Corinthians 5:17 says,
“If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
Jesus loves to bless and change us to be more like Him. Sometimes in the scriptures He would give a person a nickname to represent their new calling and identity.
John 1:42
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
In John 1:42 the name “Peter” was a nickname given to Simon by Jesus. It comes from the Greek word petros (or the Aramaic word “Cephas”). The name Peter means “Rock” or “Stone.” To use an English equivalent, Peter means “Rocky.” Not as in Balboa.
When you become a follower of Jesus, you can’t stay the same. God gives you a new identity. This truth is made clear in Genesis.
Genesis 32:28-31 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” 29 Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” But he replied, “Why do you ask my name?” Then he blessed him there. 30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared.” 31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.
When Jacob was a young man, he was a con man, a fraud, a scam artist, but when he humbled himself and confessed his sin in God’s presence one night, God gave him a new identity, blessed him, and gave him a new walk. God basically said, I know you have been a con man, but I see past all your insecurities and protective behavior, and I see a leader, a man of God. Then He blessed him and dislocated his hip to remind him to always depend on the Lord.
Do you want God’s blessing? Then humble yourself, confess your sin to the Lord, and know that your true identity is found in how God sees you, not how you see yourself. This will truly change how you live.
