Who am I?
By Phil Haines
Who am I? This is a question that was far more straightforward to answer just a few years ago! Today, particularly in western culture, the question of identity has become bound up with the issues of gender and sexuality. As Carl Trueman writes in his latest book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, ‘sexuality is presented as that which lies at the very heart of what it means to be an authentic person.’ This is a huge discussion, which is beyond the scope of this post.
In normal day to day circumstances, when we meet someone for the first time, we introduce ourselves and we give our name. But that is simply to put a name to a face. That is just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to be said. For instance, if you ask me who I am, besides my name, I would say that I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, a pastor of a church and, of critical importance, I am Welsh! The list is not exhaustive, but these vital details give you more information more about me and the various roles that belong to me. But there is one marker of identity that the Apostle Paul tells us is even more important, it is the overarching marker of identification, the one that influences all the others … I am a Christian.
In this post, all I want to do is consider this claim from the perspective of 1 Thessalonians chapter 1v1, where the Apostle Paul writes, “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.” Notice those words, to the church of the Thessalonians “in” God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Greek word for ‘church’ is ekklesia. Taken from the Greek preposition ek (out) and the verb kalein (to call), a literal interpretation may suggest that the ekklesia are those who have been called out from the world. Or even those given new life and separated to God - to be holy, and live lives of worship to Him. Perhaps an even more important interpretation of the word is as it is seen in relation to the Hebrew word which ekklesia translates. This word is qahal and designated the gathering of the congregation of Israel. As such, when the Apostle speaks of the church in this way, Paul sees the Christians to whom he is writing as part of God’s covenant people. Richard Phillips writes that the Thessalonians are thus, “an extension of the ancient people of God who were redeemed in the exodus and called out as a pilgrim nation to serve and worship the Lord.” The Thessalonians had become part of that people through the world-changing redemptive events encompassed in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary’s tree. They were now part of God’s true Israel, bought with the precious blood of Christ, filled with the blessed Holy Spirit.
In this respect, Paul reminds us that the church is not new, it was an entity established by God millennia before, and was growing from one nation of Israel to encompass nations across the earth. As such, the history of God’s people had become the history of the Thessalonians. They could claim for themselves God’s activities in the past that had now brought them into His kingdom. They stood shoulder to shoulder with the saints who came before. Abraham was not the father of the Jews only, but a father of a multitude of nations and the promises that were given to Abraham belonged to them in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
And there is something that is remarkable in these introductory words “to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Let’s not skip over this word ‘in’! What is the significance of it here?
This word ‘in’ is being used here as an identity marker. The Christians in Thessalonica may live there, but that is no longer their identity. Indeed life in Thessalonica had become difficult for them - they were not really welcome in their own city anymore. As Christians they were rejected and despised. They were troublemakers, upsetting the order of things. And Paul, in these words, is encouraging and strengthening the church, he says to the church “do not worry if your own city, your own people reject you, your identity is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” In a similar manner, his epistle to the Galatians, Paul dealing with a controversy which sought to separate people according to gender, nationality and privilege writes, 28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” It is their identity in Christ that is most important.
It reminds me of one of my favourite extra-biblical books on this subject, the Epistle to Diognetus. We do not know who the author is, many early church scholars date it between 150AD and 225AD. It is an apology, a defence of Christianity, and instruction on what it means to be in Christ. In it we read these words: “They live in their own countries, but only as non-residents; they participate in everything as citizens, and endure everything as foreigners. Every foreign country is their fatherland, and every fatherland is foreign… They live on earth, but their citizenship is in heaven… By the Jews they are assaulted as foreigners, and by the Greeks they are persecuted, yet those who hate them are unable to give a reason for their hostility. In a word, what the soul is to the body, Christians are to the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of the body, and Christians throughout the cities of the world. The soul dwells in the body, but is not of the body; likewise Christians dwell in the world, but are not of the world.”
This is a Christian’s reality because though the world has rejected them, their identity is in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. They were now God’s children, they belonged to Him and this was their strength and comfort as they met with opposition and persecution, this was an unassailable truth - God was their Father and nothing and no one could snatch them out of His almighty hands.
And as their identity was in their Father, so it was in their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. The way that Paul writes here reminded the church in Thessalonica that the Jesus Christ was equal to the Father in power, and authority. He is Lord (the name of the covenant keeping God in the Old Testament). Through faith they were now in union with Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit had poured out all the blessings of Christ upon them, the spiritual blessings that the Father had predestined for them from before the foundation of the world and given to them a living hope – they had become Christians, they were identified as followers of Jesus Christ – but it was not a label, it was not a club, it was evidence of salvation and a transformed life. He tells them, “you are Christians.” As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, they were to be subject to Him, citizens of His kingdom, living in solemn obedience to Jesus Christ, and in so doing to live lives of great peace and joy.
To go back to the Epistle to Diognetus: “ They obey the established laws; indeed in their private lives they transcend the laws. They love everyone, and by everyone they are persecuted. They are unknown, yet they are condemned; they are put to death, yet they are brought to life. They are poor, yet they make many rich; they are in need of everything, yet they abound in everything. They are dishonoured, yet they are glorified in their dishonour; they are slandered, yet they are vindicated. They are cursed, yet they bless; they are insulted, yet they offer respect. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when they are punished, they rejoice as though brought to life.”
The writer of this Epistle not only defends Christianity and Christians to a pagan populace, he reminds us of what we are called to be if we identify ourselves as such.
The opening greeting of Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica is full of significance for us as Christians. This status belongs to all people who belong to Jesus Christ and to all churches that worship the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ in Spirit and in truth. This is the identity that belongs to all of us who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is our calling that is to permeate all the roles we have in life. Our identity, then, is not bound up in our nationality, our colour, our gender, our jobs, or whatever. Our true identity comes as those who are in God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, with all the significance that is packed into those words. This is who we are! We are Christians, and this defines our whole lives, and by grace, through faith, our eternal end.
Phil is the Minister of Ely Presbyterian Church (Reformed) in Cardiff
Bibliography
Trueman, Carl, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self
Phillips, Richard, 1 Thessalonians, Reformed Expository Commentary
Holmes, Michael, The Apostolic Fathers in English, The Epistle to Diognetus
