1 Peter 2:9: But You Are A Chosen Race, A Royal Priesthood, A Holy Nation, A People For His Own Possession

1 Peter 2:9

[9] 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. (ESV)

PRIESTHOOD. In this amazing verse Peter describes who we are. Firstly, we are a priesthood. In the Old Testament there was only one tribe of people, the Levites, who could be priests. It was not for everyone. Because of Christ we are now priests, with him as our perfect high priest. This is all because of grace. None of us are holy or righteous on our own. We have been chosen to be holy priests before the Lord.

PEOPLE. We are a people. Under the Law, there was only one people, the people who were part of the covenant that God made with the descendants of Abraham, the Jews. In Galatians 3:8 we are reminded that the Gospel was preached to the Gentiles before the Law was given because in Abraham all nations would be blessed. We are part of that blessing. We are God's people, just like Abraham.

POSSESSION. This is a point that we might struggle with. We like to believe that we are the masters of our own destiny. If you are in Christ Jesus you have been purchased. He bought you with his precious blood. As a result of that fact your decisions should be made in life as one who belongs to another. The once who called you, made you a priest in his kingdom, made you a part of his people has the right to call the shots.

PROCLAIM. God has done all of these marvelous things for you for a purpose. He wants you to proclaim to the world around you what he has done. The Christian who does not share with others around them the excellencies of the one who called them is likely not aware of God's command. He chooses to use us to show the world how wonderful he is. What is one of the greatest proofs of God's existence? You!

This is a wonderful verse that reminds us of what being a Christian really is. Praise God for what he has called you from, and called you to.  Ask him to show you by his Holy Spirit how you can proclaim his excellencies to those around you today.