222. His People, Our God
1 Chronicles 17:22 For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, Lord, becamest their God.
This constant theme runs through the Scriptures: “You shall be my people and I shall be your God.” There are two promises included here that are two sides of the same coin. God promises that all the believers in Christ, in both OT times and NT times, both Jews and Gentiles, will always and ever be God’s own people. And God promises that He will always and ever be our God.
We are God’s people. That promise is the basis of the eternal covenant. God makes me, and all believers in Christ, His responsibility. God is responsible for me as a dependent and helpless child. It is like a man and a woman who have a child together. Each takes on a responsibility for the new life that is born to them. At least, that is how it should be. We take it as a destructive sin when one or the other parent does not take responsibility for his or her children. Assuming this responsibility is a vital necessity for that new life to grow up to become a mature, responsible, happy, useful and productive adult person. A baby or young child’s only job is to obey his or her parents so that they can responsibly do a good job of nurturing, protecting and providing. The child is free to play and enjoy life under such care. So it is with us as children of God.
God is our God. That promise is on our side of the equation. We will have no other gods before the Lord (in place of Him). We will have no other gods beside the Lord, (alongside of Him). This is our responsibility, as dear children, to fear, love, and trust In God above all things. This “thou shalt” is both a command and a promise. God commands us to make the Lord alone our only God, and to the degree that we do so it will go well with us. And God promises us (“you shall”) that we will do this. The promise is fulfilled when we believe the Gospel and the Spirit makes Jesus our Lord and our God and Him only do we serve and obey. But just as human children sin and disobey parents, so do the spiritual children of the heavenly Father; however, God promises that He will always be our Father and our God, even though we fail Him.