The Chosen of God

[Christsfreeservant]

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NASB’95)​

Who is the subject matter here? We who believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded and God-gifted faith, which is of the Spirit, and not of the flesh. We are those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness, in walks of obedience to his commands, by the grace of God, by the Spirit, and empowered by God.

We who believe in Jesus Christ with this faith which dies with Christ to sin, and which walks in obedience to his commands, in life practice, are God’s chosen race, his holy nation. We are the Israel of God, and this includes Jew and Gentile by genuine God-honoring faith in the Lord Jesus. We are one nation under God by faith in Jesus Christ. All who rejected Jesus Christ were cut out of Israel, and all who are of faith in him were grafted into Israel.

So God does not have two separate chosen people, a people for God’s own possession, his holy nation. All who rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord and Savior are no longer his people. But they can be grafted back into biblical Israel by faith in Jesus Christ. And “all Israel” is Jew and Gentile by genuine biblical faith in the Lord Jesus (Romans 11:1-36). And the Bible teaches that all who deny that Jesus is the Christ are antichrist (Jude 1:5).

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29 NIV).​

[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; John 8:18-19,38-47; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13;1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]

So, God’s chosen people today are all who believe in Jesus Christ with biblical faith which results in death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice. We are his royal priesthood because when Jesus died on that cross he did away with the necessity for us to go through human priests, and he opened wide that curtain which stood between God and us humans so that, by faith in Jesus, we can enter into God’s presence.

And, as his holy nation, we are to be the people of God who are living holy lives, pleasing to God. For to be holy is to be set apart by God to be separate (unlike, different) from the world, because we are being made by God to be like Jesus in character, thought, word, and deed. For if we truly belong to God then he is the one now ruling our lives, and not the flesh, and we should be living to please him in all that we are and do and say.

And, when we are following the Lord Jesus, making him Lord of our lives, obeying his commands, and no longer walking in sin (in practice), then we should be proclaiming the excellencies of God who has called us out of darkness (sin) into his marvelous light (salvation, truth, the gospel). We should be sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation with the people of the world and with the church, too, for not everyone has true faith.

But the gospel message which we should be sharing is the one that Jesus taught and that his New Testament apostles echoed. And that is, if we are going to come after Christ, we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and walk in obedience to God, then we have eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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The Chosen of God
An Original Work / March 20, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love