To the Christians dispersed among the nations Peter writes: "But you are a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that
you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God,
who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9,10). What a privilege it is to be God's chosen people. "Blessed is the nation
whose God is the Lord, and the people whom He has chosen as His own
inheritance" (Psalm 33:12). On the last day, only God's elect will be saved: "And
He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other"
(Matthew 24:31 // Mark 13:27). The concept of God's chosen people is first found in the Old Testament.
God chose Israel as His special people. "And because He loved your fathers,
therefore He chose their descendants after them; and He brought you out of
Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power" (Deuteronomy 4:37). "For you
are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be
a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the
earth" (Deuteronomy 7:6 // Deuteronomy 14:2). "But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, The
descendants of Abraham My friend. You whom I have taken from the ends of the
earth, And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, 'You are My servant,
I have chosen you and have not cast you away; Fear not, for I am with you; Be
not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I
will uphold you with My righteous right hand'" (Isaiah 41:8-11). Who are God's chosen people now? Jesus warned: "Many are called, but
few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14 // Matthew 20:16). Now that the promised Messiah has come, God's chosen people are they
who accept Him as Lord and Savior: "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The
Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him
you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall come to pass
that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from
among the people'" (Acts 3:22,23). "Even so then, at this present time there is a
remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of
works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer
grace; otherwise work is no longer work. What then? Israel has not obtained
what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were hardened"
(Romans 11:5-7). The election is no longer based on physical lineage, but on one's
relationship with the Messiah: "He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those
who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful" (Revelation 17:14). The election of physical Israel was but a sign of a higher spiritual election
on the basis, not of the lineage of Abraham, but of the faith of Abraham. This
was God's plan even before the creation of the world. "Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
in the heavenly places in Christ, 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,
having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according
to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which
He has made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:3-6). As Peter says in the salutation of his first letter, this election in Christ is
based on the foreknowledge of God: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the
pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the
Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you
and peace be multiplied" (1 Peter 1:1,2). Paul explains this more fully in his letter to the Romans. "And we know
that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are
the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also
called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He
also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can
be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us
all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a
charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns?
It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of
God, who also makes intercession for us" (Romans 8:28-34). "Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one
another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another;
even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do" (Colossians 3:12,13). This election before the foundation of the world was in Christ, which
means that we are part of God's chosen people only if we are in Christ and
remain in Him. Peter tells us how we can make our calling and election sure:
"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our
Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and
godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by
which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that
through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the
corruption that is in the world through lust. But also for this very reason, giving
all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge
self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours
and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our
Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to
blindness, and has forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Therefore,
brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you
do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"
(2 Peter 1:2-11).
Roy Davison
Permission for reference use has been granted.