Untitled Sermon

2:9 The “but” (de) beginning v. 9 is most naturally understood as a contrast to what immediately precedes. As Thurén says, “A negative example adds the appreciation of the positive.” God has appointed the disobedient to destruction, but on the contrary believers are a “chosen people” (eklekton genos). They belong to God’s people because they have been elected, chosen by him. We saw in the first verse of the letter that Peter introduced the theme of election to strengthen God’s pilgrim people, and he returned to it here. The closest parallel to what Peter said here is in Isa 43:20, a context in which God promises to accomplish a second exodus for his people in bringing them out of Babylon. Peter saw these promises as fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and God’s elect nation is no longer coterminous with Israel but embraces the church of Jesus Christ, which is composed of both Jews and Gentiles.

The privilege of belonging to God’s people is conveyed by Peter with a number of Old Testament allusions. Peter drew on Exod 19:6, using the exact words found there in identifying the church as a “royal priesthood” (basileion hierteuma). In Exodus the title applies to Israel, with whom God enacts his covenant at Sinai. Israel’s priesthood was such that they were to mirror to the nations the glory of Yahweh, so that all nations would see that no god rivals the Lord (cf. also Isa 61:6). Unfortunately, Israel mainly failed in this endeavor as the Assyrian (722 b.c.) and Babylonian (586 b.c.) exiles demonstrate. The reason for the exile is that Israel failed to keep God’s law. Now God’s kingdom of priests consists of the church of Jesus Christ. It too is to mediate God’s blessings to the nations, as it proclaims the gospel. We should note the comparison and contrast here. Both Israel as a whole and the church of Jesus Christ are identified as a “royal priesthood.” There is no suggestion that only a portion of Israel served as priests in Exodus 19. The difference is not the extent of the priesthood but its identity, for now the royal priesthood is the church of Jesus Christ (cf. Rev 1:6). As noted above, the priesthood here is corporate in nature, and yet this does not rule out the truth that individuals serve priestly functions. Best seems to strike the right balance here: “Christians exercise priestly functions but always as members of a group who all exercise the same function.”

Peter also replicated the exact words of Exod 19:6 in identifying the church as a “holy nation” (ethnos hagion; cf. Exod 23:22, LXX). The church of Jesus is a people now set apart for the Lord, enjoying his special presence and favor. The next phrase, “a people belonging to God” (eis peripoiēsin), does not allude as clearly to any Old Testament text. The term is used in Mal 3:17 of believers who respond to the Lord’s rebuke and live righteously, and so in contrast to the wicked they constitute his possession, his special people. There is likely also an allusion to Isa 43:21. We noted above that the phrase “chosen people” may be drawn from Isa 43:20. The verb “I formed for myself” (periepoiēsamēn) in v. 21 is the verbal form of the noun “possession” (NASB, peripoiēsis). Again the privileges belonging to Israel now belong to the church of Jesus Christ. The church does not replace Israel, but it does fulfill the promises made to Israel; and all those, Jews and Gentiles, who belong to the true Israel are now part of the new people of God.

The purpose of the people of God is now explained. God has chosen them to be his people, established them as a royal priesthood, appointed them as a holy nation to be his special possession, so that they would “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Peter again probably alluded to Isa 43:21, for there we are told that God formed Israel for himself so that “they would recount my praises” (tas aretas mou diēgeisthai). It should be noted especially that Peter, like the Septuagint, used the term “praises” (aretas) in the plural. As God formed Israel to praise him, now the church has been established to praise his wonders. God’s ultimate purpose in everything he does is designed to bring him praise (Isa 43:7). The declaration of God’s praises includes both worship and evangelism, spreading the good news of God’s saving wonders to all peoples. They proclaim God’s praises for calling them “out of darkness into his wonderful light.” This is a description of their conversion and employs the language of Genesis 1, where God utters the word and light becomes a reality (Gen 1:3–5), pushing back the darkness. Paul used the same picture of conversion in 2 Cor 4:6, where God shines in the heart of his people to give them knowledge of his glory through Jesus Christ. Conversion is often depicted in the New Testament as a transfer from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; 2 Cor 4:6; Eph 5:8; 1 Thess 5:4, 5, 8). We also have noted previously (see the commentary on 1:15) that the calling described here is effectual. Just as God’s word creates light, so God’s call creates faith. Calling is not a mere invitation but is performative, so that the words God speaks become a reality. The beauty and glory of the new life is conveyed by the image of light in contrast to darkness. Hence, Peter identified the light as “wonderful” (cf. Ps 118:23).

2:10 Verse 10 returns to the status of the Petrine churches as God’s people. Peter alludes to the words of Hos 2:23 here. Interestingly, Paul cited the same idea from Hosea in Rom 9:25–26, but Paul’s wording differs from Peter’s, and it is clear that no literary relationship can exist between the citations. In Hosea, Israel is repudiated as God’s people because of their sin, but God pledges to have mercy upon them and form them again as his people. Such has been the experience of the church of Jesus Christ. The Petrine churches were composed mainly of Gentiles, living in darkness (2:9), but now wondrously they are God’s people. They did not deserve inclusion into God’s people, but they have now received his mercy and rejoice at their inclusion. The message of mercy that opened the letter at 1:3 now closes a major section of the letter in 2:10. Peter reminded the readers again that they are recipients of God’s grace, that the foundation for obeying the imperatives is God’s mercy in Christ.