Who are you—really?
“Identity” is a buzz word in our world—that question of what makes us who we are. The world tells us our identity is determined by a bunch of different factors, including:
- How we see ourselves,
- How we feel, and,
- What others expect us to be.
But if you’ve tried to define yourself based on those factors, you know they’re ultimately hollow; they shift around like sand, leaving us with nothing solid to hold on to.
So, we get back to the basic question: who are we really?
Thankfully, there is an answer: we are who God says we are! And when we come to Christ, our identity is shaped—reshaped—into the image of Christ. He brings us back to what He intended us to be in the first place.
In these six sessions, we’ll gain a deeper understanding of who we are in Christ, why we’re here in this world, and what our purpose is supposed to be. Far from how the world wants to define us, we’ll see that we were made for something more.
Made for Something More
Session 1 I Am Wonderfully Made Psalm 139:1-6,13-18
Session 2 I Am a Child of the King Galatians 4:1-7
Session 3 I Am a Minister 2 Corinthians 3:4-12
Session 4 I Am a Priest 1 Peter 2:4-10
Session 5 I Am Just Passing Through 1 Peter 2:11-17
Session 6 I Am a Light Ephesians 5:8-14
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
As citizens of the modern world, we love our freedom of choice. That’s true whether we’re choosing a restaurant, an outfit to wear, or a person to spend our life with. Nobody wants to be forced to do something. We like our freedom.
But freedom has its limits.
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that freedom included the right to have an abortion. Many hailed this as a freedom for choice, while others criticized it as the license to take a life. The focus of this debate centers on whether or not a fetus—an unborn child— has any value.
But who assigns a person’s value? Isn’t it the One who created us? If you’ve ever made something with your own hands, you likely assigned value to that object or project. It was important and valuable to you, even if others didn’t see it that way. God our Creator sees us with great value—a value others may dismiss or ignore. But every person matters. You matter. And we honor God when we value life as He does.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Psalm 139:1-6
1 LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD. 5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. 6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
Psalm 139 shows us who God is in relation to His creation. God is more than our Creator. He’s the God who knows us intimately and values us completely.
We live in a culture where we are accustomed to hiding. We disguise who we really are and what we really think. We take cover behind positions, platforms, and personalities. We conceal the parts of our lives that cause us shame or embarrass us. We hide behind social media posts and pictures, attempting to show the world the identity we want them to see.
We might be able to disguise portions of ourselves from the world around us, but in Psalm 139, David made it clear we have no masks when it comes to God and how He sees us. We can’t hide from God or convince Him we are something we’re really not. He has searched us and knows us.
- God knows us better than we know ourselves. “You understand my thoughts from far away.” God doesn’t plant thoughts in our minds, but He does understand what we’re thinking.
- God knows what we’re going to do before we do it. “You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways.” We can never do something that catches God off guard. We can’t surprise God. He’s aware of all things, including our actions and attitudes each day.
- God knows what we’re going to say before we say it. “Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD.” God is all-knowing (omniscient). That truth is hard to comprehend, but nothing is outside of God’s awareness and knowledge.
What emotions do you experience
when you read these verses?
Just as Jesus knew Judas was going to betray Him before that betrayal even took place (see Matt. 26:23-25), God knows about our sins before we commit them. That may sound scary, and for good reason. But it also makes the fact that God loves us so much more amazing. In fact, Jesus loves us so much that He came to save us in spite of our sin. (See John 3:16; Rom. 5:8.)
Psalm 139:13-16
13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.
The psalmist described us with a beautiful phrase: “remarkably and wondrously made.” The Hebrew word translated “remarkably” expressed great reverence, awe—even fear. It reminds us of our connection to the all-powerful Creator of the universe.
You and I were made by God, in the image of God, for the purpose of glorifying God. People are created as either male or female, in all shapes and sizes, with different appearances, and a wide variety of ethnicities. But God didn’t create us to look like Him physically. He created us to be like Him spiritually. And that is remarkable!
