Proclaiming the Excellencies of God (1 Pet. 2:9-10)

This sermon was preached on 26/6/2011

Peter has contrasted the state of God’s people with that of those who reject the message of the gospel and stumble over Jesus, the cornerstone of the great building project in which God is engaged. The apostle had informed his recipients that they had been given great honour by God and now he proceeds to describe several key aspects of that high privilege. He mentions four details, which we will consider after we have noted two important connections to that honour, which are the dark background from which his readers had been rescued and the heart attitude of God towards them.

The darkness of sin (v. 10)

The people to whom Peter was writing at one time were not converted. Peter says in verse 9 that they were then in darkness. What he has in mind is spiritual darkness. The imagery of darkness perhaps does not come with force to those of us who have never been in complete darkness because of electric lights or even moonlight. But imagine being in a dark cellar, without even a crack in the walls to let in a momentary gleam of light. If we shift that picture over to our spiritual state, it means that we cannot see the reality of who we are, where we are, and where we are heading.

What is it like to be spiritually in the dark? Perhaps it is best to make some suggestions as to what it does not mean. It does not mean that we cannot understand the Bible in an intellectual sense (many people can tell the message of the Bible, but it makes no impression on them apart from in a cultural way, such as when they enjoy singing Psalm 23 without knowing the real truth of the psalm). Nor does it mean that we will not engage in religious activities (many people pray frequently or give alms or engage in spiritual retreats and remain in spiritual darkness). Spiritual darkness does not only describe atheists or outrageous sinners, it also includes religious and cultured individuals. A spiritually dark person is someone who has never experienced the light of the gospel shining in their minds and heart. Such an individual does not see the wonder of grace, the beauty of Jesus, the prospect of heaven. Instead they prefer not to serve him, to persist in a life of rebellion against him.

How does light come into their experience? There are two ways of answering this question and both are correct. The first answer is that the Holy Spirit works secretly to bring light into our souls; the second answer is that light comes to us through the gospel. We hear the story of what happened to Jesus and find our hearts are attracted to him. This attraction be may be gradual or sudden. Further we begin to understand the gospel message and what once seemed foolishness now becomes sensible. Again, this understanding may be gradual or sudden. The gospel calls us to faith in Jesus, a warm embrace of him by our souls which is accompanied by repentance for our sins. This is the way out of spiritual darkness.

The desire of God (v. 10)

Why does the message of the gospel come to sinners? The answer to this question is found in the heart of God – he desired to show mercy. Sometimes the idea of mercy in the Bible is similar to the concept of mercy that is generally accepted today, that of showing compassion to the needy. For example, we send people on mercy missions to disaster areas. We now use the term ‘mercy’ in reference to supply of needs. That is not the meaning that Peter has in mind when he says that his readers received mercy.

The other meaning of mercy in the Bible is the idea of a sovereign showing clemency, of bestowing pardon on those who had rebelled against him. This is the aspect that Peter is referring to here. His readers had been pardoned by God and restored to fellowship with him. Peter is describing a change of state, a change of relationship with God.

It was not sufficient that God would merely desire mercy for them. In addition, he had to provide them with mercy. They could experience mercy because the penalty for their sins had been dealt with by the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus. The outcome was that they had become God’s people (v. 10). Even although they were not yet living in the homeland, Peter’s readers belonged to those who would yet experience life there.

Description of God’s people (v. 9)

What does it mean to be a Christian? In verse 9, Peter reminds his readers that they belong to a community – a community that he describes in four ways. They are ‘a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, [and] a people for his own possession’. Each of these descriptions says something different about God’s people, but each of them also stresses that a Christian is someone who lives in a community. This is a powerful reminder to us because we live in a society that stresses individuality.

A second answer to the question, ‘What does it mean to be a Christian?’, is that they belong to a community who are the fulfilment of what the Israelites were a picture or a sample. The four features that Peter mentions initially described the nation of Israel after it was rescued by God from the bondage in Egypt.

