Spivey's Unauthorized Biblical Timeline
a Scripture-centered journey through God's redemptive story from a historic perspective.
Christianity 202 - Identity Restored through Christ
Every person has an identity, but not everyone understands where identity comes from.
Long before the world places labels upon us, God already knows us and has spoken about who we are. Humanity was created in His image and for His purposes.
“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” — Psalm 139:13-14
Identity is our understanding of who we are, to whom we belong, and the purpose for which we were created.
From the beginning, Scripture presents identity in relationship to God as Creator, Redeemer, Father, and King.
The world often answers these identity questions differently.
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Who am I? Whatever I choose to be. My identity is mine to define.
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To whom do I belong? To myself. Nobody owns me. I am the ruler of my own kingdom.
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What is my purpose? To pursue whatever brings me happiness, fulfillment, success, or meaning.
In the Garden of Eden, we see this play out in the dialogue between Satan and Eve.
“but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” — Genesis 3:3-5
The serpent's temptation was not merely about eating fruit. It was an invitation to determine truth and identity apart from God.
Scripture points in a different direction from the world. We are not self-created, self-defined, or self-owned. Believers belong to the God who created us, redeemed us, and calls us to Himself.
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” — 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
As we grow, however, the world continually seeks to define us by achievements, failures, possessions, status, desires, and the opinions of others. Yet these things do not ultimately define us. Identity was never intended to be something we invent for ourselves, but something we discover through the One who created us.
Sin further distorted humanity's understanding of both God and itself. Rather than finding identity in the Creator, people often seek it in the creation. The world offers countless answers to the question of identity, yet apart from God, every answer remains incomplete.
What we believe and trust ultimately shapes how we see ourselves and how we live. Scripture consistently connects faith and belief with the heart.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” — Proverbs 3:5-6
“For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified...” — Romans 10:10
Through Jesus Christ, God begins restoring what sin disrupted. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, believers are transformed and increasingly conformed to the image of Christ. This work begins at salvation, continues throughout the Christian life, and will be completed when Christ returns.
As believers grow in their knowledge of God and His Word, they begin to see themselves not as the world defines them, but as God defines them.
Christianity 202 explains how a believer’s identity is restored in Christ. Scripture describes this restored identity through four realities: believers are born again, made a new creation, justified before God, and adopted into His family. Together, these reveal that identity is not invented, earned, or achieved, but received through restored relationship with God in Jesus Christ.
YOU MUST BE BORN AGAIN
After the wedding at Cana and during His early ministry in Jerusalem, many Pharisees and teachers of the law were already questioning the teachings and miracles of Jesus.
Under cover of night, Jesus explained the spiritual transformation required to enter the kingdom of God to a Pharisee (1) named Nicodemus. Nicodemus acknowledged that at least some of his fellow Pharisees recognized that the signs Jesus performed could not be explained apart from God's power.
Messiah
While Nicodemus' acknowledgement showed a willingness to understand who Jesus was truly, he did not go so far as to connect Him with the promised Messiah yet. He knew miracles were tied to God and that the kingdom of God was a kingdom tied to rule by the Messiah (2).
The Messiah's Kingdom is described in Psalm 2:
“The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, ...
“I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.” I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” — Psalm 2:2, 6-8
For a Pharisee, the signs Jesus performed could not be separated from the expectation that God would one day send His Messiah and establish His kingdom. Nicodemus was doing what many religious leaders failed to do: he was investigating the signs and seeking answers (Matthew 16:3, Luke 24:25, John 3:10, John 5:39).
Rather than directly answering the questions raised by the signs, Jesus immediately turned the conversation to the kingdom itself and the true requirement for entering it. Drawing upon promises already revealed through the Prophets (Isaiah 59:20-21, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26-27), Jesus began with what Nicodemus already knew about Israel's expectation of the coming kingdom and everlasting life before revealing how one truly enters it.
“Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” — Daniel 12:2
Nicodemus would have understood the kingdom of God as the future reign of the Messiah and the inheritance of the righteous in the age to come. The Scriptures already taught resurrection and everlasting life, but Jesus revealed a spiritual reality that Nicodemus had not yet considered—participation in that kingdom required more than ancestry, knowledge, or religious observance. In order to receive eternal life in the kingdom, it required spiritual rebirth.
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” — John 3:3
Hearing this, Nicodemus focused on the physical act of birth rather than the spiritual topic of the kingdom of God. Nicodemus did not yet understand that the King stood before him, nor that the new birth required for entrance into the eternal kingdom would be accomplished through Jesus Christ before the kingdom is ultimately established on earth. (Luke 17:20-21, John 18:36, Colossians 1:13-14).
Jesus then explained being born again in two parts.
“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” — John 3:5-8
This is not the first time Nicodemus would have been exposed to such language. Jesus was pointing him to a spiritual reality already promised by the Prophets.
“I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” — Ezekiel 36:25-27
This may explain why Jesus asked Nicodemus, "You are Israel's teacher, and do you not understand these things?" (John 3:10). Jesus' words about being born of water and Spirit pointed to the promise of cleansing and spiritual renewal that had already been revealed in the Prophets.
