Finding our purpose in this world can be elusive and daunting. We have all considered those existential questions, haven’t we? There seems to be some invisible force driving us from the inside, relentlessly constraining us to seek after “Who am I, and why am I here?”. Am I wrong?

Being a follower of Jesus Christ may offer a perspective that leads us toward the answers to these questions, as the Bible addresses the reasons behind our need to know.

For those of you who struggle with this and do not have a relationship with Him, you have my heartfelt compassion and sincere desire for you to know Him, His unfailing love, and desire for an intimate relationship with you. If you are paying attention to all that is going on around you, there will come a time when you find yourself in a position to either acknowledge that nothing else will satisfy that longing in you, or choose to suppress it and attribute it to something else. My prayer is that you open your heart and mind to the possibility of Him and allow Him to be for you what He designed you to be, the focus of His love, in an eternal relationship with Him.

For my fellow believers and brothers in Christ, God has clearly laid out a plan and has already provided for your calling and purpose in this life. His plan reveals an intentional level of intimacy, not just for salvation, but for everything that follows as declared in His Word. Paul’s writings are full of defining statements and declarations of preordained provision for this very thing.
Over the next several weeks I would like to focus on what His plan for our purpose might look like, and to connect you with the provisions and promises of God for your identity, empowerment, qualification, equipping, and power for the unique purpose His is calling you to.
Let’s begin with a very special declaration statement, made by God about you through the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Many of you are already familiar with this passage of Scripture. Let me share it with you here. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV.
Paul is defining a new relationship you now have with Jesus Christ, that is no longer limited to the flesh. God has changed the parameters of this relationship to move far beyond the physical when we put our faith and trust in Him as our God.
The phrase “in Christ” is used to illustrate that all the current changes happening within and for us result from our new position in Christ, activated by our faith in Him, which has unlocked God’s great and precious promises and established a new relationship with Him through Jesus Christ.
Here, Paul defines us as a “New Creation” in Christ. A major change is taking place. Who and what we were no longer is. Instead, we have become something else. That sounds kind of strange, doesn’t it? But God declares in His Word that when we put our faith and trust in Him, He makes us something new. The old me is gone, and everything has changed. We have entered a new relationship with Him, and He has given us a new identity “in Christ”.
In part 2, we will discuss some changes provided by God for us in this new identity. If you want to prepare ahead, read through the book of Ephesians, and we will see you again for part 2.