You Are a Chosen Race (1 Peter 2:9)

 According to the Bible (Genesis 3:20), all humans descend from Adam; '[God] made from one man every nation of mankind' (Acts 17:26). The Adamic race is the human race, as we are all descendants of Adam and share a common humanity in him. 

In the 18th and 19th centuries, physical anthropologists, influenced by the emerging field of evolutionary biology, rejected the Biblical account of the world's creation. They saw race as a biological concept, leading to erroneous human classifications and divisions. This false view helped to justify people's beliefs that some races were inferior to others. 

Modern science, particularly genetics and paleontology, has since provided compelling evidence that all humans share a common ancestry. This evidence includes the similarity of our DNA, the fossil record, and the geographical distribution of human populations.

People understand 'race differently now. Race now refers to any one of the groups divided by physical characteristics regarded as common among people of shared ancestry.

God's Chosen Race

So what does Peter mean when he says God's people are a "chosen race"?  

God sees all of humanity through two men. Each of these two men serves as representatives of two humanities or 'races' if you will, except that these two people groups are not defined by or categorized by physical traits. The difference between these two races is a spiritual one. 

The Adamic Race: In Adam, all Die

The Bible tells us that "[Adam's] trespass led to condemnation for all men" (Romans 5:18, ESV). Everyone comes into this world as a descendant of Adam. As his descendants, we are born into a humanity that is not only alienated from God, but we are hostile towards him, too (Romans 7). God provided a way to rescue us from our spiritually fallen condition. God had warned Adam that he would die if he sinned, and when he did, God's word proved true. He told Adam, "You [will] return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). Therefore, "in Adam all die" (1 Corinthians 15:21–22, ESV). "The first man was from the earth, a man of dust" and "as was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust" (1 Corinthians 15:47–50, ESV). Therefore, if we remain "in Adam," which means we stay unrepentant from sin and decide we do not want to be "in Christ," then our fate will be a second death; "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23, ESV). 

In Christ, all shall be made Alive.

God's solution was for another man to represent us, a man who is sinless and perfectly at peace with God. God the Son became a man through the incarnation to establish a new and redeemed humanity. After living a perfectly sinless and righteous life, Jesus went to the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, but on the third day, "God raised him from the dead" (Acts 13:30). Paul explains it this way, "For as by a man [Adam] came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive." (1 Corinthians 15:21–22, ESV). 

Becoming a member of God's chosen race is not about physical lineage or ethnicity. It is a spiritual transformation that occurs when we repent from sin and place our faith in Christ. This is why the Bible says, 'God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.' (Colossians 1:13–14, ESV)

Self-Examination Questions

Are you still in Adam? Have you received God's gift of eternal life by trusting Christ? If you have, take a moment to pray a prayer of thanksgiving. Remember, the choice to be part of God's chosen race is a personal one, and it comes with the responsibility to live a life that reflects this chosen status.