, “Yeah, I know God loves me…”
• But deep down,
• We believe He’s disappointed in us.
• We believe God is always watching us with a raised eyebrow.
• We believe we’re barely hanging on to His approval.
• So we start performing.
• Trying harder.
• Pretending more.
• But here’s the gospel truth:

God the Father is just as pleased with you as He is with His Son Jesus—because you are in Christ.

• Let that sink in.
• When Jesus was baptized, the Father said:

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

• And because of the gospel,
• That statement is now true of you.
• Not because of your resume.
• Not because you “got it together.”
• But because of Jesus.

Ephesians 2:4–6 (CSB) says:

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses.
You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus.”

• This means right now
• You are seated with Christ.
• That’s how secure your identity is in Him.
• You’re not earning your spot at the table.
• You’re not performing for love.
• You are seen and loved because Jesus gave Himself for you.

So What Does This Mean for You?

• First
• Here’s what it doesn’t mean:
• It doesn’t mean your sin doesn’t matter.
• It doesn’t mean you’re perfect.
• It doesn’t mean there’s nothing to repent of.
• But it means your relationship with God isn’t fragile.
• It’s not built on how you did this week.
• It’s built on Jesus
• Who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).
• So when the Father looks at you
• He sees Jesus.
• And He says, “This is my son… this is my daughter… with whom I am well pleased.”

Identity Triangle Connection

• This is the top of the triangle:
• How God sees us because of Jesus.
• It’s the foundational truth everything else is built on.
• Because when your identity starts here
• Your life changes.
• You stop chasing people’s approval.
• You stop trying to earn what’s already been given.
• You live from love…not for it.
• So if God sees you as His child through Jesus
• If He speaks beloved identity over you
• Not because of what you’ve done
• But because of what Jesus has done…
• Then the next question becomes:
• Can you receive it?
• Can you believe it?
• Can you live like it’s true?
• So how do we shift our hearts to actually receive this identity?
• That brings us to Point 2….

Point 2: You Can Receive What God Says About You—Because of Jesus

• Let’s return to our anchor text—Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

• Let’s slow down here
• Because this phrase might sound strange
• If you didn’t grow up in church.
• What does it mean to be crucified with Christ?
• Paul isn’t saying he physically died on a cross.
• He’s saying that when he put his faith in Jesus
• His old self was put to death.
• The version of him that was trying to earn God’s love,
• Striving to be good enough,
• Ashamed of his past
• That person died.
• It’s like this:
• When Jesus went to the cross,
• He didn’t just die for you
• He died as you.
• He took your place.
• He carried your sin.
• He paid your debt.
• And when you trust in Him,
• His death becomes your death
• And His life becomes your life.
• This is what it means to be crucified with Christ.
• The moment you surrender to Jesus,
• Your identity is no longer based on your story
• It’s based on His.
• Your old identity
• Formed by sin,
• Shame,
• Insecurity, and
• Performance—is buried.
• And the new you rises in His resurrection power.
• Let’s keep going in the verse…

The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

• Paul says something radical here:

“I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

• Let that sink in:
• Jesus loved you.
• He gave Himself for you.
• That’s not a vague idea—it’s personal.
• You’re not just part of a crowd.
• You’re not just tolerated.
• You are deeply and personally loved by the King of Kings.
• And when you and I believe that
• When the gospel moves from information to transformation
• Everything about how you see yourself begins to change.
• This is the right side of the Identity Triangle:
• How God Sees Us.
• Because of what Jesus has done
• Not what you’ve done
• God sees you:
• As His child (Romans 8:16)
• As holy and chosen (1 Peter 2:9)
• As a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• As seated in the heavenlies (Ephesians 2:6)
• As one in whom He delights (Matthew 3:17)
• And all of that is because you’ve been united to Christ.
• But here’s the challenge:
• Some of us are still living like our old selves.
• We may have placed our faith in Jesus,
• But we’re still trying to earn identity by what we do.
• And that’s going backwards on the triangle.
• Instead of receiving God’s view of us through Jesus,
• We’re trying to impress Him by our performance.
• But here’s the truth:
• Obedience doesn’t earn your identity
• It flows from it.
• You don’t obey to become a child of God.
• You obey because you already are a child of God.
• …If your identity is based on what you do,
• Then every failure will wreck you.
• But if your identity is based on what Jesus has done,
• Then even in failure,
• You remain secure.
• That’s the gospel difference.
• And when you receive it
• When you trust what Jesus has done
• More than you trust how you feel
• It unlocks freedom, joy, and peace.
• You no longer have to strive to be someone.
  You get to rest in who you already are.
• Ask yourself this morning:
• Are you living like your old self
• Or like someone crucified with Christ?
• Are you trying to earn God’s love—or receive it?
• Can you hear the voice of the Father saying,
• “You are My beloved child, and I am well pleased”?
• But here’s the next question:
• If we know how God sees us
• And if we receive that identity by faith

