Sermon: “God’s Possession” or “The Fulness of Time”
Turn in your Bible to Galatians 4 and beginning in verse 4:
Galatians 4:4-5
4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
The “fulness of time" was the time that God in His eternal wisdom and
forethought had appointed as the ideal time for Christ to come into the world as
our Savior. To say it differently, divine planning and preparation preceded the
Savior's birth.
His coming was not a brief thought that flashed into our heavenly Father's mind
and was rashly and impulsively acted upon; rather, His coming was intricately
blueprinted in the mind of God before the foundations of the world were laid.
When the necessary events took place, when the world was ripe for this divine
intervention, Jesus was born. Appropriately, Paul called that juncture in
history "the fulness of time."
The entire Old Testament period formed a prelude for the coming of the
Messiah. In the Patriarchal period, God chose Abraham and Jacob to be His
servants through whom He would create a nation that He would call His own. He
elected to call this nation "Israel," the name which He had given to Jacob.
In the Mosaical Age, God brought His chosen nation under His law, which He
revealed through Moses at Mount Sinai. He taught them to worship Him and to live
as His holy people. Yet, all of God's actions during the Old Testament period
were really the groundwork, the prearrangement, for bringing the Messiah into
the world at "the fulness of time." Someone has said, "The story of the Old
Testament is the story of a nation, and the story of the New Testament is the
story of a Person."
Since the story of the Old Testament is the story of the nation of Israel,
and since the creation of this nation was God's advance work for the bringing of
the Messiah into the world, we should not be surprised that Paul referred to the
Lord's church as the Israel of God:
Galatians 6:16
And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the
Israel of God.
Nor are we surprised that Paul figuratively depicted the church with terms taken
from God's covenant relationship with ancient Israel: Turn to Philippians 3
Philippians 3:3
For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in
Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.
This depiction of the church as "Israel" should be highly significant to us, for
it tells us that Christians are spiritual Israel today and have been set apart
as God's own possession even as was ancient Israel!
Perhaps the most concise
affirmation in the New Testament that the church is New Testament Israel is 1
Peter 2:9-10.
Let us begin with 1 Peter 1 and verse 22:
1 Peter 1:22-25
22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure
heart fervently:
23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word
of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the
gospel is preached unto you.
Now continue right into chapter 2:
1 Peter 2:1-10
1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies,
and all evil speakings,
2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow
thereby:
3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen
of God, and precious,
5 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.
6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief
corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be
confounded.
7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be
disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head
of the corner,
8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at
the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
9 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:
10 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.
As Peter explained what it means to be a Christian in 1 Peter 1:22-2:10, he
referred to the Christian's conversion (1:22-25), conduct (2:2-3), and calling
(2:4-10). He concluded by asking his readers to rejoice in the truth that
Christians are God's chosen people, His true Israel.
Focus on Peter's reference to Christians as the Israel of God in 1 Peter 2:9-10. This comparison confirms our special relationship with God and our special calling from God; it gives us reason to rejoice in the spiritual blessings that are offered to us in Christ. These verses will teach us that we are spiritual Israel.
First, in 1 Peter 2:9, God calls us, “A CHOSEN RACE”
They have been elected, picked out, and set apart. They are God's divinely
selected race of people, called out from all the peoples of the earth.
God had told Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai:
Deuteronomy 7:6
For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you
to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face
of the earth.
He also said in Exodus 19:5:
Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall
be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.
However, in this last age of human history, Christians, not fleshly Israelites, are God's chosen race. The old Israel led to, formed the foundation of, and found fulfillment in the new Israel, the church. Paul said it was God's predetermined choice that all who enter Christ would be His chosen race of people:
Just as He chose us in
Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless
before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ
to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will:
Ephesians 1:4-5, 11
4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,
11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according
to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
We have all had the disappointing experience of being left out, skipped
over, or ignored. We have watched as others have been nominated or selected
while we were completely passed by or left until last.
Some of us went through this frustration as children when teams were chosen for
a game; either others were chosen ahead of us, or we were by-passed entirely and
left to keep score with grace.
Some of us have lived through this type of ordeal as a list was read, with the
honored ones being named first. We listened expectantly, only to hear our names
read last and mispronounced.
