Book Review: Who Am I?
Jerry Bridges is a household name among many biblical counselors. Bridges is known for his books Trusting God, The Pursuit of Holiness, Respectable Sins, and many more. Biblical counselors have employed Bridges’ books throughout the years for discipleship and homework with great success. He had a lifetime ministry with the Navigators, a Christian discipleship, evangelistic, and writing ministry. Bridges’ books are immensely practical and thoroughly biblical, making them great books for biblical counselors to employ. His book Who Am I? was published toward the end of his life, and combining a lifetime of ministry, biblical study, and experience, he helps Christians understand their identity in Christ.
Summary of Contents
The thesis of this book is that our identity is to be found in our relationship with Christ, both positionally and experientially, not in our subjective experiences of life.¹ Bridges attempts to show this by walking through eight different topics of identity for the Christian. In each chapter, he addresses the topic with Scripture, brings it to bear on the Christian, and then ends with how to apply it to one’s life.
The first chapter, “I Am a Creature,” addresses the truth that a Christian is totally dependent on God. Since God made humans, they are completely dependent on Him for all of life. Bridges then moves to the fact that they are also morally accountable to God for the actions that they do. He reminds Christians that a part of Christian living is that God tells them how to live and they are responsible for obedience to Him. The second chapter, “I Am in Christ,” succinctly deals with the colossal topic of union with Christ and how that affects the Christian’s identity; specifically that man is in Adam and consequently in sin, followed by a new union in Christ. In the third chapter, “I Am Justified,” Bridges explains penal substitutionary atonement clearly and on a level that most counselees will easily understand, providing a solid foundation for who a Christian is. Chapter 4, “I Am an Adopted Son of God,” addresses how one is adopted into the family of God, the inheritance that a child of God receives, and the familial reality of being a son or daughter of the God of the universe.
The fifth chapter, “I Am a New Creation,” focuses on the promise and the fulfillment of being given a new heart to follow Christ. Along with that new heart, Christians are given the Holy Spirit and a new identity in Christ. This allows Christians to resist the temptation to sin and instead follow Christ. Chapter 6, “I Am a Saint,” focuses on how the new identity enables the Christian to become more and more holy, also understood as progressive sanctification. Chapter 7, “I Am a Servant of Christ,” moves the Christian to understand that they are commanded to serve Christ in all that they do. Here Bridges makes the connection to how one’s identity affects their vocation, whether in a secular realm of work or that of ministry. The eighth chapter, “I Am Not Perfect Yet,” helps the Christian understand that they will not become perfect and will struggle with sin. However, they are not accepted by their perfection but through the grace of God in Christ Jesus.
Critical Evaluation
Bridges’ book is an incredible resource for the biblical counselor. In the time in which we providentially find ourselves, the idea of identity is being radically redefined to mean whatever someone wants it to mean. The LGBTQ agenda has made identity a war ground for Christians. Biblical counselors will be called upon to help bring clarity to this area. Bridges’ book is a good, biblical, and solid entry-level help in this arena. Being able to assign this book as homework can reinforce ideas that you may have previously explained in the counseling session. The author helps the reader see that identity is not based on who you are, but whose you are. He briefly and concisely addresses major issues of Christian theology involving creation, sin, justification, adoption, sanctification, and the call to service. Biblical counselors need to be able to address issues such as these concisely in the counseling room and will find a great help in Bridges’ work. He accomplishes his thesis by providing Christians with a solid foundation for understanding their identity in Christ.
Bridges’ greatest strength also leaves the reader wanting more from him in certain sections. His discussion on creation could have used more emphasis on the imago Dei in order to help the reader better understand their identity. Also, ending the book with the great heavenly hope Christians possess might have strengthened an understanding of identity in light of eternity. Regardless of these minor issues with the work, biblical counselors should be highly encouraged to read this book for themselves and assign counselees to read it in order to help them better understand their identity.
¹ Jerry Bridges, Who Am I? Identity in Christ (Minneapolis, MN: Cruciform Press, 2012), 6.