When you think about the words that you use to describe yourself, what words come to mind? Recently I woke up to a message on my phone from a friend in Australia who referred to me as: Warrior Son of the Most-High God, Legend and Champion of Champions. I’m not going to lie, the words he used to describe me were shocking and I honestly felt really uncomfortable.

But isn’t that the way it usually goes for any of us when someone speaks well of us? Isn’t there something kind of broken inside the inner self-talk of our hearts and minds, where instead of building ourselves up we tear ourselves down? And isn’t interesting to think about the fact that we often listen to ourselves more than we preach to ourselves?

One of the things I love to do is to refer to my wife and daughters as beautiful, loved and treasured because I know that those words are the exact opposite of what our enemy speaks into their hearts on a regular basis. The same is true with my son; I love to remind him that he is bold, loved and treasured because he often believes he is weak, unlovable and unwanted.

So, when you think about the words that you use to describe yourself, what comes to mind? Isn’t it interesting to think about how the words we use to describe ourselves are really a direct reflection of what we not only believe about ourselves but what we actually believe about God?

Most of us begin following Jesus with the understanding that we are new creations in Christ Jesus who have been saved by grace, through faith, in the finished work of Christ, according to the Scriptures, for the glory of God alone.

But somewhere, (typically early in our journeys) we begin believing that if we are good believers then everything will go well for us: the finances will be overflowing, the addictions will no longer have a hold on us, our families won’t be broken, our friendships will blossom and sickness or disease will not affect us; everything will be sunshine and rainbows; rainbows and unicorns.

But it doesn’t take long to realize that living as broken people in a broken world doesn’t get any easier the day we begin to follow Jesus, it gets harder. And then we begin to question the goodness, the faithfulness, the kindness and the sovereign love of our Heavenly Father. And when our mistrust of our Heavenly Father doesn’t fix the confusion we feel inside we begin to listen to the voice of our enemy as he speaks to us through shame, guilt and condemnation.

This is why I ask: when you think about the words you use to describe yourself, what comes to mind? Will you be honest with the Lord about this? See, at the end of the day, what I’m getting after here, is our identity, who we believe we are which is based upon who we believe God is. This is the beauty of the book of First Peter because all throughout this book, Peter is going to line up the sights of his laser on the identity of his readers in light of the identity of the God they claim to follow as he gives practical instruction on how to live as hope-filled exiles in a hostile world.

1 PETER 1:1 – 2

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1: THE IDENTITY OF THE AUTHOR (VS. 1)

When Peter says that he is “an apostle of Jesus Christ” (vs. 1) he’s not just throwing around titles. He’s speaking to the churches from his identity as someone who was called to follow Jesus and then sent by Jesus with the message of the gospel. Simply stated he is reminding his hearers that his identity – who he believes he is – is undeniably rooted in his calling and commissioning as a disciple of Jesus Christ.

When I think about this, I am reminded that Peter is the one who denied Christ three times on the night of our Savior’s death. On the same night, Judas betrayed Jesus and then killed himself because of the shame, guilt and condemnation he felt. Two men; two different outcomes.

No doubt, later after the resurrection, Peter had probably felt the shame, guilt and condemnation of his own betrayal when Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved him. Yet here he is, identifying himself as an apostle (literally: sent one) of Jesus Christ. Peter knew that any words of guilt, shame or condemnation were not from his Savior, so he identified himself as his Savior saw him: an apostle, called and sent by the one who redeemed him from his sin. So, I ask this again, when you think about the words you use to describe yourself, what comes to mind?

2: THE IDENTITY OF THE RECIPIENTS (VS. 1)

When Peter refers to his listeners as “those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” (vs. 1) he’s using three identifying words: elect (chosen), exiles (outsiders) and dispersion (scattered). Think about those three words: Chosen, Outsider, Scattered. Those three words don’t feel like they are compatible. They don’t feel like words you would use together to describe the identity of a believer in Christ.

Think about the picture of adopting a child from a third world country and once the adoption is complete you refer to your new child as the child you chose who is an outsider and is scattered or disconnected. Wouldn’t it seem weird to refer to your child this way? Think about those three words from a different perspective for a minute.