In addition, we are “wondrously made.” God created every person walking the face of the earth as a unique individual, distinct and set apart. That doesn’t mean we’re born perfect according to the world’s standards, but the world’s standards are ultimately unimportant. We can rest assured that—no matter what flaws, ailments, or challenges we may have—God loves us. He has a purpose for us.
When my wife and I found out she was pregnant with our first child, we couldn’t wait to become parents. The anticipation was almost unbearable. When that day finally arrived, we discovered an entirely new kind of love. From that very first moment, we loved our daughter—deeply. Yet, no matter how much we love her, God’s love for her will always be far greater. And even though we loved her from the first moment we laid eyes on her, it’s amazing to realize God’s love goes back even further than that.
Some people believe life begins the day a child is born, but Psalm 139 paints a different picture. Before the parts of your body were completely formed, you were already a person in the eyes of God.
- “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born” (Jer. 1:5).
- “The LORD called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb” (Isa. 49:1).
There’s no greater value than being known and loved by God. The amazing message of the Bible is that God knew us and loved us before we were ever born!
Where in our culture do we see life
being devalued or disrespected?
Psalm 139:17-18
17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.
How does this passage support the truth
that our lives count?
I was a huge baseball fan growing up, and my favorite player was George Brett. One day our family was checking into a hotel a few hours before a game, and who did I see standing in the lobby? George Brett!
Leaving my parents, I walked up and said: “Mr. Brett, I’m a huge fan. Congratulations on 3,000 hits and 300 home runs and being the only player to win the batting title in three different decades….” I was showing off, but in the middle of reciting everything I knew about him, George Brett simply walked away. I never even got to ask for his autograph. I was devastated!
My dad consoled me and tried to explain, saying, “I know you love George Brett and know a lot about him, but you’ve got to realize: George Brett doesn’t know you.”
One-sided relationships rarely work out. For that reason, our relationship with God was always designed to be two-sided.
God knows us. He knows everything about us and He loves us. In the same way, He wants us to know Him. God has pursued us from the beginning, and He wants us to pursue Him. That idea can be overwhelming—getting to know God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. After all, God is totally beyond our comprehension. Yet David viewed that knowledge as “precious.” He used a word that literally means “heavy” or “costly.” David saw the thoughts of God as weighty and highly valuable.
Verse 18 mentions waking up, which is quite possibly a reference to waking from death. Earlier, David marveled at God’s knowledge about him from the very conception of his life. And now David noted that even at the end—“when I wake up”—he would still be with God. This statement implies an eternal relationship. When we look to God with worship and awe because He knows and values us, our response is to enter into a relationship with Him. By trusting God, we can say with David, “When I wake up, I am still with you.”
What actions can we take that reflect our belief in the value of all human life?
LIVE IT OUT
Your life matters. How will you ensure that truth makes a difference in your life this week? Consider these options:
- Pray for life. Pray that the eyes of our lawmakers, judges, and political leaders will be opened to the fact that every life was created by God—every life counts.
- Memorize. Commit Psalm 139:13-14 to memory. Let these verses take hold in your mind and heart so that they impact how you see yourself and how you see those around you.
- Volunteer. Commit an hour a week to serve at a local Christian pregnancy center, retirement home, or ministry to those with special needs. Help others see the truth in Psalm 139 that every life—including theirs—matters.
Freedom is a valuable principle. But human beings are precious. Every human life is wonderfully made by God in the image of God, which makes every human life remarkable.
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Teacher's Notes
Click Here to Watch
"A Baby's Prayer"
What is the focus of the abortion debate?
The focus of the abortion debate centers on freedom/rights for the mother and whether or not an unborn child has any value. The focus of the debate on euthanasia centers on there being any lasting value to an ill patient or for that matter someone who is just too old?
But who assigns a person’s value? Is it the mother of the unborn child? Is it the doctors? Is it the courts? Is it the family of the elderly and sick? Shouldn’t it be the One who created us?
God sees each of us with great value—a value others may dismiss or ignore. But every person matters. You matter. And we honor God when we value life as He does.
