Paul does not say, “If any man improves himself.”
He says, “If any man be in Christ…”

Identity is not something you achieve — it is something you receive.

To be “in Christ” means you are united with Him in His death, His burial, and His resurrection. What happened to Him spiritually has changed your standing eternally.

“…Old things are passed away…”

That includes the penalty of sin.
The record of condemnation.
The identity of being spiritually dead.

This does not mean you no longer battle temptation. It does not mean you never struggle with your past. But it does mean your past no longer owns you.

Too many believers live as though they are still who they were before salvation. They speak defeated language. They carry forgiven guilt. They define themselves by failures God has already removed “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12).

When you misunderstand your identity, you build on unstable ground.

You will try to earn what has already been given.
You will fear losing what has already been secured.
You will live for approval instead of from acceptance of Christ.

Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”

You are not merely forgiven.
You are adopted.
You are not barely tolerated.
You are fully received.

And adoption brings security. A child does not earn his place in the family daily. When identity is secure, obedience becomes joyful instead of fearful. Service comes from gratitude instead of pressure. Endurance becomes possible because you know whose you are.

Satan often attacks identity first. In Matthew 4, he tempted Jesus by saying, “If thou be the Son of God…” He questioned what the Father had already declared.

The enemy still works that way.

If you are in Christ, you are new.

Not partially restored.
Not temporarily improved.
New.

Stand on that foundation, and build your life on whose are not on who are or think you want to the world to see you as.