This Changes Everything For Me

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

This verse is one of the most profound identity statements in the New Testament, specifically the powerful phrase “as He is, so are we in this world.” Once you understand what John is really saying, and let it permeate your soul, your whole world changes. (At least, that’s how it affected me.)

First of all, John didn’t say “as He WAS”, it says “as He IS (present tense). So, right NOW in Heaven, Jesus is accepted, righteous and in union with the Father. But then he adds the stunner… “so are we in this world”.

Our identity in this present world mirrors Christ’s current standing before God. This is not, “Someday you will be”, or “After you clean up your act and make it sparkling clean”. It is now.

So because He is accepted, we are accepted.

Because He is righteous, we are now righteous.

Because He is loved, we are loved.

This is not accomplished by trying to imitate Jesus.

It is true because of our union with Him. Most people think: “If I behave right, I’ll be accepted.” But John flips it: “Because you are accepted, love matures—and behavior follows.”

I think it’s easy to stumble over the part about we are now righteous because we’re very aware of our shortcomings. How could it be true that because He is righteous, we are NOW righteous?

We think that might be true in Heaven, but not down here where we fall short in all manner of ways. But Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that “God made Him who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Consider the birds for a moment…  A bird doesn’t try to earn the sky. It flies because it was designed for it. In the same way: You don’t earn God’s love, you express what you already are (accepted, righteous and loved).

“As He is, so are we” means that we are operating from identity, not striving for it.

The more this truth gets into the fiber of your soul, the more fearless and free you become.

A more literal translation of “as He is, so are we in this world” would be, “In the exact same way that He exists right now, we also exist.”

Most people read this as, “Act like Jesus”, but that is not what John is saying. This is about “being”, not “behavior”. It’s about “identity”, not “imitation”. If it were about behavior, it would say “As He lived, so should be live”, but it doesn’t. It says, “As He IS… so ARE we”.

The real battle is perception.

We think we’re struggling with lack of provision, lack of opportunity, lack of any number of things, but in reality our struggle is misaligned identity. We tend to think of ourselves as “I am separate” and that we must earn or prove ourselves to God to really have His acceptance, but in truth, we are already aligned.

Back to the birds for a moment… They don’t strive to become aerodynamic. They don’t go to flight school or attend seminars on flight. They don’t have to earn the right to fly. They simply express what they already are.

Most people operate from a lack mentality, strive for validation, and chase outcomes. But we are invited to operate from identity, create from fullness and move with authority.

As a result, we don’t have to chase opportunity – we see it and steward it. We don’t have to beg for value – we carry it. We don’t operate in fear – we operate in bold confidence.

This is not a promise for the sweet bye and bye. “So are we in this world” means this isn’t after we leave this world… It’s right here – right now!

Instead of asking how do I become more like Jesus, the better question is to ask where are you not seeing what is already true?

It all comes down to this simple framework:

1. UNION – You are not separate from God.

2. IDENTITY – You share His standing with the Father.

3. PERCEPTION – You must see correctly.

4. EXPRESSION – You live from that reality.

You don’t build a life to become accepted… You build from the reality that you already are. And that my friend, will make all the difference!

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