The Priesthood of All Believers, Part Six

As we continue our study of 1 Peter 2, let me ask you: Are you disappointed, confused, dismayed, gloomy, or depressed? Do you feel chewed up by the world and overwhelmed? If you are a Christian who is experiencing these things, I say to you, “Rejoice!” Why? You have been greatly honored by the God of heaven. By God’s supernatural power and plan, we who were nobodies have been made somebodies and given great dignity, that we can come into his very presence to praise and worship him. Therefore, let us study this passage, 1 Peter 2:7-10, and reflect on the glory and dignity our God has bestowed upon us.

God Gives His People Honor

God gives honor to his people. In many translations of 1 Peter 2:7 we read “Now to you who believe, this stone is precious,” but that is not what the Greek text says. In the Greek it reads, “Now to you who believe is honor.” The Greek word is time, which is used in 1 Peter 1:7, 2:7, and 3:7. In all these places it should be translated “honor, dignity.” So Peter writes in 1 Peter 2:7, To you who believe is honor. “But to those who do not believe, ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,’ and, ‘A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.’ They stumble because they disobey the message–which is also what they were destined for. But you”– there is a great contrast here. Unlike those who disobey, unlike those who stumble and fall, “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. . .” For what purpose? “that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

“To you who believe is honor.” Those who come to Jesus Christ,who believe on him, are honored of the Lord. Those who do not come to him stumble and fall. Those who ought to be depressed, miserable, unhappy, despondent, dismayed, and terrified are unbelievers, not Christians. Those who do not come to him stumble and fall. Paul says the same thing in Romans 2:9, “There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” Peter says the same thing earlier in this epistle when he says that trials have come so that a believer’s faith “may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet. 1:7). In this latter verse Peter is speaking about the future, but 1 Peter 2:7 tells us that we are greatly honored by God even now.

God Chose Us

How does God honor his people? First of all, he chooses them. Peter writes, “But you are a chosen race. . .” (1 Peter 2:9), and in the Greek we notice that he emphasized the word “you.” Unlike others who disobey and refuse to come to Jesus Christ, unlike those who stumble and fall, believers are different. They are a chosen race.

What does it mean to be chosen? It means chosen from the rest of miserable wretches of the world, chosen from the sinners and the rebels of the world. Now we must ask: Why did he choose us? Was it because we were nice, distinguished, fair looking, rich, talented, or moral? Oh, no. In 1 Corinthians 6:11 Paul says to the Corinthian Christians, “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” We must never think that God has chosen us from all eternity because we were nice. We were not nice.

Why did God choose us? Was it so that we could have a nice life and find happiness in the world? Oh, no. He has chosen us for himself. Deuteronomy 7:6 says, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples of the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” And in Psalm 4:3 David wrote, “Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself.” We have this idea that God has chosen, redeemed, and saved us so that we can have fun. No, he has chosen us for himself. What is the efficient cause of this choosing? God chose us, not because of anything in ourselves, but solely because of his distinguishing love and affection. He set that affection on us. In Deuteronomy 10:14-15 we read, “To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. Yet the Lord set his affection on your forefathers and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations, as it is today.” Did God love us because we loved him? No. In 1 John 4:10 we read, “This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us.” God loved us first. And verse 19 says, “We love because he first loved us.” All our love, all our service, all our believing, all our choosing and all our repentance are the result of God’s loving, calling, and redeeming us. Our actions are consequent upon what he has done for us first.

When did God choose us? From all eternity. Whenever I hear this, I get excited: He chose me from all eternity! Read Ephesians 1:4, “For he chose us in him”–that is, in Jesus Christ– “before the creation of the world. . . .” From all eternity God chose us in Jesus Christ to be holy and blameless, so that we could commune with a holy, transcendent God, which is eternal life.

Did God choose us because we chose him? No. In John 15:17 Jesus Christ says this: “You did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit.” Don’t ever think that you loved and chose him first. He loved and chose us from all eternity, and all our choosing is the result of his saving and enabling us, so we must praise and worship him. We are redeemed for the praise of his glorious grace.

Did God choose us because we believed in him? No. In Ephesians 2:1 Paul tells us we were dead and in verse 4 he says, “But because of his great love for us”– that distinguishing, electing love from all eternity– “God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ.” And look at verse 6: “And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” And in verse 8 we read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. . . .” Your faith is the gift of God. You had to be quickened, made alive, and raised up with Jesus Christ in order to believe in him. Faith is consequent upon our regeneration, by the Spirit of this mighty God who is rich in mercy and whose love is eternal, unfailing, and everlasting.

