GOD’S OWN SPECIAL PEOPLE – 1 Peter 2:8b-10
Posted by Angella Diehl, Webmaster on April 14, 2013 under 2013 |
Preached Sunday, April 14, 2013 from 1 Peter 2:8b-10
Theme: In this passage, God’s people are told how precious they are to Him.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
That’s the case with this morning’s passage from 1 Peter 2. It motivates us to action by setting before us the glorious truth of our identity in Christ.
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In 1 Peter, the apostle Peter was seeking to encourage his dear believing Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ at a time when they were being persecuted for their faith. They were genuine in their humble faith in the Lord Jesus. They sincerely sought to follow His good way for them. But they had to do so in a very hostile environment that persecuted them for their faith. As Peter says throughout this letter, they were grieved by various trials, they were spoken against as evildoers, they suffered for doing good, and they were treated wickedly for having lived righteously. It would have been tempting for them, at times, to think that they had done the wrong thing in following Jesus—that they had made a mistake in building their lives on Jesus Christ, the chief cornerstone.
We can, to some degree, relate to those early Jewish Christians. We too live in an environment that is often hostile to our faith. We don’t suffer perhaps as much as they did; but we—like they—are sometimes spoken against as evildoers. We too sometimes suffer harm for doing good. We are sometimes ridiculed and vilified for believing on Jesus as our Savior, for reverencing the Scriptures, and for seeking to walk in righteousness. We may even be called upon to suffer more for our Lord in the years to come.
And what Peter told them in their difficult trial would be meant, I believe, to be an encouragement to us in ours as well. In chapter 2, Peter told them;
Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture,
“Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”
Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,
“The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,”
and
“A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:6-8a).
That explains much, didn’t it? The people of this world would stumble over this glorious cornerstone—Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that they would reject Him; and so they would also reject those who build their lives on Him. He is, to them, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.
And it’s then that Peter seeks to encourage them with how God views them. He tells them—in the passage that I ask that we concentrate on this morning;
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy (vv. 8b-10).
When we suffer for following Jesus in a dark and hostile world, what a difference it makes to know who we are! In the midst of a world that speaks badly of us and of our Savior, what an encouragement it is to hear of how God the Father Himself views us—and how precious we are to Him!
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When I read those words to you, I wonder if they sounded at all familiar. Did they sound like things that you might remember hearing in other places in the Bible? If they did, it’s because Peter is drawing heavily from the Old Testament in passing on these words of encouragement to those suffering Jewish Christians.
Peter’s words would have reminded them, for example, of what God told the Israelites when they were gathered at the base of Mount Sinai—not long after God had delivered them from their bondage to Egypt. God had rescued them from slavery through many miracles—not the least of which was the parting of the Red Sea. And then as they were all gathered together—just before He gave them His Ten Commandments—we read;
And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:3-6).
What God said of those people long ago, back in the beginning of the Old Covenant, is what Peter says is now true of these suffering Christians in the New Covenant—that they were God’s special treasure above all people, that they were a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
This wasn’t something that was true of them because they were particularly wonderful and worthy people. It was because of God’s grace. Peter’s words would have also reminded them of Deuteronomy 7:6-8. After the people had wondered in the wilderness for forty years because of their disobedience, and just before the next generation was to enter the promised land, God told them;
“For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8).
They were a holy people to God. And it wasn’t because they had proven themselves to behave holy. Far from it! They had just wandered in the desert for forty years because they had been disobedient. Rather, they were a holy people to God simply because He chose them and had set them apart for Himself. And that’s what Peter tells his suffering fellow Christians. Whatever else the world may say about them, they are a holy people to God—chosen in love by Him and set apart for Himself.
Peter’s words would also have reminded them of Isaiah 43. In that passage, God spoke of His promise to send a Redeemer to Israel. It’s a passage that gives us an Old Testament promise of the coming of the Lord Jesus. In Isaiah 43:4, God says to them;
“Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you” (Isaiah 43:4a).
And in verse 21, God says;
“This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise” (v. 21b).
So; what a picture God gives of how precious His people are to Him! And Peter transfers these Old Testament words of encouragement on to these suffering Christians. He lets them know that they are—just as God had said of Israel of old—”a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; there’s no greater encouragement for us—in such difficult times as these—then to know who God says we are in Christ; and to rejoice in how precious we are to Him!
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Let’s look a little closer at these words from Peter; and notice first . . .
1. WHAT WE ONCE WERE (v. 8b).
Peter began by talking about those who had rejected the Lord Jesus and who were persecuting those who followed Him. Peter identified Jesus as “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense” to those who were persecuting His followers; and then explained, “They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed” (v. 8b).
Now; I believe we ought to take these words very carefully. Some people might be temped to draw stronger theological conclusions from this passage than it intends. I don’t believe Peter was saying that these disobedient people were “appointed” to eternal judgment. I praise God that, even though I was once disobedient to the word, I repented and believed and am now saved. Rather, I believe what he was saying is that they were appointed to the consequence of their disobedience to the word—which was ‘stumbling’.
Perhaps you’ve had the same sort of experience that I’ve sometimes had with unbelieving friends and family members. They misunderstand the nature of the faith. And when I say to them, “You don’t really understand who we Christians believe Jesus is and what the Bible tells us about Him. You don’t really understand the nature of true holiness before God. Let me open my Bible and show you what it says”; I sometimes get a very strong response—”No! I don’t want to hear it! I’m not interested in what the Bible says! Keep it to yourself! Save your preaching for Sunday!” They deliberately and hard-heartedly turn away from the word in disobedience and disbelief. And as a result—sadly—they stumble. They trip over the word they reject; and they suffer the consequences of disobedience and unbelief. And it’s to this disobedience—and the consequent stumbling that followed—that Peter says they were appointed.
