Tag: Chosen

51.c. Wilderness – 15.i. “Chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession”

 

 

Deu 14:1-2  “You are the sons of the LORD your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

 John 1:12    But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

 Jeremiah 3:19   “‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.

 1 Thessalonians 4:13     But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

“The cutting of the body and the shaving of the head were common mourning rites in the ancient Near East and are referred to in many places in the Old Testament (Isaiah 3:24; 15:2; 22:12; Jeremiah 16:6; 41:5; Ezekiel 7:18; Amos 8:10; Micah 1:16).” (Thompson)

 Among Christians today, there is something wrong if our burial customs are just as the rituals of the ungodly. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:13: But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. We may certainly mourn the passing of our loved ones, but as those who have eternal hope in Jesus, we should be different in our mourning. (Guzik)

Ye are not only the creatures, and the offspring, but the peculiar people, the worshippers, the servants, and those of you that are truly pious, the adopted children of Jehovah, the one living and true God, who is your God in covenant; and therefore you should not dishonour him, your heavenly Father, nor disparage yourselves, by unworthy or unbecoming practices. (Benson)

God’s people are required to be holy, and if they are holy, they are indebted to the grace God which makes them so. Those whom God chooses to be his children, he will form to be a holy people, and zealous of good works. They must be careful to avoid every thing which might disgrace their profession, in the sight of those who watch for their halting. (Henry)

Ye are the children of the Lord your God,…. Some of them were so by the special grace of adoption, and all of them by national adoption; which was the peculiar privilege of the people of Israel, and laid them under great obligation to honour and obey the Lord their God, who stood in the relation of a father to them, and they of children to him. (Gill)

The Israelites were not only to suffer no idolatry to rise up in their midst, but in all their walk of life to show themselves as a holy nation of the Lord. (Keil)

50.c. Wilderness – 14.i. ” Know therefore that the LORD your God is God”

 

Deu 7:6-10  “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. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face.

 Titus 2:14    who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 1 Peter 2:9    But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 Malachi 3:17    “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Israel was holy in their standing before God before they were holy in their conduct. They were set apart unto God by His choosing (God has chosen you to be a people for Himself) and were then called to live as chosen people. As much as anything, their election meant the LORD set His love on them. Their motivation for such a total obedience was to be that they knew God loved them. (Guzik)

A proper understanding of the evil of sin, and of the mystery of a crucified Saviour, will enable us to perceive the justice of God in all his punishments, temporal and eternal. We must deal decidedly with our lusts that war against our souls; let us not show them any mercy, but mortify, and crucify, and utterly destroy them. Thousands in the world that now is, have been undone by ungodly marriages; for there is more likelihood that the good will be perverted, than that the bad will be converted. Those who, in choosing yoke-fellows, keep not within the bounds of a profession of religion, cannot promise themselves helps meet for them. (Henry)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God—that is, set apart to the service of God, or chosen to execute the important purposes of His providence. Their selection to this high destiny was neither on account of their numerical amount (for, till after the death of Joseph, they were but a handful of people); nor because of their extraordinary merits (for they had often pursued a most perverse and unworthy conduct); but it was in consequence of the covenant or promise made with their pious forefathers; and the motives that led to that special act were such as tended not only to vindicate God’s wisdom, but to illustrate His glory in diffusing the best and most precious blessings to all mankind. (Brown)

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,…. Not sanctified in a spiritual sense, or having principles of grace and holiness in them, from whence holy actions sprang, at least not all of them; but they were separated from all other people in the world to the pure worship and service of God in an external manner, and therefore were to avoid all idolatry, and every appearance of it: 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; for special service and worship, and to enjoy special privileges and benefits, civil and religious; though they were not chosen to special grace here, and eternal glory hereafter; at least not all of them, only a remnant, according to the election of grace; yet they were typical of the chosen people of God in a special sense; who are chosen out of the world to be a peculiar people, to be holy here and happy hereafter; to enjoy communion with God in this life and that to come, as well as to serve and glorify him now and for evermore. (Gill)

47.j. “Wilderness” – 11.p. “Korah’s rebellion”

Num 16:1-5  Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.

Jud 1:8-11  Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam’s error and perished in Korah’s rebellion.

Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi,…. A great grandson of Levi’s, and own cousin to Moses and Aaron, being brothers children; for Amram the father of Moses and Aaron, and Izhar the father of Korah, were own brothers, both of them the sons of Kohath, and Amram the eldest, and Izhar the next. (Gill)

The many ample testimonies, nay, the astonishing miracles, whereby God had established the authority of Moses as chief governor, and of Aaron and his family as priests, were not sufficient to restrain the ambition of mutinous and designing men. Korah, a man of some note among the Levites, thinking himself undervalued, it seems, by the post he was in as a mere Levite, and being left without hopes of arriving at the priesthood, as things now stood, resolves upon a mutiny against them, and attempts to raise himself to the priesthood, by forcing them to change their measures, or else putting them down from their authority. Sons of Reuben — These are drawn into confederacy with Korah, partly because they were his next neighbours, both being encamped on the south side, partly in hopes to recover their rights of primogeniture, in which the priesthood was comprehended, which was given away from their father. Rose up — That is, conspired together, and put their design in execution; before Moses — Not obscurely, but openly and boldly, not fearing nor regarding the presence of Moses. (Ellicott)

Pride and ambition occasion a great deal of mischief both in churches and states. The rebels quarrel with the settlement of the priesthood upon Aaron and his family. Small reason they had to boast of the people’s purity, or of God’s favour, as the people had been so often and so lately polluted with sin, and were now under the marks of God’s displeasure. They unjustly charge Moses and Aaron with taking honour to themselves; whereas they were called of God to it. (Henry)

Korah perhaps said, “I’m also from the tribe of Levi, and Aaron is my cousin. Why does he get to be the priest and I don’t?” Dathan and Abiram perhaps said, “Reuben was the firstborn of Israel, so our tribe should lead. Why does Moses get to lead, and we don’t?” It is likely that Korah wanted some of the power and position that God had appointed to Moses. It was significant that this accusation was made publicly, in front of two hundred and fifty leaders of the congregation…men of renown. Korah played to an audience, hoping to draw a following after himself. Korah accused Moses (and Aaron) of pride and self-seeking. The truth was that Moses didn’t become leader of Israel by ambition or desire, but by the direct calling of God. Moses had a clear, God-appointed position of leadership, but he was not a proud man. On a human level, Korah was successful because these two hundred and fifty leaders followed him. These men did not lead the rebellion, but they did not have the discernment to oppose Korah, and instead followed him. It is a big problem when 250 prominent leaders support a man like Korah. When Moses heard of the dangerous unbelief of Israel, he and Aaron fell on their faces before God (Numbers 14:5). Now, at the dangerous rebellion of Korah, Moses once again fell on his face, in a humble posture of prayer. issued a challenge where Korah and his followers would come before the LORD, and Moses and Aaron would also come, so that the LORD would make His choice of leaders clear. (Guzik)

Pride has a way of separating us from God. It can slip in and destroy communion with God. It can cause division. I can cause unwise decisions to be made. It can blind us to things of God. And, it can set us on a path of thinking, saying, and doing things that do not honor and glorify Jesus Christ. Pride will tell you that you can do things not in line with God’s Word, plans, or purposes. Pride will allow you to neglect God’s Word. Pride will allow you to become complacent in things of God. Pride will exalt self. There is no wisdom in pride. Oh, that we would have hearts and minds so tuned into the Word of God and things of God that we could discern prideful thoughts, words, and actions before they consume us.

45.d. “Wilderness” – 9.j. “For it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin”

 

Exodus 34:9  And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

 Exodus 33:13   Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.”

 Exodus 33:17    And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.”

 Isaiah 48:4   Because I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass,

 Exodus 32:9    And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

 Exodus 33:5     For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the people of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do with you.’”

 Numbers 14:19     Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

 Psalms 25:11    For your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

 Psalms 28:9    Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

 Psalms 33:12   Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

 Psalms 78:62    He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.

Moses asked for the goodness, grace, and mercy of God be extended to himself and the nation. Moses knew they did not deserve it (we are a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin), but he asked for God’s grace and not His justice. (Guzik)

Yea, saith Moses, the rather go along with us; for the worse they are, the more need they have of thy presence. Moses sees them so stiff-necked, that he has neither patience nor power enough to deal with them; therefore, Lord, do thou go among us; else they will never be kept in awe; thou wilt spare, and bear with them, for thou art God and not man. (Benson)

It is a stiff-necked people, and therefore need thy glorious and powerful presence to rule them. Or rather, though it be a stiff-necked people, deal with us as men do with their inheritances, dwell among us, protect us, improve us. (Poole)

