How Do I Define My Identity and Purpose?

We often think that how we grew up or our circumstances define who we are. That is so far from the truth and here is why.

The places we come from do not define us and do not describe us. That job alone lies with the one who created us. He has a future for us and is leading us in that direction. How Jesus sees us and how we see ourselves are very different. We see the mistakes and mess-ups in our lives. For us who switched loyalties and have come back to Him, the most normal thing for God to think is family. This is why He created us.

If we define who we are by circumstances and pains in life, our mess-ups, we will ultimately see failure. We can never measure up to God's standards of perfection. What we can look at, however, is how God sees us.

From the beginning, humanity was driven out of Eden for disobedience. It's not what God wanted. This departure from God's perfect plan began in the supernatural realm, God's first family. The book of Job mentions this as angels He created were spectators when He created Earth. The rebellion began here.

The Satan figure in Eden is more than a serpent. I won't get into the details of this since it's a big discussion but for this discussion, in ancient text and how Genesis' account of Eden is written, scholars see Satan cast as a guardian figure. Serpents, dragons, that sort of description, usually denoted supernatural guardians in ancient literature. Eden itself is seen as God's abode, Heaven on Earth. It's where God dwells and the angels He made. The fact that Eve is talking with Satan without being shocked is because she's not talking to a snake. She's talking to Satan as part of God's host of angels that belong there. Nobody sinned yet so it's one big family.

Satan gets jealous. Some say it's because he disagreed with God on making humans because we're flesh. We aren't like angels and still God made us to be part of His household. Whatever reason, Satan tricks Eve into disobeying God. Adam is right there with her and is not tricked. The blame falls most heavily on Satan and Adam. Satan wanted humans out of the way. Adam wanted autonomy, the same as Satan, making decisions on our own terms without God.

Why does this matter? What does this have to do with identity? Read on.

For us to decide who we are by environmental and physical means will always lead to heartache. We are fallen creatures with desires that leave us empty. There is a place in the Bible that says we were created with this longing for something more. It's a God-sized vacuum of space nothing else will fill. But in our corrupted nature, we want autonomy, to be God in a sense.

Love, in its most basic form, is the sacrifice of our autonomous nature. For God, that is His nature. When you do a careful study of the Bible, you will notice peculiar things pop up in places concerning God. Some of these weird verses that make little sense, when understanding the text itself, and taking it for what it says, you will see that in most cases, God partners and shares His attributes with others.

King Ahab goes to war with a neighboring city. He calls Jehoshaphat to side with him and Jehoshaphat says, where's a prophet of God so we can ask him what the Most High says? King Ahab is perturbed and says, he's in prison because he never prophesies anything good concerning me! The prophet is finally released and comes to them and mocks Ahab, parroting Ahab's own priests. Ahab gets angry and tells him to tell him plainly what he sees.

1 Kings 22:19-23 "And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 23 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”

Notice how God decrees Ahab is going to die. He doesn't say immediately how Ahab will die but leaves it up for discussion. For some, this may sound weird and disturbing. Doesn't God make all the decisions? Ultimately, yes because if you notice, God still has the final say. The spirits (which by the way are "Elohim" in Hebrew denoting spirit beings) were making suggestions. To a modern church person, that is something we never hear about because it's creepy. How can God let others suggest how someone will die?

Guess what? The Bible has this happen a few other times in the Old Testament in reference to deciding things of importance. The book of Daniel is the clearest example.

Daniel 4:16-17 "Let his mind be changed from a man's, and let a beast's mind be given to him; and let seven periods of time pass over him. 17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end that the living may know that the Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men."

"The Watchers" are "Holy Ones" in Hebrew or not human. They are "Elohim." They are part of God's host of spirit beings. "The Watchers" is a title or job description given to these spirit beings. "Angel" literally means "messenger". It's a job description. We think in terms of "Angels" and "Demons." That's a very loose term and bad translation for the heavenly host. The Bible lists several different spirit beings throughout the Bible and uses terms like "angels" and "watchers" depicting the role that they play. The "Watchers", in Daniel, clearly decides what judgment is to be put on the King. A few verses later, Daniel tells the King, this decree comes from the Most High God.

Is the author confused? Did he make a mistake here? No, because it's in line with everything else. The Watchers debated on how to judge the King, they put the decision before God and God says, I agree. Let's do this.

You find this type of discussion sprinkled through the Bible. It's not hard to understand. We simply don't hear this because it's uncomfortable. But this is where we get the understanding of God's family from.

"Sons of God" terminology is a big one in the Bible you will probably never hear talked about but has a direct relation to family as a whole and how God sees humanity. If you go into the Hebrew text and look up all the occurrence of "Sons of God" you will notice something odd.

In Psalm 82, you get this phrase mentioned and immediately you know something is very wrong, that is if you see it in Hebrew. Commentaries across the board say this must mean Jewish elders and leaders. That makes no sense at all in light of the context.

Psalm 82

"God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 2 “How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? 3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute 4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” 5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 6 I said, “You are gods, sons of the Most High, all of you; 7 nevertheless, like men you shall die, and fall like any prince.” 8 Arise, O God, judge the earth; for you shall inherit all the nations!"