I AM WONDERFULLY MADE
What does it mean that we are wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)?
Psalm 139:14 declares, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” The context of this verse is the incredible nature of our physical bodies. The human body is the most complex and unique organism in the world, and that complexity and uniqueness speaks volumes about the mind of its Creator. Every aspect of the body, down to the tiniest microscopic cell, reveals that it is fearfully and wonderfully made.
Engineers understand how to design strong yet light beams by putting the strong material toward the outside edges of a cross-section and filling the inside with lighter, weaker material. This is done because the greatest amounts of stress occur on the surfaces of a structure when handling common bending or stresses. A cross section of a human bone reveals that the strong material is on the outside and the inside is used as a factory for blood cells of various kinds.
When you examine a sophisticated camera with its ability to let in more or less light as needed and its ability to focus automatically over a vast range of field, you find repeated imitations of the operation of the human eye. And yet, having two eyeballs, we also have depth perception which gives us the ability to judge how far away an object is.
The human brain is also an amazing organ, wonderfully made. It has the ability to learn, reason, and control so many automatic functions of the body such as heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing, and to maintain balance to walk, run, stand, and sit, all while concentrating on something else. Computers can outdo the human brain in raw calculating power but are primitive when it comes to performing most reasoning tasks. The brain also has an amazing ability to adapt. In an experiment, when people put on glasses that made the world seem upside down, their brains quickly reinterpreted the information they were being given to perceive the world as “right-side-up.” When others were blindfolded for long periods of time, the “vision center” of the brain soon began to be used for other functions. When people move to a house near a railroad, soon the sound of the trains is filtered out by their brains, and they lose conscious thought of the noise.
When it comes to miniaturization, the human body is also a marvel fearfully and wonderfully made. For instance, information needed for the replication of an entire human body, with every detail covered, is stored in the double-helix DNA strand found in the nucleus of each of the billions of cells in the human body. And the system of information and control represented by our nervous system is amazingly compact in comparison to man’s clumsy inventions of wires and optical cables. Each cell, once called a “simple” cell, is a tiny factory not yet fully understood by man. As microscopes become more and more powerful, the incredible vistas of the human cell begin to come into focus. Consider the single fertilized cell of a newly conceived human life. From that one cell within the womb develop all the different kinds of tissues, organs, and systems, all working together at just the right time in an amazingly coordinated process. An example is the hole in the septum between the two ventricles in the heart of the newborn infant. This hole closes up at exactly the right time during the birth process to allow for the oxygenation of the blood from the lungs, which does not occur while the baby is in the womb and is receiving oxygen through the umbilical cord.
Further, the body’s immune system is able to fight off so many enemies and restore itself from the smallest repair (even repairing bad portions of DNA) to the largest (mending bones and recovering from major accidents). Yes, there are diseases that will eventually overcome the body as we age, but we have no idea how many times through a lifetime that our immune systems have saved us from certain death. The functions of the human body are also incredible. The ability to handle large, heavy objects and to also carefully manipulate a delicate object without breaking it is also amazing. We can shoot a bow with the arrow repeatedly hitting a distant target, peck away quickly at a computer keyboard without thinking about the keys, crawl, walk, run, twirl around, climb, swim, do somersaults and flips, and perform “simple” tasks such as unscrewing a light bulb, brushing our teeth, and lacing up our shoes—again without thinking. Indeed, these are “simple” things, but man has yet to design and program a robot that is able to perform such a vast range of tasks and motions.
The function of the digestive tract and the related organs, the longevity of the heart, the formation and function of nerves and of blood vessels, the cleansing of the blood through the kidneys, the complexity of the inner and middle ear, the sense of taste and smell, and so many other things we barely understand—each one is a marvel and beyond man’s ability to duplicate. Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. How grateful we are to know the Creator—through His Son, Jesus Christ—and to marvel not only at His knowledge but also at His love (Psalm 139:17-24).
Of all the people in the world, who knows you better than anyone?