The first feature that Peter highlights is that his readers are a chosen race. There are many races in the world, but which one of them has been especially blessed by God? In Old Testament days, the race of Israel was the chosen race. Things changed in the New Testament and the chosen race is now the church of Jesus Christ. All the members of this chosen race were once members of other races, and were so by birth. Membership of the new race depends on the choice of God. He has chosen them to live together and he is in the process of completing the members of his race so that he can bestow upon them the place in which they will dwell – the new heavens and new earth.

Second, they are a royal priesthood. It goes without saying that we are not to read this reference through modern ideas and practices connected to priests. Instead we are to look back to what happened in Israel. The function of priests was to participate in worship and there was a general sense in which all Israelites functioned as priests whenever they worshipped God. In particular, the tribe of Levi was given the important role of priesthood and wherever they went their purpose in life was to teach about God in such a way that others would worship him. Obviously they would have connected his worship to the sacrificial system of the temple and would have explained the need of sacrifices in approaching God. In addition to teaching others, the priests also led the praise of the people. It is not difficult to see how this terminology applies to believers today. Their role is to instruct others about God in such a way that they too will worship him.

Further, the Christians are described as a royal priesthood. They are royal because they are united to the King, to Jesus who is their Elder Brother, the Heir of all things with whom they are joint-heirs. Because believers are royal priests, it means that they function with power given to them by their King. Their calling is to function as the praise leaders of the world, evangelising the nations so that others will come and join the priestly choir that celebrates the works of God.

Third, believers are ‘a holy nation’. If chosen generation speaks of privilege and royal priesthood speaks of praise, holy nation speaks of purity. Israel was separated from the other nations of the world and this separation was not merely a division, it was also a distinction. We can imagine how one group can be separated from others and yet remain the same as they had been. All that would mark them was that they were divided. God’s intentions for Israel were far higher than that – he wanted them to be distinctive, living together in a manner that revealed a higher level of lifestyle. It is easy for us to describe the level of difference between the wealthy lifestyle of a person in the affluent West and the poor lifestyle of a person in a deprived part of the world. We can easily describe the difference because it is obvious. The lifestyle of the Christian community should be so far above the best that the rest can offer that it will be easily observed.

A nation has government, laws, benefits and defences upon which all its activities are based. The rulers govern according to regulations designed to make life for their subjects fulfilling, enjoyable and secure. Those who belong to the nation experience its resources when they live according to its rules. In a far higher sense, this is also the case in the church. Holiness is heart obedience to the laws of Christ. When they are obeyed, the lifestyle of his nation is seen to be above all other possible ways of life. The nation that belongs to Jesus is scattered throughout the countries of the world, but they are still one nation obeying his requirements. When that happens, others see a society that is superior and blessed.

The fourth feature that marks believers is that they belong to God, they are his special treasure. There is a sense in which God values every person that he has created because they have been made in his image. Nevertheless he does not give to each person special expressions of his love. But he does provide such benefits to those he regards as his in a special manner – for example, he forgives them when they do wrong and he restores them when they confess their faults to him. He is determined to do them good.

The dignity of their witness

Because they have been delivered from spiritual darkness through God’s mercy, because they have been given spiritual roles to fulfil, because they now live in the bright light of God’s world of grace, Peter can exhort them to live in a dignified way. This dignified way of life he describes as ‘proclaiming the excellencies’ of God. What does this mean?

First, it indicates that our witness should reveal God. It is a subtle difference, but a testimony should not be about me, instead it should say clearly who God is. Second, Peter’s description says that our witness should commend God – how we live should cause others to wish they had such a life of peace, joy and love. Third, their witness is to be comprehensive, so that my mind, my affections, my tongue, my eyes, my interests, my possessions, my everything, gives a true view of God.

Believers now live in the presence of God. His grace pervades them, and having tasted it they realise that nothing in the world can compare with it. They can now also see where they are going. The strange reality facing the exiles to whom Peter was writing was that they were the only ones who knew how things were going to work out in the end, and this knowledge enabled them to live for God in their difficult situations. As they do so, they proclaim clearly and loudly the excellencies of their Saviour.