But You Are A Chosen Race

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” [1 Peter 2:9-10]

First Peter 2:9-10 is your humble but exalted position in Christ. It is a humble position because it came through grace and not our works and we therefore ought to always remember whence we came. That will cause us to be forever grateful. It is an exalted position because that is where our God is and has brought us [Ephesians 2] from darkness into His wonderful light. But who are we in Christ and what is our new standing in Him?

A Chosen Race 

But YOU are a chosen race, a chosen generation. You were chosen. You did not choose yourself [John 15:16; Ephesians 2:4-5]

You may be surprised to hear that I do not believe we have races as most people do. There is no such thing as the white race or the black race or the Indian race. The premise by which we define race and say one is pink and the other is brown is wrong. God did not create many races. He created one race which is called the human race. All people no matter what colour they may be belong to one race called the human race. The sin problems we have of colour divisions are not white race and black race problems but tribal and heart problems. If we need to be strict about it, the Bible shows us that there are only two races; the chosen one and the not-chosen race. It is time that the church shows that it is one body regardless of colour of skin. It is time that the church be like the church in Acts 13 which had leaders and members from different ethnic backgrounds. We are a chosen race not a choosing race. It is God who chose us and made us one through the blood of Jesus. It is time that we see our churches filled with people of mixed colour and time that we stop stereotyping each other. 

A Royal Priesthood

All believers are sons and daughters of the King and therefore royalty. We reign with derived authority and so wherever we go, we should know we have God’s power to transform lives. The power to bring healing to the nations has its source in Him. So, go where He sends you as men and women under authority. Not only are you royalty, you are also priests unto God and this is what He desired to have right from the beginning but Israel did not get it. And I believe this is where Peter got it. He understood what God’s plan was from the beginning. See how much alike the words in Exodus and Peter are: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:5-6].

Possessed by God

Many believers always ask if a Christian can be possessed by a demon. The answer is a Christian is God’s possession. Possession means ownership. A believer cannot therefore be owned by God and the devil at the same time. There are no dual citizens in God’s kingdom. The devil may attack and influence him yes but he cannot be possessed by the devil. YOU belong to God because YOU were bought at a price. “… You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” [1 Corinthians 6:19-20]. YOU are His treasured possession. Bought at the price of His Son. By definition the church is the gathering of the “called-out ones” and it stands to reason that the church, belongs wholly to God. There is a price tag of the life and blood of Jesus upon every believer. That tag cannot be removed by Satan or his demons. He does not have the power to do that. He no longer has any title deeds on the blood-bought saints. You belong to God if you have believed Jesus is Lord and Savior and live the life that He calls you to live. That life is more than naming and claiming it. You live it. It requires obedience to His word. 

Now a People

If you ever needed to “find yourself”, it is only in Christ Jesus that you can have true identity and eternal significance. Without Christ you are not a people. You are not recognized. You may be recognized by the world but what good is it for you to be known by the world and not be known by God. Without God we are deformed and not a people. But YOU are a Chosen Race. A new creation, a new people. A brand-new man. His workmanship [Ephesians 2:10]

Delivered

Finally, God has called you out of something and has taken you into something else. When you are in Christ, you are under new management and you live under new laws. Being taken out is called deliverance and Jesus takes every individual sinner that repents OUT of darkness. He does not leave them hanging in the air with no place to settle but He also delivers INTO the hand of the Father. We all know what delivery services do. They take things from one place and deliver them to another. Isn’t this amazing that there is a double deliverance here? You were delivered from Satan and delivered to God; saved from darkness and brought to light.

Here is one promise you can hold on to; a promise given by the Truth Himself. “My Father, who has given them [you] to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them [you] out of the Father's hand.” [John 10:29, additions mine]. The word snatch, [harpazō in Greek] means “catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force)” and the reason for that is because the Father is so great, no one has comparable power to snatch you from Him by any kind of force. One must have greater power than God’s to be able to pluck you out or for you to pluck yourself out of His hand. It is virtually impossible. 

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.” [John 6:37]. None will be lost. You are delivered. Therefore, no need for any further deliverance from the false prophets who ply the airwaves. Live in joyful obedience to the word of God. That is the sign that you belong to Him.

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About The Author:

Pastor Sam Machacka is co-founder of Brink Ministries Southern Africa. A wonderful colleague and good friend. Equipping Pastors and Church leaders in Southern Africa. He grew up in Harare, Zimbabwe with his beautiful wife Mildred and they are blessed with three lovely children namely Samantha, Munashe and Joshua but they are now serving as missionaries in Malawi since August 2018

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Email: thepassionatebeliever@gmail.com