SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY: SONS & DAUGHTERS – IDENTITY
Knowing Who You Are and Whose You Are
Based on the message by Pastor Chad Everett
OVERVIEW
Who are you?
That question can be harder to answer than it sounds. It is easy to build your identity around your grades, appearance, athletic ability, friendships, relationships, popularity, achievements, future plans, or what other people think about you. But all of those things can change.
In Spiritual Authority: Sons & Daughters | Identity, Pastor Chad teaches from Galatians 3:26 that through faith in Jesus Christ, we become sons and daughters of God.
“Your identity is found in your relationship with Jesus. That you were created to be a son or daughter of God.”
Knowing that you belong to God changes the way you see yourself and the way you live. You have a Father who loves you. You do not have to earn your place in His family through performance, and your identity does not disappear when your feelings change or you have a bad day.
But being a son or daughter is more than a label. If God is your Father, His voice and His ways should have authority in your life. Following Jesus means learning to trust Him, reflect His character, and let Him have the final say.
This study will challenge you to consider where your identity comes from, what you really believe about the Father’s love, where you have placed your faith, and whether your choices reflect the One you say you belong to.
HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE
Read → Respond → Reflect → Pray → Live It
Read each passage carefully. Don’t rush through it just to answer the questions. Pay attention to what the Bible actually says.
Respond to the questions from Scripture first.
Then reflect honestly on your own life. Think about where you find your worth, whose opinions carry the most weight with you, and what influences your decisions.
Talk through what you are learning with your parents, youth leaders, trusted friends, or Roads Group. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where your thinking or choices need to change.
Finally, choose something practical to live out. The goal is not just to know more about identity. It is to know who you are as a son or daughter of God and live like you belong to your Father.
SECTION 1 — KNOW YOUR IDENTITY AS A SON OR DAUGHTER
FOCUS
The world gives us plenty of ways to define ourselves: what we look like, what we accomplish, who likes us, what group we belong to, how talented we are, or what we plan to do with our future.
Pastor Chad teaches that none of those things can carry the weight of our identity. Galatians 3:26 gives us something much more secure. Through faith in Jesus, we can know who we are: sons and daughters of God.
READ
Galatians 3:26–29; 1 John 3:1
RESPOND
- What does Galatians 3:26 say about the identity of those who have faith in Jesus?
- How do we become sons and daughters of God?
- What divisions does Paul say no longer determine our standing in Christ?
- What does Galatians 3:29 say is true of those who belong to Christ?
- What does 1 John 3:1 reveal about the Father’s love and our identity?
REFLECT
- Which things most affect how you see yourself—grades, appearance, sports, friends, relationships, achievements, social media, family expectations, or something else?
- When you fail at something or feel rejected, how quickly does it affect what you believe about yourself?
- Whose opinion has the greatest power to make you feel valuable—or worthless?
- How would your life look different if being a son or daughter of God became the most important truth about who you are?
PRAY
Ask God to show you anything you have allowed to define you more than your relationship with Jesus. Thank Him that your identity in Christ is more secure than your circumstances or other people’s opinions.
LIVE IT
Write Galatians 3:26 somewhere you will see it this week. When something makes you question your worth or identity, stop and remind yourself what God says is true.
Further Scripture Reading
Galatians 3:23–25
SECTION 2 — UNDERSTAND WHAT SONSHIP MEANS
FOCUS
Being a son or daughter means more than simply saying you belong to God. It means you have a Father.
Pastor Chad used the example of children carrying traits from their earthly parents. In the same way, sons and daughters of God should increasingly reflect what their heavenly Father is like.
John 17 also reveals something powerful about the Father’s heart. Jesus says that the Father has loved those who belong to Him as He has loved Jesus. Our relationship with God is not supposed to be built on constantly wondering whether we have performed well enough to be loved.
READ
John 17:20–23
RESPOND
- Who was Jesus praying for in verse 20?
- What did Jesus pray His followers would become?
- How does Jesus compare their unity with His relationship with the Father?
- What does Jesus say He has given His followers?
- Why does Jesus want His followers to live in unity?
- What does verse 23 reveal about the Father’s love for those who believe in Jesus?
REFLECT
- When you think about God looking at you, what do you imagine He feels toward you?
- Do you ever live as though God loves you more when you pray, read your Bible, worship, or make good choices—and less when you mess up?
- Pastor Chad asked whether people can see the traits of our Father in us. What would your friends say your life shows about what God is like?
