“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 2:9-10

I love this verse. It is one of the best descriptions of the identity of the Church. I love the adjectives – chosen, royal, holy, and special – that point to the uniqueness of the Church.

After all, these are descriptions of what we long for – to be chosen, to be royal, to be holy, to be special. Sadly, these are things that many people desperately seek after but can never find in the pleasures of this world. These are the things the world promises us but can never deliver. Instead, worldly living leaves many people feeling rejected, lowly, insignificant, and neglected.

But I also love the nouns used to describe the Church – people, priesthood, nation, and possession. These words describe the ways in which God unites us. All of these words speak of the Church as being one group – we are not peoples, priesthoods, nations, possessions, but singular – One.

We are one people, speaking in the language of the One Word.

We are one priesthood, approaching God in One Name.

We are one possession, having been redeemed together through the blood of the One Sacrifice.

We are, finally, one nation, under One King. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords – The Word, The Name above all names, the only Name by which we must be saved – Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

These past few weeks, as I’ve heard the accounts of the persecution of Christians throughout the world, I’ve been challenged to remember that we are One Holy Nation. In our 2 Kingdoms logo, the right-hand kingdom is represented by the Christian flag which is the symbol of the Holy Nation of the Church. We all understand the unity represented by that flag. There is One Church comprised of believers from many nations.

However, the left-hand kingdom is represented by the American flag. Now we all know that most Christians have never been a citizen of the United States. We chose that representation since our ministry is focused on encouraging Americans to live as faithful citizens of our country. However, while it is natural to spend more time on the issues closest to home, it is important that we don’t forget about our brothers and sisters around the world who have a much different experience with the left-hand kingdom than we do.

In next week’s 2 Kingdom Messenger, we’ll look at how we are called to intercede for our fellow believers in both of the 2 Kingdoms.

Blessings,
Pastor Barry