Saturday in the Seventh Week of Ordinary Time

1 Peter 2:9-10

Once Not a People

The last title God bestows upon us in this passage is “a people of His own possession.”  This may be the sweetest of all the titles.  “Chosen Race,” “Royal Priesthood,” and “Holy Nation” are wonderful enough—but to be His very own people?  And how did we come by this?  Not of ourselves but of His sheer mercy and grace (Ephesians 2:8).  This goes back to what I have said over and again these last few devotions: God wants a people—a holy people—to call His own, and this is what He has provided for Himself through His Son Jesus Christ.

And why does God separate unto Himself a people?  So that we “may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  This is the task of the people He has called—of a holy people: To proclaim His name, to make known His wondrous deeds among the peoples (Psalm 105:1).  Everyone knows of some god, but do they know the true God, the God who dwells in light inapproachable, who made heaven and earth, who is above all and in all and through all, who is pure and beyond sin, who is righteous and just, AND who satisfied his justice through His Son’s substitutionary death on our behalf, who conquered the grave through His Son’s resurrection?  It is this God whose ways we are to proclaim before a lost and dying world.  It is this God who has called us out of darkness and into light—and if He can call us, He can certainly call others.

And here is yet another remarkable truth this passage tells us: We, who have been called, who have been separated unto Him, who have been given this charge to proclaim His excellencies, we (the Scripture tells us) were once “not a people,” meaning, “not His people.”  Once upon a time, we had not received mercy from Him.  We were once “dead in trespasses and sins in which we once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Ephesians 2:1-3).  This is who we were and what we can sometimes still see underneath the covering God has given us through Christ.  We were once without God (Ephesians 2:14), but He has now made us His very own people.  That’s why we say that we have been saved.  It’s not that we were sitting on the fence; we were on the other side of it—scattered, alone, and dead.  But God picked us up, made us alive, and made us a people—His people.  And that’s called, Grace.

Author: The Reformed Baptist

My name is Stephen Taylor, ordained Baptist minister of eighteen years pastoral experience with a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Better than that, I am married to a godly woman, Karla, who has been very patient with me since 1989. I have two daughters, both of whom I homeschooled for extended periods of time, who became godly young women, and who ran off and married godly young men, all of which is very proper. The oldest daughter has even seen fit to bless me with a grandson and a granddaughter, and my youngest daughter with a grandson, all three of whom are bundles of exceeding joy. As you can see, I am quite blessed. This website is dedicated to helping people grow in the wisdom and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through the gift of writing that the Lord has given to me. It is specifically about helping His people grow in godliness, the theme you see repeated above. I write devotions with this aim and hope that they might be of some help to God’s people. Full disclosure: I am of a Reformed bent, meaning that my understanding of Scripture is primarily informed by the Reformers and their successors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. However, as a student of church history and theology, I strive to remain true to that teaching handed down once for all unto the saints through every age of the Church. I like to think of myself as a “catholic” Christian, as the Reformers thought of themselves. At any rate, feel free to read, pray, and contact me if you wish, or correct me if need be. As you can see, I tend to follow the church year. Of course, I make no special claims about these devotions. I know very well that others have written better and plumbed the depths of God’s word with greater insight. But if my musings help someone draw closer to the Lord, well then, I have my reward. Blessings to you and may the God and Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speak to you that word which He knows you especially need to hear. Grace & peace, Stephen Taylor

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