"Now You Are God's People"

"You were once not a people, but now you are God's people." - 1 PETER 2:10.

PENTECOST 33 C.E. was a milestone in the history of Jehovah's people on earth.  A radical change took place.  On that day, by means of his spirit, Jehovah brought forth a new nation-spiritual Israel, "the Israel of God." (Galatians 6:16)  For the first time since the days of Abraham, God's people would no longer be identified by the fleshly circumcision of their males.  Instead, regarding each member of that new nation, Paul wrote:  "His circumcision is that of the heart by spirit." - ROMANS 2:29.

 The first members of God's new nation were the apostles and over a hundred other disciples of Christ who had met together in an upper room in Jerusalem.  (Acts 1:12-15)  These received the outpouring of the holy spirit, which made them spirit-begotten sons of God.  (Romans 8:15, 16; 2 Corinthians 1:21) This gave proof that the new covenant had gone into operation, mediated by Christ and validated by his blood.  (Luke 22:20; Read Hebrews 9:15) These disciples thus became members of Jehovah's new nation, his new people. Holy spirit enabled them to preach in different languages spoken buy the Jews and proselytes  who had come to Jerusalem from throughout the Roman Empire to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost.  These people heard and understood in their tongue "the magnificent things of God" preached by the spirit-begotten Christians.  - Acts 2:1-11. 

Next time: "Now You Are God's People" - THE NEW PEOPLE OF GOD

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