Lesson 10: Your New Identity in ChristUnderstanding the Transforming Power of Salvation
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”— Galatians 2:20
(N “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”— Psalm 103:12
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”— 2 Corinthians 5:17
My Experience With Identity
I’ve never fully felt grounded within myself to reflect who I am on the inside. I remember a friend once told me she thought I was stuck up before she got to know me. But I wasn’t trying to be that way
— I just didn’t know who I was. Not knowing my father had a lot to do with it. I had a last name that wasn’t really mine. It belonged to someone I had never met, and no other family member shared it. I always felt... disconnected.
My inner life — my thought life — was rich and dramatic. A world full of creativity and beautiful daydreams. But it was also marked by fear, which clung to me like a shadow. That mixture — the imaginative with the anxious — left me feeling fragile and unmoored.
Interestingly, there’s research suggesting that creative people are more prone to anxiety and depression. Our minds are always spinning. (See: Psychology Today, “Creativity and Mental Illness”)
But when I surrendered my life to Christ, something shifted at my core. I remember thinking, “I wonder if my DNA is different.” That’s how deep the change felt. That’s how new I felt.
And the truth is, there is evidence that deep spiritual experiences can impact us at a biological level. Epigenetic studies show that powerful emotional or spiritual events can actually reshape how our genes express themselves. Our DNA may remain the same, but our being doesn’t.
A Strange but Striking Analogy
Let me offer a metaphor. It may sound strange — but it captures something important.
Philosopher L.A. Paul, in her book Transformative Experience, presents the idea that becoming a vampire is a helpful thought experiment to understand how deeply certain decisions can change who we are. Before becoming a vampire, the person doesn’t know what it will feel like. They can’t make the decision based on who they are now, because the transformation changes their values, perceptions, and identity.
That’s what happened to me when I surrendered to Christ.
In vampire stories, the mortal is bitten, and their transformation begins. They no longer eat as they once did, they are sustained by blood. The old life ends, and a new identity begins.
When I gave my life fully to Jesus — when I finally said, “Your way, not mine” — I felt that same kind of irreversible shift. I even said out loud, “I think I died.” And in a very real way, I did.
But unlike the vampire myth, this wasn’t a curse. It was a gift. I was reborn into life — no longer defined by past trauma, bad decisions, or the identity I had tried to build on my own. All of it was washed away.
This is what it means to be born again. You’re not just “forgiven.” You’re rebuilt. God no longer sees your shame. You are no longer condemned. You are His.
Do you feel like a new creation, or are you still carrying pieces of your old identity?
What does it mean to you that God has removed your sin “as far as the east is from the west”?
Have you had a defining moment where your identity shifted?
Prayer Father, thank You for giving me a new name, a new identity, and a new life. Help me to believe that I am no longer defined by who I was or what I’ve done. Let me walk confidently as a child of God, reborn and rebuilt by Your mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.