It's been said that the key to the gospel is in the prepositions. If you don’t recall what prepositions are, they’re words in the English language that precede nouns and pronouns and tell us something in relation to the noun or pronoun and the rest of the sentence. These words include for, with, in, through and by. They may not seem to communicate much on their own, but their placement in Scripture is key to understanding it.
For example, notice the prepositions in Hebrews 9:12 (KJV): “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Did you see the power of the prepositions? What Jesus did for us, He did by His own blood; it’s the way by which He saved us.
Galatians 3:13 (KJV) tells us that “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”
Are you catching on? Christ redeemed us from the curse. He was made a curse for us. Without the prepositions in this translation, we would miss the revelation God wants us to have about our identity in Christ.
In fact, one of the best ways to discover and study our identity in Christ is to read through Paul’s letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians. Every time you see the two-word prepositional phrases such as…
- in Christ, of Christ or with Christ
- in Him, of Him, with Him or from Him
- in whom, through whom, from whom or by whom
- in Me, by Me
- in the beloved or in My love
…highlight, circle or underline those phrases. Those two-word phrases describe who you are and what you have as a born-again believer. There are more than 130 such occurrences, and they describe what God has already done for you and in you. If you’ll do this, then you will discover who you are in Him.
To help you learn how to do this on your own, consider the following 15 Verses for Finding Your Identity In Christ. Notice the phrases highlighted for you. There are also many more through the entire New Testament!
1. Romans 8:1 (KJV)
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
2. Romans 8:2 (KJV)
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”
3. Romans 8:16-17 (NASB)
“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ , if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
4. Romans 12:5 (KJV)
“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.”
5. 1 Corinthians 1:2 (AMPC)
“To the church (assembly) of God which is in Corinth, to those consecrated and purified and made holy in Christ Jesus, [who are] selected and called to be saints (God’s people), together with all those who in any place call upon and give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.”
6. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (KJV)
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
7. 1 Corinthians 1:30 (NKJV)
“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
8. 2 Corinthians 2:14 (AMPC)
“But thanks be to God, Who in Christ always leads us in triumph [as trophies of Christ’s victory] and through us spreads and makes evident the fragrance of the knowledge of God everywhere.”
9. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”
10. Galatians 3:26 (NKJV)
“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
11. Galatians 3:28 (NKJV)
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
12. Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV)
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
13. Ephesians 1:3-4 (NKJV)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”
14. Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
15. Colossians 2:9-10 (NKJV)
“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”