A people for God’s special possession 1 Peter 2:9

GOD –Father, Son & Holy Spirit LOVE ETERNITY

John 17:24 “You loved me even before the world began” Genesis 1:1 1 Corinthians 2:11 “God’s own Spirit”

TIME CHOOSING IN LOVE Abraham CREATION

Genesis 1:26,27 – created in his own image Jeremiah 31:3 “I have loved you with an everlasting love” Ephesians 1:4 “Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ….”

ABRAHAM Genesis 12: 3 “All the families of the earth will be blessed through you” Abraham

Jewish nation BARRIER Gentiles - nations GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE Jewish nation BARRIER Gentiles - nations EXCLUDED

The Jewish nation – Israel – God’s chosen people – his special possession Exodus 19:5 “If you will obey and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure….” Deuteronomy 32:9 “For the people of Israel belong to the Lord; Jacob is his special possession”

A widening perspective: Isaiah 43:19 “a brand-new thing….” Jeremiah 31:33-35 “a new covenant….” Zechariah 8:20-23 people from all nations blessed Isaiah 66:22 “you will always be my people….” Isaiah 66:23 “all humanity will come to worship me….” Zechariah 9:10 “Your king will bring peace to the nations….”

Jew F A I T H One new people BARRIER Gentile

For Christ himself has made peace between us Jews and you Gentiles by making us all one people. He has broken down the wall of hostility that used to separate us. By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other was put to death. He has brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and to us Jews who were near. Now all of us, both Jews and Gentiles, may come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God's holy people. You are members of God's family. Ephesians 2:14-19 NLT

You are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision. No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God's Spirit. Romans 2:28,29 NLT There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all Christians -- you are one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and now all the promises God gave to him belong to you. Galatians 3:28,29 NLT The Gentiles have an equal share with the Jews in all the riches inherited by God's children. Both groups have believed the Good News, and both are part of the same body and enjoy together the promise of blessings through Christ Jesus. Ephesians 3:6 NLT

You are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. "Once you were not a people; now you are the people of God. Once you received none of God's mercy; now you have received his mercy." 1 Peter 2:9 NLT

Jew Return of Jesus God’s special possession All nations ETERNITY

I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. Revelation 21:3

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Eph. 3:14-19 NLT

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A people for God’s special possession Now and for eternity