Text:1 Peter 2:1-10
Introduction
One of the greatest themes of scripture is the church, the object of God’s affection, the future bride of his beloved son Jesus. Christ’s redeeming mission on Earth is a love story, played out on the stages of time and eternity filled with drama, suffering, love, struggle and triumph. Gods intention is to provide for His son a perfect companion for all eternity.
The church is also God’s redeeming agent in the world. Romans 10:14-15 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” We the people of God, are called to be the bringers of the good news of Jesus.
But God’s challenge is us, the very people who compromise the church. His self-set challenge is to get us in our disruptive, rebellious, wayward condition to become the perfect bride of His only son.
Scripture compares God’s word to a mirror that reveals our inward spiritual condition, so that we may see ourselves not as we think we are but as we truly are. All the way to the end result not only as we should be but as we will be. 1 Samuel 16:7b For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” If we look into this mirror before we have been reconciled to God through Christ Jesus, it shows us our unclean and sinful condition but offers us no way out only condemnation. But once we have been reconciled to God and cleansed from our sin, the Holy Spirit shows us what we have become as God’s new creation in Christ. We start experiencing in a personal way the following truths of scripture: Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away behold the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
• There are two primary objects of redemption:
1. A Direct Personal Relationship With God
2.To Make Us His Possession
The second purpose of redemption is for God to make those who are redeemed into his own possession.That is why He redeemed us.
God invests in people. He is much more concerned about people than about things. This truth is illustrated simply in Deuteronomy 32:9 But the Lord’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted heritage. Gods purpose centres on His redeemed people, His portion in all that has happened and is happening in the world. Yet we must clearly understand that His ultimate goal is not only to redeem individuals; it is also the creation of a special people. A single, new, living whole. Something supremely different from what existed among peoples before God intervened, through redemption.
Contemporary Christianity places most of the emphasis on the individual and their relationship with God. Whilst that is right and is very important, the final objective of God is not just redeemed individuals; His goal is to make us a special people.
If we are going to reach the world with God’s redemptive message, we have to be visible, give the world something tangible, something the world can see and appreciate. So we cannot hide or downplay our Christianity because gods purpose is to bring his people to become visibly united. And this unity will be the irrefutable testimony to the entire world, that God really did send Jesus.
As we come to be a true reflection of God’s redemptive people, others will also be drawn to him in personal relationship and will join us in becoming his own special treasure for all of eternity.