What does that actually produce in our lives?

• Do we just sit around in holy contentment?
• Or does it move us into action?
• That’s the final movement of the triangle
• And our next point…

Point 3: Obedience Flows from Identity—Not for It

• This is where it all comes together.
• Top of the triangle: God sees you through Jesus.
• Right side: You receive that identity as a gift
• Not something you earn.
• And now, at the bottom of the triangle:
• You live in obedience because of who you are in Christ
• Not to become someone in Christ.
• Let’s go back one more time to Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God,
who loved me and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

• Paul says:
• The life I live now—I live by faith.
• That faith doesn’t stay internal.
• It becomes a lifestyle.
• It shapes how I live,
• How I speak,
• How I love,
• How I work,
• How I resist sin,
• How I forgive.
• Let’s make this really clear:
• We are not saved because we obey.
• But when we are saved (confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised from the dead)
• When we know who we are in Jesus
• We can’t help but obey.
• Obedience becomes the overflow of identity,
• Not the pathway to get it.
• Let me say it this way:

The Christian life is not about earning God’s love. It’s about living in light of the love you already have.

• This is where many believers get stuck.
• Instead of starting at the top of the triangle
• (God sees me through Jesus),
• We start at the bottom—with obedience.
• We say: “If I just read my Bible more…”
• “If I could clean up this habit…”
• “If I was a better parent, better spouse, better Christian…”
• “Then maybe I’d be worthy.
• Then maybe God would be pleased with me.”
• But listen
• When you start at the bottom,
• You’re going backwards on the triangle.
• You’re trying to earn what Jesus already gave.
• That leads to legalism, burnout, and shame.
• And worst of all
• It keeps Jesus out of the center of your identity.
• But when you start at the top
• “God sees me through Jesus”
• And receive that truth into your heart
• Then obedience becomes a joy, not a burden.

Look at 2 Corinthians 5:17 (CSB):

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”

• New identity…
• New heart…
• New way of life.
• The gospel changes not only how God sees you
• But how you live.
• So what does this look like practically?
• When your identity is rooted in Jesus…
• You fight sin
• Not to prove your worth,
• But because Jesus has already made you holy.
• You forgive others
• Not because they deserve it,
• But because you’ve been forgiven.
• You serve faithfully
• Not for applause,
• But because you’ve been served by Christ.
• You share the gospel
• Not to earn favor,
• But because you’ve been rescued.
• You live in freedom
• Not in fear of losing love,
• But secure in what can’t be taken.

Identity Triangle – Bottom Line

• The bottom of the triangle
• Represents the obedience
• That flows naturally when you know who you are.
• Because God sees you through Jesus (top),
• And you’ve received that by faith (right),
• You now walk in obedience
• Not to earn love,
• But because you already have it.
• You don’t obey for identity.
• You obey from identity.
• That’s the gospel difference.
• That’s the fuel for transformation.
• And that’s the way of Jesus.

