“But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY
NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the
excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous
light;” (1 Peter 2:9, NASB95)
In these verses, Peter applies a series of Old Testament
distinctives of Israel to all believers. First, he calls us a “CHOSEN RACE.”
The truth of Scripture is that all who become saved are chosen by God, and this
is the truth that Peter first mentions in his introduction to this same letter.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen” (1
Peter 1:1, NASB95) “Who are chosen!” In
the beginning of Paul’s Ephesian letter we read, “Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in
the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation
of the world….” (Ephesians 1:3–4, NASB95) And in 2 Thessalonians we read, “But
we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord,
because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation….” (2 Thessalonians
2:13, NASB95)
Choice is a prerogative of God’s, and Scripture is full of references to the
choices that He has made and His ability to do this rests absolutely in who He
is. He is the always existing, all powerful, infinitely wise, everywhere
present and absolutely sovereign God. Choice belongs to Him and Scripture tells
us that as believers were are the beneficiaries of Him having chosen us both
individually and as a body of believers under the headship of His Son.
This brings us to the next designation. We are a “royal
PRIESTHOOD.” In the Old Testament God established a line of priests who were
set aside by him to serve Him and to interceded between Him and the people as
they offered up sacrifices and praise to His glory. But this priesthood largely
failed and neglected their duties. This priesthood was wholly inadequate to
accomplish the real forgiveness that was needed by man, and this priesthood was
most importantly only temporary until God sent His Son as the High Priest who
would offer up the ultimate, perfect and complete sacrifice in Himself and who
then rise again to sit at the right hand of the Father where He intercedes for
us today. Jesus Christ is that High Priest, and we have been brought into his
priesthood by His blood shed for us.
We are made a part of a kingly priesthood in which Jesus
Christ is both High Priest and King, and we are called to serve Him and
exercise His rule. We see this expressed in the Great Commission. “But we
should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because
God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by
the Spirit and faith in the truth.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13, NASB95) And, we see
it further expressed throughout the New Testament. But ultimately, we will see
it fulfilled at the culmination of time when Christ returns.
“…then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the
God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For
He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy
that will be abolished is death. For He
has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All
things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all
things in subjection to Him. When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son
Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so
that God may be all in all.” (1 Corinthians 15:24–28, NASB95)
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first
heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made
ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the
throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell
among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,
and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be
any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first
things have passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am
making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and
true.”” (Revelation 21:1–5, NASB95)
Furthermore, he said that we are “A HOLY NATION”. Israel was
promised much by God if they continued to seek after Him and observe His
ordinances. In Exodus 19:5-6 we can read the words of His promise. “‘Now then,
if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own
possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be
to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you
shall speak to the sons of Israel.”” (Exodus 19:5–6, NASB95) But the record of
Scripture shows us their great apostasy, and how they did not hold up what God
had called upon them to do which really was to continue to seek after Him. They
had turned their back on God, and He brought upon them the consequences of
their rebellion.
The amazing thing about all of this is who our God is.
Israel was not totally destroyed and its people obliterated. God preserved
among them a remnant, and among that remnant is the kingly line in which our Lord,
Jesus Christ was born. He preserves that remnant still today looking forward to
the time in the future that we read of in Romans chapter 11, “For I do not want
you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in
your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the
fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and so all Israel will be saved; just as
it is written, “The Deliverer will come
from Zion, He will remove
ungodliness from Jacob.” “This is
My covenant with them, When I take
away their sins.”” (Romans 11:25–27, NASB95)
Romans 11:1-2 remind us that God has not rejected His people
Israel. In fact, Paul points out to his readers that He is one of them. But
what God was doing was providing the perfect way that even the rest of man
might be grafted in through the sacrifice of His Son. Because of Christ we, as
believers, are made to become God’s people and His HOLY NATION.
This is the foundation in which Peter rested, knowing that
his eternity was sealed with his great God and King. He knew and wrote that we
are “A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION.” What an amazing thing it is to know
that we belong to God. It doesn’t matter what is going on around us or whatever
we might even do or fail to do ourselves, we belong to God. I love the words of
Jesus in John chapter 10, where we read, “and I give eternal life to them, and
they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father,
who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch
them out of the Father’s hand.” (John 10:28–29, NASB95)
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