For it is a stiffnecked people; and therefore have need of such an one to be with them, to rule and govern them, to restrain and keep them within due bounds; or though it is a stiffnecked people”; for this is the reason given by the Lord why he would not go among them, wherefore Moses prays that he would go, notwithstanding this; he owns the character of them was just, yet humbly prays that God would nevertheless grant, impart, reveal, make known, confer, his presence and pardon our iniquity, and our sin; which he had the greater reason to hope he would, since he had just proclaimed his name, a God pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin; and, the more to gain his suit, makes himself a party concerned, calling the sin committed, “our iniquity, and our sin”; even his among the rest, who had found grace in the sight of God, and therefore entreats others might also, since they were all sinners, and there was forgiveness with him and take us for thine inheritance; to possess and enjoy, protect and defend, cultivate and improve, keep and preserve for ever. (Gill)

On this manifestation of mercy, Moses repeated the prayer that Jehovah would go in the midst of Israel. It is true the Lord had already promised that His face should go with them (Exodus 33:14); but as Moses had asked for a sign of the glory of the Lord as a seal to the promise, it was perfectly natural that, when this petition was granted, he should lay hold of the grace that had been revealed to him as it never had been before, and endeavour to give even greater stability to the covenant. To this end he repeated his former intercession on behalf of the nation, at the same time making this confession, “For it is a stiff-necked people; therefore forgive our iniquity and our sin, and make us the inheritance.” Moses spoke collectively, including himself in the nation in the presence of God. The reason which he assigned pointed to the deep root of corruption that had broken out in the worship of the golden calf, and was appropriately pleaded as a motive for asking forgiveness. (Keil)

When I look at the way of our country and the number of people who deny and reject God and things of God, I do fear God’s Holy judgment. However, when I look at those who are “called” by His name and their trust, reliance, and obedience I am encouraged and hopeful. 

Surely Satan has a grip on many in our nation, states, cities, and neighborhoods, but God and the Word of God are more powerful. He is able to pierce the hearts and minds of lost souls, heal a nation, state, city, and neighborhood, and bring about a manifestation of holiness, servitude, reverence, and reliance in people who are now lost and in darkness. 

Let our prayers be continuous for the power of God to bring a bright overwhelming light to the sinfulness of sin and lead and direct the course of our nation, states, cities, and neighborhoods into reverence and worship of Him.

44.k. “Wilderness” – 8.q. “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God”

 

 

Exodus 28:1  “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron’s garments to consecrate him for my priesthood.

 Hebrews 5:1-5   For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.  He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people.  And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was.  So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”;

 Exodus 31:3-5  The LORD said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah  and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship,  to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze,  in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft.

God appointed those who were called from the people to serve as priests. He also gave intelligence and ability, with knowledge for craftsmanship to others who were called to make the garments for the priesthood. God called and appointed those who were to serve as priests. As well, God gifted those who were to make special garments for this priesthood. (A calling and gifting with a filling of the Spirit of God ) 

We are all called to repent, believe, trust, follow, and obey. Likewise, upon answering this call, we are filled with the Holy Spirit of God and gifted for service to the honor and glory of Him. The natural talents of people are still gifting from God. No one can say it is by their own hard work and dedication, for the seeds of talent are planted by God, watered by God, and harvested for His intended plans and purposes. Whatever the gifting it is essential to note that these gifts of talent are for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. Any use of your talents for self-reliance, worth, honor, or praise is robbing honor and glory from Jesus. Being good with your hands and/or brains are gifts from God to be used for His honor and glory. Use your gifts for His honor and glory.

42.u. “Wilderness” – 7.c. Sinai – No other gods before Me

 

Exodus 20:3  “You shall have no other gods before me.

 Deuteronomy 6:5   You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

 Deuteronomy 6:14    You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you

Joshua 24:22-24. Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”  And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

 Psalms 29:2     Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

 Psalms 73:25   Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

 Psalms 81:9    There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

 Isaiah 26:4    Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

 Isaiah 43:10    “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

 Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

 Isaiah 46:9   remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me

 Jeremiah 25:6   Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’

 Jeremiah 35:15   I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.

 Matthew 4:10    Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

 Philippians 3:19   Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

In these first few words, God both reminded and taught Israel essential facts or principles about who He is, about His nature.

· God is above nature; He is not merely the personification of fire, or the wind, or the sun, or the sky, or any other created thing.

