Children of God: Live Up to Your Identity

Introduction

You carry a name that changes everything: Christian. This word first appeared at Antioch, in the book of Acts chapter 11, to describe those who believe in Christ. But do you truly know what this title involves? Are you aware of the status, the privileges, and the grace God places on your life because you belong to him?

In this message drawn from 1 Peter 1:1-9 and 1:13-2:12, Pastor Rutz invites you to rediscover the identity God has given you in Jesus Christ, and to draw out the concrete consequences for the way you live each day.

Picture for a moment a prince kidnapped at birth and placed with a very poor family. Two outcomes are possible: either he never learns who he is and fights every day just to survive, cheating, stealing, scrapping for whatever he can grab; or he learns that he is a king's son and, in that same poverty, he shapes his character, broadens his outlook, learns to know those who suffer, and prepares to reign. The day someone comes to bring him back to the palace, the royal robe is the same for both. But one stands before the king as a true prince, while the other remains inwardly a lost child, unable to govern. Blood alone isn't enough: you need the awareness of who you are.

That is exactly what's at stake in Peter's text. You are a child of God. What remains is to live it.

Outline of the message

1. Who you are in Christ: the identity God has given you

The apostle Peter writes to Jewish Christians driven out of Jerusalem, scattered across Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. But his word crosses time and reaches you too. You are not here by chance.

You were chosen before time began. "God the Father chose you long ago and decided to make you his children." Even before your birth, God set you apart for himself.

You are purified by the blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit works in your heart, makes you aware of your sins; when you repent in the name of Jesus, his blood shed on the cross washes away each of your faults and makes you pleasing to God. A Korean version of the text puts it very clearly: "God desires that you be purified by the blood of Jesus Christ, by faithfully obeying the Spirit."

You are born again and adopted into God's family. We are all descendants of Adam, marked by sin. Yet God, in his immense mercy, grants you the privilege of being born again. You remain a sinner, but a forgiven sinner, whom the Lord regards as righteous. You become a member of his family. Your earthly father remains your father, but the heavenly Father becomes your true Father, and your brothers and sisters in the faith are now your eternal family.

You are filled with the hope of eternal life. Because Jesus rose from the dead, you are an heir of a life that will never end. Your body will die, but your spirit will live forever with the Lord.

You are kept by the supernatural power of God. He protects you until the day of the salvation prepared for you, an inheritance "that can never perish, spoil, or fade" kept in heaven.

2. The trials that purify your faith

The world you live in is not yet the Kingdom. It sometimes reflects heaven, often hell. The more you seek to live according to God's will, the more resistance you meet. That's why Peter writes: "Rejoice greatly, even though for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials, for a wonderful joy awaits you."

Trials are not punishments: they are tests. Just as gold is refined by fire, your faith is tested to reveal its strength and its purity. And in God's eyes, your faith is worth infinitely more than gold. If it comes out of the crucible strengthened, it will bring praise, glory, and honor on the day Jesus Christ returns.

Nobody enjoys being tested. But no student progresses without exams. No believer matures without going through suffering that refines, purifies, and settles the dust. God loves every one of his children, but Scripture shows in Hebrews 11 that he holds a special affection for those whose faith is tested: Abraham, our father in the faith, did not have a perfect faith from the start. He stumbled several times before being shaped into a man of faith. The same is true for you.

3. Loving a Christ you have never seen: proof of salvation

"Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

You have never met Jesus face to face. Yet you love him. You believe he is the true God. A deep joy fills you, even in difficult circumstances. Where does this reality that surpasses you come from? The Korean version puts it this way: "It is because the goal of your faith, that is, the joy that your soul and spirit are saved, has already been given to you." Salvation is not just a promise for later: it is already at work in you. Your peace and your joy are proof that Christ lives in you.

4. Living up to it: holiness, reverence, redemption

Beginning at 1 Peter 1:13, the apostle describes concretely how to live as a child of God.

Guard your heart and prepare yourself. "Prepare your minds for action." In other words: watch over yourself, prepare your mind, and set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus returns.

Be holy in all your conduct. In your thoughts, your words, your attitude, your life. "Be holy, because I am holy." You are a son of the King: clothe yourself in his holiness, down to your habits.