God Chose Nothings

Perhaps you are still not convinced of your unworthiness to be chosen of God. Let us examine what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:27-29: “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. . . ” This is speaking about us. We were foolish things. When arrogance comes upon us, we must remember that we were foolish, and in the Bible a fool means a person who is godless. Then Paul says, “God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.” We were weak, without strength. “He chose lowly things of this world and the despised things. . . ” We were despised, lowly, foolish, and weak, “and the things that are not,” meaning we were zeros in God’s estimation. In the estimation of the world we may have been powerful and great, but in the estimation of God we were zeros and less than zeros. But God chose us “to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.”

What were we? Foolish, weak, lowly, despised nothings. But God chose us, and if we ask, “God, why did you do it?” I must say that there is no explanation other than the good pleasure and mercy of God. Jesus spoke of this good pleasure in Matthew 11:25-26. He finished instructing his disciples and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned'”–meaning the mighty, the strong, the influential, the rich, the beautiful people of the world– “and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.” The good pleasure of God, the will of God, is the reason he chose us. Paul tells us the same thing in Romans 9:15 when he speaks of God’s electing love. “For he says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.'” What is the basis of his choosing? The good pleasure of God. The love of God. The mercy of God. In verse 16 Paul says, “It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort but on God’s mercy.”

We were chosen because of God’s mercy alone. We were not chosen from the rest of sinners because we were good but because of God’s good pleasure and love. We were not chosen because we loved him but because he loved us. We were not chosen because we believed him, but we were enabled to believe him. We were chosen–the foolish, the weak, the lowly, and the nothings of the world–from all eternity so that we may be holy and blameless and behold him face to face.

Is everyone chosen? No. God chose a definite, fixed number of people from all eternity to behold his face, to be with him forever, and to dwell in his presence where there is fullness of pleasure and joy. So if you are in that number, rejoice! Sing, O Daughter of Zion; rejoice and be glad, because you are in that number.

Loved by God

From all eternity God chose us, and from all eternity he gave us to his Son to save us. You see this idea in 1 John 4:10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” God chose us based on love, and then, from all eternity, he gave us to the Son and told him to save us by becoming an atoning sacrifice for our sins. That is why Jesus Christ came into this world.

Did you know you were given as a gift to Jesus Christ? In John 17:2, 6, 9, 11 Jesus speaks about the Father giving him a gift consisting of the lowly, foolish, weak, despised nothings of this world. They were loved, chosen, and given to the Son, who also loved us. In accordance with the Father’s plan, Jesus came, died on the cross, and saved us.

Do you know that Christ loves you? Galatians 2:20 tells us, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” God the Father loved us from all eternity, and there was an eternal council in which Christ the Son told the Father that he would be the atoning sacrifice for the specific individuals the Father had loved and given to him. God the Father loved us specifically, and Christ the Son loved us specifically. Can you now say with Paul that Christ loved you? If not, you have to repent and trust in Jesus Christ alone. When that happens, you will also say, “He loved me and gave himself for me.”

The Holy Spirit also loves us. It is the Holy Spirit who applies this great salvation to the hearts of each one of us. So we must think about the Father’s eternal love, the Son’s eternal love, and the Holy Spirit’s eternal love. We, unlike others, are a chosen race–chosen and loved by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If this is true, why are we depressed, dismayed, confused, worried, and chewed up by the world, when, in fact and in truth, we ought to be the ones who must rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory? Paul understood this and said, “We rejoice in tribulations also.”We were singing the hymn, “I Will Sing of My Redeemer” The author, Philip Bliss, died in a fiery crash. Let me tell you, not only did he write that hymn, but I know he is singing it with greater passion and vigor now that he is in the very presence of God.

Our Names are Written in Heaven

I cannot guarantee that we will not die in a fiery crash. I will not guarantee that everything will turn out nice. It is time that we understood that our lives does not depend upon what we eat, what we drink, what our jobs are, what our position is, how our health is doing, how long we are going to live, or how many people appreciate us. We live because our God loves us, Christ loves us, and the Holy Spirit loves us. Whether we live or die, we belong to God. Can you say with conviction, with intellectual integrity, “Christ loved me, even me; Christ died on the cross for me, even me; my debt has been paid and it doesn’t matter what is going to happen to me because everything is settled and my name is written down in heaven”?

In Luke 10 Jesus spoke to his disciples as they returned from a mission. They were excited because miracles were taking place, great things were happening, and even spirits were subject to them. What more could they want? Jesus told them, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). There is a book in heaven, and in that book the names, a specific number of them, of God’s chosen people are written down from all eternity. My question to you is, Are you sure that your name is in that book?

We read about this book in Revelation 13:8. “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast–all whose names have not been written in the book of life.” This book of life which has been in heaven from all eternity is the register of every citizen of the kingdom of God, and this book, we are told here, belongs “to the Lamb,” Jesus Christ, “that was slain from the creation of the world.” Are you sure that Christ died for you, that he loved you and chose you from the foundation of the world on the basis of his distinguishing love and mercy and good pleasure? Are you sure that your name is written in heaven in the book of life which belongs to the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world? You must be sure. Peter tells us to “make your calling and election sure” (2 Peter 1:10).

