Doctrine of Union with Christ: Who We Are Because of What God Has Done – Series Intro/Index

A six-week study on the believer’s identity through union with Christ

Many Christians know the language of salvation, but still live from old identities.

We may belong to Christ and still measure ourselves by failure, usefulness, reputation, fear, shame, achievement, or the approval of others. Scripture gives us a better foundation. The believer’s identity is not invented, earned, or maintained by effort. It is given by God in Christ.

In Christ, we are chosen, united to him, forgiven, adopted by the Father, made new by the Spirit, set apart as God’s people, and called to live in agreement with what God has already done.

“For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”
Colossians 3:3

This series is not mainly about self-image or confidence. It is about reality. If we belong to Christ, the deepest truth about us is not found in our sin, our wounds, our success, our weakness, or our past. Our life is hidden with Christ in God.

Obedience matters deeply, but obedience does not create our identity. It grows from the identity God has already given.

Series Overview

Doctrine of Union with Christ: Chosen and Loved in Christ – Part 1

Doctrine of Union with Christ: Who We Are Because of What God Has Done – Part 2

Doctrine of Union with Christ: No Longer Condemned – Part 3

Doctrine of Union with Christ: A New Creation – Part 4

Week 5: Holy and Set Apart as God’s People

Main passage: 1 Peter 2:4-12
Anchor verse: 1 Peter 2:9

Peter describes believers as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession. This study looks at the corporate side of Christian identity. We are not only saved individuals. We are a people who belong to God.

Read Week 5: Holy and Set Apart as God’s People

Week 6: Putting On the New Self

Main passage: Colossians 3:1-17
Anchor verse: Colossians 3:3

Paul grounds obedience in identity. Because believers have died and their life is hidden with Christ in God, they are called to put sin to death and put on the character of Christ. This study looks at grace-driven obedience.

Read Week 6: Putting On the New Self

How to Use This Series

Each study can be read on its own, but the series is meant to build week by week. The first studies establish what God has done for us in Christ. The later studies show how that identity changes the way we live.

In Christ, God gives us an identity we did not earn, could not create, and must now learn to live from.