Administrator
The theme verse we are looking at for the school this year
comes from I Peter 2:9:
“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 marvelous light.”
ESV
One of the things we are noting from this verse is that all
of the phrases are referring to us not as individuals, but as a collective
group. The words race, priesthood,
nation, people indicate something larger than just who we are in Christ as
individuals. It has caused me to ponder
about the way God seems to deal with groups of people as a whole.
Adam was an individual, but God established a covenant with
him such that what he did, reflected not just upon Adam as an individual, but
upon all the people represented by the covenant. Thus we are all sinners because Adam
disobeyed God in the garden. God dealt with
the group we call humans globally in this case.
Abraham also had a relationship with God, but it wasn't just
about him as an individual. God’s
arrangement with Abraham included all of his descendants. They would all be recipients of God’s
blessing of a pleasant land. Much of
scripture is the dealings of God with these people as a whole, not as
individuals.
David was a man after God’s own heart, but God was looking
at his descendants as the ones who would be royalty and would sit upon the
throne of Israel and later Judah (and ultimately all mankind) forever. In this line there were good kings and not so
good kings, yet God dealt with them as a group.
Sometimes God deals harshly with a group of people because
of the actions of one individual. In the
case of Ahab, wicked king of Israel (not a descendant of David), God sent
Elijah to inform him that it would not rain until he said it would. It did not rain for three years and the
drought affected both the wicked in Israel and the 7000 who had not bowed the
knee to Baal (I Kings 17, 19).
In the New Testament, we see God’s concern for and dealings
with such groups as the elect, the church, the people of God.
Clearly the interest of God is more than in just the
individual person. Don’t get me wrong; God does deal with individuals. He does
love individuals such as you and I and He is concerned about our personal
obedience. But I think too often we tend
to focus only on how God looks upon us as individuals and not as a group. There is something to be said for broadening
our vision.
First of all, it causes us to be more humble. We tend to be a bit myopic at times and view
the whole of scriptures as being put there for us. It is about my personal walk and personal
salvation and how I will spend all eternity with God in heaven. We tend to think of ourselves as the reason
why God created everything, that He
chose to send His Son into the world, in order to save us personally. The truth is, it is not all about us as
individuals. It is ultimately about God
and how He has chosen to relate to His creation.
Second, it reminds us that we are not separate; we are part
of a group. That group is important in
God’s sight and we need it. We too often
view our participation in that group, the Church, the people of God as
secondary or unimportant when compared to our own individual relationship to
God. It is something that is necessary
and vital to be actively participating in a local church and God’s way of
addressing groups in verses such as the one above reminds us of that.
Third, it makes it clear we are not alone. Sometimes we get the feeling that we alone
are dealing with the struggles of life and there is no one who understands and
cares like we do. Not so. Elijah fell into that temptation when he
implored God to take him home after his encounter with the prophets of Baal on
Mount Carmel. He was certain everyone
else had forsaken God. He was told that
there were 7000 that God had reserved for Himself. (I Kings 19).
Likewise, we are not alone.
Finally, it makes it clearly apparent to us that we are part
of something bigger. We are part of
nothing less than a “people for his own possession.” We are a member of the Church of Jesus
Christ, a participant in His body.
Everyone likes to be part of a powerful movement. There is nothing more powerful than the
mighty work and people of God. There is
a confidence and encouragement that this gives as we live out our daily lives
for Him.
I encourage you in this New Year to observe other places in
the scriptures where God is addressing us not so much as individuals but as a
whole. May this grow in you a clearer
view of who you are in the sight of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment