As those committed to serving the Church of Christ and publicizing its message, we cannot but be interested in what people think of the Church. The popular verdict is not difficult to discover. We don't have to hire professional pollsters to interview men in the streets, for we know only too well, that very few men in the streets become also men in the pew. To the vast majority of our fellow-countrymen the Church is an irrelevance — a hangover from the past, outdated, out of touch with the realities of the present day, perhaps even discredited: discredited by the lack of consensus within the Church as to what it is and what its message to mankind should be.

So we seem to be back to the era of John the Baptist. We, like him, are voices crying in the wilderness. The environment is unfriendly, people listen only spasmodi­cally as prompted by passing fashion, our message is rejected. Our passing will cause no public mourning. Social workers, health board chairmen, hospital trust managers are much more relevant to the life of people today. Ministers of Christ? Well, no doubt they're well-meaning — most of them may be sincere. But they're no-hopers. Their time is past. Don't let your son go into the ministry. All that is pretty bruising to those who have com­mitted themselves to the service of the Church. If we listen to these voices we'll get depressed, we may reach the depth of despair. We may feel like giving up.

But who will help us? Who will encourage us? Who will perk us up to fulfil our ministry with conviction, confidence and assur­ance of ultimate triumph? We've listened long enough to what people say. We've been too receptive of the gloomy, dismissive verdicts of those outside. Let's listen again to God's estimate of the Church. It was pro­nounced by Peter against such a background as we have noted. The people who might have been expected to be receptive of Christ, his Church and his message were the very ones who repudiated him. They claimed not to have done this ignorantly or impul­sively without due considera­tion. They claimed to have weighed up the matter. They applied valid criteria and they devalued and rejected Christ. But God exalted the one they rejected. The stone which the builders rejected was made the capstone — its importance was publicly demonstrated. And the importance of the Church built on this stone is publicly announced. You who com­prise the Church "are a chosen generation..."

Before reflecting briefly on the assertions made here — assertions which proclaim God's high and honourable assessment of his Church, I want to emphasise the fact that the honours belong to every part of the true Church of Christ. It's very easy for us to become euphoric about the ideal Church — what we sometimes call the Invisible Church, the Bride of Christ, the company of the faithful who will, in the consumma­tion, be presented faultless before the throne of God.

We may indeed close our eyes to the shortcomings and failure of the empirical Church of our daily lives by recourse to this image. But that won't do. The Church which Peter envisaged here comprised groups of people scattered here and there throughout Galatia, Cappadocia and Bithynia. And what interests and encourages me is that it is to those scattered groups that the apostle applies the honourable descriptions of our text. All of the dignities and glories that belong to the total Church of Christ, belong to the various parts and communities that com­prise it.

In writing to Timothy Paul was concerned to show how people should behave, not in relation to some ideal abstraction, but "in God's household, which is the Church of the Living God, the pillar and foundations of the truth". C. S. Lewis drew attention to the sense of incongruity people feel when they relate the actual worshippers in the congregation, especially those with boots that squeak or voices that sing out of tune, when they relate these to the concept of the Bride of Christ. But that sense of incongruity arises precisely because we fail to appreciate the full magnitude of the miracle of grace. For the miracle of grace is that God is in the midst of his people, wherever they gather: whether there be just two or three or a great multitude. God is in the midst in the full panoply of majesty. He beatifies his people with his own self. That is what trans­forms our concept of any and every congregation of those who truly call upon the name of the Lord. For there you have "a chosen genera­tion, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people for God's special persuasion". So let us think of ourselves, think nobly, think heavenly, think positively of the honours bestowed by God. Then the world's opinion polls won't hold us in the doldrums — we'll address ourselves with the energy of the Spirit to the conquest of the scorning world.

Thinking positively and heavenly we think God's thoughts after him. So let's reflect on:

1. God's descrip­tion of his Church; and
2. God's Programme for his Church, as shown to us here by Peter.

No doubt what Peter gives is one aspect of the Church's being and mission. This is not an exhaustive statement but it is a highly significant and encouraging one. Of course, in applying his statements to the Church we focus on those who truly follow our Lord Jesus Christ.