Now, a lot of people will say, "Well, this has to mean the Trinity view of God." Uh...is God wicked? That's what you are implying if you use it here. Another view is that this is referring to Jewish elders and leaders. In chapter 89, it implies that the sons of God are ruling in the sky. Jewish elders didn't reign in the sky the last time I read my Bible. So obviously, it is referring to supernatural beings.

Throughout the Old Testament, this phrase "Sons of God" refer almost exclusively to "Elohim." Elohim simply means "supernatural being." An angel is a type of "Elohim." In translation to English, "Elohim" got too bothersome for some and lumped them all together stating "angels are the good guys, demons are the bad guys."

Commentators will say generally that this is referring to Israel but that's a very bad translation when looking at the Hebrew text of the words. You get this idea by looking up all the phrases of "Sons of God" and looking up it's Hebrew counterpart (Elohim). It's always referring to a supernatural entity when written in the Old Testament. It's not talking about Israel or any other human. These are those God is partnering with to get a job done in the Bible. He partners with them and he extends this partnership with Israelite prophets and judges and Kings. The entire identify of humanity is placed within this context in the Bible.

An interesting note I won't go into here is the fact that "Sons of God" terminology changes in the New Testament. Instead of referring to supernatural beings, Christians exclusively are given the name, "Sons of God" with that "Elohim" reference. Why? Because we become part of the original family again.

We are God's Imagers of what Eden is supposed to look like. This "made in the image of God" is a big deal. It defines humanity to the core. What is the Image of God?

The Image is God's characteristics, attributes, which makes God. Who we are as humans is a reflection of the supernatural realm. You will find this reference through the

Bible several times. We are mirror images of what God does with the angels. We have this weird concept of angels as being slaves to a degree who can only act like machines and do exactly what God says or sing day and night and do nothing more. That idea contradicts what I just showed and proved in both 1 Kings and Daniel. Angels have a much bigger role than carrying messages back and forth and singing. They help make decisions.

Now, immediately, somebody is going to jump up and scream, that's heracy!

Why? We do the same thing, don't we? We are humans. We make decisions left and right and most of the time, they are bad decisions. Where do you find in the Bible that God said Angels can only obey Him as slaves do? Where? Point it out to me. I just showed you that God partners with the supernatural family He made. And it's quite apparent why He made them. To be part of the family business.

God doesn't need angels. God can do everything on His own without help. Why did He make you and me for? He doesn't need us. We're a bunch of messed up, disobedient kids who want to do our own thing. Why in the world would God want that for?

Because GOD WANTS a family! He just does!

He has the "Elohim" who are simply disembodied spirit beings. He partners with them and makes decisions. He likes it that way. If you have a problem with that, you will have a problem with being alive. Why? Because that's why humans exist too. To partner with God as well to do the same thing. What was Adam tasked to do from the very beginning? He was to subdue the Earth and be Lord over it. He was to make decisions and be part of God's plan. You will note that Earth wasn't perfect otherwise Adam wouldn't have a job. Eden was perfect but it wasn't Earth. We get this weird idea that Earth and Eden are synonymous. That's funny because when God talks about Eden, He gives specific geographic coordinates.

Well...if God made the call to make humans to partner with him and humans are wicked and disobedient, then He also must like evil, right? Because man is inherently evil and God knows all things so...he is evil too.

Really? That's like the biggest misconception people try to use to not believe in God. It's fundamentally flawed from the start. It goes right back to the Image of God and family.

We must take into consideration one important fact. In Psalm 82, in Hebrew, The Most High is also described as "Elohim." He is also described as a disembodied spirit. Well, what makes Him different from others? Because this sounds like a pantheon of gods now. This sounds like Greek and Roman mythology with Zeus and Hercules.

Go back through the Bible and you will notice the gods mentioned in the Bible NEVER are described like the Most High. They are denied His attributes. The Most High God is separate from all other things. He is unique and set apart. He is the lone Creator. No other being creates things. The God of the Bible is Lord of all things. Don't try and say otherwise because that's bad reading of the text. A lot of Jews do this however. They dismiss all the places of the Angel of God talk and deny Jesus' role in the Old Testament. It's hard to deny the event with Abraham however talking to a physical God. Abraham wasn't talking to thin air. This was Jesus previous to New Testament talk. This is where Trinitareism comes from.

We have this misconception of God because we don't have a correct view of what the Image of God is. We are made in His likeness meaning we take on His characteristics. But ultimately, we also are given free will to choose. Everything else that makes us human hinges on that one thing. If we don't have free will, we cannot image God. He made us to be partners and if we can't think for ourselves, that's being a slave, not a partner.

Now, consider this. Are we God?

Are angels God?

No.

Why?

Besides obvious facts, one other thing sets God apart. He is Perfect. There is no other being like God. He alone, creates. He alone is perfect. Even though He makes things, angels and humans, we are lesser than God. That means, we have the potential to sin, to go against what God wants, to do things that are less than perfect and good and right. This is what happens in Eden.

