In the Supper, we should see nothing less than the reversal of the fall. The fall brought separation and alienation between God and man. But in the Supper God invites us back to the Table. It’s in this sacrament that we are reminded, in a profound way, that our identity is now as adopted children of God who have a seat at the family table. And at this table Christ repeatedly offers, not only a meal, but His very own self as the life-giving food.
Prayer
Prayer may possibly be the most overlooked of these three means of grace, and how sad since it is the one we have access to no matter where, when, or what. Prayer can seem tedious, boring, a chore, an effort in futility, or all of the above.
Why is prayer often so difficult for us? Maybe part of the reason is that we don’t understand that it is a means of Christ communicating Himself to us. We deepen our union in the Son through prayer because we are actually participating in the very same activity of the Son. Prayer is the Son’s primary business right now in glory (Romans 8:34). He stands at the Father’s right hand, pleading our cause, presenting our needs. When we pray we join in that great work. The more we pray the more our will and words become aligned with His. And as we witness our prayers heard and answered our faith is strengthened and our Christian identity further confirmed as belonging wholly to God.
Why do you think we conclude our prayer’s with “in Jesus’ name. Amen”? It’s not just a sign-off, or an “in conclusion” way to wrap things up. We present our prayers to God in the name of Jesus because His is the only name that will get us access to the Father. We are unworthy. We are sinful. We are weak. We are broken. Yet His is the Name above every name (Philippians 2:9), and when we pray we remind ourselves that we are in that Name.
Conclusion
Our Christian identity must be experienced, pursued, cultivated, lived in. God has made a once-for-all declaration that we are in His Son. So what are we going to do about that? We must immerse ourselves in Him. As we have received Him we must also walk in Him (Col. 2:6). We must impress upon ourselves the reality of this new Christian identity and frequently remind ourselves of the true narrative to which we belong. We need to denounce the false identity gospel that the world, and sadly sometimes the church, preaches to us on a daily basis. We must put on Christ and live out the identity He has given us. And in worship God has graciously given us the tools to do just that.
This article is adapted from The Christian’s True Identity: What It Means to Be in Christ (RHB, 2019) by Jonathan Landry Cruse.
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[1] Michael Horton, A Better Way (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), 52-53.
[2] Keith A. Mathison, Given for You: Reclaiming Calvin’s Doctrine of the Lord’s Supper (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2002), 18.
[3] Calvin, Commentaries, 20:335.
This article about Christian identity originally appeared here.