God's Description of His Church⤒🔗

The basic truth asserted in all the statements made here is that God claims the Church for himself. The Church belongs to him. It is his own. No rival claim can be considered. Quite fre­quently in Old and New Testament the relationship between God and the Church is described in terms of marriage, and the marriage relationship in Biblical terms is not com­patible with a plurality of partners. God claims the Church as his own as a husband claims his wife as his own.

Now observe how this truth is variously presented in this passage. In four dis­tinct ways God claims the Church for His own.

1. The Church is His own by choice←↰⤒🔗

Paul highlights this fact when speaking about believers in Thessalonica for whom he gives thanks because "from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth". The emphasis is upon God's initiative in gathering together a people for him­self. If you think of mankind self-betrayed, lying in the wicked one, usurped by evil powers, you think in terms of hopelessness and wretch­edness. Hope is gone; there is nothing but the frustration of despair. But God...! But God who is rich in mercy chooses out of the depraved and helpless mass a people for himself. What a change he brings about in them. They are changed in nature, in status, in outlook, in ambition and activity. They were not a people —there was no coherence, no real sense of identity or purpose in life. But now they are a people. Now they know who and what they are. They make this their boast. We belong to God. We are his — known to him individually and collectively. We can't tell why. It was not a matter of our personal worth for we were worthless. But he made us people of worth. He put an infinite value on us and redeemed us to himself. No matter what we look like in the eyes of the world — we are a choice people. God has chosen us for his own.

2. The Church is His own by consecration←↰⤒🔗

It is "a Royal Priest­hood". Two strands of honour and dignity are bound together here, both involving consecration to God, that of kingship and priesthood. In the ideal situation the king represents the authority of God exer­cised for the wellbeing, peace and prosperity of his subjects: and the priest is the living link with God, the channel of divine favour and blessing. King and Priest are both dedicated to God and responsible to mediate his truth and law and saving grace to people in general. The world does not know how dependent it is upon the existence and activity of the Christian Church. The world thinks it can get along very well without the Church in its midst. But think of Sodom and Gomorrah. The lack of ten righteous men — the lack of the Church of God or the removal of the remnants of the Church of God spelt disaster. I make so bold as to say that if God should remove his Church entirely from the world, the world would perish. The common grace of God sustains the world in being for the very purpose of the ingathering of his chosen people to be to him a king­dom of priests and to be in the world as salt and light.

As consecrated to God we have a dignity that should make us lift up our heads — we have authority to summon the world to its original allegiance to God, and we have a ministry of intercession to exercise on behalf of a world that does not know its danger and loss. We belong to God by His consecration.

3. The Church is His own by separation←↰⤒🔗

"A holy nation." In the exercise of his divine choice God summons people to himself and consecrates them to his service. Some­times the emphasis is upon God's "calling out" — like he called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees; like he separated Israel from the other nations to be a people for his name, to be instructed in his truth, to be the recipients of the living oracles of God. God makes his people different from the world and it is of the utmost importance that that difference should be main­tained. Just as one of the besetting temptations of Israel in Old Testament times was to be like the nations around them, so one of the besetting temptations of the Church is to be like the world. The Church may feel that it should ingratiate itself with the world. It should placate the world's anger and scorn and suspi­cion. It should be accom­modating. Too easily is John's injunction forgotten:

Love not the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Very often, in the name of culture, the counsel is: "merge with: identify with" and it is forgotten that in some areas Christian culture and world culture can only meet in head-on collision.

God requires that we never lose our identity as his people. Separation to God is of the essence of holiness. Our fundamental loyalty is to God — the fundamental loyalty of the world is to the spirit who works in the chil­dren of disobedience. The world has a conviction of self-competence and indigenous authority. The people of God have a con­viction of total dependence on the grace of God and of total submission to the authority of God. As God's nation we are bound to fill the earth with his glory — that is the reason for our existence. For that God has separated us from the world to be his own.