· God is personal; He is not a depersonalized force; He relates with and communicates to man in an understandable way. God has a mind, a will, a voice, and so forth.

· God is good; He had done good for Israel and now does good for them in giving these commands, the keeping of which not only pleases Him, but is genuinely best for humanity.

· God is holy; He is different than the supposed gods of the pagans, and He therefore also expects His people to be different.

“God did not promulgate a code of laws for the children of Israel, while they were in bondage, telling them that if they would obey it, He would deliver them. He brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and then gave them His law.” (Morgan)

The first commandment logically flowed from understanding who God was and what He had done for Israel. Because of that, nothing was to come before God and He was the only God we worship and serve. In the days of ancient Israel, there was great temptation to worship the gods of materialism (such as Baal, the god of weather and financial success) and sex (such as Ashtoreth, the goddess of sex, romance, and reproduction), or any number of other local deities. We are tempted to worship the same gods, but without the old-fashioned names and images. It has been said (perhaps first by John Calvin) that human nature is like an idol factory that operates constantly. We constantly deal with the temptation to set all kinds of things before or competing with God and His preeminent place in our life. This means God demands to be more than added to our lives. We don’t just add Jesus to the life we already have. We must give Him all our life. Failure to obey this commandment is called idolatry. We are to flee idolatry. (Guzik)

God will have no rivals and competitors; though he was worshipped, yet if others were worshipped with him, if others were set before him and worshipped along with him, or it was pretended he was worshipped in them, and even he with a superior and they with an inferior kind of worship; yet this was what he could by no means admit. (Gill)

The Israelites had lived in bondage within a nation that had worshipped many idols.  God has not only shown them His power and might and love by many signs and wonders, He has also led, fed, and given water to them. He was a fire by night and cloud by day – ever-present. He allowed them to hear His voice speaking to Moses. His first commandment was clear – “You shall have no other gods besides me”.  You shall not share in worship, praise, honor, or glory with another god or idol in your life. Whatever we place before or whatever we allow to take place of honor, glory, worship, and praise of God is falling short of this commandment.  Family, friends, sports, work, pleasure, etc…. all have the potential to consume not only our time but our worship of God and time with God. In fact, it is placing something else in front of Him. 

We do well to live in His presence at all times with the deep desire and commitment to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.

38.x. “For those who are led by the Spirit of God”

 

From Compelling Truth

 

Judges 15:14   But the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon Samson

Psalm 51:11  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

1 Chronicles 12:18  Then the Spirit came on Amasai, chief of the Thirty

1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Ezekiel 11:5   Then the Spirit of the LORD came on me, and he told me to say:

John 14:17   the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

1 Corinthians 6:19–20  Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Ephesians 1:7   In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace

Colossians 1:27   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.

1 John 4:15   If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.

Titus 3:5   he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Romans 8:15–17  For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

John 3:1–8   Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

1 Corinthians 2:12  What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Romans 8:14  For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Galatians 5:22–23   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control

Romans 8:26  n the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

1 Corinthians 12:13   For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is God taking up permanent residence in the heart of those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. In the Old Testament, the Spirit would come intermittently upon the saints, empowering them for service but not necessarily remaining with them. The Spirit “rushed upon” Lehi  and “clothed” Amasai. The Spirit was with David and able to be removed from him, and the Spirit “fell upon” Ezekiel and spoke to him . The Spirit, who had once been with King Saul, “departed from” him, removing His influence and guidance from the king .

It wasn’t until Pentecost that the Spirit began to indwell those who belong to God through Christ. Jesus predicted the coming of the Spirit who would live within His people, as well as the new role the Spirit of Truth would play in their lives. Prior to the resurrection and Pentecost, the Spirit was with the disciples and influenced them, but He did not yet indwell them, as Jesus explained to them: “he dwells with you and will be in you”. John 7:39 explains further: “Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

The apostle Paul reiterated the same truth about the Spirit’s indwelling: “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”. Because believers have been purchased for God by the blood of Christ, shed on the cross for our sins, our bodies become a living temple where the Spirit of God resides.

The image of the believer’s body being a temple is reminiscent of the Old Testament tabernacle, in which the Spirit of God lived. There, God’s presence would appear in a cloud and meet the high priest, who came once a year into the Holy of Holies. On the Day of Atonement, the high priest brought the blood of a slain animal and sprinkled it on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant. On this special day, God granted forgiveness to the priest and His people.

