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. 2 Peter 2:9-10
In previous verse he spoke about how we have become living stones because we obeyed Lord but at the same time many people have stumbled because they disobeyed. Now Peter uses four phrases to tell us who we are to God through Jesus Christ. And all these phrases echoes Isaiah 43:20-21 and Exodus 19:6 . Peter applies the same privileges and belonginess that ancient Israel had with God. Peter says to christhian in asia minor that
- You are choses race 2. You are royal priesthood, 3) a holy nation, 4) a people for his own possession
The phrase you are chosen race echoes Isaiah 43:3, which announces that God himself is the Israel’s’ saviour. In Isaiah 43:20-21 God declares he will provide water in the desert to drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” God has chosen us and delivered us from darkness from different languages, states, race and made us one race through his son the same way how God had delivered Israelites from the Babylonian captivity.
Secondly, we are holy priest hood; In old testament, people had a priest hood today, God’s people are a priest hood. We are consecrated by God through Jesus. In OT the role of a priest was to mediate between people and God bringing offerings and sacrifices but today we as holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Christ is the high priest interceding for us and we ought to intercede for this world.
Thirdly we are Holy nation: the Israelites were covenant people. God had made covenant with them on the mount Sinai, which formed ancient Israel as a holy nation on the blood of a sacrifice. Now God has made a covenant with us through the blood of Lord Jesus Christ and separated us from the rest of the world. the designation as holy nation reinforces the concept of obedience and sanctification. We are set apart by God to be holy and our convictions and choices we make as holy people must align to god’s Holy standard. we hold dual citizenship – in the country of our residence and in the Holy nation of God.
Finally, we are God’s special procession: this is an allusion to both Exo 19:5 and Isaiah 43:20-21. Although the whole world belongs to God the ancient Israel was a special possession to God; now peter says we are also a special possession to GOd through Jesus.. Deuteronomy 7:6 says The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
I don’t how the world and people around are treating you today. What others are thinking about you but this is what God says to us that we are special to him. Peter’s readers are to understand themselves in these terms, regardless of how their society labels them. The words “chosen,” “royal,” and “holy” are adjectives that describe collectively the nature of the relationship of Christian believers to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.Where ever we go remember this that we are Loved and chosen by Him, cleaned by the blood of Jesus to reveal and to proclaim about how he has delivered us from the darkness to this marvellous Light.