- What characteristic of God—love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, truth, generosity, courage—needs to become more visible in you?
PRAY
Ask the Father to help you understand His love instead of measuring His love by your performance. Ask the Holy Spirit to make His character more visible in the way you treat others.
LIVE IT
Choose one characteristic of your heavenly Father that you want to intentionally reflect this week. Look for one specific opportunity to show it at home, school, practice, work, or with friends.
Further Scripture Reading
John 17:24–26
SECTION 3 — PUT YOUR FAITH IN JESUS
FOCUS
Galatians 3 repeatedly connects our relationship with God to faith. We cannot make ourselves sons and daughters by being religious enough, behaving well enough, or trying harder.
Jesus accomplished what we could never accomplish for ourselves. Our response is to believe Him.
Pastor Chad said, “It’s not about the intensity of my faith. It’s about the object of my faith.”
Faith is not about constantly checking whether you believe strongly enough. It is about who you are trusting.
READ
Galatians 3:6–14, 26
RESPOND
- What did Abraham do that was counted to him as righteousness?
- Who does Galatians 3:7 identify as sons of Abraham?
- Who does verse 9 say shares in Abraham’s blessing?
- What did Christ redeem us from in verse 13?
- How does verse 14 say we receive the promise of the Spirit?
- What does verse 26 say makes us sons of God?
- Who is the object of that faith?
REFLECT
- Do you ever feel like you have to prove to God that you are a “good Christian”?
- When you don’t feel close to God, do you start questioning whether He is still close to you?
- What is the difference between putting faith in Jesus and putting faith in your own ability to have enough faith?
- Where are you tempted to rely on yourself instead of trusting Jesus?
PRAY
Tell Jesus where you have been striving, doubting, or trying to prove yourself. Ask Him to help you take your attention off yourself and place your trust more fully in Him.
LIVE IT
When you catch yourself thinking, “I need to be better so God will accept me,” replace that thought with what Galatians 3:26 actually says. Let God’s Word—not your feelings—have the final word.
Further Scripture Reading
Galatians 3:15–18
SECTION 4 — LIVE SURRENDERED TO YOUR FATHER
FOCUS
Knowing your identity leads to a harder question: Who actually has the final say in your life?
Jesus talks about “sons of the kingdom” and “sons of the wicked one.” In John 8, He challenges religious people whose actions showed that they were following desires that did not come from God.
Pastor Chad asks it in a memorable way: “Who’s your daddy?”
The question is really about authority. Who do you listen to? Who gets to determine what is right? What happens when what God says conflicts with what you want, what your friends think, what culture celebrates, or what feels easiest?
If God is our Father, sonship should lead to surrender.
READ
Matthew 13:36–43; John 8:37–47
RESPOND
- In Matthew 13:37–38, who sows the good seed, and who are the good seeds?
- Who are the tares, and who sowed them?
- What does Jesus say Abraham’s true children would do in John 8:39?
- What does Jesus say would be true if God were really their Father?
- Who does Jesus identify as their father in verse 44?
- What do their desires and actions reveal about whose influence they are following?
- What does verse 47 say someone who is of God does?
REFLECT
- Who actually has the most influence over your choices—God, your friends, social media, a boyfriend or girlfriend, culture, your emotions, or yourself?
- What happens when you know what God says but you really want to do something different?
- Is there an area of your life where you want Jesus as Savior but do not really want Him having authority?
- What do your repeated choices reveal about whose voice you are listening to?
- What is one area where surrendering to your Father would require an actual change this week?
PRAY
Ask the Holy Spirit to show you any area where you have been resisting God’s authority. Be honest with Him about what you want, and ask for the courage to choose His way over your own.
LIVE IT
Identify one decision, relationship, habit, attitude, or area of your life where God needs to have the final say. Decide what obedience looks like and take one real step toward it this week.
Further Scripture Reading
John 8:31–36
FINAL ENCOURAGEMENT
Your identity was never meant to depend on something that can change.
Through faith in Jesus, you can know something far more secure: you are a son or daughter of God. You belong to the Father, you are loved by Him, and your life should increasingly reflect Him.
You do not have to earn what Jesus has made possible through faith. Put your confidence in Him, and then let your identity shape the way you live.
If God is your Father, let Him have the final say.
“Your identity is found in your relationship with Jesus. That you were created to be a son or daughter of God.”
Know who you are. Know whose you are. Live like you belong to the Father.