“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, and God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” (I Peter 2:9) NLT
Treasure our new status
Many times throughout the Old Testament, God referred to Israel as His chosen nation, His chosen race of people. It all began with Abraham, when God chose him out of the Land of Ur to journey to the Promised Land. God had promised to make him a great nation. (Gen. 12:2).
Later, God established His covenant with Abraham and promised to give him the Promised Land and promised a everlasting relationship with Israelites. (Gen. 17:7-8)
As they were about to enter the promised land, Moses reminded Israel, “the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6). The story of the entire Old Testament is the story of God’s gracious dealings with this one race of people that God chose to bless.
And now, here in 1 Peter 2:9, God has expanded the scope of His chosen race to include Gentiles, including us, all Christians. Through faith in Christ, all ethnic diversities are now removed. “There is neither Jew nor Greek…., for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). We have acquired a new status because of His grace and our faith in Christ. We should treasure this new status.
Treasure our new role
Even to Israel, this didn’t mean that everyone would be priests. However, it did mean that the entire nation would have a priestly role, as it relates to the other nations of the world. What does a priest do? He provides the way of access to God. And as Israel had a relationship with the Lord, they would be the ones to draw the nations to God.
This role now has been turned to us, who believe in Christ. We are priests to the world in the sense that people can come to God through us, as they hear from our mouths of the glories of the gospel of Christ.
Treasure our new duties
When Peter tells us to show others the goodness of God,” he’s talking in aesthetic language. Peter’s emphasis here isn’t so much the facts about God that we should broadcast. Rather, it’s the beauty of Christ that should come forth from our mouth. Peter’s emphasis here isn’t so much upon the greatness and grandeur of God. Rather, Peter’s emphasis here is upon the experienced kindness of God. Peter’s emphasis here is upon the loveliness of Jesus. Peter tells us to tell the world why we have found Him to be so attractive.
We have experienced the sweetness of Jesus in our souls. We are to tell others. But if we don’t have intimate relationship with Christ, then we will have no first-hand experiences to share with other people. It will be more convincing to tell about Christ with the support of our own experiences rather than quoting other experiences. Therefore, when we closely walk with Christ in faith, hope and love, surely we will maintain an intimate relationship with Him, and naturally we will have more spiritual experiences to share with others.