Who Am I? - Pt 5

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. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).

As we come to the fourth characteristic Peter lists for us, we also arrive at the most unlikely truth. He says we are “… a holy nation” (v. 9). We have been chosen and pitied and possessed by God; and therefore we are not merely part of the world anymore. We are set apart for God. We exist for God. And since God is holy, we are holy. We share his character, because he chose us, pitied us, and possessed us. We are holy. If we do not act in a holy way, we act out of character. We contradict our essence as a Christian. For our identity is holiness to the Lord: we are holy. The Apostle Peter explains in today’s reading that we are this royal priesthood; we are a holy nation. This truth has much more to say about access rather than behavior. It means we are a people who need none but Christ to stand between us and the Father. Martin Luther pointed out in his Babylonian Captivity of the Church that “all we who are Christians are priests,” and no believer has greater access to the Creator than any other. We know from the Scripture that pastors and elders are appointed to teach the church the will of God from His Word (cf. 1 Timothy 3:1-7), but they do not represent us before the heavenly throne like the Levitical priests did under the administration of the old covenant. In Christ, there is a true priesthood of all believers. All believers have free access into His presence, and all of our lawful vocations are set apart for true God-honoring service. The janitor who does his work to the Lord is in no worse position spiritually than the most gifted preacher on the planet, for all Christians have been declared righteous servants of the creator God. There is enormous freedom in this truth. On more than one occasion I have been told by some of the most Godly saints I have known that they regretted not being able to do more as their physical health deteriorated. My response has always been a request for them to do the most important thing a believer may do, pray. Enter into the presence of God as a priest might and make your intercession known to God. We all have that access and that power! He has chosen us for every circumstance of our life. We are perfect for that moment and that time!