WE ARE A PEOPLE FOR GOD’S OWN POSSESSION

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).

Someone called me last week and, in true humility, spoke about his unworthiness as a believer. He didn’t want anyone to think of himself higher than they ought to think. I read him this passage. Think about this for a moment.. God knows us. He knows what we have done. He knows the true condition of our hearts. He knows that we are prone to malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander (verses 1-3) and every other sin that’s out there. He knows that we do these things habitually, even after we have believed in his Son. Yet he caused us to be born again; he called us; he gave his Son for us who purchased us with his precious blood. And now he looks upon us as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.

Just think that as unworthy as we are, Christ redeemed us with his precious blood. God chose us. God treasures us. We were not his people and he showed us mercy. We are royalty to him. He considers us a holy nation. We are his possession. He called us out of darkness, that is, everything that is opposed to him and called us into his marvelous light, everything that characterizes him. He has called us to proclaim his excellencies. This is our God!

When you are going through the dark valleys, these words give us hope. We are children of the king. We belong to the sovereign God of the universe. The creator of the universe laid down his life for us and shed his precious blood on the cross for our sins.