Who Am I?
July 24, 2016

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-2

I. I am chosen by God.

A. After Peter identifies himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ in 1 Peter 1:1, we see Peter writes to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. The Christians that Peter was writing to were Christians from Rome – the capital of the Roman Empire. These Christians had been deported from Rome to various Roman colonies that are now located in Turkey. Peter says in verse 1 that as far as God is concerned the persecuted church is still elect. In other words, the church is chosen. The church is loved by God.

B. God spoke about His chosen people the Jews in Deuteronomy 7:6: “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” When God looked at the Jews, He said to them, “You are mine! I have chosen you because I love you.” In the same way Peter now says to the dispersed church, “You too have been chosen by God. You also are God’s chosen people because God greatly loves you.”

II. I am a foreigner in this world.

A. We Christians feel uncomfortable in this world. We are not just elect; we are elect exiles. We are just like Daniel. Daniel was a Jew who was forcibly removed from his home in Jerusalem and taken to live as an exile in Babylon for the rest of his days. The Jews in Daniel’s day were taken into exile because of their sin. But the church that Peter wrote to had been faithful to God. They were not in exile because of their sin. They were in exile because of their obedience to Jesus while living in a Roman Empire that was hostile to Jesus.

B. Everyone in the church today also lives in exile. We are foreigners with respect to some of the values and beliefs and customs of this world. In many ways we can share in the customs and values of our American culture. But every Christian in some way is a nonconformist. We are committed to a different lifestyle that makes us look odd to people in the world. Philippians 3:20: “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” We Christians cannot be easily assimilated because we hold different values and beliefs.

III. I am chosen to be holy.

A. Verse 2 says the entire Trinity has chosen you for a purpose. You have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood. We were chosen to be holy and obedient. God’s purpose in choosing you to be in his family is also in 1 John 3:2-3: “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.” Christian live pure and holy lives. That is part of our identity.

Application:
Know who you are as a Christian. Don’t be a victim of identity theft.

Sources:
The letter of 1 Peter
Commentaries by Karen Jobes, David Helm, Wayne Grudem, and I.H. Marshall
Article by John Piper