1 Peter 2:9–10 (9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood), a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (ESV)
A week after a glorious celebration of the Resurrection of Christ at West Shore Community Centre, and here we are back live streaming a worship service for a mostly online group. If we think back a year ago when we starting livestreaming services, I doubt many of us would have thought that we would be here, a year later, seemingly right back were we started. Although there have been tremendous strides in ministry, from a new building, care groups, technological advances and great progression in building a new auditorium, much of our lives in Canada right now under our provincial stay at home order, doesn’t seem to make much sense.
Suffering Christians can easily become doubting Christians; suffering sometimes makes Christians doubt God’s wisdom. They wonder if God knows what he is doing and complain about what he is not doing. They doubt God’s love, fearing that He is as fickle as they are and that He might be tired of struggling with his disobedient children. They doubt God’s power, fearing that their troubles are beyond his ability to change. God through the Apostle Peter wants his hurting brothers and sisters to know that their suffering changes nothing. Remember who you are! Remember what you were! (Jeske, M. A. (2002). James, Peter, John, Jude (pp. 91–92). Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Pub. House.)
Stemming from the great truths of Christ’s resurrection from the dead, believers in Christ live also. We are no longer children of the night, but “Children of Light” living in the light of our resurrected Lord. Because of what Christ has achieved in this we can understand 4 things about who we are. Believers in Christ are: 1) A People of God’s Possession (1 Peter 2:9c), 2) A People of Proclamation (1 Peter 2:9d), 3) A Privileged People (1 Peter 2:9e) and finally, 4) A Pardoned People (1 Peter 2:10).
As Children of Light, believers are:
1 Peter 2:9c (9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood), a holy nation, a people for his own possession, (that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light). ESV
Believers are Children of Light because they are holy. Peter here refers to the Old Testament in support of the privileges God has granted believers. Here he alludes to Exodus 19:6 (“you shall be to Me … a holy nation”) when he declares that believers are separated to Christ as a holy nation. Holy (hagios) means “separate” or “set apart.” Ancient Israel’s holiness as a nation derived from the holy King of the universe (cf. Lev. 19:2; 20:26; Deut. 7:6; Isa. 62:12), who had cut a covenant with them, binding them to himself as His chosen nation and special possession. The words “chosen,” “royal,” and “holy” are adjectives that describe collectively the nature of the relationship of Christian believers to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ (Jobes, K. H. (2005). 1 Peter (pp. 161–162). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.).
• Holy has the same root as wholly, it means complete. An individual is not complete in spiritual stature if all their mind, heart, soul, and strength are not given to God.
Although believers are set apart from sin, they are made complete together. God puts believers together in a family. Those families as a whole can be considered a spiritual nation. The word nation translates ethnos, which regularly means “people,” as an ethnic group (Luke 7:5; 23:2; John 11:48, 50–52; Acts 2:5; 10:22; Rev. 5:9). People also reside with a political nation state. To the extent that government formulates policy directly bearing on moral and ethical issues (e.g., abortion, war, the place of religious faith in the public forum, and dictates on congregational life: like worship and association), Christians still have to face the problems raised by holding dual citizenship—in the country of their residence and in the holy nation of God.( Jobes, K. H. (2005). 1 Peter (p. 162). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.)
Please turn to Titus 2
A Nation consists of citizens who reside in a given locale, obey rules and regulations, and strive for the well-being of their society. Citizens of a Holy Nation have common characteristics through Jesus Christ. Our primary citizenship is Heavenly, with our primary obedience to God and appointed to strive for the well-being of those who bear God’s image, and especially those of the household of faith (Gal. 6:10). For those who are in Christ Jesus, there is no different heavenly status between man and women, Jew and Gentile, slave or free. As Peter portrays God’s people as a holy nation, which means that the citizens have been set apart for service to God. (Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Epistles of Peter and the Epistle of Jude (Vol. 16, p. 92). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
This holy nation, is further described as those actively serving God as “a people for his own possession”, At Sinai God promised the Israelites in Exodus 19:5 [5]Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; (ESV)cf. Deut. 7:6–7; 14:2; 26:18; Mal. 3:17). The Greek term rendered possession (peripoiesis) means “to purchase,” “to acquire for a price” (cf. Eph. 1:14). Believers belong to God because He bought them at the ultimate price (1:18–19; cf. 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; Heb. 13:12; Rev. 5:9). Peter’s repeated emphasis with the term people is that as a believer I may be a very ordinary person, but I acquire an immense new value because I belong to God and am possessed by him.( Walls, D., & Anders, M. (1999). I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude (Vol. 11, p. 31). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Please turn to Titus 2
Quote: Oswald Chambers described Gods possession of His own this way: “I have chosen you.” Keep that note of greatness in your creed. It is not that you have got God, but that He has got you. Why is God at work in me, bending, breaking, molding, doing just as He chooses? For one purpose only—that He may be able to say, “This is my man, my woman.” (OSWALD CHAMBERS (1874–1917)
Paul puts the whole concept of being a holy nation of God’s own possession together in his explanation to Titus:
Titus 2:11-14 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (ESV)
• God has created a new nation, of people from all earthly nations. He has redeemed us for the purpose of living holy lives, anticipating the return of Christ. He equips us to be useful citizens, eager and active to serve through good works.
