My kids weren’t like me, but they do belong to me. When my wife and I adopted our children, they didn’t speak our language, know our rhythms, or do a good job imitating our way of life. But they were ours. We joyfully gave them our name. I became their father. They were then relationally and legally united to us.
Those early years were hard for us all, but we returned to one foundation over and over. We kept telling them, “No matter what came before, no matter what you do, you are ours, and we are yours.”
This is the same foundation we must return to as Christians. Underneath many of our struggles is a failure to remember that our identity as Christians flows from belonging, not from imitation.
What Does “Christian” Mean?
Many have heard that the word “Christian” means “little Christ.” Often, “Christ-follower” is substituted as a preferred designation. The idea is that a Christian should try to be like Jesus.
Underneath many of our struggles is a failure to remember that our identity as Christians flows from belonging, not from imitation.
But the word “Christian” actually means someone who belongs to Christ. New Testament scholar John B. Polhill explains, “The term in Greek is Christianos. It is a hybrid form, built on the Greek word for Messiah (Christos, ‘anointed one’) and the Latin suffix ianus, which means ‘belonging to.’”
Looking beyond the definition, you’ll discover that the most frequent descriptors of Christian identity are familial (brother, sister, children), and these are followed in frequency by the word “saint,” which refers to those set apart for God. All these designations point not primarily to our imitation but rather to our belonging.
This isn’t a trivial distinction. Consider three ways the truth that we belong to Christ strengthens us.
1. Joyful Fellowship
I can admire and model my life after historical figures like Abraham Lincoln or Charles Spurgeon, but I can’t have fellowship with them; they’re dead. If we treat Jesus the same way—as a figure merely to admire and imitate—our faith will feel dry. But Christianity isn’t just being like Jesus; it’s being with him.
We don’t just study his teaching and shape our choices by his example. We have an active, constant, dynamic fellowship with God in the here and now.
We speak to God, and he listens (1 John 5:14), and he speaks through his Word (Heb. 1:2). He constantly encourages us (Phil. 2:1), gives joy (1 Pet. 1:8) and hope (Rom. 15:13). In our difficulty, he comforts (2 Cor. 1:3–4), carries our burdens (1 Pet. 5:7), and remains present even when others abandon us (2 Tim. 4:16–17). He gives wisdom when we’re confused (James 1:5), peace when we’re anxious (Phil. 4:7), and mercy and help in any time of need (Heb. 4:16). He guides us into truth (John 16:13), provides for our needs (Phil. 4:19), and empowers each of us for ministry (Acts 1:8).
Because you belong to him, you can walk joyfully each day with God.
2. Deeper Rest
Give me a minute and I could fill pages with things to be stressed about. Church. Kids. Failure. Money. Aging. And myself: I know I need to be more like Jesus. It’s true. And I’m trying. But imitation alone doesn’t give rest.
Comfort comes from resting in our belonging. The first question of the Heidelberg Catechism asks, “What is thy only comfort in life and death?” The answer begins: “That I, with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.”
Because you belong to him, you can walk joyfully each day with God.
Salvation is beautiful. Like a sacrificial fireman, Jesus plunged into the fires of judgment to save us from death. Justification is marvelous. In God’s courtroom, we’ve been declared not guilty—righteous, in fact—because of Jesus’s payment and record.
But the truth that most often lifts my heart when I’m discouraged, that gives me peace in unknown waiting and puts steel in my spine to enter the fight, is this: I am adopted. God didn’t just save me from the fire; he brought me into his home. He didn’t just slam the gavel down with a favorable verdict; he gave me his name. I belong to him.
Whatever fear you carry, whatever burden weighs you down, name it, and then remind yourself, “I am his. Body and soul. Life and death.”
3. Empowered Obedience
Apart from belonging, obedience often leads to resentment. We struggle to obey because we’re trying to hold two opposing desires together: We want to be like Jesus, but we want to remain free as individuals. If I think of myself only as a Jesus-follower, there’s a sense in which I might maintain the right to decide how closely I’ll match his pace.
But belonging demands relinquishing. Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20). Elsewhere, he’s emphatic: “You are not your own, for you were bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:19–20).
C. S. Lewis writes,
Christ says “Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it. . . . Hand over the whole natural self, all the desires which you think innocent as well as the ones you think wicked—the whole outfit. I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours.”
Want the power to obey in the areas you feel stuck? Stop trying to follow Jesus while at the same time keeping your rights intact. You are his, and he is good. Belonging frees us by enslaving us to our loving Lord (Rom. 6:22).
A strong faith comes from a strong foundation. You won’t be free of trials and temptations. But keep listening to God’s voice as it reminds you that no matter what came before, no matter what you do, you belong to him.
Christian, you are his, and he is yours.
The Gospel Coalition