If you have that certainty that you are chosen, you can rejoice in all circumstances. Why? You have been chosen, not by the princes, potentates, and kings of this world, but chosen by the eternal God, the Creator of the ends of the earth–by God who is spirit, infinite, eternal, immutable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. He is the highest court of appeal, and he chose us.

A Chosen Race

Not only are we chosen individuals, but we are a chosen race. Think about that. And this race is unlike any other race in the world. This race is not based on geography, color, or any other external factor. This race is the family of God. Paul wrote about this race in Ephesians 3:14-15, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.” This race is God’s family, of which God is the Father. It is a new race made of people from all races–from every tribe, language, people, nation–as we are told in Revelation 5:9: “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.'” This race includes people from every race in the world. No wonder Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world and make disciples.” It is a new race with a common ancestor.

In 1 Peter 1:3 Peter exclaims, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope. . .” And in verse 23: “For you have been born again. . .” We have a new Father. We are a new race. It doesn’t matter what your color, tribe, or race is. God has culled from all the races of the world a race for himself, and all those belonging to it have one characteristic: they are born of the same Father. They are born of God.

Isaiah speaks of this race in Isaiah 44: “But now listen, O Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. This is what the LORD says–he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams. One will say, ‘I belong to the Lord; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, `The LORD’s’, and will take the name Israel” (Is. 44:1-5).

Who is our new Father? God the heavenly Father who effectually called us. We are born of him, and we are also the offspring of Christ, as we read in Isaiah 53:10, “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days.” What was Jesus doing on the cross? He was giving birth to offspring whose guilt he atoned for once for all. So we are the offspring of Christ as well as of the Father.

As a new race, we are declared to be the new Israel of God. Do we understand what a great declaration that is? In Galatians 3 we read, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:26-29). As the new Israel of God we are heirs of God and the blessing of Abraham comes to us. So let me ask you again: Are you dismayed, confused, discouraged, and disheartened? Rejoice! You are a chosen race! You may be despised by the world, but you are dignified by your Father, by your Redeemer, Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit of God. If God is for us, who can be against us?

Are You Chosen?

In conclusion, let me ask you: Have you, as a living stone, come to him, the living Stone? In other words, have you put your faith in Jesus Christ? Notice, Peter says, “to you who believe is honor.” If you believe in Jesus Christ, honor is yours. Then you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people of God’s possession, that you may declare the praises of him who brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Have you trusted in him? If not, this dignity is not yours. We tend to think that we can fake Christianity, saying, “Lord, Lord,” but if we are not genuine, one day Jesus will say to us, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity!” So we must ask: Have you trusted in Christ alone, not just for temporal blessings, but for eternal blessings?

Do you love God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit with all your heart, mind, soul and strength? Do you love your brothers and sisters who are born of the same Father? Do you labor for the Lord delightfully, impelled by gratitude because he chose you–the despised, the rebellious, the nothings–from all eternity? Do you know that your name is written in the book of life in heaven, the book of the Lamb of God who sacrificed himself for our salvation? Do you labor for him and serve him? Do you find his laws delightful and exciting, or are they burdensome? Do you strive to be holy and blameless, so that you may have increased fellowship with our God? Do trials and tribulations discourage you and cause you to murmur and complain? Or do you persevere and endure, rejoicing in tribulations also in view of the dignity that God has conferred upon us and in view of God’s plan for our life, no matter what happens?

If the answer is yes to these things, then you are chosen of God from all eternity. You can rejoice in the knowledge that God has set his affection upon you from all eternity. You can rejoice that you have been begotten of the Father to a living hope. You can be encouraged that you are heirs of God and there is kept in heaven an inheritance for you that can never perish, spoil or fade. And not only that, if these things are true of you, then you will also be kept through all the tribulations, trials, sicknesses, persecutions, financial problems, and troubles of this world. You will be guarded and kept by your heavenly Father, who chose you from all eternity for this salvation, until the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And when he comes, he shall be honored in us and he shall honor and glorify us. We shall see him face to face and rejoice with unending heavenly joy.

If you have trusted in Christ, not for financial prosperity, physical health, or influence in the world, but because he is God and we are creatures–puny, little creatures–then you can surely rejoice. The wisest thing in the world is to trust him, isn’t it? It is sheer stupidity to trust in ourselves, in our nation, in riches, in beauty, or in health, because all of these are fleeting. “All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord will stands forever” (Is. 40:6-8, 1 Pet. 1:24-25).

But if you cannot say with conviction that you are a child of God whose name is written in heaven, in the book of life belonging to the Lamb of God, I urge you to put away foolishness and be wise. I urge you to trust in Jesus Christ alone, the only Savior, this very day. Amen.