4. The Church is His own by possession←↰⤒🔗

"A people belonging to God." It is impossible for us to appreciate the intensity of God's delight in his people — the sheer strength of his possessiveness. He himself declared, what we would not have dared articulate: "I am a jealous God", just so that we should understand how utterly impossible and unthinkable it is that we should have any other God in his sight. And this is not the language of an impoverished God. The earth belongs to the Lord and all in it. The whole creation is his. The hosts of unfallen angels who serve him constantly are his. There is nothing in heaven above or in earth below which does not belong to him. And yet in all that there is no possession in which God takes more delight than in the Church, the people redeemed by the blood of his Son. This is something we find it difficult to take in. Paul made it part of his prayer for the Ephesians that "the eyes of their hearts would be enlightened that they might know the hope to which God had called them, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints and his incomparably great power for us who believe". The riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints! What does this mean? It sur­passes our mere intelligence. That is why Paul reckons it to be appreciated only by the heart. It is not just the riches of glory which God has deposited with the saints, but it is the fact that God considers his people purchased by Christ to be riches valued above all else in cre­ation. That is God's estimate of his people. That explains what Christ taught about how zealously and at what cost he protects his people. "No-one can snatch them out of my hand... No-one can snatch them out of my Father's hand." That is how securely God holds on to his people.

God's Programme for His Church←⤒🔗

We have time now only to reflect very briefly on the programme set for the Church as described by Peter. It is "that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of dark­ness into his wonderful light". We can sum up this programme in three ways.

1. It is to advertise the praises of God;
2. It is to exhibit the distinction between darkness and light; and,
3. It is to demonstrate the joy of salvation.

1. To advertise the praises of God←↰⤒🔗

This is heavenly work and the world surely needs heavenly work of this sort. We advertise not only the power and wisdom of God the Creator, which is the song of Creation. It is of this that the heavens "day after day pour forth speech, night after night display know­ledge". We hear a good deal today about the need to be in tune with nature — to be sensitive to what affects the natural environment. Well, we are in tune with nature when we declare the praises of the Creator, for, "since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen".

But we have a song of a new creation that advertises the infinite love and compas­sion of the God who rescues ruined humanity. This is a work of grace — so costly that it meant the pouring out of the blood of God's own Son — that has heaven itself resounding to songs of praise. Yes, and this poor ruined world, catching an echo of that song of praise, revives for now it knows that "the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the chil­dren of God". Is it not a great honour and privilege to be part of the chorus that sings this song of praise.

To him who loves us, and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and ever.

2. To exhibit the distinction between darkness and light←↰⤒🔗

You would think this would be an easy task and you would never dream that it could ever embarrass anyone to do something as plain and obvious as to point up the differences between darkness and light. But experience shows us that sometimes light is unbear­able — even painful — and so unwelcome, for men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Light that just exposes can hurt. But light that exposes and heals is necessary and kindly. So it is a kindly mission on which we are sent when we are told to be lights in the world. Let people see in our behaviour that the God who is light and in whom is no darkness at all is the God to be loved. He comes to heal, to make whole, to open blind eyes. What a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the light of the sun. What a pleasant thing for us to be light — bearers in the dark­ness of this world.

3. To demonstrate the joy of salvation←↰⤒🔗

We've been reflecting on a very happy programme which God has assigned to his Church. Praising is delightful, praising invites us to break into song. And God has put a new song in our mouths.

Though convincing people that the light that is in them is darkness may at first sight seem to be harsh and unfeel­ing, the ultimate — when the light of the glory of God shines into the heart — is joy and peace. Let us assure people: we bring you good tidings. Let us be happy in the happiness of the message we have been given to proclaim. That's why Paul says and repeats: "Rejoice in the Lord". Joy is attractive, joy is infective. Let the true joy of the gospel be evident in us and we may be sur­prised to find how many of those scornful men in the street will become eager to know the secret of our joy. Our joy is that God has made us his own.