In Part I, of the series Knowing Who You Are, I noted that knowing yourself begins with knowing who you are not. John the Baptist shows us this so clearly. When questioned, he firmly declared that he was not the Christ, not Elijah, and not the Prophet—he knew exactly who he was not. That’s a big part of figuring out your identity in God. It’s a process, and it’s something you really have to work out because if you don’t, you could waste a lot of time and energy chasing the wrong things. Ecclesiastes puts it like this:
“The labor of fools wearies them, for they do not even know how to go to the city!” (Ecclesiastes 10:15 NIV)
The fool doesn’t make it to the city because he or she has no direction, no guidance, no vision. Many people work hard at all kinds of things and still don’t succeed. Maybe that’s where you are right now—wondering why nothing seems to work. Often, it’s because you’re in the wrong line of work, career, or even ministry.
So how did John get to this point of knowing himself? How did he figure out who he was not? Let’s look at each of the persons or roles he said he was not.
“I Am Not the Christ”
When John said, “I am not the Christ,” he was showing that he accepted himself. Scripture tells us that Elizabeth, John’s mother, was an older relative of Mary, Jesus’ mother (Luke 1:36). Mary visited Elizabeth and stayed with her for three months while John was still in the womb (Luke 1:56). It’s very likely that Mary even saw John’s birth. Jesus, in His humanity, was John’s cousin—and the two knew each other well. John could have made a plausible claim to be the Christ—many already suspected he was, but he didn’t. He didn’t pretend to be someone he wasn’t, and he didn’t covet Jesus’ calling or destiny.
The lesson: don’t try to be someone else in your family—not your dad, mom, or sibling. You may share some traits, but God made you unique, and He wants you to embrace who you are.
You are not your father, mother, brother, or sister. You may learn from them, take the best of what they have to offer, and honor their example—but you are not them. I deeply respect my father and hold him in the highest regard, yet I know I cannot be him.
“I Am Not Elijah”
Next, John said he wasn’t Elijah. That’s interesting because Archangel Gabriel told Elizabeth that John would go in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). And Jesus said,
“If you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come” (Matthew 11:14).
This doesn’t mean reincarnation. Gabriel made it clear that John would have Elijah’s spirit and power, not that he was literally Elijah.
Elijah was one of the two greatest prophets of the Old Testament, alongside Moses. Both appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17). To be Elijah would be something remarkable—and John did, in fact, share some striking similarities with him. He was bold, fiery, and wore clothing made of camel hair and a leather belt (Mark 1:6) just like Elijah—but he knew he wasn’t Elijah. He embraced his own calling and didn’t try to copy someone else.
The lesson: don’t try to be someone else just because you admire them. You cannot be them, and God doesn’t want you to be. To really know yourself, you have to decide not to be someone else.
“I Am Not the Prophet”
Finally, John said he was not the Prophet. This was the prophet Moses spoke of in Deuteronomy 18:15:
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear.”
That prophecy actually pointed to Jesus, God’s final and ultimate Prophet to humanity (Hebrews 1:1–2). For generations, Jews were looking for this prophet, and many expected John to be him. But John knew he wasn’t, and he didn’t try to claim that role.
The lesson: don’t try to be what other people expect you to be. While people’s opinions may sometimes help us assess ourselves, they must never define us. Don’t shape your life around the expectations of others—whether family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, or schoolmates. While we should not reject the wise counsel and guidance of those who truly love us, we must remember that God has not called us to be people-pleasers. In the end, your life must align with His expectations above all else.
These three figures represent questions of identity that you need to resolve before you can truly discover your own. Once John figured out who he was not, he could boldly declare who he was:
“I am ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
Make straight the way of the Lord.’” (John 1:23)
Ask yourself: Am I living as the person God created me to be, walking in the calling He has placed on my life? If you are not, you will be like the fool toiling in vain. God has also given you a calling—your own voice, your own purpose, something only you can fulfill. Don’t be timid, and don’t let fear or intimidation keep you silent.
In the final part of this series, we’ll look at the blessings that come from living fully as the person God made you to be.