Episodes like these depress us and stay with us for a long time as haunting
memories, crushing our self-image and convincing us that we are "nobody."
These unpleasant circumstances treat us as poorly as the psychiatrist did
the unfortunate man who came to him pleading…
"Doc, I have an inferiority complex, and I don't know what to do about it."
After the psychiatrist spent several sessions analyzing the patient, he told
him, "Man, you don't have an inferiority complex; you're just inferior!"
That we are God’s Israel today is a mighty truth---one so powerful that it
supercharges us with hope and assurance.
Situations in which people are passed over usually develop because too
much emphasis is placed on the abilities people have, how people look, how smart
people are, or what people own.
Consequently, when this happens to us, it is devastating, for it says to us that
we are not talented enough, good looking enough, smart enough, or that we do not
possess enough.
Christians, according to
Peter, are God's chosen race. This is true, he said, not because we are the most
talented, the best looking, or the smartest, or because we have the most, but
because we are loved by God, have responded in faith and obedience to God's
will, and have become His children, His church.
Our status with God has resulted from God's mercy, not from our money or from
human merit. Peter said:
1 Peter 2:10
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.
Paul told Titus: Titus 3:5
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he
saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
In our baptism into Christ, we received the mercy of God and became part of His
chosen race.
That we are God's Israel
today is a mighty truth--- one so powerful that it supercharges us with hope and
assurance which harassing circumstances and an unfriendly world cannot take from
us.
For example, it should infuse us with confidence and boldness in prayer to God.
We can approach His throne with confidence at any time of need or whenever we
wish to praise and thank Him.
It should inspire us to live in God's strength, for being God's chosen people
implies that God's storehouse of spiritual blessings is never closed to us.
Notice in Ephesians 2:
Ephesians 2:18
For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Let us rejoice that we are His chosen race!
Second, in 1 Peter 2:9, God calls us, “A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD”
Christians are God's priests today. As one body, we compose a kingdom of priests.
In Old Testament times, God provided His nation with access to Him through Levitical priests. He chose for the priests to come from the family of Amram from the tribe of Levi. They offered the sacrifices of the people to Him, and they led Israel in worship to Him in all the prescribed ways listed by the law of Moses.
God told the tribe of Levi, "... I am your portion and your inheritance. . . ." (Numbers 18:20). The Levites were given the honor of serving God uniquely in worship, in service, and in life. They were given access to God and an intimate relationship with Him.
Peter said in 1 Peter 2:9 that the Levitical priesthood is no longer in effect, and a new priesthood has been chosen by the Lord. Through the redemptive work of Christ, He has appointed His church as His Christian Age priesthood.
Not only has God called
His church a priesthood; He has called it a "royal" priesthood. The church is a
kingdom of priests or kingly priests.
John wrote from Patmos to persecuted Christians:
Revelation 1:6
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Peter also said: 1 Peter 2:5
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.
The Christian can go directly to God through the assistance of the Holy Spirit:
Turn to Romans 8:27
Romans 8:27
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because
he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
And through the intercessory work of Jesus, our Mediator and great High Priest:
Turn to 1 Timothy 2:5
1 Timothy 2:5
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus;
Hebrews 7:26-27
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate
from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first
for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he
offered up himself.
A Christian does not go to God through any intermediary other than Jesus Christ.
He can stand before God as God's priest and make his appeal to God through Jesus
Christ without the aid of ordained human priests, departed saints, or angels.
The word "priest" in Latin means "bridge-builder." The idea of a bridge illustrates the role of a priest during the Old Testament period. The priest was a kind of spiritual bridge between God and man. He brought God's will to man, and he offered man's requests to God. God went to the people through the priest, and the people went to God through the priest. How different it is today in the Christian Age! When one becomes a Christian, he becomes, at the moment of his entrance into Christ, a priest of God.
Our position as priests of God should compel us to be consecrated to God's work and to utilize this sacred position He has given us to live in His fellowship. As the priesthood of God, we have a place of high privilege before God.
Let us rejoice that we are "a royal priesthood"!
Third in 1 Peter 2:9, God calls us, “A HOLY NATION”
Figuratively speaking, the church is God's nation of people, a kingdom of people exclusively consecrated to Him.
