#16 - Jesus Changed My Name

Apr 10, 2025
4 min read

Updated: Dec 7, 2025

He Changed My Name

Introduction

Names carry deep meaning. They shape identity, reflect family hopes, and often follow us throughout life. For me, the name I was given at birth became a source of pain and confusion, a reminder of expectations I could never fulfill. Yet the Bible shows us that God Himself changes names to reveal new identity and purpose. Just as Abram became Abraham and Simon became Peter, I too have experienced a transformation—not through human choice, but through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. This is the story of how He changed my name, gave me a new heart, and called me His child.

Scripture Examples of Name Changes

Matthew 16:17–18 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church…”

Genesis 17:1–5 God appeared to Abram when he was 99 years old and promised to bless him and multiply his descendants. God then changed his name from Abram (meaning “exalted father”) to Abraham (meaning “father of a multitude”).

When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit changes us, gives us spiritual life, and saves us from our sinful nature. Jesus changed my name. Now I answer to a new name: chosen, child of God.

A New Heart and Spirit

Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here.”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

The Bible says that when we believe in and accept Christ, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. It is a done deal: we are saved and receive the inheritance of eternal life.

Wrestling With Gender Dysphoria

Even though we are saved by faith in Christ and by His grace, we are still tempted. We still live in a fleshly body and are not free from sinful desires and thoughts. For me, gender dysphoria remained alongside the joy of salvation.

Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Galatians 2:20“ I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Gender dysphoria is one of the most overpowering struggles to face. Without Christ, it is nearly impossible to overcome—it brings confusion, depression, guilt, and pain. I fought my trans thoughts for years, but eventually I gave in to those desires and transitioned to female. What now? Was that a sin?

Romans 7:18 “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

Learning Grace

Changing gender was not my first choice. I was a Christian male, saved by Christ before I transitioned. I married and had children, but my marriage failed. I did not have the strength in myself to deny my flesh nor to hold my marriage together.

Over time, I came to understand that as Christians, we are sealed forever by the Holy Spirit. Nothing we do can undo that—neither our failures nor our successes. I must live by faith in the Son of God.

My experience has taught me that changing gender can only bring temporary, fleshly comfort in this life. But there is a greater comfort that comes from Christ. Jesus saves us, gives eternal life, and fills us with peace, joy, and heavenly hope. I am now a citizen of heaven, and I bear the name Christian.

Eternal Comfort

Philippians 3:20–21 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body, by the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.”

Romans 8:38–39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Psalm 103:12“ As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”

Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Closing

My journey has been marked by struggle, identity, and change, but above all by the unshakable grace of God. Transitioning did not undo the work of Christ in my life, nor did it separate me from His love. What defines me now is not my past, not my struggles, and not even my earthly name, but the new identity I have in Jesus. He has given me a new heart, a new spirit, and a new name: Christian, child of God. No matter what we face in this life, His promise of salvation and eternal life remains secure. That is the greatest comfort, the deepest peace, and the truest joy.

Choose Jesus. Choose life.

I walk in faith that I have a new name, I am a Christian, a child of God