Who Is “Me”?

A Bible study on identity, belief, self-deception, Christ as the revealer of hearts, and the meaning of life.

Introduction — The Question Every Human Will Face

Most people ask, “Who am I?” But before that comes the deeper question: “What does that even mean?”

Study thought: Every human being uses the word “me,” yet few stop to ask what it means or amounts to. Most people assume “me” is their body, name, memories, beliefs, experiences, feelings, desires, accomplishments, failures, possessions, family, religion, nationality, or reputation.

Expand that thought: Still yet, what does it really mean? “Me” is merely what I am. In actual practice, then, “me” is in part what I have allowed myself to believe I am. That includes religious and Christian beliefs, of course, but it is not limited to religion. It includes all beliefs: what I believe about my worth as a person, my guilt, my intelligence, my future, my failures, my strengths, my God, my neighbor, and my own heart.

Observation: A man who believes he is worthless will often live as though he is worthless. A man who believes he is righteous may act righteous, or merely arrogant. A man who believes he is condemned may never seek forgiveness. A man who believes he is loved may attempt things others fear to try. Whether true or false, those beliefs become part of the functioning definition of “me.”

The One Inspiring and Giving Answer to the Question

Luke 2:34-35 — WEB

34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which is spoken against. 35 Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

Summation: Christ wasn't sent by his Father to teach doctrine. He gets inside minds and reveals hearts. He exposes the reasoning under the surface. That means the question “Who is me?” must be tested by what Christ reveals, not merely by what we feel or claim about ourselves.

Annotation: The first issue is not only “Do I believe in Christ?” but “What does my reaction to Christ reveal about what I am?”

1. The “Me” I Believe I Am

The “me” I exist as, and we only exist in right now, is often the collection of beliefs I have accepted about myself. Some sort of inherited from or encouraged by my family and environment and friends, and some maybe forced on me even from youth!

Jesus came to give us ability to understand and to sort through all that. He judges sincerely and perfectly and grants us ability to see ourselves like that; as we truly are.

1 Samuel 16:7 — WEB

7 But יהוה said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for יהוה sees not as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but יהוה looks at the heart.”

Summation: Human beings judge the visible person. God judges the heart. That means the external “me” may not be the true “me.”

Reflection: Which beliefs about yourself came from truth? Which came from fear, pain, pride, parents, society, religion, politics, personal desire, or repeated failure?

Galatians 6:2-5 — summarized

Paul warns that a person can think himself to be something when he is nothing, deceiving himself. Each person must test his own work and carry his own load before God.

Summation: Self-belief can be false. The mind can create a “me” that does not match reality.

2. Who Created Me?

God created mankind, but the identity that is "Me" is partially self-created. Our Creator, however, defines purpose.

Genesis 1:26-28 — WEB

26 God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Summation: Mankind begins as God’s image-bearer. The beginning of “me” was not accidental, purposeless, or self-created.

Annotation: The designer determines purpose. But "me" must make the choice to allow itself to walk in that purpose. Humankind's 6000 years of existence apart from God's directions has clearly demonstrated: A created thing can not define why it exists apart from its creator.

Genesis 1:26-31 — summarized

God made mankind in His image, gave mankind responsibility over the earth, and saw everything He had made as very good.

Summation: The Bible begins with human dignity before it ever describes human failure. That failure was our choice...

Genesis 2:15-18 — summarized

God placed the man in Eden, gave him work, gave him a command, and then recognized that man should not remain alone.

Summation: The first human identity included relationship with God, meaningful work, moral responsibility, and human companionship.

3. False Ideas About “Me”

The first lie did not merely attack a rule. It asserted to offer mankind a new identity apart from God.

Genesis 3:1-15 — WEB, key verses

1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which יהוה God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’” 4 The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die, 5 for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too.

Summation: Eve was offered a new belief about herself; a new "me": that she could become “like God” by disobeying God’s command. The very first false “me” began with accepting a false definition of life, wisdom, and freedom.

Annotation: Every belief not grounded in truth has the power to become part of a false self. If you believe a lie, it becomes a part of your own personal "me" and you are the one most likely to suffer becasue of it!

Genesis 3:2-4 — summarized

The serpent contradicted God’s warning and told the woman she would not die. She did die! Sin might be thought of as a disease and since we are children of sinful Adam and Eve, we are born with their sinful tendencies.

Summation: A false identity often starts with our believing any false promise: Most common, “You will not suffer the result God said would come as a consequence of bad acts.”

2 Corinthians 11:3-7 — summarized

Paul feared that Christians could be corrupted and turned away from sincere devotion to Christ just as the serpent seduced Eve.

Summation: Deception did not end in Eden. A person can still be moved away from Christ by accepting another message, another spirit, creating another version of “me.” We were all born seperated from God, and must build a new "me" that is not...

4. Christ Reveals the Real “Me”

The same teachings of Christ reveal differences in hearts. The difference is not Christ. The difference is the person encountering him.

1 Corinthians 1:21-24 — WEB

21 For seeing that in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom didn’t know God, it was God’s good pleasure through the foolishness of the preaching to save those who believe. 22 For Jews ask for signs, Greeks seek after wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews, and foolishness to Greeks, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. (Gal 3:19-29)

Summation: Christ is wisdom to some and foolishness to others. The reaction exposes the heart. A proud man encounters Christ and is offended. A humble man encounters Christ and learns. A selfish man encounters Christ and resists. A truth-seeking man encounters Christ and follows.

Annotation: The same Christ. Different hearts. Different definitions of “me.”