Born of Water
Most people associate water with natural birth—the amniotic fluid that surrounds the baby during pregnancy. This would be the same approach that Nicodemus said in his reply, "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!"
If Nicodemus viewed Jesus' words through the lens of the Law and Prophets, he would have recognized water as a symbol of purification before God (3)(4), while forgiveness and atonement ultimately required blood (5).
“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” — Psalm 51:2
Jesus references this living water to the Samaritan woman:
“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” — John 4:10
Jesus stated that the Messiah gives living water. Later, He taught about atonement through His blood:
“In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” — Luke 22:20
The Apostles spoke more clearly about such purification and cleansing:
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.” — Hebrews 10:19-22
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” — 1 John 1:7
Throughout Scripture, water symbolized purification while blood accomplished atonement. Both pointed to the cleansing from sin ultimately provided through Jesus Christ.
Born of Spirit
Although Nicodemus, as a Pharisee, would have accepted a discussion about the Spirit and spiritual things, he should have understood the wordplay Jesus used with the imagery of wind. The Greek word pneuma is used for spirit, breath and wind.
Nicodemus would know that the Breath of Life comes from the LORD as stated in both the Law and Prophets, making something inanimate come alive:
“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” — Genesis 2:7
“Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” — Ezekiel 37:9
In referencing the wind, Jesus pointed to its observable effects rather than its invisible nature. Though the wind itself cannot be seen, its presence is revealed by its effects. Likewise, the work of the Holy Spirit is often unseen, yet its effects are evident in the transformed life of the believer.
“This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.” — 1 John 5:6
Through His sacrificial death, Jesus provided the cleansing from sin that humanity needed. Following His resurrection and ascension, He poured out the Holy Spirit upon believers, fulfilling the promise that God would cleanse His people, place His Spirit within them, and make them alive to Him.
“The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time (6), says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin.” — Hebrews 10:15-18
To be born again is to be cleansed from sin and made alive by the Spirit of God. This cleansing and renewal were promised by the Prophets, accomplished through Jesus Christ, and received by faith by those who are born again.
Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, God begins the work of renewing what sin had corrupted. This new life saved from the second death becomes the foundation of everything that follows in the Christian walk.
Notes:
(1) Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council (John 3:1, John 7:50-51). Unlike the Sadducees, who rejected the resurrection, angels, and spirits (Acts 23:8), the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, the existence of angels and spirits, the coming Messiah, and the authority of both the Law and the Prophets. As a teacher of Israel, Nicodemus would have been familiar with the promises of spiritual renewal found in the prophets.
(2) Many Jews expected the Messiah to establish God's kingdom, defeat Israel's enemies, and restore the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6-7; Jeremiah 23:5-6). Most did not expect the Messiah to first come to provide salvation from sin and later return in judgment and rule. Jesus' teaching revealed that entrance into the kingdom required more than ancestry or religious observance—it required spiritual rebirth.
(3) Before entering the Tabernacle or Temple service, priests were required to wash at the bronze basin (Exodus 30:17-21). This washing did not provide forgiveness of sins, but symbolized purification before approaching God's presence. Throughout the Law, water became associated with cleansing and preparation for fellowship with God.
(4) Jews practiced ritual immersion known as tevilah in a mikveh, a pool used for ceremonial purification. The immersion symbolized cleansing from uncleanness and restoration to covenant fellowship. The use of "living" (flowing) water from a natural source reinforced the connection between purification and life. These practices help explain why Nicodemus would have naturally associated water with cleansing rather than physical birth.
(5) While water was associated with purification, forgiveness ultimately required blood. Under the Law, blood was sprinkled upon the altar and associated with atonement for sin. "For the life of a creature is in the blood..." (Leviticus 17:11). These sacrifices pointed forward to Jesus Christ, whose blood provides the cleansing and forgiveness that the ceremonial rituals could only foreshadow (Hebrews 9:13-14, Hebrews 10:19-22).
(6) "After that time" - The Holy Spirit is referencing prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34, which points to a time where the external process of the sacrificial system will end and be replaced with a new covenant by internal transformation of the Holy Spirit. This prophecy was fulfilled in Acts 2:1-4.
YOU ARE A NEW CREATION
If being born again gains access to the kingdom of heaven and is the beginning of new and eternal life, what has actually changed?
Scripture answers: They are a new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” — 2 Corinthians 5:17
“he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,” — Titus 3:5
The new creation begins when a believer is united with Christ and receives the indwelling Holy Spirit promised under the New Covenant. Through His Spirit, God restores fellowship with Himself and begins conforming believers to the image of His Son.
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” — 2 Corinthians 3:18
A restored relationship allows us to conform to the image of His Son—Jesus is the model and standard for obedience and relationship with God the Father. The phrase "new creation" points back to God's original purpose for humanity. Adam and Eve were created to live in fellowship with God and walk in obedience to Him. Sin disrupted that relationship and brought spiritual death into the world.
