Sermon Series “Our Identity in Christ” 1 Peter 2:9
In the popular TV game show of the 1980’s, Sale of the Century, contestants won cash and prizes by correctly answering trivia questions. These questions were punctuated with “Who am I?” rounds. Host Tony Barber asked: “Who am I?”, challenging contestants to solve a mystery personality through a series of clues which gradually revealed their identity through things like the person’s birthday, place, interests, occupation and quotes.
“Who am I?” is not just a gameshow question to reveal the identity of a mystery celebrity. “Who am I?” is a question most people have asked themselves at one time or another. People travel overseas to “find themselves” or create a whole new appearance in the search for who they are. People typically look to their ancestry, country of origin, suburb they live in, level of education, the job they hold, the leisure activities they enjoy, the places they travel to, the teams they support, the party they vote for, the clubs they are involved in, in the search to answer “Where do I fit?” “What should I do, or become?” “Who am I?”
“Who am I?” was a question that Kim Catford asked himself throughout his childhood. Growing up in the Adelaide suburb of Banksia Park, Kim was in many ways a typical Aussie kid. He rode bikes, played footy and grew up in a caring family with three older sisters. However, Kim always knew he was different—because he didn’t look like his family, or almost anyone else in the 1970’s Anglo—Australian society.
You see, Kim’s parents, Geoff and Janet Catford, had decided to adopt him after receiving a “calling from God” to help alleviate the suffering caused by the Vietnam War. Abandoned at six months old in an overflowing orphanage in war-torn Vietnam, Kim’s identity was a cold, dehumanising statistic: simply ‘baby number 671’. But in 1974 Geoff and Janet Catford adopted him to become a part of their family.
Even though we were all born to our parents and have our own families of origin, Paul says in Ephesians 1 that we have been adopted too. We have been adopted to Sonship in our Heavenly Father’s family, through Jesus Christ. Like Geoff Catford, who was not Kim’s natural father, Our Father in Heaven was not our natural Father either. Since Adam and Eve rebelled against God and brought sin into the world, the whole human race was enslaved to the Kingdom of Darkness, and in our natural condition, our spiritual father was the Devil, the father of lies (John 8:44).
But God’s desire to have a people for his own was so intentional that it was his plan even before he created the world. Paul says that “In love [God] predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…” (Ephesians 1:5).
Once the Court has issued an Adoption Order, the child’s ties to their birth family are legally severed and the child becomes a permanent member of the adoptive family. The legal responsibilities are permanently transferred to the adoptive parents. As such, the child assumes the same rights as their siblings a child born into the family. This is incredibly important for understanding what Paul means when he says that we have been adopted to Sonship. We are siblings of Jesus the true Son of God and have been legally transferred into God’s Kingdom with the same legal rights and inheritance as God’s adopted siblings.
When Geoff and Janet Catford adopted Kim, they had made an intentional decision to do this. The Catfords gave ‘baby #671’ a new identity as a member of their family, and Geoff had chosen to make himself Kim’s father. This is the spiritual reality God has brought about for us, through Jesus his Son. Writing to the early church, Peter puts it this way: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9).
Peter and Paul are not talking about God choosing individuals randomly like a school captain picking out players for a sports team. God chose a people for himself, and that choice began with Abraham who would have descendants as numerous as the stars (Genesis 22:17). Through Abraham, the people God chose for his own was the nation Israel. God said to them: “The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” (Deuteronomy 7:6)—a people we hear of in today’s Old Testament reading. King Solomon prays: “Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number.” (1 Kings 3:7-8).
All the people of the Old Testament who listened to the prophets and looked forward to the promised Saviour–so often those on the social and moral fringes of Israel and beyond its geographical borders who the religious leaders shunned—together with everyone since Jesus’ birth who have placed their faith in him, are God’s chosen people, the church. Paul said to the Colossians that God had commissioned him to “…present to you the word of God in its fullness—the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:25-27).
The Father in Heaven has made himself to be your Father in Heaven, through Jesus. Though in our natural condition we estranged ourselves from God, God was so determined to carry out his plan of choosing a people for himself, that he sent his Son to pay for the sin of the world, ransom the human race from the kingdom of darkness, and reconcile us to God by Christ’s precious blood. Jesus himself is the cornerstone of his church; the chosen One of whom Peter speaks:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:6).
God has specially chosen you to be among his chosen people in Christ. But being chosen doesn’t mean that between now and heaven we can just do what we want because we have a gold ticket to heaven. That was the attitude of God’s Old Testament people because they were descendants of Abraham to whom God made the promise. Yet they didn’t place their faith in Jesus as the Messiah promised to Abraham but rejected him. They placed their faith in Abraham instead, but their Abrahamic ancestry helped them in no way. If they truly knew the Father they would know Jesus too. That’s why John the Baptist, who came to point the way to Jesus, said: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:8-9).
Do you trust in Jesus for truth, life, righteousness and salvation? Then you are among God’s elect, the true church on earth. For those who do trust Jesus only do because they first were chosen by God to believe in him. Paul says: “We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction” (1 Thessalonians 1:4-5) –in other words, as Paul preached the Holy Spirit spoke into dead hearts and minds to bring conversion and belief.
In Acts 13 we hear of almost the whole city gathering at the synagogue to hear the word of the Lord. The Jews were jealous when they saw the crowds and abused Paul. Paul and Barnabus rebuked them: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13:46-48).
The concept of being God’s chosen people was crucial assurance to the early church. Peter wrote to those who were persecuted for their faith under the reign of Emperor Nero, scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia (the area of modern-day Turkey). What they were experiencing was not some kind of punishment, or sign that God had abandoned them. They were among God’s own chosen people; a choice he had made before the creation of the world.
That’s just as important as it was for us to know as to those to whom Peter first wrote. The trials and tribulations we experience in this world are not a sign that God has abandoned us or is punishing us. These things are actually an affirmation that we are in a right relationship with God, even as Jesus says: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12). Our default human way of thinking is that our relationship with God is dependent on our performance. That the better we perform, the more pleased with us God will be. That we are saved because we decided to follow him. We tend to explain our salvation that it is a result of our will rather than God’s will. That we chose God, rather than that God chose us. But Paul reminds us that before we had a chance to choose God, before we had a chance to please him, or serve him, or be good upstanding citizens and church-goers, God chose you to be numbered among his chosen people in Christ.
May that be the foundation of your answer to the question: “Who am I?” For our true identity is as God’s chosen people, not because of your morality, your loyalty, your faithfulness, your charity, but because of his—because of his love, and grace, and his decision and will to choose and save you in Christ, to believe the gospel and share it with others.
And even if the very mountains should quake and fall into the heart of the sea around us as we live in this world, God will work out all things for the good of those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified (Romans 8).
So may we confidently declare with Paul: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). Amen.[1]
[1] The article about the Catford family and photographs for the PowerPoint were sourced from a 9 News online article by Emily McPherson “How a startling discovery from a DNA test led an Australian adoptee to his birth family” sourced from https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-a-startling-discovery-from-a-dna-test-led-an-australian-adoptee-to-his-birth-family/a199d96b-e0d8-4c98-b86c-488f7009a707
Last accessed 18 August 2024 7:58am