Conclusion:

• Everything we’ve walked through today
• That God sees you through Jesus,
• That your identity is secure because of what He has done,
• And that your obedience flows from that identity, not to earn it
• None of that would be possible without the gospel.
• And none of it is temporary.
• Because this identity we’ve been talking about?
• It’s not built on shifting feelings or personal performance.
• It’s built on a covenant.
• What is this covenant?
• This covenant is not like a contract between two equals.
• It’s not, “I’ll do my part if you do yours.”
• A covenant is a sacred, binding promise
• Established by God
• One that God initiates, God secures, and God keeps,
• Even when we stumble.
• In the gospel,
• God made a covenant with you.
• He did this through Jesus
• His perfect Son
• So that when God the Father looks at your life,
• He doesn’t see your shame,
• He doesn’t see your striving,
• He sees Jesus.
• Just like at Jesus’ baptism, when the Father said,

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased…” (Matthew 3:17)

• That same declaration is now true over you
• Not because of what you’ve done,
• But because you are in Christ.

That’s why the Identity Triangle matters.

• Let’s walk it through again
• But now, in light of the covenant:
• Top of the Triangle:
• God the Father sees you through Jesus.
• That’s the starting point.
• Your identity is not earned
• It’s received.
• You are a son or daughter because of what Jesus has done.
• Right Side of the Triangle:
• Your identity is sealed in Christ.
• You are adopted, forgiven, accepted, and made new.
• Nothing can change that
• Because it’s based on covenant, not your record.
• Bottom of the Triangle:
• From that identity flows your obedience
• Not to earn favor,
• But to live in response to the love you’ve already been given.
• Left Side (the wrong way):
• But many try to go backwards
• Starting with obedience to earn identity.
• That’s religion.
• That’s legalism.
• And it never works.
• It disconnects us from grace and drains us of joy.
• So what’s the invitation?
• It’s to stop striving.
• To stop proving.
• To stop building your life on titles,
• Roles,
• Achievements, or
• Failures.
• And to start living like someone
• Who’s been named, claimed, and loved by the King.
• Because that’s who you are:

“I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
—Galatians 2:20 (CSB)

• You don’t have to find your identity anymore.
• You’ve been given one.
• A covenant identity.
• A cross-purchased name.
• A forever-secured place in the family of God.
• You are not what you do.
• You are not who others say you are.
• You are not your failures or your achievements.
• You are a beloved child of God
• Because of Jesus.
• So live from that identity, not for it.
• And let your life become a declaration
• Of the God who gave everything to bring you home.
• Let’s take a moment now—just between you and God.
• You’ve heard truth today.
• Not just advice.
• Not just motivation.
• But gospel reality.
• So the question is:
• Will you live from it?
• Let’s reflect:

1. Who or what has been shaping your identity lately?

• Is it your job?
• Your parenting?
• Your failures?
• Your friends?
• Your past?

Ask the Holy Spirit to show you what you’ve been listening to—
and whether it aligns with how the Father sees you through Jesus.

2. Have you been trying to earn God’s love through obedience?

That’s going backward on the triangle.

Ask yourself:

• “Am I trying to be good enough so God will accept me?”
• “Do I feel like God is disappointed unless I perform?”

Bring that to Jesus right now.
Let go of that burden—and rest in your covenant identity

3. Where is Jesus inviting you to respond with obedience—because of who you already are?

• Maybe He’s calling you to forgive.
• Or confess.
• Or love someone who’s difficult.
• Or stop striving to prove yourself.

Whatever it is, don’t do it to earn love—
Do it because you already have it.

4. What would your week look like if you really believed…

“I am seen, known, loved, and accepted in Jesus.”

How would you speak to yourself?

How would you handle failure?

How would you respond to criticism?

How would you treat others?

That’s the invitation.
To let your identity in Christ shape everything else.

PRAY!!

Father,

Thank You that my identity is not fragile.
It’s not based on what I’ve done.
It’s not hanging by a thread.

It’s sealed in Jesus.

Thank You that when You see me,
You see Your Son—
And You say, “This is My beloved child.”

Help me live like it.
Help me walk in the freedom You’ve already given.
And when I forget,
Draw me back to the cross—
Back to the covenant,
Back to the grace that changes everything. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.