Sunday Recap - Made New: Identity in Christ - 25th May 2025

May 25th, 2025
by Jared Howlett

Made New: Identity in Christ – Week 5

Message Overview:

From our creation we were made to have dominion throughout the whole earth. God created us to be stewards over the whole earth.
The Image of God doesn’t just refer to value but it is also a vocation. As God’s perfect imagers we are made to rule the earth as God’s representatives. We were made to be shaped by God and to rule the earth under God’s authority.
As we fell into sin we exchanged worship of God for Idols and chased after other things, wealth, pleasure, status, power. These things became our idols.
We often turn our idolatry into identity and base our identity on things we chase instead of God.
Fallen spiritual beings in rebellion to God seize the authority that we were designed to hold to dire consequences. Evil spiritual beings have influence throughout the world and paul refers to them in the new testament in terms of spiritual powers, principalities and elemental spiritual forces.
Jesus Ministry addresses the dominion we had given over to darkness. He is presented as the king on the cross and is exalted as the man who reclaimed dominion over the earth.
Jesus after reclaiming our authority gives it back to the believer by his holy spirit and us as christians are charged with carrying Jesus kingdom and authority throughout the whole world.

Key Scriptures:

Genesis 1:27-28 ESV
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Psalm 8:3-9 ESV
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beingsb
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,

Romans 1:21-22 ESV
21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

1 Cor 10:20-22 ESV
20 No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22 Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Ephesians 6 11-12 NIV
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Luke 4:5-8 NIV
5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7If you worship me, it will all be yours.”
8Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’ ”

Verses from Mark 15
2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
9“Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”
12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?”
17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.”
32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.”

Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”