“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” (1 Peter 2:9).
In keeping with his practice throughout this portion of his letter, the Apostle Peter alludes to an Old Testament passage here in verse nine…
“‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel” (Exodus 19:5-6).
Consider how God describes His people within these passages: a chosen generation, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Perhaps we have never thought of ourselves as royalty, but that is how God views His people. Thus, “All that God said of His ancient people may be realized by us in and through Christ.” (1)
Another source frames this passage in a manner that is highly accessible to modern-day audiences…
“People often base their self-concept on their accomplishments. But our relationship with Christ is far more important than our jobs, successes, wealth, or knowledge. We have been chosen by God as his very own, and we have been called to represent him to others. Remember that your value comes from being one of God’s children, not from what you can achieve. You have worth because of what God does, not because of what you do.” (2)
To build upon this idea, let’s envision the various exhibits that one might encounter in a museum…
“It frequently happens that the value of a thing lies in the fact that someone has possessed it. A very ordinary thing acquires a new value, if it has been possessed by some famous person. In any museum we find quite ordinary things–clothes, a walking-stick, a pen, books, pieces of furniture–which are of value only because they were once possessed by some great person. It is so with the Christian. The Christian may be a very ordinary person but he acquires a new value because he belongs to God.” (3)
In a similar manner, our value is linked to the God who willingly sacrificed the life of His Son and calls us into a royal priesthood. We’ll continue our look at this concept next.
(1) Meyer, Frederick Brotherton. “Commentary on 1 Peter 2”. “F. B. Meyer’s ‘Through the Bible’ Commentary”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/fbm/1-peter-2.html. 1914.
(2) Life Application Study Bible [1 Peter 2:9-10] Copyright © 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1996, 2004 by Tyndale House Publishers Inc., all rights reserved.
(3) Barclay, William. William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible, “1 Peter 2:1-25, (3) The Glory Of The Church.”