The Jewish temple in Jerusalem no longer exists. Now the believer in Christ has become the inner sanctum of God the Holy Spirit, as the believer has been sanctified and forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. In fact, Scripture also says that the believer is the dwelling place of all three Persons of the Trinity. Along with the Spirit, Jesus Christ is in us, as is God the Father.

The purpose of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is many-faceted. First and foremost, the Spirit creates new life in believers (), producing the same new birth Jesus spoke of in . The Spirit confirms to us that this new birth is real and that we truly belong to God (). He also imparts to believers spiritual gifts to be used to build up the body of Christ and glorify God (1 Corinthians 12:4–11). Further, as the author of Scripture through the writers He inspired (), the indwelling Spirit helps believers understand what He has written and how to apply it to daily life ().

Other functions of the indwelling Spirit include interceding for believers in prayer, leading us in the ways of righteous living, producing His fruit in our lives, and installing believers into the universal church of Christ, also called the baptism of the Spirit.

One of the indwelling Spirit’s most encouraging functions is to seal believers for eternity by placing His own mark upon us. Doing so assures our arrival in the Lord’s presence when we die (Ephesians 1:13–14, 4:30). The Holy Spirit’s presence within us is the guarantee that we have been purchased by Christ and redeemed from our sins. We can never lose our position as a prized possession. Until we die, the Spirit remains within us, renewing and sanctifying us, comforting us in trials, and sustaining us in afflictions. With the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are never alone, never lost, and never without His power.

35.e. “A peculiar people”

 

 

1 Peter 2:9  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:

A peculiar people.—This curious phrase is literally, a people for a special reservation. (Ellicott)

All true Christians are a chosen generation; they make one family, a people distinct from the world: of another spirit, principle, and practice; which they could never be, if they were not chosen in Christ to be such, and sanctified by his Spirit. Their first state is a state of gross darkness, but they are called out of darkness into a state of joy, pleasure, and prosperity; that they should show forth the praises of the Lord by their profession of his truth, and their good conduct. How vast their obligations to Him who has made them his people, and has shown mercy to them! To be without this mercy is a woful state, though a man have all worldly enjoyments. And there is nothing that so kindly works repentance, as right thoughts of the mercy and love of God. Let us not dare to abuse and affront the free grace of God, if we mean to be saved by it; but let all who would be found among those who obtain mercy, walk as his people. (Henry)

A peculiar people – Compare the notes at Titus 2:14. The margin here is purchased. The word “peculiar,” in its common acceptation now, would mean that they were distinguished from others, or were singular. The reading in the margin would mean that they had been bought or redeemed. Both these things are so, but neither of them expresses the exact sense of the original. The Greek λαὸς εἰς περιποίησιν laos eis peripoiēsin) means, “a people for a possession;” that is, as pertaining to God. They are a people which he has secured as a possession, or as his own; a people, therefore, which belong to him, and to no other. In this sense they are special as being His; and, being such, it may be inferred that they should be special in the sense of being unlike others (unique) in their manner of life.  (barnes)

peculiar people—literally, “a people for an acquisition,” that is, whom God chose to be peculiarly His: Ac 20:28, “purchased,” literally, “acquired.” God’s “peculiar treasure” above others. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)

a peculiar people; as the Israelites are called a “peculiar treasure”, Exodus 19:5 to which the reference is: God’s elect are a peculiar people, to whom he bears a peculiar love; they are chosen by him to be a special people above all others, and have peculiar blessings bestowed on them, and peculiar care is taken of them; they are the Lord’s, his treasure, his jewels, his portion and inheritance, and therefore he will preserve and save them; they are a people for acquisition, purchase, and possession, as the words may be rendered; whom God has obtained, procured, and purchased for himself, with the precious blood of his Son; hence the Syriac version renders them, , “a redeemed company”: the same with the church God has purchased with his blood, Acts 20:28 and the purchased possession, Ephesians 1:14 and which are redeemed and purified to be, and appear to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works, Titus 2:14 the end of all which grace being bestowed upon them in election, redemption, and regeneration, is, that ye should show forth the praises of him; that is, God, who has chosen them into a spiritual kindred and relation, made them kings and priests, sanctified them by his Spirit, and redeemed them by his Son, as a peculiar people; all which laid them under obligation to show forth with their lips, and in their lives and conversations, his “virtues” (Gill)

