But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ~ 1 Peter 2:9
Today, we continue our study of 1 Peter 2 where we are learning of many of the blessings God has given us to maintain a consistent walk with Him. In today's verse the Apostle Peter dips back into the Old Testament, as is his habit, and brings out a number of references to the nation of Israel. These are all blessings which God gave to His people, the Jews. Peter applied these blessings to all believers in the Lord Jesus in order to encourage us especially when we are encountering intense persecution. These blessings are partly designed to get us to forsake the self life which at every turn tries to destroy us.
Today's verse begins with a "but," the strongest adversative known to any language. In the previous verses the Apostle Peter shined his spotlight upon the doom of those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. The contrast here could not be more obvious. Unlike those who are destined for destruction because of their rejection of Christ, those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus as such are a chosen people. In Ephesians 1:4 we read, "Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love."
The most adjusted people on the planet are those who are valued not on the basis of anything temporal like looks or performance or status or economic status. And, those who are defined by the flimsy stuff of this world are the most unadjusted people in this world. Since God has deemed to include us in on His Son's performance and perfection, we should be the most secure people in the world, only if we are choosing to be defined by Him. And, of course, when we are being defined by Him, we will be obedient to Him.
In addition to being a chosen people, believers in Christ are "a royal priesthood." The work of a priest is to tell the truth about human brokenness for the purpose of forgiveness and reconciliation. And, our priesthood is royal meaning our position in Christ has granted us VIP status with God. This is due to the fact that our forever High Priest is God Himself and He has procured this position for us in His life, death, and resurrection.
Then, according to this verse, the people of God are "a holy nation" which is a different designation from the royal priesthood. "A holy nation" exists to apply justice for the common good, especially to establish righteousness in the nation. All around this world a nation is judged according to whether its laws apply equally to all of its citizens. In addition, each nation is judged on the basis of whether its laws are fair and whether or not the weak are cared for and protected.
In addition, according to today's verse, believers in Christ are God's special possession. The better translation of this concept is "purchased possession" which would fast forward our attention to the cross where God shouted to the top of His lungs "I love you" too.
The goal of all of these blessings in Christ is "that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
Darkness is the absence of light. Spiritual darkness is the state of a person who is living apart from God. Sin darkened our understanding and destroyed our spiritual sight, cloaking us from a personal relationship with God. Spiritual darkness refers to all that is in opposition to the light of God’s love in Christ. All humans past the Fall of man began our lives in the darkness, in the grip and bondage of death and darkness. The Lord Jesus Christ is the personification of the light. He is the "true light" of this world, and He will be the true light of the world to come and forevermore. It was through the redemption of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ that we have passed into the light.
The light is used here by Peter as a metaphor of God dwelling among His people. In the Old Testament God dwelt among His people. Now that Christ has remedied our sin, God now dwells in His people. And now, we are being given by God a story with Him, we are positioned to tell others of what it means to come out of the darkness into a personal relationship with God. Once we experienced the light, we gained God's heart for those who are yet in the darkness.