“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.” — 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, believers not only begin to experience restored fellowship with God, but are also marked as belonging to Christ.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,” — Ephesians 1:13
Becoming a new creation does not begin with a physical change (1). The change begins within. Scripture emphasizes that the new creation is not defined by outward appearance, ancestry, or religious ritual, but by the inward work of God through the Holy Spirit.
“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.” — Galatians 6:15
Through the indwelling Holy Spirit, God restores what sin disrupted, giving the believer a new heart that is receptive to God's influence and able to know, trust, and follow Him. While the struggle against sin remains, sin no longer reigns as master. The new creation begins inwardly and will ultimately be completed when Christ returns.
“For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.” — Romans 6:6-7
The new creation describes what God begins to do within the believer through the Holy Spirit. Scripture also teaches that through faith in Jesus Christ, believers receive a new standing before God. The believer is not only transformed inwardly but is also declared righteous before God.
Notes:
(1) - Physical transformation occurs with the Rapture (see The Rapture), which is part of the First Resurrection (see Types of Resurrections).
YOU ARE DECLARED NOT GUILTY
If sin brings guilt before a holy God, how can anyone stand accepted in His presence?
Scripture teaches that all people have sinned and stand accountable before their Creator.
“For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die. ” — Ezekiel 18:4
“... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ” — Romans 3:23
“For the wages of sin is death ... ” — Romans 6:23
Because God is both loving and just, guilt cannot simply be ignored. Justice requires that sin be addressed. Throughout the Old Testament, God provided sacrifices that pointed forward to a greater sacrifice yet to come.
“For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.” — Leviticus 17:11
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” — Isaiah 53:5-6
The word atonement refers to the means by which guilt is addressed and reconciliation with God is made possible. The sacrifices of the Law foreshadowed Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as the final and perfect sacrifice for sin.
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” — John 3:14-15
“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” — Romans 3:25-26
Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the penalty for sin has been paid and God's justice satisfied. Because guilt has been addressed, God may now declare righteous those who place their faith in His Son. This declaration is known as justification.
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,” — Romans 5:1
Believers are no longer viewed according to their sin, guilt, or past failures, but according to the righteousness of Christ. The penalty has been paid, the debt satisfied, and the verdict rendered. We have exchanged wrath for peace. Justification changes our standing before God and becomes the foundation for our new identity as children adopted into His family.
YOU ARE ADOPTED AS CHILDREN OF GOD
If believers have been declared righteous before God, what relationship do they now have with Him?
Scripture says believers are no longer regarded merely as forgiven sinners, but as sons and daughters of God.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” — John 1:12
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” — 1 John 3:1
Not only has God removed us from the courtroom of justice where He is Judge, He has brought believers to the living room of his home as a Father.
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” — Romans 8:15-17
Through Christ, believers become heirs of God's promises and co-heirs with Christ in His kingdom.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.” — Matthew 25:34
“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” — Galatians 4:4-7
Jesus not only called God His Father, but taught His followers to approach God as their Father as well.
“This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,” — Matthew 6:9
“I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.” — John 20:17
The greatest joy of any father is the restoration of his children who have gone astray. A good father builds up his family and seeks to bring his children back into relationship. Jesus illustrated the Father's heart toward His children in the Parable of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15:11-31.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” — Luke 15:20-24
Believers are not just subjects or citizens of a kingdom. They are family with direct access to their Father. Their inheritance is secure.
“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” — Ephesians 1:11-14
CONCLUSION
Since the Garden of Eden, humanity continues to believe the same lie, "God is withholding your greatest good." The world says humanity's greatest good is something to obtain—success, fulfillment, enlightenment, peace, power, pleasure, or even eternal reward. Whatever the goal, the pursuit ultimately centers upon self.
“For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does...” — 1 John 2:16
The truth is far different.
God does not merely give humanity its greatest good. God Himself is humanity's greatest good.
Jesus defined eternal life not merely by its duration, but by a restored relationship with God through His Son.
“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” — John 17:3
Humanity was created to know Him, walk with Him, trust Him, and enjoy fellowship with Him. Our understanding and fulfillment of our identity flow from our relationship with God. When humanity lost fellowship with God, it also lost a true understanding of itself. As God restores that relationship through Christ, He also restores the identity for which humanity was originally created.
Sin did not merely bring guilt into the world; it disrupted the very relationship for which we were created. Every attempt to find identity, purpose, fulfillment, or meaning apart from God ultimately leaves humanity searching for what can only be found in Him.
Through Jesus Christ, God restores humanity to the relationship sin disrupted. Those who place their faith in Christ are born again, made a new creation, justified before God, and adopted into His family. These are not merely gifts God gives—they are acts of God that restore believers to the relationship for which humanity was created.
Our new identity is therefore not something we invent, earn, or achieve. It is the result of being restored to God through Jesus Christ.
If our identity is no longer rooted in this world but in Christ, what does it mean to live as citizens of His Kingdom while residing in another?
Continue to Christianity 203 - A Diplomatic Interpretation of the Church
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