U 1 Petar 2:9-10, it is written that Christians, who have given heed to the call of God, Who called them out of darkness into His marvelous, are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, and a peculiar people. Što to znači? Do Christians live as a chosen generation, kraljevsko svećenstvo, holy nation, and a peculiar people?
What does a chosen generation mean?
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvellous light: Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy (1 Petar 2:9-10)
Svatko, who has given heed to the call of God and by faith in Jesus Christ has repented and is born again in Christ, je postala nova kreacija, sin Božji.
Oni, who belonged to the darkness, but have given heed to the call of God, are transferred from the darkness into His marvelous light and are reconciled with God and belong to God, and have become God’s people.
They are a new creation and don’t belong to the generation of fallen man, who is a carnal and a sinner and has the devil as their father and live after the flesh in disobedience to God. But they belong to the generation of the new man, a chosen generation, who has been made righteous by the blood of Jesus and His redemptive work, and have God as their Father and live after the Spirit in obedience to God.
They are no longer children of the night, who belong to the tama, but they have become the children of the day, who belong to the Light and shall live in the Light in the truth of God on earth (Pročitajte također: Let sin no longer reign as king!).
What does a royal priesthood mean?
Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar (special) treasure unto Me above all people: for all the earth is Mine: And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation (Egzodus 19:5-6)
To whom coming, as unto a living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ (1 Petar 2:4-5)
Just as Jesus was a living Stone, who was disallowed by men, but chosen of God and precious, the believers are also living stones, who are persecuted and disallowed by the world, but chosen by God and precious to Him.
They were alive to the world, but dead to God. Međutim, po vjeri i preporodu u Kristu, they have become alive to God, but dead to the world.
Jesus Christ is King and High Priest and He is the Head of His Body, the Church. The assembly of believers are the Church and are the Body of Christ on earth (Pročitajte također: Jesus Christ is the Head of the Body; the Church).
Believers are a body of priests, who are called into the holy and royal priesthood and shall offer up spiritual sacrifices, which are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, the Mediator.
And just as the Lord was the inheritance of the levitical priesthood, the Lord is also their inheritance by the Holy Spirit, Who abides in them and shall always be with them (Pročitajte također: Koji je redoslijed Melkisedeka?).
Because believers are a royal priesthood, they shall live as priests. This doesn’t mean, that they shall isolate themselves from the world, wear special (svećenik) odjeća, forbid to marry, itd. but it means that they shall live in this world among the people as priests in submission and devotion to God in obedience to God and His Word in His will.
Every believer wants to reign as king, but there are only a few believers, who want to live holy as priests and lay down djela tijela.
But believers are a royal priesthood and should live holy in obedience to God in His will and do righteous works, just like Jesus Christ, Who is King of the Kingdom of Heaven and Highpriest of the New Covenant that is sealed with His precious blood.
What does a holy nation mean?
Blagoslovljen Bog i Otac Gospodina našega Isusa Krista, koji nas je blagoslovio svim duhovnim blagoslovima na nebesima u Kristu: Kako nas je izabrao u Njemu prije postanka svijeta, da budemo sveti i besprijekorni pred Njim u ljubavi: Predodredivši nas za posinjenje djece od strane Isusa Krista k sebi, prema dobrom zadovoljstvu Njegove volje, Na hvalu slave Njegove milosti, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved (Efežanima 1:3-6)
Tko god je rođen od Boga, ne čini grijeha; for His seed remaineth in him: i ne može griješiti, jer je rođen od Boga. U tome se očituju djeca Božja, i djeca đavola: tko god ne čini pravednosti, nije od Boga, ni tko ne ljubi brata svojega (1 Ivan 3:9-10)
Believers don’t belong to the world and therefore they shall not live as the world in the pride, knowledge and wisdom of man and persevere in sin. But believers are a holy nation and therefore live holy lives, which means separated from the world; mrak, and devoted unto God.
Although they live in the world, they don’t belong to the world, but they belong to God. Because they belong to God and no longer belong to the world and live like the world, they shall not be acknowledged and loved by the world, but the world shall hate them, because of Christ and because they testify that her works are evil (Oh. Ivan 3:19-20; 7:7; 15:18-20 (Pročitajte također: Zašto svijet mrzi kršćane?)).
By this, vjernici, who belong to God and walk in obedience to Him after the Spirit in His will distinguish themselves from unbelievers, who belong to the world and walk in disobedience to God and His Word after the flesh in darkness (Pročitajte također: Koja je razlika između ovaca i koza?).
What does a peculiar people mean?
Budući da ste očistili duše svoje u poslušnosti istini po Duhu na nehinjenu ljubav braće, Gledajte da se ljubite čistim srcem: Biti nanovo rođen, nije od raspadljivog sjemena, ali nepotkupljivog, po riječi Božjoj, koja živi i ostaje zauvijek (1 Petar 1:22-23)
Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Ni, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: ali, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed (Rimljani 9:6-8)
Sada su Abrahamu i njegovom potomstvu data obećanja. On kaže da nije, I do sjemenki, kao i od mnogih; ali kao od jednog, I tvome sjemenu, koji je Krist (Galaćanima 3:16)
Jer svi ste vi djeca Božja po vjeri u Krista Isusa. Jer svi koji ste u Krista kršteni, Kristom ste se zaodjenuli. Nema ni Židova ni Grka, nema ni veze ni slobodne, nema ni muško ni žensko: jer svi ste jedno u Kristu Isusu. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise (Galaćanima 3:26-29)
Just as everyone, who was born of the seed of Israel belonged to God’s people, so everyone who is born of the incorruptible Seed belongs to God’s people.
Belonging to God’s people, means belonging to God and no one else. Oni, who belong to God’s people are God’s own. They are His possession. They shall listen to Him and obey Him and keep His commandments, which means that they shall obey His words and shall do His will (Pročitajte također: Što ako Božja volja nije tvoja volja?).
If they don’t do this, then their lives show, that they don’t belong to God, no matter what humanists say, who have the spirit of this world.
The Word is clear and eventually, it is the eternal Word that shall judge everyone according to his works and not the findings and opinions of people, who temporarily live on this earth.
God has chosen His people and He wants His sons to separate themselves from the world and distinguish themselves from the world (mrak) instead of compromising and carrying along with the world and living as sons of the devil in pride after their own will.
It is the will of God that believers, who are His sons and belong to Him, are a reflection of Him on earth, baš kao Isus, and live in His will and therefore live sanctified lives on earth.
God doesn’t want His sons to hide and stay silent about the Truth and live as cameleons and undercover agents on earth.
But God wants His sons, who were dead, but in Christ became alive, to be His faithful witnesses and shine as lights in the darkness of this world and boldly preach His truth and greatness on earth and expose the lies and the works of the devil and destroy them and remove the covering of people (Pročitajte također: Are you bold enough to speak the Word of God?).
The sons of God testify of His greatness
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Efežanima 2:10)
Jesus has given us the example and we are (perfectly) created in Him after His image, kroz regeneraciju, and have received His Holy Spirit, Who will teach and guide us into all truth and convict the world of sin, pravednosti, i prosuđivanja, so that we can be witnesses of Jesus Christ on earth and represent, propovijedati i uspostaviti Njegovo Kraljevstvo na zemlji, so that Jesus Christ and the Father will be eulogized (Oh. Ivan 16:8-13, Efežanima 2:10, 4:15-24, Kološanima 3:10).
‘Budi sol zemlje’