HYMN: One of the stanzas of George Wade Robinson’s nineteenth-century gospel song, “I Am His and He Is Mine,” expresses this privilege well: “His forever, only His—Who the Lord and me shall part? Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart! Heav’n and earth may fade and flee, first-born light in gloom decline, but while God and I shall be, I am His and He is mine”.
As Children of Light, believers are:
2) A People of Proclamation (1 Peter 2:9d),
1 Peter 2:9d (9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood), a holy nation, a people for his own possession,) that you may proclaim the excellencies of him (who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light). ESV
Children of Light radiate the excellencies of Christ. They are created to be a people for one overarching purpose: that they may proclaim the excellencies of Christ. There is no higher privilege than to be a herald for the gospel. Proclaim (exangeilete) is from a Greek word that appears only here in the New Testament. It means “to publish”, or “advertise” and to do so in the sense of telling something otherwise unknown. That which is generally unknown and which Peter encourages believers to publicize is the excellencies of Christ, the Savior. Christians have the distinct privilege of telling the world that Christ has the power to accomplish the extraordinary work of redemption (Acts 1:8; 2:22; 4:20; 5:31–32; Rev. 15:3; cf. Pss. 66:3, 5, 16; 71:17; 73:28; 77:12, 14; 104:24; 107:22; 111:6–7; 118:17; 119:46; 145:4; John 5:36; 10:25 regarding God’s amazing acts). The Christian community declares by its existence, by its liturgy and worship, by the daily lives of its members, and the mighty deed of Christ’s resurrection, which reveals the praiseworthy character of God. (Jobes, K. H. (2005). 1 Peter (p. 164). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.)
Please turn to 1 Timothy 1
How do you see the task of evangelism? Is it a sheer duty, a burden, an option? For God to choose undeserving sinners as His representatives and use them to gather other sinners to Himself is a privilege beyond all expectation. God has given us a gift beyond all others gifts to give away. We are offering the free gift of eternal life. Since no one is naturally holy, therefore subject to God’s judgement, it is something that everyone needs. The cost of the gift has been paid for by Christ. Those who have received the gift, believers, are equipped and expected to share the gift with others. Like a surgeon who has gone to medical school, they have learned how to be a surgeon in order to operate. It is not a skill to practice on themselves, but only useful as they perform for the benefit of those in need.
It caused Paul to write:
1 Timothy. 1:12–17 [12]I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, [13] though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, [14]and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. [15] The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. [16] But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. [17] To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (ESV)
• Do you see how Paul saw his task: v. 12 The Strength and appointment for the task: Provision. v. 13 The Testimony of the task: What Paul was redeemed from. v. 14 The Motivation for the task: Faith and love of Christ. V. 15. The Message of the task: “Christ”. v. 16 The Mechanics of the task: God’s mercy and perfect patience. And finally, v. 17 The Praise for the task: Worship. Why don’t we evangelize, because we just look to our own personal excuses. But Paul, v.15 started with his own inadequacies, not as an excuse, but a focus change for the realization of his task. If we only look to our own ability, we won’t evangelize. If we realize that the provision, message, motivation, mechanics and result are all about Christ, then those in Christ will be evangelizing.
Illustration: Since the word in our text here for translated ‘proclaim’ (v. 9) is an unusual one and had the sense of ‘publishing’ or ‘advertising’ something that was otherwise unknown. The idea of a press release today perhaps gets close to the meaning of the original. In short, God’s people have an announcement to make. We should be keen to tell people about ‘the excellencies’ of our God. There is a beauty and a glory about the God of the Bible that we want others to see. So we talk the talk, but we also need to walk the walk. Our lives should be a kind of statement. People should be able to learn something by seeing how Christians live their lives. We should reflect his excellencies. Some we can’t reflect (those that are often referred to as God’s ‘incommunicable attributes’), but some we can (his ‘communicable attributes’4). Every Christian, then, should be a walking, talking advert for the good news about the goodness of God. As it has been said: “You’re writing a Gospel, A chapter each day, By the deeds that you do, By the words that you say. Men read what you write, Whether faithless or true; Say, what is the ‘gospel’ According to you?”. … We’re supposed to be witnesses, and that means speaking of what this amazing God has done for us. He has changed our lives; he can change the lives of others, too (Thomson, A. (2016). Opening Up 1 Peter (pp. 58–59). Leominster, England: Day One.)