Acts 22:3-16 — summarized

Paul had been zealous for God according to his former understanding, but Christ revealed that his zeal had been misdirected.

Summation: Saul proudly and religiously thought he knew who "me" was. Christ showed him he had been fighting against the truth he thought he served.

Acts 26:24-29 — summarized

When Paul spoke about Christ, some treated him as mad, while Agrippa was pressed toward belief.

Summation: The message of Christ forces a verdict. (John 3:16-21) That verdict reveals the true "me" in the listener and sets them free. (John 8:31-32)

5. When God Changes a Person’s Identity

Often the greatest obstacle to becoming who God wants us to be; is the "me" we already "believe" ourselves to be. Our own faith can kill us! Paul had great faith. He also had great prominence and stature in the Jewish religious community. (Acts 23:6-9 of 1-10) Imagine, if Paul had let those things, his previous "me", the faith which painted Christ an enemy, keep him from humbling himself before Jesus!

Genesis 17:4-6 — WEB, key verses

4 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. 5 Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.

Summation: Abram was not left with his former identity. God named him according to promise based on Abram's faith. Abram created a new "me" for or as himself, and God then gave him one as well; a new name acknowledging Abram's new "me".

Genesis 32:27-28 — WEB

27 He said to him, “What is your name?” He said, “Jacob.” 28 He said, “Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have fought with God and with men [persisted in his striving for righteousness], and have prevailed.”

Summation: Jacob’s identity was changed after struggle. His new name marked a changed relationship with God.

Genesis 35:9-12 — summarized

God again confirmed Jacob’s new name, Israel, and repeated promises connected to offspring, nations, kings, and land.

Summation: God’s naming is not empty labeling. It attaches identity to purpose.

6. Becoming a New “Me”

Christianity is not merely self-improvement. It is the putting away of the old person and the forming of a new one. And, it's all very simply based on and brought about simply by what you choose to believe. The "me" you choose to become.

2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2 — WEB, key verse

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.

Summation: The Christian “me” is not merely the old self with better habits. It is a new creation in Christ.

Colossians 3:9-10 — WEB

9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, 10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,

Summation: The new person is renewed in knowledge after the image of the Creator. True identity requires truth.

Ephesians 4:22-24 — WEB

22 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.

Summation: The change reaches the mind itself. The false “me” is connected with deceit. The new “me” is connected with righteousness, holiness, and truth.

7. The Test of Identity

The words of Christ become a mirror. What a person does with them reveals the person.

John 3:19-21 — WEB

19 This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does evil hates the light and doesn’t come to the light, lest his works would be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his works may be revealed, that they have been done in God.”

Summation: The issue is not only whether light exists. The issue is whether we love light or darkness. That love reveals the heart.

John 12:47-50 — WEB

47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke will judge him in the last day. 49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”

Summation: The words of Christ judge because they expose response. A person’s reaction to those words reveals what he loves, trusts, fears, and refuses.

Study questions:

Who do I believe I am?
Why do I believe that?
Which of those beliefs came from God?
Which came from parents, society, fear, pride, pain, religion, or self-deception?
What does Christ reveal to be true?
Am I willing to abandon a false “me” to become a true one?

8. The Meaning of Life

The study ends where the question “Who is me?” must finally go: Why does this “me” exist?

Hal’s brief, unflowered statement:

Without religion, sentimentality, optimism, or pessimism: most human beings spend their lives pursuing whatever they believe will satisfy them. Pleasure, security, status, relationships, achievement, legacy, or religion. Every human life ends in death. Without something larger than the individual, every achievement eventually disappears. The central human struggle is trying to discover whether existence has objective meaning or only subjective meaning.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 — WEB

13 This is the end of the matter. All has been heard. Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it is good, or whether it is evil.

Bob’s brief, unflowered statement: The meaning of life is to know יהוה, obey Him, become like His Son, choose good over evil, help others do the same, and live forever as part of God’s family. Life is a test of what you truly love.

Stark conclusion: Most human beings spend their lives pursuing things that will not survive their own death. According to the Bible, only our relationship with יהוה and His Christ survives death. Everything else is temporary.

1. The “Me” I "Know" I Am

The “me” I exist as, and remember we only exist in right now, is the collection of beliefs my experiences of life have allowed or caused me accepted and truly believe about myself. That is my faith. My faith is "me"! It is the "me" I have become; as I continue to strip away much of what I inherited from or was encouraged to by my family and environment and friends, and especially what forced on me over the years! (Heb 2:14-18)

"The conclusion of the matter; everything having been heard, is: Fear the true God and give him glory!" (Ecc 12:13-14) About "your me", are you proud of him or her? Does he or she truly believe Jesus came to give us ability to understand and to sort through all Satan's lies and deceptions? Do you know he taught us to guard ourselves from idols... (1 John 5:20 of 18-21) Jesus judges sincerely and perfectly, as he also lovingly and patiently grants us ability to see ourselves as he and his Father see us; (Heb 10:14; Heb 12:18-29) to see the "me" we truly are. All we need do is have true faith based in our own "personal and real familiarity" with the words of Jesus Christ! Guarding your "me" from idols includes understanding your only options are Christianity or religion. And, there is no "false" religion. All Religionists are followers of Satan, and are true to him. All Christians are the individual followers of Jesus Christ. Any religious group or sect that identifies themselves by any name above or in addition to Christian; are just identifying themselves as Religionists. If you are Catholic or Baptist or Jew or Muslim or Mormon or Jehovah's Witness or any other Protestant; do you really think God sees your "me" as Christian? (Mal 3:16-4:3)