New Identity in Jesus 主里新身份
Dexu Xia
See what great love the Father has lavished on us. 1 John 3:1
“I’m not who I once was. I’m a new person.” Those simple words from my son, spoken to students at a school assembly, describe the change God made in his life. Once addicted to heroin, Geoffrey previously saw himself through his sins and mistakes. But now he sees himself as a child of God.
The Bible encourages us with this promise: “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). No matter who we’ve been or what we’ve done in our past, when we trust Jesus for our salvation and receive the forgiveness offered through His cross, we become someone new. Since the garden of Eden, the guilt of our sins has separated us from God, but He has now “reconciled us to himself through Christ,” “not counting” our sins against us (vv. 18–19). We are His dearly loved children (1 John 3:1–2), washed clean and made new in the likeness of His Son.
Jesus liberates us from sin and its dominating power and restores us into a new relationship with God—where we’re free to no longer live for ourselves but “for him who died for [us] and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:15). On this New Year’s Day, let’s remember that His transforming love compels us to live with new identity and purpose. It helps us point others to our Savior, the One who can make them new people too!
By: James Banks
What does it mean to you that a new beginning is possible with God? How can you live as His “new creation”?
Abba, Father, thank You for sending Your Son to save me. Please send me to someone who needs You too.
你看父赐给我们是何等的慈爱！—约翰一书3章1节
“我不再是从前的我了，现在的我是新造的人。”这是我儿子杰夫在一次学校集会上，向学生们描述上帝在他生命中的改变。杰夫曾是个海洛因成瘾者，他从前是以所犯的罪和错误来看待自己，但现在他视自己为上帝的儿女。
圣经也用此应许来激励我们：“若有人在基督里，他就是新造的人，旧事已过，都变成新的了”（哥林多后书5章17节）。无论我们曾是怎么样的人，也无论过去曾做过什么，当我们相信耶稣已拯救我们，且接受祂藉着被钉十架所赐的赦免，你我就成为新造的人。自从人类始祖被赶出伊甸园之后，我们的罪使你我与上帝隔离，但如今上帝“藉着基督使我们跟祂和好”，不将我们的过犯“归到”我们身上（18-19节）。我们是祂挚爱的儿女（约翰一书3章1-2节），我们的罪孽被洗净，成为有基督生命的新造之人。
耶稣拯救我们脱离罪，以及罪的权势，使我们与上帝有了新的关系──我们不再为自己而活，乃是为替我们死而复活的主而活（哥林多后书5章15节)。在元旦的这一天，让我们回想上帝那改变生命的爱，激励我们活出新的身份和目标，好叫我们能引导别人认识这位救主，祂能使他们成为新造的人！
作者： 庞雅各
上帝能使你有一个新的开始，对你有何意义？
你要如何像“新造的人”那样生活？
当我们接受耶稣白白赐下的宽恕与和好时，恐惧和沉重的负担都会成为过去，取而代之的是新的希望！
阿爸天父，感谢祢
差派祢的爱子来拯救我，
请祢也差派我往需要祢的人那里去。