Book Review - Identification
If Jay Leno did his Jay-Walking bit in the Body of Christ about what the Word teaches us about the how’s and why’s of Jesus’s death and resurrection, he’d probably be surprised by the sheer ignorance that most Christians have about the mechanics of their faith. Many Christians cannot intellectually get past the “Jesus died for me” confession. Indeed, the ministry has failed the church by preaching a redemption narrative that is filled with “I don’t knows” and exegesis that contradicts the literal Word. Consequently, the faith of many is reduced to just theories about the Plan of Redemption.
It is said that big things come in little packages and Kenyon’s Identification is certainly one of them. In this little 67-page book, Kenyon sets forth the teaching of identification that is seldom heard in the hallowed halls of our modern seminaries. While modern Protestant theology speaks much of the finished work of Jesus, it shies (actually hightails it) away from the hard Jesus facts of what it took to save mankind. In truth, modern theology has thumbed its nose at the truth that Jesus fully identified with mankind, sin and all, in order to rescue us from death, hell, and the grave.
In Identification, Kenyon starts out with a short chapter defining the “Law of Identification” and then proceeds with a clear exegesis of the redemption narrative from the time that Jesus hung on the cross until he was seated at the right hand of God, the Father. One wonderful characteristic of his writing is the complete absence of the filler personal illustrations, stories, or subjective ideas about the Lord which are popular in ministry books today. His use of scripture is extensive and his exegesis is pungent. An ordinary believer will come away with a much stronger (and bolder) faith in what Jesus wrought for us in just one reading.
In the last half of the book, he shows the vital side of identification; how it works itself out in the present-day life of the believer. The ordinary Christian life is usually a sordid tale of abject inferiority and God-silence. Kenyon demonstrates the truth that we, as Christians, “are his workmanship” and the Word is a vital thing inside of us. He outlines some of the privileges that we have in Christ, such as his Name, the Holy Spirit in us, and God’s very own righteousness. Through his use of scripture, he shows that the Word is the perfect message and that the Christian can have full confidence of a spiritual walk that is always in the will of God.
As the back cover states, “In the fact of identification we have one of the richest phases of redemption.” It is through Paul’s revelation of identification with Christ that we see the incredible lengths that God and Jesus undertook to loose mankind from the grip of sin and Satan. And through it we also see just how in the world it can be said in Ephesians that we, having been dead in trespasses and sin, are seated with Jesus at God’s very right hand. Identification is one of those rare books that demonstrates the very simple and yet profound truth that the Gospel is indeed the good news that God says it is.