Do you ever wonder why God would choose you in all of your imperfections and your failures? When do you feel the most alone; like you are standing outside the party while everyone else is inside having a blast? Where do you feel the most relationally disconnected: friends, marriage, family, church, work? Don’t all of these realities (chosen, outsider, scattered) feel more than a little incompatible and confusing? But don’t they describe the makeup of our experience?

It seems like there is a ton of tension between these three words: chosen, outsider, scattered. But that’s the beauty of the book of First Peter. There’s beauty in the tension between these three words because in this letter, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ (vs. 1), nails these three words together into a seamless I-beam that acts like the floor joists of the book; this letter is literally built upon these three words: chosen, outsider, scattered.2

The beauty of these three words is that they are meant to remind Peter’s listeners (and us) of our identity in Christ Jesus. In Christ, we have been chosen by our good, patient and kind Father to be his possessions. In Christ, we live in this world as outsiders who are looking forward to full restoration in Heaven. In Christ, we are scattered across this world holding onto the hope of eternal union with Christ.

When I fall into sin, it’s easy to forget that I have been chosen by a good, patient and kind Father. When I feel all alone as an outsider, it’s easy to forget that God has given me his very own Spirit; I may be a lonely outsider on this earth but I look forward to heaven where every outsider becomes an eternal insider. When I feel scattered or torn to pieces, I need to remember that I am a scattered son of God who awaits future glory in eternity. So, once again, when you think about the words you use to describe yourself, what comes to mind?

3: THE IDENTITY OF GOD (VS. 2)

When Peter tells his listeners that he is an apostle of Jesus Christ and that they are chosen, outsiders who are scattered, he says that all of these identifying words are “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood” and furthermore he prays that“grace and peace be multiplied to you” (vs. 2).

In summary, Peter’s identity and his listeners’ identities are all established by their all-knowing Father who purifies them through the work of the Spirit so that they might be conformed into the image of the Savior whose blood has washed them white as snow. Anything that is contrary to this is an anti-gospel of works that takes the attention away from the only work that is eternal in the shed blood, broken body and eternal promise of Christ Jesus! It is our Triune God who sovereignly establishes the godly identity of every believer who is chosen to live outside the norms of this world as they look forward to the hope of Heaven. So, I ask again: when you think about the words you use to describe yourself, what comes to mind?

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion I want you to think about this: if God knows everything and is using everything to conform his children into the image of Christ, then what do we have to fear? If nothing can separate us from the love of the Father in Christ Jesus, then everything we experience in this life is meant to shape us into the image of Christ.

Therefore, we can find rest, healing and assurance in the truth that our identity in Christ (called, sent, chosen, outsiders, scattered) … this identity in Christ is stable and steadfast because the One who declares it over us is stable and steadfast, not shifting and never changing.

God the Father is patient, kind, just, loving, gracious and merciful. What he says about us matters more than anything we say about ourselves. This is why Peter prays that Grace and peace will be multiplied to us; it is by God’s grace and peace that we receive what he says about us while rejecting what Satan, Sin and Death say about us. And the conduits of God’s grace and peace are multiplied to us in the shadow of a bloody cross, in the doorway of an empty tomb in light of the hope of Heaven.

When you leave here today, I pray that you hold fast to the truth that God is all-knowing, he is purifying you in whatever circumstances you find yourself in and he wants to help you become more obedient to Christ who saved you by his work at the cross.

Whatever words you’ve been using to describe yourself, I pray that you would receive this from the Lord today as his Word over you: We are exiles living hope-filled in a hostile world. You are called to be sent by God as his chosen outsider to reach other scattered people until the day of Christ’s return.

In the meantime, may God’s grace and peace be multiplied to you in the finished work of Christ at the cross of Calvary… in the victory of the empty tomb… in light of the promise of complete restoration in Heaven. What words will you use to describe yourself when you leave here today? – Let’s pray!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

2 David R. Helm, 1 and 2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, ESV Edition, 2008), 23.