What God is Doing in Me

Our present task is, as it is sometimes put, to be what we are—to live out what God has wrought in, expressing in action the new life . . . that has now become ours.   —J.I. Packer, Rediscovering Holiness

This list used to be an Identity in Christ list, but as I was revising this page, the list seemed too I-centered. This new, rewritten list has many of the same Scripture references, but the format has changed: for instance, the statement "I am a child of God" has become "God gave me the right to become his child." This change in format recognizes that our new identity springs from the work that God has begun and is completing in us—even as we work with him in the Christian life. In revising the list, I have taken out some of the Scripture references it contained; many of those taken out described what we would become under certain conditions, rather than what we already are. Aside from those verses, I do not think the old list was necessarily wrong, but I do believe this list is better. The original list was compiled from sources that remain on the bibliography, but because of the substantial revisions described above, this new list is original work.

Note that we are not just individuals in the Christian life; we are part of the Church, the body of Christ. However, singular pronouns (I, me, my) are used here in order to help us own the truths that are true for us as well as our neighbor.

This list is my attempt to sketch out what God does in the life of a Christian, according to his Word. It is not intended to inspire high self-esteem. Instead, as Christians, it should inspire us to be grateful for God's gift and work, and maybe—just maybe—to realize that we can't possibly be the pond scum that we may think we are.

If this list looks interesting to you, but you're not a Christian, take a look at what Christianity's about.

God's Work

The Result


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