Israel, as God's chosen
nation, was called to holiness. Through Moses, God told Israel, "You shall be
holy, for I the Lord your God am holy"(Leviticus l9:2). He further told them,
"And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6).
With this call of Israel to holiness in mind, and even quoting perhaps from
Leviticus 19:2, Peter told the readers of his letter:
1 Peter 1:15-16
15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation;
16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Christians, God's nation of people, are to be like God.
Ephesians 5:1-2
1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us
an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
The word "holy" simply means "set aside for sacred use." As applied to Christians, this word means that God's people have been set apart for undivided devotion and service to Him.
A Christian has citizenship in two nations-one in which he dwells and in another
one to which he is devoted.
He lives in this world as a citizen of the earth, but his governing citizenship
is in the nation of God, a spiritual, heavenly kingdom.
Paul wrote: Philippians 3:20
For our conversation [citizenship] is in heaven; from whence also we look
for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
As a Christian thinks of how he is a citizen of God's holy nation, he is
at once comforted and challenged -----comforted by His relationship to God and
challenged by the heavenly calling that this relationship implies.
Our conduct on earth, Peter said, should reflect at all times our citizenship in
heaven. Holiness is to extend to every aspect of the Christian's life.
Peter said: 1 Peter 1:15
But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation [conduct].
What we do, think, and say should reflect who we are.
If Christians will remember who they are, God's holy nation, they will be constrained to live holy lives.
Let us rejoice that we are "a holy nation."
Fourth, in 1 Peter 2:9 God calls us, “A PECULIAR PEOPLE”
The New American Standard
Bible has "a people for God's own possession," which more clearly translates the
Greek phrase.
The point is that Christians are God's private property, His own possession;
and, in this sense, they are peculiar.
God said to fleshly Israel through Moses: Deuteronomy 7:6
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the
face of the earth.
He likewise said to them: Deuteronomy 26:18-19
18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he
hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in
name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy
God, as he hath spoken.
This beautiful concept of
being a people which belongs to God is applied by Peter to Christ's church, as
he said that now, in the Christian era; the church is the people of God's own
possession.
Paul made a similar application of this phrase in Titus 2:14, when he said that
Christ…
Titus 2:14
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
We Christians may not be worth much when taken by ourselves, but when we
are seen as the people of God's own possession, a people owned and used by God,
we really go up in price!
It should do much for our self-worth, our sense of value, to realize that God
has made us, out of all the people of the earth, His own possession.
Picture a young boy walking with his mother into a toy shop to buy a toy.
As he scans the toys for sale, his eyes focus upon a broken sailboat which has
pasted on it, "To Be Sold as is."
The sailboat is worth little "as is," but it becomes his choice. He pays the
paltry price for it.
As soon as he gets home, he goes to work on it. After putting a little glue
here, a new piece of wood there, and a new coat of paint all over it, he can say
to his boat, "I have bought you. I have repaired you. Now you are truly mine!"
In a similar way, Christians belong to God. He has bought us with His Son's
blood, He has remade us in our conversion to Him, and He is continually changing
us as we walk with Him.
Now He can say in redemptive splendor, "These are truly My own people." Every
person who is converted to Christ is elevated to the high and wonderful status
of being a person of God's own possession.
Let us rejoice that we are "a peculiar people."
CONCLUSION
The church, therefore, is spiritual Israel, the Israel of God today.
We are a chosen people just as the Israel of old was chosen.
Israel was God’s holy nation. Today the church is God’s holy nation.
The Israel of old was God’s possession. Today we are His possession.
Even as God called Israel to be a people of His own possession in the days of old, today, in these New Testament times, God regards Christ's church as His chosen possession.
On the fourth Thursday of
each November, Americans celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
While we understand that the New Testament nowhere commands that one particular
day be a day of thanksgiving, it does picture thanksgiving as a daily spirit, a
continual attitude.
Thanksgiving in the New Testament is not an appointed day; it is a disposition.
Paul characterized Christians as "always giving thanks for all things in the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God:
Ephesians 5:20
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
When we consider the blessings that Christians have, we can easily see why the
New Testament says that every day should be a thanksgiving day.
As "a chosen people," "a holy nation," "a royal priesthood," and "a people of
God's own possession," we are blessed indeed and should make our way through
each day singing, "Count your many blessings, name them one by one."