Psalm 139:1-6
1 LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, LORD. 5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. 6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
The theme of Psalm 139 is that God is all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present.
Does it make you comfortable or uncomfortable to know how God sees you?
What do these verses reveal about God’s character?
What are some ways we try to hide from God? Why do you think we do that?
- We live in a culture where we are accustomed to hiding. We disguise who we really are and what we really think. We take cover behind positions, platforms, and personalities. We conceal the parts of our lives that cause us shame or embarrass us. We hide behind social media posts and pictures, attempting to show the world the identity we want them to see. We might be able to disguise portions of ourselves from the world around us, but in Psalm 139, David made it clear we have no masks when it comes to God and how He sees us. We can’t hide from God or convince Him we are something we’re really not. He has searched us and knows us.
I. God knows you — His omniscience: the state of knowing everything. (vv. 1-6).
God knows you. The word known in verse one reveals an intimate knowledge of a person that results from a close, personal relationship. It reflects the way that the Lord knows us. God knows us as we are. Nothing is hidden from God. God is involved in the affairs of your life. For example:
- God knows your activities. The Hebrew euphemism, “when I sit down and when I stand up” (v. 2), speaks of the routines of life. God knows all the routines of your life. God knows your daily schedule, your appointments, and your activities. God knows your worries, your concerns, your anxieties, your fears.
- God knows your thoughts. “You understand my thoughts from far away” (v. 2) God said to the prophet Ezekiel: “I know what is going through your mind” (Ezekiel 11:5 NIV). God knows the fleeting thoughts that pass through the screen of our mind. God knows the good thoughts and the bad ideas. God loves you still.
- God knows your directions. “You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways” (v. 3). He knows your habits. He knows the best and worst about you. God still loves you.
- God knows your words. “Before a word is on my tongue you, you know all about it, Lord” (v. 4). The Lord knows not only the words you speak but the words you are yet to speak.
- God knows your needs. “You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me" (v. 5).
This verse paints a picture of God enfolding someone in back and front, who has absolute power to control and protect him or her completely. God encircles you on every side like a mighty army devoted to protecting you. God knows your needs. He knows when you need safeguarding and protected. His hand, symbolic of God's power, is upon you. He goes before us and behind us.
He keeps us secure. God's protection leaves us with no way of escape. You can never run away from the Lord.
David marveled at the Lord’s comprehensive knowledge and awareness of him. Such intimate knowledge was staggering to David. David couldn’t wrap his mind around the reality that the Lord, so lofty and transcendent, had taken such an intense and intimate interest in him. It blew his mind that the Lord of creation demonstrated a personal and intense interest in a single human being.
Psalm 139:13-16
13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. 15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.
How do these verses describe God’s careful design of each person?
How do we demonstrate that each of us is wonderfully made by God?
- You and I were made by God, in the image of God, for the purpose of glorifying God. People are created as either male or female, in all shapes and sizes, with different appearances, and a wide variety of ethnicities. But God didn’t create us to look like Him physically. He created us to be like Him spiritually. And that is remarkable!
What does it mean to be fearfully and wonderfully made by God?
Some people believe life begins the day a child is born, but Psalm 139 paints a different picture. Before the parts of your body were completely formed, you were already a person in the eyes of God.
- “I chose you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart before you were born” (Jer. 1:5).
- “The LORD called me before I was born. He named me while I was in my mother’s womb” (Isa. 49:1).
There’s no greater value than being known and loved by God. The amazing message of the Bible is that God knew us and loved us before we were ever born!
God created us and has a plan for each of us. The Lord is worthy of our praise because He is the giver of life. Because life is the creation of the Lord, it is precious in His sight and therefore should be for us as well. Life, from beginning to end and all places in between, is lived under God’s view toward the end of achieving His holy purpose and bringing Him glory.
