Who are the people of the living God? More and more I am
hearing that people are claiming they are the true people of God. But, how do
we know who His people are? Shouldn’t we be able to go to the scriptures to
find out exactly who God considers His people to be? I have been in discussions
with people that claimed only black folks were even able to be saved because
they are the true Israelites. Others have said anyone that follows the Mosaic
Laws will not be saved because they are now against the will of God. Yet others
say that following the law of God is not a requirement for salvation, but
rather it is something to be done with the intent to show that believers love
the Father. These are all groups that claim to be believers.
I believe that to definitely be the case and I believe that
there is an abundance of Biblical evidence to support who the people of God
are. This entire blog comes from the idea found in 1 Peter.
1 Peter 2: 9-10
But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you
may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who
had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.
Based on this passage, we can see a few things. First, this
is a chosen “generation”. I would like to point out that the Greek word
translated as generation is only translated as generation 1 time and it is in
this verse. This word, genos, is usually translated as “kind”, “nation,” or “offspring”.
I only point this out due to the argument that this verse was directed at a
certain time of people and not for all readers of that and after that time. So,
we can see then that God’s people are a chosen kind or nation of people.
Second, a holy nation of priests and a special group of
people. When I read this, I thought to myself that this sounded awfully
familiar, so I went back to the Torah to find out where I had saw this. Sure
enough, it was there.
Exodus 19: 5-6
Now therefore, if you
will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special
treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to
Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall
speak to the children of Israel.”
Thus far, it seems that again, the New Testament is not
coming up with new ideas but rather reiterating the old ones that had been lost
or hidden by the traditions of men.
Third, this is a group of people that were once not a
people, but are now a people. This sounded similar to another passage from the
New Testament from the book of Romans.
Romans 9: 24-26
even us whom He
called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles? As He says also in
Hosea: “I will call them My people, who were not My people, And her beloved,
who was not beloved.” “And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said
to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There they shall be called sons of the living
God.”
At this point, because the verse mentions the book of Hosea,
I had to go and check it out in order to understand the true context of this
statement made by Paul. It seems that both Paul and Peter are quoting from the
same book, and that they are in agreement with one another in terms of who is
being discussed as the people of God. So, where do we find this verse in Hosea and
who is it that is being discussed in this book.
Hosea 2:23
Then I will sow her
for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained
mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And
they shall say, ‘You are my God!’”
The entire book of Hosea is speaking of the nation of Israel
and how they had disobeyed the commandments of God. YHWH discusses the
punishment of this nation as well as how they are no longer His people. Then,
in the verse above, He is speaking about how He will bring them, the nation of
Israel, back to Him. Now, if the book of Hosea is referring to the northern
tribes of Israel that were lost and scattered among the nations of the world, and
Paul as well as Peter are quoting from this book in reference of who God’s
people are, we can only conclude believers are the lost tribes of Israel that
had been scattered among the nations.
There is no way around this. We cannot force an
interpretation into something to make our understanding work. Instead, we must
bend to the understanding of what was being discussed and referred to within
the context that it was meant to have. If this is the case, then when we see
the word gentiles in the New Testament in reference to believers we then also
have to conclude that the gentiles that became believers can only be members of
the lost tribes. This makes sense considering they had lost their identity
among the gentile nations. This was prophesied by YHWH Himself.
Deuteronomy 28: 15,
64
But it shall come to
pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully
all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today that all these
curses will come upon you and overtake you:
Then the Lord will
scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other, and
there you shall serve other gods, which neither you nor your fathers have
known—wood and stone.
It is clear Israel did not obey the commands of YHWH. He
divorced them and scattered them among the nations of the entire world calling
them not His people because of their sin. His compassion for His special
people, Israel, causes Him to gather them back together to Him by taking on the
curse of their sin through His only begotten son Yeshua (Jesus). We, as
believers are the lost sheep of Israel. This is not a bad thing, but actually a
really, really good thing. Consider Yeshua’s words found in the book of
Matthew.
Matthew 15: 24
But he answered and
said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
