"Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." 1 Peter 2:10
I've been reading 1 Peter in preparation for a preaching class on the book this spring. One literary feature the Bible sometimes uses is to explain the same concept in two different ways, back to back, one right after another. As a classmate reminded me, the fancy lingo that is used to describe this is epexegesis, "the addition of a word or words to explain a preceding word or sentence."
I wonder if that is what is happening in this verse. I'd argue that Peter is emphasizing that God is showing us mercy by making us his people. These aren't unrelated. Once we have become God's people, he watches over and cares for us, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7. That's an astonishing statement, that God himself cares for you.
Consider that today: God has made Christians his people which means our anxieties are on his radar screen. He is working out a plan better than we can imagine as we trust Christ.
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