Our Identity in Christ [People of God]…

February 2, 2007 | 10:00 AM

“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.” (1 Peter 2:9, ESV)

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14, NIV)

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14, ESV)

When God called Abraham out of Ur and into the land we call Palestine, He was laying the foundation for a people He could call His own. By the time God raised up Moses to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt into the land once again, the people were called His. God says, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt” (Exodus 3:7) before sending Moses back into Egypt to become His voice to Pharaoh. For centuries the Hebrews, as God’s chosen people, inhabited the land (albeit with several abrupt exiles because of their disobedience to God).

In those days, God’s people were bound by a Law, which we call Torah. Torah is better translated “Instructions” or “The Way” and it was the foundation of Hebrew and Jewish life. When a non-Jew, that is someone who was not born Jewish, wanted to follow the God of the Israel, he would be circumcised according to the Law and begin adhering to it.

When Jesus came, he changed the face of the Law. He said he came to fulfill it, not to abolish it. It was Jesus who began a spiritual revolution. Through Jesus, we have found the grace of God, and are now free from our sin. We don’t have to offer sacrifices through priests because Jesus was our eternal sacrifice. Just as this sacrifice has made us clean to be adopted as Children of God, so this sacrifice has opened up God’s nation to those who are not bound by the Law. In fact, Jesus said “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me” (John 14:6). The way of Jesus fulfills the way of Torah.

I remember once reading that God never meant for Israel to be a closed nation. That is, God never intended for Israel to forget its neighbors. Abraham was not a Hebrew, he was from a land in what is now Southern Iraq. In fact, it’s not really until the time of Moses that we hear about the Hebrew people as a race, or a distinct culture (to the best of my recollection). It seems like God tried to change that (He sent Jonah to Ninevah, which was like the New Orleans + Las Vegas of the Ancient Near East, it seems). Over time, Israel came to exclude many of its neighbors from repentance and obedience to the God who really is.

Jesus really changed that. He allowed Gentiles (basically, the people who weren’t Jews) to find salvation in him. It’s kind of funny that Paul and Peter, two of his disciples, actually argued about whether the Gentiles were covered by the sacrifice. Luckily Paul won out, and a lot of us are able to call God Father now. So Jesus opened up this closed nation, this nation of Hebrews, this nation of Israel, of the Jews, and allows we who were once left out, into the People of God.

Why is this so cool? God made a covenant (promise) with Abraham (at the time he still went by the name Abram). He promised that He would give Abraham the land that I mentioned earlier- the land we now call Israel or Palestine. As was the custom for making a covenant in the Ancient Near East, a cow, goat, ram, and several birds were brought forth. Abram cut all of them in half, except for the birds, and set them apart from each other (with a path down the middle). Usually, both parties would walk between the animals as an oath, essentially saying, “May this blood be on my head if I do not fulfill my part of the covenant.” But in this case, only God passes between the animals. This is a covenant God made with Abraham, without any strings attached. And as we see recorded in the Old Testament, God was faithful in His covenant. He did give the land to His people. He did watch after His people. He was a good Father to His people. And He is good on His promise to us. We are His people.

“When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.

Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” (Hebrews 6:13-19a, NIV)

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Posted in Christianity, Identity in Christ Series, Life, Prayer, Theology