1Pet 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people acquired for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; Acts 26:16 But rise up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a minister and a witness both of the things in which you have seen Me and of the things in which I will appear to you;
[Part 2 of 2] The virtues here are excellent attributes, acts, and behavior. God has many virtues. For example, He is merciful. To be merciful is a virtue. God is also loving. He even loves sinners. This love is another of God's virtues. All the excellent divine attributes are the virtues of God. We need to tell out, to proclaim abroad, these excellent virtues. When the Lord Jesus was on earth, Peter and the other disciples saw His virtues. At least once, on the mount of transfiguration, they saw the Lord's glory. Seeing Christ's virtues was a daily occurrence. Whatever the Lord did was an excellent act full of virtue. Christ's excellencies are great in number. Every day the Lord Jesus manifested His virtues, and Peter saw this. Later, Peter wrote that we have been called by the Lord's virtue and glory. This indicates that Peter himself had been attracted by the virtue and glory of the Lord. Furthermore, he was called to this virtue and glory. Therefore, he is one with the Lord in virtue and in glory. The apostles proclaimed the virtues of the Lord. They preached them, they taught them, and they announced them. Whatever the apostles preached and taught was a telling out of the virtues they had seen and enjoyed. It was a proclaiming abroad of the virtues in which they had participated. This is what it means to tell out God's excellencies. Today we need to follow the apostles to tell out the excellent virtues of the Lord. (c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of First Peter, pp. 157-158. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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