a peculiar people; as the Israelites are called a “peculiar treasure”, Exodus 19:5 to which the reference is: God’s elect are a peculiar people, to whom he bears a peculiar love; they are chosen by him to be a special people above all others, and have peculiar blessings bestowed on them, and peculiar care is taken of them; they are the Lord’s, his treasure, his jewels, his portion and inheritance, and therefore he will preserve and save them; they are a people for acquisition, purchase, and possession, as the words may be rendered; whom God has obtained, procured, and purchased for himself, with the precious blood of his Son; hence the Syriac version renders them, , “a redeemed company”: the same with the church God has purchased with his blood, Acts 20:28 and the purchased possession, Ephesians 1:14 and which are redeemed and purified to be, and appear to be a peculiar people, zealous of good works, Titus 2:14 the end of all which grace being bestowed upon them in election, redemption, and regeneration, is,

that ye should show forth the praises of him; that is, God, who has chosen them into a spiritual kindred and relation, made them kings and priests, sanctified them by his Spirit, and redeemed them by his Son, as a peculiar people; all which laid them under obligation to show forth with their lips, and in their lives and conversations, his “virtues” (Cambridge)

 In our culture, with its Christian foundations, we don’t easily understand the great sense of privilege and relief that came to Gentiles as they were shared in the New Covenant with the God of Israel. Peter’s message is wonderful: “You didn’t used to belong, but now you belong to God and among God’s people.” (Guzik)

A. W. Tozer wrote, “A real Christian is peculiar, (special). He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows that which passes knowledge.”

Be not afraid to possess this peculiar character, for though it is misunderstood on earth, it is well understood in heaven. (Spurgeon)

34.v. “Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD”

 

Matthew 22:1  And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.”’ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

 Romans 7:4    Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

 Revelation 21:2    And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

 Revelation 21:9    Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

 Proverbs 1:24-32    Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,  because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,  when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.  Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but will not find me.  Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,  would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,  therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way, and have their fill of their own devices.  For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them;

 Jeremiah 6:16-17    Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’  I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’

 Hosea 11:2   The more they were called, the more they went away;

 Hosea 11:7    My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all

 Romans 10:21   But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

 Hebrews 12:25   See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

 Matthew 7:13-14   “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

 Luke 13:28    In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out.

 Matthew 13:50    and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 2 Thessalonians 1:9   They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

It seems strange that those invited refused an invitation to a royal wedding. This illustrates the principle that there is no logical reason God’s good gifts are refused. The reaction of those invited made no sense, but it does give an accurate description of the reaction of many to the gospel. (Gill) 

Many made light of the invitation; others go about their business as if the invitation is not worthy of their time. The reason why sinners come not to Christ and salvation by him, is, not because they cannot, but because they will not. Making light of Christ, and of the great salvation paid by Him and offered through Him, is the damning sin of the world. They were careless. Multitudes perish forever through mere carelessness, who show no direct aversion, but are careless as to their souls. Also the business and profit of worldly employments hinder many in choosing redemption, salvation, and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Both farmers and merchants must be diligent; but whatever we have of the world in our hands, our care must be to keep it out of our hearts, lest it come between us and Christ. The case of hypocrites is represented by the guest that had not on a wedding-garment. It concerns all to prepare for the scrutiny; and those, and those only, who put on the Lord Jesus, who have a Christian temper of mind, who live by faith in Christ, and to whom he is all in all, have the wedding-garment. The imputed righteousness of Christ, and the sanctification of the Spirit, are both alike necessary. No man has the wedding-garment by nature, or can form it for himself. The day is coming, when hypocrites will be called to account for all their presumptuous intruding into gospel ordinances, and wrong use of gospel privileges. Take him away. Those that walk unworthy of Christianity, forfeit all the happiness they presumptuously claimed. Our Savior here passes out of the parable into that which it teaches. Hypocrites go by the light of the gospel itself down to utter darkness. Many are called to the wedding-feast, that is, to salvation, but few have the wedding-garment, the righteousness of Christ, the sanctification of the Spirit. Then let us examine ourselves whether we are in the faith, and seek to be approved by the King. (Henry)

“There are no longer feet to run to God’s mercy or to flee from his justice; no longer hands to do good or make amends for evil; no longer saving light, whereby to know God or one’s own duties. Nothing but darkness, pain, grief, tears, rage, fury, and despair, for him who is not in the wedding hall. (unknown)