Whose Am I

Whose Am I?

The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity – 8/15/2026

1 Corinthians 15:1-10

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our reading from the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Church in Corinth in the 15^th chapter with special emphasis on verses nine and ten which reads as follows:

“For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

     How would you describe the normal way that people navigate life? That is to say, what is the framework, the worldview, the basic beliefs about themselves and the world that people employ? There are, of course, many answers to a question that is formed this broadly. But, one of the major ingredients in how we Americans at this time navigate identity is what some scholars call expressive individualism. Though the idea goes back to the very first sin, the phrase “expressive individualism” was coined more recently and is still used by scholars to describe a particular way of understanding one’s place in the world.[2] 

This way of looking at the world has three major parts. First, people should turn inward to find truth and meaning. Second, this inner truth and meaning must be shown outwardly in order to be authentic. Third, traditional social roles, religious teachings, and cultural norms are all to be treated as secondary to these inner truths. This may take a bit of unpacking.

      Much of the world around us tells us to look inward to find who we are, Scripture counsels us to look to Christ; in Him we find our identity.

Inner Truth?

       I’m sure you’ve heard the phrases associated with this idea before. It is common, isn’t

it, for people to speak about their truths as opposed to objective truth? Have you heard people use the language of personal discovery? Of soul-searching? Of looking inside to find the truth of who a particular individual is? Or, perhaps, you’ve heard it in its milder forms such as “follow your heart?” “Listen to yourself?” or “Look to yourself?”

       The basic idea here is simple enough: in order to find out who you are, really, truly, deep down, you must spend time examining your thoughts and feelings to find your preferences and deeply held beliefs. These, then are who you really are. Notice the tight connection here between an individual’s ideas and preferences and their very identity. The effect of this is easy to see: people are reducible to their strong feelings and personal beliefs. This is why sexual attraction is understood to be the core of a person’s identity rather than something that he experiences. This is why discussions over even mundane topics can lead to heated, even violent exchanges. Disagreeing with someone who operates in this way is to attack her very core, her real identity.

Outer Expression

       The second part is the natural outgrowth of the first. That is to say, if one truly believes that he is defined by his ideas and feelings, then it is only a matter of time before that person seeks to demonstrate his inner character through outward expressions of those ideas. This is why we see so many people needing to exhibit their preferences for everyone to see.

      Besides seeking consistency between the inner and outer self, this exhibiting of one’s identity also demands affirmation and acceptance and often resorts to brute force to make this happen. The reason here again is simple: if I am, in my very core, who I am attracted to or what I choose to spend my time on, then your disagreement or discomfort with that is not simply a disagreement or discomfort with an idea, it is an attack against my very identity. This is why so many discussions, which we may see as discussions of ideas, turn into something much more vitriolic. After all, who wants her identity shredded during a conversation?

Rejection of Outer Authority

    Finally, if one takes this to its logical conclusion, one must reject all outer authorities that do not line up with one’s inner beliefs and feelings. Cultural norms are not safeguards against chaos; they are oppression of the inner self. Religious truth is suspect because it demands submission to a higher authority. Traditional gender and social roles are cast aside because these would limit the individual and prevent her from what she desires most deeply. The logic here is easy enough to wrap our minds around: if something gets in the way of my acting and showing my deeply held beliefs and feelings, then it is bad and should be removed.

Who Are You?

    There is a serious flaw in this approach to the human person. While advocates of expressive individualism argue that they are uncovering an immutable, true self, the self we discover within ourselves is a poor foundation on which to build our identity. We change our ideas and preferences regularly and we can only impose them on others by the strength of our wills. Have we not all had the experience of changing our minds about something that was previously important to us? Even worse, the rejection of external authority rejects the idea of a common truth and a common reality, a world that we are part of that binds us to certain givens that we cannot alter.

     Above all, it does not offer a place for God, service to Him, or a genuine, selfless love of our neighbors. If everything must be filtered through me and I get to decide what is good, then I will end up developing a rather high opinion of myself. And, as I think we all know, arrogance and narcissism are not good qualities in a person.               

     This is the cultural water we swim in, and each of us wrestles with the temptation to make our faith a product of our inner feelings and beliefs rather than the reception of Christ’s Word. We frequently appeal to our belief in Christ as if it was something we do. We get frustrated, defensive, and angry with those outside of the Church because we feel threatened by their lack of knowing the Lord. We are tempted to show off religious art not as an expression of faith, but to demonstrate who we have decided to be. Our crosses, our books, our churches, and our theology can become ways we construct identities for ourselves. Even though these are all good in themselves, none of them is Christ.

St. Paul certainly has reasons to boast. But he knows the pitfall of valuing himself above all other things. When pressed, he did not appeal to his knowledge, the revelation he received from the Lord, or his reformed life. Instead, he appealed to an identity that he received by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, his Lord. He brought the shame of persecution of God’s church, but God gave him grace, making him an Apostle of Christ Jesus. Paul says, “by the grace of God I am what I am.” He does not say that he is who he is because of what he decided, by looking within, or by expressing his authentic self. It is God who gives Paul his identity and makes him what he is. God’s grace was not in vain for Paul. Indeed, it is not in vain for any of us.

His place in eternity, before God, rests in the life of Another. It rests in Christ. It is the  righteousness of Jesus, His death, His atoning blood, and His resurrection that are the things upon which Paul's identity before God rests. This is why before appealing to the grace of God, he recounts the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. It is His coming into this world, His death, and His resurrection that grant us a solid foundation of identity, a cornerstone not made with human hands. And from this solid foundation, we, as Paul did, can live a life of Christian labor and service here in this confused world. When we labor, it is the grace of God that labors in us.               

Conclusion

This simple truth of identity is one that baffles a world trained to think in terms of expressive individualism: you are most truly you when God gives you new life in Christ. When you were baptized into the Lord, you were given an identity that does not originate in yourself, it originates in Christ. Its strength does not lie in how much power you have to impose your beliefs on others or the world, rather, its strength lies in the shed blood of Jesus, His perfect atonement, His victory over the grave. And just as sure as these blessed things stand as the everlasting blessing of God, so too does your place within them. Even more, this baptismal identity does not last only for this life, it lasts for eternity. Even death is unable to strip you of who you are in Christ. You may lose your job, your love, your possessions, your health, and even your life. You will most certainly die. But Christ is risen, and as St. Paul says elsewhere, those who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into His death so that we might also share in His resurrection.[3]

   It is tempting to fall into the thinking of this world and the expressive individualism that it promotes. It tempts us because it appeals to the sinful old self who, above all, wants to be the most important, most significant person of all. “You will be like God” led Adam and Eve to fall. The same temptation snares us today.

    Dear friends in Christ, blessed saints of the Lord, you need not live as slaves to this way of thinking. Jesus shed His blood to save you from sin, death, and the devil. You have been baptized into Christ and given the Holy Spirit. God knows you as His own. He has called you by name and made you His child. This identity cannot be stripped from you by sin, death, or the devil, because it is given in Christ and secured by His blood. The world asks, “who am I?” The better question is “Whose am I?” And you who are baptized into Christ have a certain answer: you are Christ’s.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

 The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the Holy Scriptures are from the ESV.

[2] The idea in its contemporary form goes back to at least the writings of Jean-Jacque Rousseau (1712-1778). The phrase describing this idea comes from Habits of the Heart by Robert Bellah et al (1985).

[3] Romans 6:3-5