As Children of Light, believers are:
3) A Privileged People (1 Peter 2:9e),
1 Peter 2:9e (9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood), a holy nation, a people for his own possession,) that you may proclaim the excellencies of him) who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light). ESV
Here we see the need for evangelism as children of light. Throughout history, the unregenerate world has faced two kinds of darkness: intellectual and moral. Intellectual darkness is ignorance—the inability to see and know the truth, whereas moral darkness is immorality—the inability to see and do what is right (Ps. 58:3; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 8:7–8; 1 Cor. 2:14; Eph. 4:17–19). The darkness Peter refers to here is the second type—moral darkness- the sinful state of unbelievers who are trapped in the spiritual darkness of Satan (Eph. 2:1–2; 2 Tim. 2:25–26; 1 John 5:19), the prince of darkness. Such moral darkness is pervasive in its scope and profound in its depth (Ps. 143:2; Eccl. 7:20; Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:9–12). Unbelievers are children born in the darkness. They not only walk in the darkness, they love the darkness. For Peter’s readers and hearers, this was “ignorance” (1:14) from their Gentile past (cf. “the empty way of life that was your heritage,” 1:18). It was the darkness of not being a people and of not knowing the mercy of God (v 10) (Michaels, J. R. (1988). 1 Peter (Vol. 49, p. 111). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
Please turn to John 3
However, Peter reminded his readers that Christ had sovereignly, powerfully, and effectually called them out of darkness. Almost always in the epistles when kaleo (called) or the related words klesis and kletos appear they indicate God’s effectual call to salvation (e.g., 1:15; 2:21; 5:10; Rom. 1:6–7; 8:28, 30; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:9, 24; Gal. 1:6, 15; Eph. 4:4; 2 Tim. 1:9; 2 Peter 1:3; Jude 1). That saving call is a recurring theme, close to the apostle’s heart in this letter (cf. 1:1, 15; 2:21; 3:9; 5:10). The keys of the kingdom have been given to the church, and we today are to give out the gospel because the church is the chosen instrument. This honor has been conferred upon believers. It is as if God had stamped out for you and me a wonderful medal on which is inscribed: You are an elect race; you are a chosen generation.( McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (1 Peter) (electronic ed., )
Jesus explained this wonderful reality in John 3:
John 3:16–21 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (ESV)
• Here is the most famous summary of the gospel in the entire Bible. God’s love for the world was not mere sentiment but led to a specific action: He gave his only Son. We show our love for others not in mere pleasantness towards them, but in sharing this truth. The truth is that the very moment of belief, people enjoy can be assured of deliverance from the wrath of God through eternal life. The one who was sent by the Father, sends out His disciples, the Children of Light to call others unto the light of God.
The positive side of Christ’s calling sinners out of darkness is that they are also thereby called into His marvelous light (cf. Col. 1:3). When believers receive Christ’s light, He illuminates their minds so they can discern the truth, and He changes their souls so they are able to apply it (cf. Ps. 119:105, 130; 1 Cor. 2:15–16; 2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Peter 1:19). They receive both the intellectual light of God’s truth and the righteous desires to obey it, neither of which they had before conversion. Without light, regardless of what is beautiful around us, we will not perceive. Coming into His marvelous light is a description of conversion and employs the language of Genesis 1, where God utters the word and light becomes a reality (Gen 1:3–5), pushing back the darkness. Paul used the same picture of conversion in 2 Cor 4:6, where God shines in the heart of his people to give them knowledge of his glory through Jesus Christ. Conversion is often depicted in the New Testament as a transfer from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; 2 Cor 4:6; Eph 5:8; 1 Thess 5:4, 5, 8) Just as God’s word creates light, so God’s call creates faith. Calling is not a mere invitation but is performative, so that the words God speaks become a reality. The beauty and glory of the new life is conveyed by the image of light in contrast to darkness. Hence, Peter identified the light as “marvelous/wonderful” (cf. Ps 118:23). (Schreiner, T. R. (2003). 1, 2 Peter, Jude (Vol. 37, p. 116). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Illustration: When the designers of the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton; Illinois, sought to provide an architectural parable of conversion, they appropriately planned a passageway through darkness into a room walled with brilliant light. Few images express more vividly the transformation of God’s saving call. Once we were darkness, but now are we light in the Lord, called to walk in the light of Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Peter had experienced God’s deliverance from dungeon darkness when the Lord sent his angel to deliver the apostle from Herod’s prison. Charles Wesley used Peter’s deliverance as an image of the dawn of faith: “Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed thee”. ( Clowney, E. P. (1988). The message of 1 Peter: the way of the cross (pp. 97–98). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
Finally, as Children of Light, believers are:
4) A Pardoned People (1 Peter 2:10).