Live in reverent fear of God. The Father judges each person impartially. "Fearing God" doesn't mean trembling with dread: it means recognizing him as Master over everything. Don't decide first according to your own ideas or your own plans: consult him, let his Word guide your choices.

Remember your price. You were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down from your ancestors, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, the Lamb without blemish or defect. God had chosen him before the foundation of the world and sent him for you, in these last times.

5. Loving fervently, nourished by the living Word

"Love one another deeply, from a pure heart." This love is not merely human: it comes from the Holy Spirit who has been poured into you. You can love even those who hurt you, because God gives you his strength to do it.

And this love is possible because you were born of imperishable seed: the living and enduring Word of God. Grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever. It is this Word that transforms you day after day, as you read it, meditate on it, and obey it. It is alive, and God acts in you through it.

6. An identity of a people: royal priests and living stones

In chapter 2, Peter continues: "Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation."

Take time to examine your motives. What you say, for what purpose do you say it? What you do, with what heart do you do it? If malice, hypocrisy, jealousy, or harsh judgment remains in you, ask the Holy Spirit to root it out. Then, like a newborn craving its mother's milk, crave the Word: that is how you will grow.

Draw near to Christ, the living stone rejected by men but chosen and precious in God's sight. You yourself are a living stone, taking part in the building of a spiritual house. You are also "a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession," called to declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

7. Foreigner and traveler: your testimony before the world

On this earth, you are just passing through. Don't let yourself be swept along by fleshly desires that wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among those who don't believe. They may say today that your way of life is old-fashioned, naive, ridiculous. But one day, seeing your life, they will glorify God.

That is true evangelism: of course, speaking about Jesus is essential. But it's the way you walk with the Lord that touches hearts. God uses your life to draw souls to himself.

Key takeaways

• Your Christian identity is not a label: you are chosen from eternity, purified by the blood of Christ, adopted into God's family, filled with the hope of eternal life, kept by his power.
• Trials are not there to break you but to purify your faith like gold in the fire. What you go through is not wasted: God turns it into glory.
• Loving a Christ you have never seen, and the joy that fills you in hardship, are already proof that your salvation is real.
• Being a child of God shapes your entire conduct: holiness, reverence, fervent brotherly love, letting go of old habits.
• You are a living stone, a royal priesthood, a people set apart: your ordinary life is a testimony that will one day lead others to God.

Personal application

• When you think about your identity, what do you cling to first: your family, your work, your circumstances, or the fact that you are a child of God?
• What trial are you going through right now? Can you read it as a fire that purifies your faith rather than as an injustice?
• What hidden motives (malice, jealousy, hypocrisy, judgment, slander) is the Holy Spirit bringing to light in your heart today?
• How much time each day do you give to the living Word that makes you grow? What can you change this week to crave it "like a newborn craves milk"?
• Where is God calling you to bear a silent testimony, through your conduct, before those who do not yet believe?

Verses cited

• 1 Peter 1:1-9 · The identity and hope of God's children.
• 1 Peter 1:13-25 · Holiness, reverence, redemption, and brotherly love.
• 1 Peter 2:1-12 · Living stones, royal priesthood, conduct among the nations.
• Acts 11:26 · The disciples called Christians for the first time at Antioch.
• Hebrews 11 · The faith of the ancients, tested and acknowledged by God.
• Isaiah 28:16 · The precious cornerstone laid in Zion.
• Psalm 118:22 · The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

FAQ

How do I know if I'm truly a child of God?

According to 1 Peter 1:8-9, the fact that you love Jesus without having seen him, that you believe in him, and that a deep peace fills you even in hardship, are all signs that salvation is already at work in your soul. The Holy Spirit bears witness to your spirit that you belong to God.

Why do trials continue even as I walk with God?

Because this world is not yet the Kingdom, and because God uses trials the way fire uses gold: to remove impurities and strengthen your faith. It is not a sign of abandonment, but a path toward a purer and more solid faith, one that will bring you praise, glory, and honor at Christ's return.

Concretely, how do I live out holiness day to day?

By watching your motives and your words, by rejecting malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander, by craving the Word the way a newborn craves milk, and by letting the Spirit transform you. Holiness isn't a performance: it's a response of obedience to the one who called you out of darkness into his light.