Called Out of Darkness

[Christsfreeservant]

“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. 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” (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).​

In context, the subject is Jesus, the Christ, the promised Messiah of Israel and of all people who was to come and who had now come. He came unto his own, the Jews, but they rejected him as their Messiah, the Christ, although not all did. And not only did they reject him as the Christ who had been promised to them, but they largely opposed him, and eventually they plotted and carried out his death on a cross, although he was God incarnate, and although he was sinless and he had done no wrong but only good.

But it was in God’s will and purpose for Jesus Christ to die on that cross, for in his death he put our sins to death with him, and in his resurrection he conquered sin, death, hell, and Satan, on our behalf. Thus, by God-given faith in him we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So sin must no longer reign in our bodies to make us obey its desires, for obedience to sin leads to death.

[Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; 1 John 3:4-10]

Now it goes on to say that whoever believes (believing – present active, not past only) in him will not be put to shame. But this belief is not of our own doing, so we don’t get to decide what this belief looks like. For this believing in Jesus is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, it is gifted to us by God, it is persuaded of God, and it is not of the will nor of the flesh of humankind. And God persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of sin and to obey his commandments.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Acts 26:18; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 2:3-6]

So, it says here in verses 7-8 that the honor is for us who believe in Jesus Christ, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A Stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” And “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”

Now, who is that referring to? It applies to all who do not believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ, who are not dying to sin and living to God and to his righteousness, in practice, who are not obeying him, in practice, but who are still deliberately and habitually sinning against him, which can include many false professers of faith in Jesus Christ. But who does this speak of more specifically, especially in reference to them as “the builders” who rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah? The Jews!

The Jews, as a people group, but not including all Jews, rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah, the Christ that they were promised and had been waiting for. And they still do, as a people group, as a nation. Now they had a choice like we all do, but they were destined to do this so the Gentile believers in Christ might now be grafted into Israel where the unbelieving Jews had been cut out of Israel, by God, because of their unbelief. They refused to make Jesus their Lord and their Savior and to put their faith and hope in Him.

[see: Matthew 21:42; Acts 4:11; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 9:4-8,33; Romans 11:17-25; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 8:8-10; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 John 2:22]

And then what does this say next? It says that we who believe in Jesus Christ are now God’s chosen race, his royal priesthood, his holy nation, the people for his own possession. We who believe in Jesus Christ are God’s chosen people, whether Jew or Gentile by physical birth. We alone are his holy nation Israel. The Jews who refuse Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah are the same as all people who do not believe in Jesus Christ. But they can be grafted back into Israel by faith in Jesus Christ.

[Rom 1:6-7; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-29; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 1:9; 1 Co 3:17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15,21; Gal 5:13-21; Eph 1:3-4; Eph 2:10,21; Eph 5:27; Col 1:22; Col 3:12; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:21; 1 Pet 1:13-16; 1 Pet 2:5-9,24; 2 Pet 1:3; Tit 2:11-14; Lu 9:23-26; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 2:3-6]

So, when you speak of God’s chosen people, his holy nation today, you must speak now of all of us who believe in Jesus Christ. The Jews who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah are not God’s chosen and holy nation at present. They can become his people again through faith in Jesus Christ but that is the only way to become the people of God under the New Covenant God promised to make with his people Israel. For the Israel of God is not the Jewish nation but all who are believing in Jesus as their LORD.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people we are to be holy, set apart by and for God, separate (unlike, different) from the world because by God we are being conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ. And as God’s possession, our lives are to be surrendered to Christ/God to do his will and to do the works he prepared in advance that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:14). We should be walking in obedience to his commands and daily by the Spirit putting sin to death.

And we are ALL to be proclaiming (preaching) the excellencies of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, God the Son, who called us out of darkness (sin) into his marvelous light (Jesus Christ, the gospel of Christ, truth and righteousness and holy living). We should all be sharing the truth of the gospel with the people of this world and with the worldly church. We are all to be making disciples of Christ of the people of this world, teaching them to obey our Lord’s commandments.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]

And then it says that we were once not a people, but now we are God’s people; once we had not received mercy, but now we have received mercy. Now, in a general sense, this is speaking of all who are believing in Jesus Christ as evidenced by our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. But in a more specific sense, this is speaking to us non-Jews by physical birth who, before Jesus died and was raised from the dead, were not part of God’s chosen people, who were not part of his holy nation (Israel), but now are.

So, again, God has only one chosen people, one holy nation, only one people for his possession, and they are not those who reject Jesus as their Messiah, but they are all those who have embraced Jesus Christ as their Messiah. For all who reject Jesus are no different from all people who reject Jesus. So, please know what the Scriptures teach so that you do not end up supporting and following after and giving your loyalty and devotion and blind trust to a nation which is godless and which is antichrist.

A Shield About Me

By Thomas Donn Charles / Williams Charles Henry

Thou Oh LORD, art a shield about me
You're my glory and my lifter of my head
Thou Oh LORD, art a shield about me
You're my glory and my lifter of my head

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
You're the lifter of my head

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