Colossians 3:1–11 (NLT) — 1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

1. I am DEAD

1. Declaration - Whoever you used to be is DEAD, and you are a brand new person!
2. This has two parts
   1. DEAD
      1. Romans 6:6–7 (NLT) — 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 7 For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin.
      2. Throughout the New Testament, we hear over and over that our old life is dead. 
   2. NEW
      1. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NLT) — 17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
      2. You are now a completely new Creation..
      3. God isn’t trying to reform the old you, he is wanting to make you a new person.

2. I am WITH CHRIST

1. Declaration - You are no longer an independent admirer of Jesus, you actually belong to Him. 
2. You are now seen as BELONGING to Christ.
3. You are now seen as WITH Christ.
4. You are now seen as NAMED by Christ.
5. Shared Existence: We share the same everything; "What is his is now mine!"

3. I am ADOPTED

1. Declaration - Whatever your past identity was, you are now a part of a royal family. This new identity trumps the old identity.
2. Colossians 3:10–11 (NLT) — 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

4. I am RIGHTEOUS

1. Declaration - In Christ, I am righteous, fully accepted by God, not because of what I have done, but because of what Christ has done for me.
2. This is legal language.
3. This is not future tense. It’s present tense.  It has already been declared that you are forgiven! 
4. This is received not achieved.

5. I am LEARNING

1. Declaration - The reason you continue to do things from your old life is because you are learning a new identity. Our entire lives we are aligning more and more with our new identity
2. Learning to see myself through the eyes of Christ. 
3. Learning who I am through what the word says.
4. Learning how to live out of my new identity.