God's own special people

When God told Moses to instruct the Hebrew nation about the land promised to them, (Deut. 7:6) He said "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".

We understand that God was preparing them to bring Christ into the world, to save all of mankind. Even though that would only happen hundreds of years later, they were chosen then by God at that time, for that purpose. Now that Christ has come, and the promises (land, nation and seed) of God fulfilled, we find that today all who believe and obey Christ belong to Him.

For example, the church of Christ is not just another denomination. It is in fact the only church of the bible. The word church (ekklesia) means "called out" - ek, "out of," and klesis, "a calling" (kaleo, "to call")

1. The Bible teaches us that one who is a Christian enjoys "newness of life."

2. When a person is raised from baptism, note what Paul said: "Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life" (Rom. 6:4).

3. Paul also wrote: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).

4. Then, he said that from among the Jews and Gentiles, Christ made "one new man" (Eph. 2:15).

5. Something about the life of a Christian is described by the Holy Spirit as "new." It is that "newness" that makes the Christian different from those who are still in and of the world about us.

6. Thus, it is imperative that Christians understand just what this difference is all about.

Peter taught, "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). Should we not reasonably expect that "the people of God" would be different from the "people of the Devil"? Paul said that Christians should "that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain" (Phil. 2:15-16). And, in that respect, we are taught a "new" conduct and relation to evil: "Therefore "Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you." "I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:17-18). Learning this lesson is the most difficult thing for new and old Christians.