1 Peter 2:9-10 Peculiar People
Good morning! We are continuing our work through 1 Peter this morning with chapter 2 verses 9-10, page 1014 in the pew bibles.
Last week we talked about how the church is made up of living stones, us individual believers, built upon the foundation of the confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord with Jesus Himself as the chief cornerstone, setting the lines of plumb and square for the Temple that He is building.
Peter also said in verse five, “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
And as I said last week, we are going to look a little closer at the church as a holy priesthood offering spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ in this week’s text of verses 9-10.
So, let’s look at that together…
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.
Let’s pray.
So after just a quick glance at these two verses, what do you think Peter’s purpose could possibly be?
Remember that Peter is original audience was made up of exiled Jewish believers, separated from their homeland and spread out and sprinkled into other nations. And though we are not exactly the same, and certainly not in the exact same situation as them, we can identify with being sprinkled among others who are outside of our holy nation of believers and followers of Jesus Christ, and so, we can find similar encouragement from Peter’s words here in these verses.
So let’s look briefly at this list of adjectives Peter uses to describe the church and how we might identify with them and be encouraged by Peter’s message.
Peter begins by calling the church a “chosen race.”
What is the significance of this expression?
Being a chosen race, or as some translations put it, a chosen generation, or people, chosen out of the great mass of humanity destined for salvation. Does that sound like anybody else to you? It sounds like Israel!
Exodus 19:1-6 says, On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 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; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
Being the chosen race was the honor conferred on Israel but is now conferred on the church, they fell from that dignity because they rejected the Messiah while the church embraces Him by faith.
Now before we start to get all puffed up about that idea remember the words of John Calvin, “There is no other reason why the Lord counts us as His people except that He, having mercy on us, graciously adopts us.” Mercy and grace being the key ideas, mercy- not getting what we deserve, and grace, getting the good that we don’t deserve.
Paul echoes this thought in Romans 9:21,
21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 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.’ ”
I’m sure that there are many sermons just based on this one thought, but this is not one of them…
Peter adds to the description of the church as a chosen race, the honor of being called a “royal priesthood.”
Verse five calls the church a “holy priesthood,” a priesthood set apart and consecrated for God’s use, but now he adds the idea of that holy priesthood being a “royal priesthood.”
The church is indeed a kingdom of priests, all believers in Jesus Christ as Lord are priests that offer spiritual sacrifices to God, but what does it mean to be royal? How does a person become royal?
It’s simple really, in order to be royal, you have to be related to the king.
Ephesians 1:4-6 says, In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace…
We are a royal priesthood because we have been adopted by the Great King by faith in His Son. And as a holy and royal priesthood we can freely draw near to God sacrificing, praying, blessing, offering our bodies, our whole being as a genuine act of worship.
He sets apart a people who are by nature polluted, slaves of sin and Satan, to freedom to serve Him and draw near to Him, and worship Him, and to enjoy all the blessings of royal liberty and freedom.
There are many sermons that could be based on this one thought, but this is not one of them.
The church is a chosen race, a royal priesthood, and a holy nation.
So what does it mean to be a holy nation?
To be holy, as we’ve discussed, is to be separated and consecrated by God, it pertains to being holy in the sense of having superior moral qualities and possessing essentially divine qualities in contrast to what is merely human.
Israel was a shadow of this idea, this is what they were intended for but because of their sin and idolatry they couldn’t fulfill this role. God is not done with the nation of Israel but now the church is God’s holy nation.
When the nation of Israel was faced with the choice to remain pure and true to the Lord instead of following the idols and false gods of the pagan nations when they left Egypt and entered the Promised Land they chose poorly, they turned from the Lord to idols. Even today, people of Jewish descent have turned from the Lord to good works instead of faithfulness to God’s Word and His Messiah Jesus.
As the church, God’s Holy Nation, we must strive for holiness, we must renounce the ways of the world and the pagan nations, and we must grow in brotherly love as we are destined to lead a pure and holy life.
Peter’s use of the word, “nation” is an extension of the idea of a tribe, it the largest unit that the people of the world can be divided into that constitute a broader community.
This is the universal church, the communion of all believers in Jesus over all the world and for all time. We are part of the wonderful, gigantic, diverse group!
The church is a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a people for God’s own possession…
The King James Version calls us, “a peculiar people.” Very true words, but a poor translation!
In truth, this literally means a people acquired by God through considerable effort. And His effort was considerable!
We are acquired by God by the blood of His only Son!
Paul’s charge to the Ephesian Elders in Acts 20:28 emphasized this idea. “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”
Matthew Henry wrote, “All true Christians are a chosen generation; they all make one family, a sort and species of people distinct from the common world, of another Spirit, principle, and practice, which they could never be if they were not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by His Spirit.”
It is the work of God to acquire us as a people and He alone can and has accomplished it by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the sanctification of His Spirit.
We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired by God…. What for?
Have you ever stopped and wondered why God would save you, why we He send Jesus to die for you? These are important questions and they have a wonderful answer!
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Proclaiming the excellencies, the virtues, the attributes of God connected with our being called out of darkness, with our salvation, that’s why!
This is not the work of the elite, this is not the sole work of evangelists and pastors and preachers and teachers, this is the wonderful purpose and calling for the whole community of believers! Give glory to God by telling everybody what He has done for you!
He has called you out of darkness, the sad condition of all men before Christ, ignorant of God, unrighteous, slaves to Satan and sin, under the curse and wrath of God, he has called you, by name, out of that miry pit and into His marvelous light!
He has called us into holy communion with the One who is light, He has enlightened our understanding and sanctified our wills, He has filled our consciences with peace. The nature and work of His light are marvelous because of what it does to people, it makes lost sinners children of Almighty God!
He is the only light, don’t be fooled, and don’t forget!
We have no reason to magnify ourselves above others for once we had been in the same darkness, and only by God’s grace have been brought to the light, and now we have the awesome privilege of showing that light to others.
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.
John Calvin wrote, “The meaning then is, as though he had said, ‘Moses called formerly your fathers a holy nation, a priestly kingdom, and God’s peculiar people; all these high titles do now far more justly belong to you [the church]; therefore you ought to beware lest your unbelief should rob you of them.’”
And, “There is no other reason why the Lord counts us His people, except that He, having mercy on us, graciously adopts us.”
“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.’ ”
By faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted as God’s own children, and with God as our Father, Jesus as our Brother, how much more can we be connected than by the blood of Christ? The blood of Christ makes strangers brothers and sisters. I don’t need to know anything else about you other than you belong to Jesus to know that we are family!
…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.
Amen
