A very good morning to you my precious family in Christ
1 Peter 2:9 says “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 marvellous light.”
We are studying the book of 1 Peter in our Bible study and this verse has made me realise who I am as a believer and to how I look at who I am as a child of God and this in turn challenges me as how I should be living and acknowledging that these privileges I have is nothing of me, but all of God.
As members of the body of our Lord Jesus the verse reveals the precious privileges that are ours in Christ – “we are a chosen race and a royal priesthood. We have been made a holy nation and a special people who have become God’s own precious possession”.
Here are few WOW thoughts on what our status is as children of the living God:
As Christians we have a special place in God's unfolding plan of redemption. We are born into the family of God and have become a new creation through spiritual birth, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We are an elect race and have been transferred out of the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.
We have been made heirs of God and joint heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ - by faith.
We have been given the indwelling Holy Spirit as a down payment and guarantee that our inheritance in heaven is secure and sound.
We are individual members of Christ's Body and collectively are being used by Him to testify of the truth of the gospel of grace, as ministers of His new and better Covenant.
God has selected you and me out of all the people groups of the world for a very special reason, and we have been anointed with the oil of gladness to serve as His representative on earth.
We have been selected, called, chosen, consecrated and set apart for a very particular purpose - "that we may proclaim the excellences of Him, Who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light".
As we journey through this life of pain and sorrow we are to proclaim to the world, in thought, word, action, attitude and motive, the excellent glories of our heavenly Father, Who redeemed us from the darkness of sin and death - into the glories of His life and light, in Christ.
Unlike the nation of Israel, we are not a chosen race of earthly people, but a spiritual body of believers, that has been called out of every nation and language and people and tribes - to be His holy, heavenly people with a celestial citizenship. And we were set apart by grace, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour, before the foundation of the world.
We were also chosen to be a royal priesthood for our God, so that we may sing out the praises of His name, to those who are lost in their trespasses and sins. We have been called to share the good news of the glorious gospel of grace to a lost and dying world.
As a royal priesthood we are kings and priests unto God. We have been declared righteous in His sight and because of our union with the Lord Jesus, and everything that we say and do should be in keeping with the heavenly privilege bestowed upon us. Our character and conduct should reflect the high calling of God in the Lord Jesus, for by His grace and through faith in Him we have been given access into the throne-room of God. We can stand in the very presence of Almighty God the Father, because we are eternally identified with Jesus Christ - the Son of God. Think about that for a few moments and it should give you duck bumps and don’t you want to be bowing down to our God to thank Him and to worship Him for who He is and for what He has done for us.
Our worship, praise and thanksgiving will resound throughout the eternal ages because God has graciously called us out of the darkness of sin and death, and a life without Christ, into the glorious light of His holy presence and eternal light and love. Remember that darkness is the place of those who reject God's offer of salvation.
Those who refuse to trust in Christ have condemned themselves into the sphere of eternal separation from their Creator. But we who have trusted in His holy name have been forgiven of sin, made holy and blameless in His sight and given all we need for life and godliness - according to His riches in mercy and everlasting love.
How we praise His holy Name, for we who were once dead in our sins and shrouded in the thick blackness of sin, have been called out of darkness into His wonderful light, so that we might proclaim to all with whom we come in contact, the excellences of our heavenly Father and the grace of kinsman Redeemer - Who loved us so much that He was prepared to go to the cross for our sake, so that our sins could be forgiven, and we could exhibit the glories of His grace, not only in this world but also in the ages to come.
God has formed this nation, this race, this priesthood to take possession of us. We are His people in a very real way. It's not just that we pledge our allegiance to Him; it's that He has taken ownership of us. We belong to Him.
He has made us to declare His praises. That's more than just a natural response to our Father's mercy or something we should do to be polite. Declaring God's greatness is one reason for our very existence. When we praise Him, we fulfill our purpose. He has called us out of the darkness of a meaningless life, and an eternity apart from Him, and into His wonderful, marvellous light. Because we belong to Him, we belong in His light.
Our Lord Jesus taught in Matthew 5:13-14 that believers are the salt of the earth and that we are the light of the world. Therefore, Christians should be drastically different from the world. We preserve the world from decay. Each of us have tremendous value. Among the people of the earth, we are a people who are radically different and the challenge is for us to live as if we are passing through this world and therefore unbelievers should see that we are different and that the Lord Jesus living in us. So my brothers and sisters, are you and I living as if we are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, so that we may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light?”
Let us pray
Thank You Father God for including me as one of Your chosen servants. Enable me, in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of the Lord Jesus to be a good and faithful witness to You in my earthly walk. Show me Lord if there is any area in my life that needs to changed so that You may be glorified and exulted in my life - and in all I say and do, I pray that I may sing forth Your eternal praises and glory, from this day forward and for evermore. AMEN
For I’m building a people of power, and I’m making a people of praise, that will move through this land by My Spirit, and will glorify My precious name.
Build Your church, Lord, make us strong, Lord, join our hearts, Lord, through Your Son. Make us one, Lord, in Your body, in the kingdom of Your Son
Much love to you in Christ and enjoy your week further, from Maurice and Margaret
