The People of The Call

In times of difficulty, it is important to reflect  on who we are as our identity determines how we react to situations which then determines the course of our lives. There is no more poignant passage on who we are than 1 Peter 2:9-10 where Peter addressed the members of the fledgling church scattered across Asia Minor undergoing intense persecution for their faith

1 Peter 2:9 – 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. 

He describes our identity, our purpose and our calling. In a sense, we are no different from Abraham who is the father of faith simply because he was called and had the faith to answer the call and leave his city and country- to believe and live  according to a set of promises God gave him  which was not an easy path, but one fraught with much sacrifice and pain. About 2000 years later, Peter writes to the churches scattered all over Asia Minor undergoing the same suffering –  they marched to the beat of their divine Caller  because they lived like exiles, strangers and soujorners

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Today, we are the church, the people of the call, as the Greek word for church is “Ekklesia” which, when broken down to its component parts, means “called out from.”We are like Abraham and the believers in Peter’s time; a people called out from the world to be a part of a new kingdom, a people who lived in this world but is not of this world.

It is because of this jarring difference in values and lifestyle to which we are called that will inevitably bring us into conflict with society at large so the church is often persecuted, marginalised and hunted down. Right now, we think of our brethren in China who are undergoing an unprecedented governmental crack down by a government that is threatened by their increasing influence on society. The thing that keeps us faithful is the Word of God and, in this passage, Peter lays out to them the secret to our endurance and eventual triumph amidst trials- it is the realisation and appropriation of our true identity. To the world and their neighbours, Christians simply don’t fit in: we are a stranger-motley crew who worship a crucified criminal but the spiritual reality is that our identity is simply glorious and if we can understand our true identity (hence, our true value) then no amount of persecution or trouble will be able to wear us down.

At crucial times in history, when God calls his servants, He changes their names to reflect their new calling. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham which meant Father of many nations- this was his identity, his destiny and his calling which was  what kept him on his journey of faith. Moses changed Joshua’s name from Hoshea, which means Salvation to Joshua. The Lord is Salvation and in the New Testament the name Joshua when translated to Greek is Jesus who is our salvation. Identity is key.

The passage looks at the identity of the church in 4 different angles or dimensions, chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession and it is crucial for us to gain some understanding of these aspects of who we are to triumph in our spiritual journey.

A Chosen Race

In this country, there isn’t a person who is unfamiliar with the concept of race, as it undergirds our politics and our daily life. The spectre of May 13 is always in the background when the political rhetoric is heated. Just last year, there were near racial riots when a Malay fireman was accidentally killed in a Hindu temple in Subang Jaya. Everyone knows race is associated with privilege but the thing about a chosen race is that the privilege is not something one earns. One is just born Chinese, Indian, Malay or Jew. It is totally without merit and divinely appointed and that is what is wonderful about us being the chosen race- God specially chooses us not our persecutors. We, as His chosen race, are well and truly loved and valued like the proverbial apple of His eye. With privilege comes responsibility to live up to His kingdom values- to march to the tune of His Word which will often bring us into conflict with the rest of the world.

A Royal Priesthood

In the Old Testament, the class of priests were the only ones who God allowed to offer sacrifices. Once a year, there would only be one high priest who could, after a week of preparation, be allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, the  most sacred site of the Tabernacle or Temple, to offer sacrifices on behalf of a sinful nation. Hence, to be a priest, it allows access and qualifications for access which are both provided for by the sacrifice of Jesus upon whose blood we can come into the very presence of God as His royal priest hood. We no  longer will be like Israel- to be kept outside the temple reliant on proxies of the priests but today we come directly into His presence in prayer and worship. It is a new reality that fills us with reassurance of His love and presence in our lives. Priests were the ones who looked after the poor as well and as mediators between God and man. Now, we,as the royal priesthood, bring the gospel of God to the unbelieving community; bringing His call for them to respond and repent and their plight before God in prayer as we pray for the Spirit to convict their hearts. In addition, like our Old Testament forebears, we minister His love and practical care to the poor and marginalised

A Holy Nation

The word “ Holy” describes in essence who God is. It’s God in a category of His own. In the Old Testaments temple, even the ashes of the sacrifices were considered “holy” as were the utensils used in the sacrifices. They are God’s which were dedicated to His service and not used for any normal human activity.

We are a holy nation which means we are a people operating out of a different constitution than that which governs our country. It is this stark difference that often brings the church into conflict with world governments which are always endeavouring to exert greater control over their citizenry to ensure the perpetuity of their power and privilege.

Being a holy nation means operating out of an entirely new culture that affects every area of your life- now totally unequivocally under the influence of the purpose of God.

You can’t just be holy on a Sunday and on Monday and then back to operating under secular values again. Being a holy nation is a whole life culture.

A People of His Own Possession

We are His irreplaceable treasure. A few days ago, The New York Times published a list of 1,000 names as representatives amongst the 100,000 who had died from Covid 19. The loss was casted as an incalculable loss- the value of each life is so precious that you could not place a value on it.

Look at the names
Lila Fenwick, 87, was “the first black woman to graduate from Harvard Law.”
Romi Cohn, 91, “saved 56 Jewish families from the Gestapo.”
Fred Gray, 75, “liked his bacon and hash browns crispy.”

Now I personally would not want my life to be characterised as ”liked his bacon and has brown crispy”

But yet that life was incalculable because he was someone’s father, brother or husband or best friend.

We are His incalculable, irreplaceable treasure. What I am now is no reflection of what I shall be when His work in me is finished one day; He thinks I am a gem, I definitely will be more than a guy who loved Bak Kut Teh.

In Exodus 19:5 (ESV) Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;

God describes His people as his treasured possession. In Hebrew, the word is “ segullah” which means the portable treasure of a king. If a king wanted to do a diplomatic mission to another country, he could not possibly bring his entire treasure to impress the neighbouring vassal state about  his power and influence but he would bring a “segullah”. This would be the most valuable item which would be a symbol of his immense power and wealth. It could be a diamond studded golden sceptre or it could be a golden chalice. The imagery is that we are His “segullah”, that precious, irreplaceable treasure, a symbol of His glory and He displays us to the world and the world looks at us in awe and wonder of the transforming power and majesty of the King of kings. Yet it is not the intrinsic worth of the “segullah” that is wonderful, it is the value God places upon us as we are like earth vessels intrinsically worthless on our own but, in His eyes and transforming love, immeasurably beautiful.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us

Our Challenge

Hence, this is our unique identity that will reinforce our resolve to stay faithful in times of difficulty and fill us with courage to do mighty exploits for Him.

We are His chosen race, privileged beyond measure by sheer grace so let us be awed by that and no matter what the world tells us or how our enemies regard us, nothing can take that away. We walk with our heads held high because He chose us.

We are His royal priesthood, only we can have access to the one True God and sit on His lap and call Him our Father who art in Heaven. So enamoured with this privilege we are inspired to bring others yet outside the fold by sharing with them the gospel of grace and praying for them and ministering to them as He has blessed us as His priests

We are His holy nation, and worthy of His Word before our eyes and His Spirit within us we are inspired to live and serve our world entirely rejuvenated by His power. We march to the beat of a different drummer, one the world will not recognise much less appreciate and that brings conflict and misunderstanding but it will not dent our enthusiasm and  confidence as we march under a different flag. We belong to the kingdom of the King of Kings 

We are a people of His own possession and an irreplaceable treasure made to shine out as the true image of God. We live in excitement and anticipation not because of what we look like now but because of the glory that will lie before us. Glimpses of which we see in our lives now but the full extent will continue to unfold and finally explode in the new heavens and the new earth one day when we will dwell with Him forever.