The book of Revelation is all about God’s people and where He is taking them. In the first three chapters, we saw Jesus walking among His people, the church. So who are God’s people? We must go back to the beginning of the Bible and look at God’s people throughout history.
God created Adam and Eve, but they sinned against Him. God promised them a Messiah, a Deliverer. Adam and Eve believed in the coming Messiah. They were God’s first people. Since then, there are two camps for all humanity – those who believe in God and those who don’t.
Later, God chose Abraham to be the father of a nation of God’s people. God promised a Messiah to Abraham and his family. Abraham’s physical descendants are the nation of Israel. God promised that the Messiah would come from Israel.
Skipping ahead, God chose King David. God promised that the Messiah would come through the line of King David.
All of these people broke their promise to God and sinned against Him. But God never rejected them. He does not reject His people.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He chose 12 Jews to be His people. Then God’s Gospel message became available to Gentiles in addition to Jews. Before Jesus died, He promised that He would send the Holy Spirit. This happened at Pentecost, a festival that took place just a few weeks after Jesus was resurrected. The Holy Spirit now indwells every believer at his or her moment of conversion.
While now there are more Gentiles than Jews in God’s family, by grace He always keeps a remnant of Jewish believers.
God’s people are any people who hear His message of salvation through Christ and then believe in Him as their only way to eternal life.
In Ephesians 4, Paul tells God’s people how to live in unity and how to mature. We become more like Christ by using our spiritual gifts and by having a new attitude of relating to people. We must see everyone as God sees us.
Things to Think About
- God chose believers before the creation of the world to be His people. God delights in His people, and they are His treasured possession.
- God’s love is so outrageous that He adopts broken people.
- Who will I tell about God’s outrageous love? To whom will I show God’s outrageous love?
- God’s people have a unified mission of spreading the Gospel.