II. God created you — His omnipotence: having unlimited or very great power. (vv. 13-16).
God not only has intimate knowledge of you, but he also has close involvement in creating you. "Created my inward parts” literally indicated that God made David’s kidneys, which the people of Israel often regarded as the center of emotion, affection, and conscience. Today, we would say the heart. The word knit pictures a skilled artisan, carefully weaving a lovely tapestry with exact precision and explicit beauty. The imagery David used to describe God’s creative activity suggested his masterful work of knitting bones, muscles, arteries, and vital organs together in his mother’s womb to form a human being.
David responded to such creative power with praise. “I will praise you” (v. 14). David knew with absolute certainty that God made him. God was the designer, as well as, maker. Note how God fashioned and made David (and, for that matter, you and me.)
- “I have been remarkably and wondrously made” (v. 14). The word remarkably means to respect or to revere. Wondrously means set apart, separate, distinguished, no cookie cutter human beings.
- “I was made in secret” (v. 15). This statement is idiomatic for a protected place, a concealed and safe place—as a man may hide his treasure by burying it.
- “I was formed in the depths of the earth” (v. 15). This statement was a way of talking about the creative work going on deep in his mother's womb.
- “Your eyes saw me when I was formless” (v. 16). God's fixed his eyes upon the unformed body. The formless body means “embryo.” In our very first hours and days of life after conception—when we were still wrapped up in embryonic form—God was watching over us. He’s not absent nor unconcerned.
Augustine, an early Church father, wrote, “Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.”
Why would God give such attention to David’s creation?
- Only one reason could explain why the Lord gave such attention: God considers this life sacred.
If we take these verses seriously, we possess no other option than the reality that human life begins at conception. If we take these verses seriously, then every life is precious: the one disabled, the one with deformities, the one that is aged, the one that is lonely.
Psalm 139:17-18
17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is! 18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.
How does the psalmist describe God’s thoughts toward you?
What are some ways we can remind ourselves of God’s presence and love when we encounter hard times?
In light of this passage, what kind of attitude should we have toward ourselves, others, and God?
God knows us. He knows everything about us and He loves us. In the same way, He wants us to know Him. God has pursued us from the beginning, and He wants us to pursue Him. That idea can be overwhelming—getting to know God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth. After all, God is totally beyond our comprehension. Yet David viewed that knowledge as “precious.” He used a word that literally means “heavy” or “costly.” David saw the thoughts of God as weighty and highly valuable.
Verse 18 mentions waking up, which is quite possibly a reference to waking from death. Earlier, David marveled at God’s knowledge about him from the very conception of his life. And now David noted that even at the end—“when I wake up”—he would still be with God. This statement implies an eternal relationship. When we look to God with worship and awe because He knows and values us, our response is to enter into a relationship with Him. By trusting God, we can say with David, “When I wake up, I am still with you.”
God is with us. We cannot escape the Lord’s presence; He is always with us.
III. God thinks of you—His omnipresence: the presence of God everywhere at the same time. (vv. 17-18).
God not only has intimate knowledge of you, and private involvement in creating you, He is intimately present with you. The God who created you and who has a plan for your life is also the God who is with you wherever you might be. Human life is sacred because God is always present with his people.
What do we know about God’s thoughts?
To the prophet Isaiah God said, “‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the LORD. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isa. 55:8-9 NIV). We can’t wrap our minds around God’s thoughts—they are beyond us. Earlier in the psalm, David testified that God “understands my thoughts from far away" (v. 2). God's thoughts are so vast and of such magnitude that they are like the sand on an endless seashore. They are countless.
God's omnipresence is a dominant characteristic.
- We can’t flee from God’s presence. “Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there” (vv. 7-8).
- God's presence is promised. To Jacob who later was renamed Israel, God promised, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Gen. 28:15 NIV). To Joshua as he was succeeding Moses, God promised, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deut. 31:6 NIV). God reaffirmed that promise to Joshua, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9 NIV). In the New Testament, reaffirmed these promises. Jesus said to his disciples, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:20 NIV). “God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5 NIV).
Conclusion: Why does God never leave us? We are wonderfully made. We are unique to God.
Hope to see you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
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