Some years back, I was on an overseas trip and staying at a hotel in China. This hotel was quite different from most hotels in America. There weren't a lot of people, and certainly no foreigners like myself. I got up early in the morning and went down to find some breakfast and coffee (yes, on the breakfast; no, on the coffee). I then decided to look around and get the lay of the land. I wandered into a big open room on a lower floor that was completely deserted and a little eerie. Suddenly a woman appeared out of nowhere and said to me in English, "Who are you?" I froze, both mentally and physically, because I honestly didn't know how to answer, how much information to offer, or what she was really after. I didn't know if she was friend or foe. After a brief conversation, all was well. She was a friend and not only a friend but a sister in Christ.

"Who are you?" Has anyone ever asked you that question? If they did, what exactly did they mean? Did they want to know your name, what you do for a living, what were you doing in that deserted room, or was it more a statement of "who do you think you are?"

In John 8:25, the exasperated Jewish leaders asked Jesus, "Who are you?". They were asking Jesus to account for himself as to His true identity and authority to say the things He was claiming.

Jesus said elsewhere to His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). We, too, must answer the question that was asked of Jesus and that Jesus asked of His disciples. If we get it wrong, we get everything wrong. Our understanding of the identity and mission of Jesus Christ is a matter of where we will spend eternity. The question, "Who are you?" has do do with our essential identity as well. Do you know who you are?

Our true identity is inexorably bound up in the identity of Jesus. Just as Jesus' identity could not be separated from His Father, neither can our identity be separated from Christ. We who have trusted in Christ as Savior have answered the question of Jesus' identity once and for all. He is the Messiah, the Son of God, God incarnate, Savior, and Redeemer of our souls. This is the key to answering the question for ourselves, Who are you?

Jesus answered the question posed by sticking to His story. He spoke very consistently about His identity. His identity had to do with from whence He came. Over and over again, He said that He was "sent from the Father." Being sent from the Father means that he was with the Father at one time. That speaks of not only his identity but His essence. Being from the Father is more than location; it speaks of His nature. He is divine.

One of the key themes of John's Gospel (and the life of Jesus) is His deity. John stated in 1:1, "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The rest of John's Gospel is about how the Eternal Word, the Son-of-God-made-flesh, proved to this world that He was indeed God's Son. He is one with the Father, divine, and equal with Him.

And we are united with Christ by faith, both in His death and in His life (Rom 6:4).  But the happy result of having our eternity determined is not just a ticket to heaven, but a brand spanking new identity that makes all we do in this life worthy of living while pleasing our heavenly Father. We are a "new creation" (2 Cor 5:17), we are "alive together with Christ,” we are “crucified with Christ,” we are "in Christ,” we are “seated with Him in the heavenly places." We are "sons of God."

“Who are you?” We should answer the question quite easily: I am a sinner, saved by grace. I am a beloved child, new creation, not perfect, yet being perfected. We are, in a sense, foreigners in this world down here. For now, we belong, being in the world, but not of the world (John 17:16). We are foreigners, and our identity will be questioned. Like the Jewish leaders, people in this world will be perplexed about our identity. But know who you are in Christ, and never fear to give the right, biblical answer to the question, "Who are you?"