I think a good way to explain what Peter means is by looking to a story from the life of the Lord Jesus. He was teaching the people in parables; and those parables often left people confused. They didn’t understand what He meant. This confused the disciples as well. In Matthew 13 we’re told;
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand Matthew 13:10-13).
Our Lord even said that this was promised in the Old Testament Scriptures;
And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them’ (vv. 14-15).
And by contrast, it’s then that Jesus turns His attention to His disciples and says;
But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it (vv. 16-17).
They had not stumbled. Instead, it had been graciously given to them to hear and believe! They were, above all people, unspeakably privileged!
There’s no question about it—the doctrine of God’s sovereignty over people’s response to the gospel is a tough one to grasp. It’s hard to sort it out why it is that God gives it to only some to hear and believe the gospel, but that He doesn’t give that same saving grace to everyone—why it is that He gives it to some to believe and obey the word, and to others to stumble over it in disobedience. But one thing I believe very strongly is that, if you and I aren’t overwhelmed with gratitude and praise and thanks to God for the fact that we have heard the gospel and have believed, then we have missed one of the most glorious aspects of that doctrine! It should move us to offer God our praise and thanks! Our attitude should be like Paul’s; who once wrote,
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief (1 Timothy 1:12-13).
Many around us “stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed”; but praise God, we are not among them! That’s what we once were; but that’s not what we are any longer!
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Let’s go on, then, to consider . . .
2. WHAT WE ARE NOW (v. 9a).
Peter says; “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people . . .” We should be overwhelmed and awestruck—and deeply, deeply grateful—by the testimony of God’s own word of what we are in His sight. The world may not think much of the church of God’s redeemed people; but how unspeakably precious we are to Him!
First, Peter says that we are “a chosen generation”. The word that Peter uses for “generation” (or “people” as it is in the New International Version”) is one that speaks of common ancestry—common kinship—an offspring from the same source. We have been made into a family together. We are brothers and sisters who are children of a common Father. But you’ll notice that we are a very special kind of “generation”. Other members of any other kind of family are born into it. But we aren’t natural-born members of this family. We were—just like Israel of old—chosen; and were adopted unto by God’s grace. We were—as it were—hand-picked by God from out of this world to be His!
What’s more, we are hand-picked for a glorious purpose. We are “a royal priesthood”. It would be enough if we were chosen to be in God’s household in order to simply become mere household servants. That alone would be a great privilege! But we are—just as was true of Israel of old—chosen unto a priesthood. It’s our privilege to walk in this world as those who represent God to it; and who lead people to God from within it. And we do so not simply as any old priests; but as priests who are ‘royal’. We are just as it says in Revelation 5:10—”kings and priests to our God”! Imagine that! God says that we are royalty who serve before Him!
He goes on to say that we are “a holy nation”. The word that Peter uses is ethnos; and that’s the word we get “ethnic” from. We may be brought into the church family from different ethnicities; but in the body of Christ, we are one common spiritual nationality. There is, as Paul says, “neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11). And not only are we together in this world as a distinct nation, but we are a distinct nation that is “holy”. We are set apart from all the rest of this world for God’s own purpose—God’s own use. There are really only two basic nationalities—citizens of heaven, and everyone else. And we are privileged to be the citizens of heaven—God’s holy nation!
And finally, we are “His own special people”. The old King James Version puts it this way—that we are “a peculiar people”. And from the standpoint of this world, we are peculiar. We don’t fit in. We’re odd. But from God’s standpoint, we’re not “peculiar” at all. We’re “special”. We’re a valued acquisition to Him. We’re a special possession. We are the most treasured commodity on earth to our heavenly Father. On the great last day, the old heavens and the old earth will be destroyed—and all that they contain along with them. A new heaven and a new earth will be made. And the only thing that God will keep in the new creation from the old one will be His Church!—the Bride of Christ!—Us! How truly precious we are to Him!
And do you notice that in all of those things, there is a definite bond of unity that we enjoy before Him? We are not one child, not just one offspring—but we are a “generation”. We aren’t simply one priest here or there—but we together constitute a “priesthood”. We aren’t simply an individual citizen of heaven—but we are a “nation”. I am not simply God’s special one, and you are not simply God’s special one—but we are His own special “people”.
All of this is describing us as a corporate body—His Church! The world doesn’t think much of the church; but He thinks very highly of it! This should encourage us when, in this dark and fallen world, we suffer together for our love for Jesus Christ.
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So; Peter tells us what we once were, and then tells us what we now are. And finally, he tells us . . .
3. WHAT WE’RE TO DO ABOUT IT (vv. 9b-10).
All of these things are to move us with deep joy, “that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
Once again, Peter is drawing his image from the Old Testament. In Hosea 2, it says;
“It shall come to pass in that day
That I will answer,” says the Lord;
“I will answer the heavens,
And they shall answer the earth.
The earth shall answer
With grain,
With new wine,
And with oil;
They shall answer Jezreel.
Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth,
And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;
Then I will say to those who were not My people,
‘You are My people!’
And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’” (Hosea 2:21-23).
And that’s what we now are. We were those who were not a people; but now are the people of God. We had not obtained mercy, but now we have obtained mercy. We once lived in darkness, but now we have been called out of darkness into God’s marvelous light. And as a consequence, we should open our mouths and praise Him! That’s what He has saved us for—that we might forever praise Him for His grace and His goodness to us!
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Dear brothers and sisters; these are the things we need to remember in those times when we suffer in this world for our faith. The world may not think much of us. But God cherishes us very highly! May it sink deeply into our hearts how much God loves us and values us in Christ!
