Identity and The Christian: Why Worldview Matters (part 2)
“Who do you say that I am?” (For context, see Matthew 16:13–16; Mark 8:27–29; Luke 9:18–20)
Jesus and his disciples were alone. The conversation began with Jesus asking what others had said of his identity. Some supposed he was a new prophet or some kind of incarnate apparition of a former prophet. Jesus then posed this very question to his disciples. Peter, never the shy one, spoke up, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” He was right.
It mattered little what others thought. The disciples were the ones who walked with him and talked with him. Who did they know him to be? Jesus wasn’t trying to figure things out. This was a test of his disciples’ faith, but it was also a divine appointment for us to witness a bold proclamation of truth through the testimony of the Scriptures. Jesus’ identity matters.
I am sure you did not need me to tell you so. As Christians, our whole life rests on the truth of the identity of Christ as the Divine Lord and Suffering Servant; Son of God and Son of Man; crucified for our sins, risen to triumphant victory, seated at the right hand of the Father and coming again soon. If these things were not so, we would be, of all people, most to be pitied.
Identity is an important issue when it comes to us as well. Indeed, it is quite the conversational piece these days. In fact, the subject itself has expanded its boundaries and the criterion for public discourse now includes the possibility of choosing our own identity in a way that differs from certain objective identifying traits and characteristics.
I want to be clear, however, that the issue at stake here goes much deeper than biology, personality and preference. A theological term used to discuss this matter is ontology. Simply put, ontology is concerned with existence and being. In having any discussion of worldview, this gets to the most basic question: “Who am I?”
Review: 3 Basic Questions of Any Worldview
You’ll remember that a worldview is the “lens” through which we view everything and by which we make sense of things. There are 3 basic questions that shape our worldview:
Who am I?
How do I know?
What do I do?
Who am I?
I mentioned in the last article the need to get to the Word on this. Well, here are two verses for starters:
…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.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:26-27
The most concise answer we can give to this first question flows from the very first pages of Scripture:
“Who am I? I am a creature made in the image of Creator God.”
Try having this discussion with someone who does not take the Bible to be the standard of truth and you will quickly find that we are starting from different bases. This response, of course, presupposes the existence of God. Moreover, to be a biblical worldview, it must presuppose the God of the Bible—eternally existing as Father, Son and Spirit. If we deviate from this distinction, then we deviate from the Bible and present an entirely different worldview.
Just these two verses are insufficient to answer the question of identity. We need not only Genesis 1, we need Genesis 3 as well. Though we were created in God’s image, to reflect his glory and rule over his creation (more on that here), this unadulterated state was defiled by our sin. That sin is now carried down to all, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This is our biggest problem.
You could say we have an identity crisis: God made us to live for him and him alone and we, being dead in our sins, are incapable of living the life we were meant to live. It is as Augustine said, “Our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in you.”
But there’s some good news. By the grace of God in the person and work of Jesus “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” there is hope and rest. There is restoration to what has been lost and redemption from what has defiled. Our sinful souls can find solace in Christ.
Our confident response to this most basic question comes directly from Genesis 1, qualified by Genesis 3, and finds remedy in the gospel. Everything else we come to say about anything is based upon these simple yet profound truths. If you’re engaging people with these things, the questions will come. For now, a simple intro to apologetics would suffice.
Why Worldview Matters
I hope that if it was not clear before, it is becoming much clearer now: worldview matters. As Christians, our great desire is to know God and make him known, to “glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” (Westminster Shorter Catechism - Question 1). As such, we ought to work hard to know why we believe what we believe. This is not because our faith lacks power, but because our faith is in the gospel, which is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” Romans 1:16
Christian, this world has a lot to say about identity. Know yours. How you know will be the focus of the next question.
