1Pe 2:9-10 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.
We are:
·
a chosen race
[family, lineage, stock]
·
a royal priesthood [a priesthood as a
fraternity, a body of priests]
·
a holy nation
[the sense of nation, people, as distinct from all others]
·
a people for His own possession [a people
acquired or purchased to Himself in a peculiar or unique manner]
In order that:
·
you may proclaim the excellencies of him
o
who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light.
We are a specific “called” and “commissioned” people.
Please note that we are NOT just called that we might be
saved – we are called and saved that we might serve Him and “proclaim” [make
widely known] His excellencies.
Now, that proclaiming might be verbal, written or it may be
in feeding or clothing. It may be just
listening – but it is for the purpose of proclaiming the truth about Him and we
need to consider making that clear.
Something on the order of, “I do this in service to the God who has
redeemed me and made me His own.” Or
perhaps just “4 Jesus.”
My point is this. We
are not to serve Him by “stealth.”
Proclaiming His excellencies shouldn’t be a “hidden” agenda. When proclaiming His excellencies is an
“ulterior” motive, it is no motive at all.
A friend of mine has posed the question “Can we use
deception in order to be able to proclaim His excellencies”? In other words, if the government of a
country bans Christian missionaries – do we present ourselves as just well
diggers or food providers? If a country
bans the Bible, do we violate its laws by smuggling Bibles into the country?
NO – you’re not going to get a definitive answer here. This is a great matter of discussion and one
about which we all must spend time in prayer and examining our consciences.
But – we are to proclaim His excellencies – to make them
widely known - which is getting to be a little dangerous even in our
nation.
Where do we get the “oomph,” the moxy to do this? Of course – from Him. But, we can go to Him confidently because:
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.
Please
notice that once we were “not a people.”
We were all a part of different families, ethnic groups, cultures. We were all what men call “different races,”
(thank you Darwin
;-{ ). We were “not a people.”
But God
didn’t just call us together and tell us, “You are now a people.” What He did do is call us and tell us, “You
are MY people.” That is a point we need
to really get in our heads. WE are HIS
people. AND we are His people who have
HIS mercy (of course His grace as well).
I think that this is cause for joy – which I describe as a
sanctified humility and thankful pride.
A pride in Him. Pride?
Pride: καυχάομαι, kaucháomai: To boast, glory, exult, both in a good or bad
sense.
Indeed, we should boast, glory and exult in Him, for Him and
about Him. That is our commission.
Rom 8:3-4 For God has done what the law, weakened by
the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh
and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
(4) in order that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the
flesh but according to the Spirit.
Today we struggle with, “Who are His people”? All the denominations, sects, septs and other
groupings of believers cause us to be cautious, which is not a bad thing. But the bottom line is determining who “we,”
is:
1Co 12:3 Therefore I want you to understand that no
one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says "Jesus is accursed!" and
no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except in the Holy Spirit.
Yes, I know, anyone can “say” that but when the rubber meets
the road or we listen to what else they say, we can, by the power of the
Spirit, discern if they are SAYING that or just mouthing the words.
Let’s pray hard that we will learn to and be bold to
proclaim His excellencies – and remember it is all about Him!
