The People of God: Unlike the Jews who rejected their Messiah (“But”), we are “the people of God” (2:10), “a people for God’s own possession” (2:9). Peter employs the titles for Israel from the Mosaic covenant (Ex. 19:5-6) to show that our identity as the people of God is the same status which God offered to Israel at Sinai.[1] This is to say, all that Israel should have been, Gentile believers actually became. None of this nullifies God’s plan for the remnant of national Israel,[2] and we have not replaced Israel in the sight of God; but the church of God is most assuredly the people of God in this age!

Excellencies: We have a purpose. There is a “so that” to our existence as the people of God: to proclaim God’s excellencies.[3] God has done great things for us. He drew us out of the darkness of sin and futility (1:18) and transferred us into His marvelous light. And we are to publish abroad the wonders of the great deliverance He has wrought in our lives. We testify as witnesses of His saving mercy toward us. Our hallelujahs are not only directed toward heaven, but also toward our earthly neighbors that they, too, might receive the same mercy and join us in glorifying our God and Savior (2:12). The end goal of evangelism is, then, doxological. Our aim is for more voices to sing the praises of our great Redeemer God. “Let the nations be glad and sing for joy!”[4]

[1] The Jews refused Him who warned them at Sinai (Heb. 12:18-25) and broke the covenant (Psalm 78:36-37) and thus, became for a time “Lo-Ammi” and “Lo-Ruhamah” (“not My people” and “no mercy”) (Hos. 1:6-11; 2:16-23), while the church became in this age “the people of God” and those who “have received mercy.”

[2] Though they rejected God, He promised a future restoration of a remnant (Isaiah 10:20-22; 37:13-32). As God grafted in the Gentiles, so He will re-graft the branches of Israel in the future (Rom. 11:17-29). Thus “all Israel” will be saved (Rom. 9:6-8; 11:26) and be a priesthood when God has restored them (Isaiah 61:6).

[3] The word for ”excellencies” is a-re-tē (ἀρετή) which speaks of virtues or moral excellence (2 Pet. 1:3, 5; Phil. 4:8). The excellence of our God displayed in our redemption is to be the subject of our proclamation.

[4] This is from Psalm 67:4 which expresses the doxological goal of evangelistic proclamation (Psalm 67:1-3).