Pastor David L. Hicks
August 20, 2023 at 11:00 AM
The Chosen...The people of God
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The Chosen . . .The People of God”
We are . . . The People of the Spirit / People that are “In Christ”
We are . . . The People of God !
Deut. 7:6 “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, the Lord God has chosen you . . . .
I Pet. 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen race/chosen generation . . .Now you are the People of God
Just who are “The People of God, The Chosen” ? In Gen. God called Abraham to leave his homeland to go to a new land that God would show him. In Gen. 17 God promised him that He would make Abraham’s descendants into a great Nation. These descendants would become the Nation of Israel, the first “People of God”.
Throughout the Bible, the Jewish people, the Hebrews, are consistently referred to as . . . “The Chosen, The People of God”.
After sharing the ten commandments and the Law with the Israelites, Moses let them know that they are “The People of God”. “For you are a people, holy to the Lord your God, the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession/a special People unto himself out of all the people who are on the face of the Earth.”
God says to Israel through the Prophet Isaiah, “I have put my words in your mouth and covered you with a shadow of my hand – I have set the heavens in place who laid the foundations of the Earth, and who says to Zion, “You are my People.” Isa. 51:16 (comfort & restoration promised regarding its total fulfillment when Israel returns to the Lord in the millennium, and once again become the People of God).
And now, under the New Covenant, in Rom. 11, Paul talks about the “Gentiles” being “Grafted into” the People of God. The metaphor Paul uses is an olive tree. In Rom. 11-16, he gives us the text of the good news of the Gentiles being grafted into the Kingdom.
In Rom. 10:12-13, Paul says, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. When Paul used the Olive Tree metaphor, we understand he is following a tradition of linking Israel with the Olive Tree. The Olive Tree indicates Israel and the “wildshoot” represents the Gentiles. Paul is saying that the Olive Tree’s “root” though is Jesus. V17 of Rom. 11 says, “But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild, live shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the Olive Tree . . . This is now a cultivated Olive Tree, not a wild one. Since God shows no partiality
(Acts 10:34), He welcomes all people into the Kingdom who by faith are saved by God’s Grace and those who believe in and love the Lord Jesus are become “The People of God”.
Being of Jewish descent is no longer required. Under the New Covenant, anyone who accepts God’s Son as Savior and Lord becomes a Child of God.
“But you are a Chosen Generation/ a Chosen Race, a Royal Priesthood and Holy Nation, a Peculiar People/ a People for his own possession, that you should show forth the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Which in times past, you were not a people, but are now “the People of God”, which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.” I Pet. 2:9-10 “Just as He (God) hath chosen us in Him (Christ) before the foundation of the World, that we should be holy and blameless before him in love. He planned that we should be adopted as His own children through Jesus Christ.” Eph. 1:4-5
What does it mean to be . . . The People of God / A Child of God.
It means: Having God as “Your Father”. The only way to have God as your Father is to have Jesus Christ as your Savior ! Just think for a moment about it, we are able to call the Eternal, All-Knowing, All Powerful Creator of the Universe, “Abba, Father”. Hallelujah !
It means: Those who have God as their Father have access to him in prayer. “Let us come boldly to God’s throne of grace in the time of need.” Heb. 4:16
It means: The wall of sin and hostility that once separated us from God has been demolished by the Cross of Jesus Christ.
It means: We have peace with God, and we can experience the full breath, length, height and depth of His love and peace. Rom. 5:1, “Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
It means: Having your needs met. “My God shall supply/ shall fulfill all my needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:19
It means: To be part of a large loving family – those who have been forsaken by blood relatives now have many brothers and sisters in Christ. I John 3:1, “The Children of God; so we are.”
It means: We have received eternal life and, one day, a new resurrected body dwelling in a new land, in a new home in the presence of our God. “And we shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Ps. 23
Before you make that decision and in the interest of full disclosure, God never did receive Tenure at any University . . . He only had one major publication / it was in Hebrew & Greek / it had no references / it wasn’t published in a preferred Journal / His cooperative efforts have been quite limited / the scientific community has had a hard time replicating His results / He never applied to the ethics board for permission to use human subjects / when one experiment went awry, He tried to cover it up by drowning the subjects / when subjects didn’t behave as predicted, He deleted them from the sample / He rarely came to class, just told students to read the Book / some say He had his Son teach the class / He expelled his first two students from learning the wrong subject / although there were only ten requirements, most students failed the test / His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountain top.
(anonymous) So there you have it; Full Disclosure in making your decision. But remember . .
“God so loved the World that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16
We are . . . The People of God !