1 Peter 2:10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (ESV)
God chose the Jews to be a light to the word. They were to be Children of Light and call others to the light of God. The Father sent His Son, to be the Light of the World. As Children of Light, in coming to God, He desires His children to always remember the darkness from which they came as a source of gratitude and motivation to call others into the light. As unbelievers, the Gentiles knew no compassion from Christ—once you were not a people. But now they had become God’s people, because they had received His mercy. (cf. Hos. 2:23; Rom. 9:22–26). Like Israel when rejected by God, these Christians had at one time been no people and had not received mercy—they were under sentence of condemnation for sin. But now they have been granted the highest privilege in the universe: now you are God’s people—not by any merit of their own, for they were deserving only of judgment. All the foregoing privileges are to be traced only to the undeserved favour of God: now you have received mercy. (Grudem, W. A. (1988). 1 Peter: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 17, p. 119). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.)
In our final passage, please turn to Romans 9
Can you remember a time being outside of God’s love and care? Remembering that desperate situation is the key to evangelism. Just as it would be horrific to sit back and relax in a lifeboat while others are still in the water drowning, so too remembering the desperate situation apart from Christ should motivate us in earnestness to seek and save the lost.
Quoting Hosea 2, in Romans 9 Paul explains the desperate situation apart from God and the love of God in redeeming people:
Romans 9:22–26 [22] What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, [23] in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- [24] even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? [25] As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" [26]"And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" (ESV)
This calling of a people is an act of mercy. Mercy is synonymous with compassion and essentially involves God’s sympathy with sinners’ misery and His withholding from them the just punishment for their sins. Scripture discusses two kinds of divine mercy. First there is God’s general/common mercy AKA Common Grace (cf. Ps. 145:9; Lam. 3:22), which is evident in His providential to all creation (Pss. 36:7; 65:9–13; Matt. 5:44–45; Acts 14:14–17; 17:23–28; cf. Rom. 1:20). Common mercy displays God’s patient pity and forbearing compassion toward sinners (3:20; Pss. 86:15; 103:8; 2 Peter 3:9; cf. Luke 13:6–9) because He had every right, in view of their sin, to destroy them all. Instead, at the present time He mercifully chooses not to unleash all the disastrous consequences that humanity’s sinfulness deserves (cf. Gen. 9:8–11). But eventually God’s general mercy will expire and people will feel the full consequences of sin (Matt. 24:4–22; Rev. 6:7–8; 8:7–9:19; 14:14–19; 16:1–21; 18:1–24; 19:17–21; 20:7–15; cf. Gen. 6:3; Isa. 27:11; Jer. 44:22). Second, there is the divine, saving mercy displayed toward the elect, which is the mercy Peter referred to. They receive not only God’s common mercy in this life, but also His saving mercy for the life to come (Dan. 7:18; John 14:2; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 2:7; 7:16–17; 21:1–7). The elect, although no more inherently deserving than anyone else, receive God’s forgiveness for their sins and His deliverance from eternal condemnation —all according to His sovereign and loving purposes (Rom. 8:28–30; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2; cf. Ps. 65:4; Rom. 9:15–16; James 2:5). Christ’s compassion, or mercy, for believers is a spiritual privilege that beggars language (cf. Pss. 57:10; 59:16–17; 103:11; 136:1–9). It rescues believers from judgment in hell and grants them an eternal inheritance in heaven (1:4; Ps. 37:18; Acts 20:32; 26:18; Eph. 1:11, 14, 18; Col. 1:12; 3:24; Heb. 9:15), which is why Paul called God “the Father of mercies” (2 Cor. 1:3; cf. Rom. 9:23; Titus 3:5). As Joseph Addison described it: “When all thy mercies, O my God, My rising soul surveys, Transported with the view, I’m lost In wonder, love, and praise”. (JOSEPH ADDISON (1672–1719). Let us pray: Dear Lord, we come to you. And though the world may reject you, we receive your rule with humble thanksgiving. We are honored to be called your people, and we ask that our lives would proclaim the excellencies of your name, In Christ we pray. Amen. (Helm, D. R. (2008). 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: sharing christ’s sufferings (pp. 77–79).)
(Format Note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2004). 1 Peter (pp. 124–125). Chicago: Moody Publishers.)