Why is this important? Because in the course of things, God did not make Adam or Eve sin. Satan didn't even make them sin. He suggested. The ultimate decision laid at Adam and Eve's feet. They chose.

But didn't God know this would happen? Yup. God knows all things.

Then God predestined it to happen. Again, God wants evil!

Uhh...no. And again, this can be backed up with the Bible.

Go back to the story of David. This will show something that will destroy certain thinking. Sorry about that but it's true. If God saw this happen beforehand, it had to happen, right?

David is not King yet. He is still hiding with his band of men as King Saul is out to kill him. Word gets to him that the city of Keilah is being attacked and need help. David asks God if he should help them and God says Yes, go!

David takes his men and they conquer the invaders and save the city. All looks great.

Somehow, word gets to Saul that David and his men are held up in this city and Saul is thinking, David is stupid! That city is fortified with gates and bars! All he has to do is march down there with his men and lay siege. He will starve the inhabitants till they give up David. David hears this somehow and prays to God.

1 Samuel 23:9-14 "David knew that Saul was plotting harm against him. And he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring the ephod here.” 10 Then David said, “O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has surely heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account. 11 Will the men of Keilah surrender me into his hand? Will Saul come down, as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, please tell your servant.” And the Lord said, “He will come down.” 12 Then David said, “Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?” And the Lord said, “They will surrender you.” 13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed from Keilah, and they went wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition. 14 And David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the wilderness of Ziph. And Saul sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand."

Notice something very important here. David asks God specific questions. Will Saul come down to Keilah? Will the men of Keilah surrender him to Saul? And God says "YES."

The problem is, none of these things happened. God said they would happen but they didn't because David up and leaves the city. Did God get this prediction wrong? No, because this is how it is. God knew two things that never happened meaning God saw 2 possible outcomes that could happen and would happen if David stayed. It wasn't a predestined future because to God, there was more than one future possibility. He saw them both but left it up for David to decide what to do with them. David decided and messed up certain thinking.

FOREKNOWLEDGE does not necessitate PREDESTINATION

But this is what a lot of people think in the church. We assume God predestined all things so we are either saved or not. We assume things that aren't in the Bible. We get these ideas from traditions that sadly come from other sources. A lot of stuff, and you can look this up, modern church traditions and doctrines, come from John Milton's "Paradise Lost". It's weird but true. Louis Markos is a biblical professor of literature at the Baptist University of Houston, Texas. He specializes in this stuff and points out clearly how Milton heavily influenced the modern church with his fictional account of the Bible.

Back to the Image of God. Why is this important to defining humanity? Because the Image idea closely parallels one of the 10 commandments.

You shall not take the Lord your God's name in vain.

When you dig into this a little, you will see that the word "take" and the word "image" in these two concepts, are two words that mean the same thing. It means "to bear", "to lift up", "to carry." They all mean the same thing grammatically speaking. The author is making the distinction that if we are followers of the God of the Bible, DO NOT REPRESENT GOD IN VAIN. Don't smear God's image by acting like the world. You represent God. In modern terms, we are employees of God's Kingdom. It's like we are wearing shirts with the Jesus logo on the front because we are His employees. Everybody who sees us, sees that company logo and goes, "oh! you work for Jesus." That's the whole point of the command. That's why the Image idea is so important.

From the very beginning in Eden, Humanity as a whole was to represent God on Earth. We were His agents here as Angels were to be His agents in the supernatural. Our identity is framed solely on God's created plan for humanity. We are all suppose to be partners in the God's family business of restoring Eden to what it suppose to be.

If we define who we are separate from God, there is no real purpose, no lasting effect.

But to allow God to define us, that purpose is universal, encompasses all humanity, to be the Imagers of God on Earth, agents who are part of the family business. That is our identity as humans. All of us.

That gets destroyed by us and in Genesis 11, Deuteronomy 32, and elsewhere, God divorces humans as humans were shown to want to do things their own way apart from God. God says, fine but I will take this man Abraham and He and his family will become a priesthood to the nations to draw them back to Me. This ties into Psalms 82 but won't talk on that here.

This is how God ultimately thinks of us. Humanity is His family. He made us to partner with Him in the business of restoring Eden. But like the supernatural

family, we rebelled and as a whole, are part of God's "dysfunctional family." Those who return to Him as Lord, are restored and become the ambassadors while everyone else is estranged family members.

This is why Jesus says the greatest command is to love God first but then your neighbor.

Why? Because each person you bump into in life is your brother and sister. We live in an age where it's best described as tribalism. We get stuck in tribes of one thinking while fighting with other tribes. God is in Heaven, yelling, "Stop it! You're brothers and sisters! You are destroying my family! Just stop it!"

If the church at large could stop and consider this one fact, and stop labeling distinctive, and start loving people no matter who they are, the world would take notice because this is abnormal. In God's eyes, this is the most natural thing that should take place. This is the call to every Christian who says Jesus is Lord of their life. Love humanity no matter what color of skin, no matter what background they come from. Your neighbor is your brother and sister.

Your identity is not defined by earthly things. Your identity and purpose is found in the Image of God.