People of God

DEVOTION

THE 1^ST LETTER OF PETER

PEOPLE OF GOD

1 Peter 2:7-10

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"   8 and, "A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message — which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

NIV

Once again we have this disturbing phrase that some would make the case, such as John Calvin, that certain individuals were appointed to stumble and thus be appointed to hell, to punishment. Under this presumption, it would then also mean that some, like us, were predetermined to be saved, and so God then shows favoritism to us, while he does not to others. That doctrine goes against every fiber of His being, for we know without question that, first, He does not show favoritism. Second, it is His desire that whosoever believes will be saved, so that “whosoever” depends on the individual to make their own free will choice to believe or not believe. The fact is there are going to be people, in this case, which Peter is referring to, some Jews, that rejected Jesus as the Messiah and there are some who accepted him as the Messiah. When it comes to us Gentiles that same principle applies. Some of us believe and some have rejected Him. So then, as God has already determined that those who stumble over the capstone, those who simply cannot come to faith in Jesus, or refuse to base their lives on the cornerstone are destined for destruction. He predetermined the fate of whosoever believes, and he predetermined the fate of those who refuse to believe. However, to us who believe, God has made us into a chosen race, generation, a people, or geno in the Greek. Again, this does not mean a hand-picked person, over another unpicked person. We as a geno, a race of people, his creation, whom he created in his image, were created for the specific purpose to be in fellowship with him and in his foreknowledge knew the fall and the need for our salvation through the blood of Jesus. Before the foundation of the earth and all the race of mankind, God predetermined how he would reconcile himself to his creation by sending his Son. Peter goes on to show us that once we were not a people, not the chosen geno, generation, people, as we were living in the darkness of sin. But now, because we believed, we are his people, his royal priesthood, his holy nation, a peculiar people, belonging to God, and because we do belong to him we may declare his praises because he called us out of that darkness into his wonderful light. How could we not praise him for bringing us out of that darkness? That darkness is a place people chose to dwell so as to not have their sin exposed by his light. They think the darkness hides their sin, but it only hides it from themselves and others who live in the darkness. We know our sin, for the light shows it to us because we have come to the light, and although we see our sin, we also see the mercy of the Lord. We belong to God, we are His people, His holy nation because he has declared us holy and blameless, without accusation, in his sight. How great is that? How can we not give Him praise, all our praise? We live being so thankful that we saw His light and came out of that darkness. Thank you, Jesus!  We are your people. We are the people of God.