Last night at our Sunday Gathering, we dug into the introduction of 1 Peter (1:1-2). It is all about Identity. Scot McKnight says of the entire letter, “Peter intends his readers to understand who they are before God so that they can be who they are in society.” Another commentator, Karen Jobes writes, “Christians need to be transformed in their thinking about who they are in Christ and what that implies for relationships with other believers and with society.”
So what is the identity? Elect Exiles. We are exiles because we realize that this age is not our eternal home. We are waiting for the King to return and make all things new. So in the meantime, we don’t get to comfortable. But we are not just random exiles. We are exiles because God has chosen us and sent us to be exiles in his Name.
And we can be assured of our status as elect exiles because God has not just chosen us to be exiles he has also acted to make us his own. In fact Peter shows how all three members of the Trinity are involved in our redemption. Here is the lyrics to Shai Linne’s “Mission Accomplished “
Father, Son and Spirit: three and yet one
Working as a unit to get things done
Our salvation began in eternity past
God certainly has to bring all His purpose to pass
A triune, eternal bond no one could ever sever
When it comes to the church, peep how they work together
The Father foreknew first, the Son came to earth
To die- the Holy Spirit gives the new birth
The Father elects them, the Son pays their debt and protects them
The Spirit is the One who resurrects them
The Father chooses them, the Son gets bruised for them
The Spirit renews them and produces fruit in them
I’d love to get some comments going here. Interact with one of these questions…
How do you see your Missional Community enabling you and moving your forward in living as an Elect Exile?
What difference does it make today at work/school if you live out of this gospel identity?
October 15, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Okay, so sometimes I can just get a plain bad attitude about having to keep living on this God-forsaken planet. Don’t get me wrong, I see the world and all His splendour, but I’m just so ready to go home and be with Jesus. So I get the exile part real well. But Sunday made me really deal with the elect thing. God has put me in this time and place for a select purpose and I have a short time to carry out a specific mission for Him. That gets me excited! All of a sudden, instead of longing to be done here, I’m concerned that I won’t have enough time to get it done right – to do the job in a way that will be pleasing to Him before I get to hang out in eternity with the Trinity. I’ve got one shot at this thing, and I want to get it right for Him. Sandy
October 16, 2008 at 4:02 am
Knowing that I’m purposely set apart from this world, as an elect exile, has helped me to see myself as a missionary in Tempe. I know what it feels like to be on missions in a foreign place and have a deep desire to serve the people and spread the Gospel of Christ but when I’m back in the states my natural default is put my time and energy toward socially comforting activities. Although I’ve been a “missionary” with Food for the Hungry the past three years, it is only now, in the context of living in a missional community that I’m beginning to see myself as a missionary where I live and in the city of Tempe. It is so easy to switch on the default mode in my mind that says “I belong here” or “this is my home,” falling into a haze of comfort and fun activities and forget that I am called to live daily for reasons that God has in store, reaching out to those around me, right here and now. It is a little scary but extremely comforting at the same time, knowing that this is not my home but that “Christ is my home” and “I belong to Him” and it is in this time and place that I get to serve him as an outsider, an exile, set apart for good works. That, for me, is definitely a game changing biblical truth. – Buddy