Who are "his people"?

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birdie

Senior Member
Sep 16, 2014
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Matthew 1:21 says, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

I notice a lot of people on this site interpreting the phrase "his people" and "my people" as cultural Jews only. Jesus' people are so often seen as just cultural Jews rather than anyone he has saved from any background. Who are Jesus' people in the above verse?

Here are some other verses for comparison:

"Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:" (Isa 51:22)

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin,and will heal their land." (2 Chron 7:14)

"From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance." (Psalm 78:71)

"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:3

"For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance." (Psalm 94:14)

"He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend ishis name." (Psalm 111:9)

"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD isround about his people from henceforth even for ever." (Psalm 125:2)

"And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt." (Isaiah 11:16)

"So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand." (Daniel 11:15)

 
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To me the following passage puts this into context:

14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. (Rom 8:14-17)

Here is the description of His people.
Some are ethnic Jews but most are not.
 
Paul says there is no new or gentile no male or female in Christ.
 
Christians are His people.

"...you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9
 
Joh 8:39
 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.




Gen 26:5
 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.

Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
braham
.
 
His people, back then, were the Jews

John 1:11


“He came unto his own, and his own received him not.”

King James Version (KJV)​

Now, people from all nations can be his people.
 
Salvation is of the Jews. We know the rest of the story as the His people, the nation of Israel, would reject their Messiah so the Lord would offer His salvation to the Gentile world. He's not done with His people. There will come a day when "All Israel shall be saved" for this is the covenant He had with His people. But concerning the gospel in this dispensation, the Lord has cut off the nation of Israel to reach the Gentiles.
 
Here are a few verses which separates them and yet unites them

Matthew 1:21:And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall
save his people from their sins.

As Christ was a minister to the circumcision for the truth of God

Matthew 15:24: But he answered and said, I am not sent
but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Who said,

John 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice;
 and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

This one here shows it "his people" this way

1John 2:22 And he is the propitiation for our sins:
and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Romans 15:10 And again he saith,
Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people .

Whereas in Christ given one Spirit to drink (making the two one) in himself

Col 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew , circumcision nor uncircumcision,
Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

....and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
 
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

The conditional action required on the part of a person to prevent him or her soul from perishing, is that his or her soul must "believeth in Him".

The one that you believe in is Jesus Christ. All those that believe in Jesus Christ shall not be turned to ashes at judgment day, but shall have everlasting life. The word "everlasting" is better translated from the Greek text,"eternal", because eternal means "from the very beginning of the creation of that soul, into the eons of infinity of time, there is no break".

What this is saying then, is that the person's soul would not die, but will live from the time that their soul was created in that first earth age, in the distant past, through this earth age, and right into eternity. There would never be any spots of void in the life of that soul. This eliminates the pagan worship of "soul sleep", such as those that teach that when you die, your soul stays in the ground until a so-called rapture. Their very tradition will lead them to the Antichrist in a short time ahead.

When you take the word "everlasting" as used in John 3:16, and go to Strong's Greek dictionary, # 166, we find, "Aion", "Perpetual, of past time, present and future, eternal, from beginning without end." If you believe in Christ, then you will never see nor taste of death, even when your soul sheds this decaying flesh body. There will be no soul sleep.

The serpent that Moses placed on the pole was an example to the Israelites to obey God, and they would be given life by their believing and obeying, and there were no side trips to perform. Jesus is telling us that this is exactly as it is with eternal life. The pole that we look to is the cross that Jesus Christ shed His blood on, and when we look to Him and accept that shed blood for our forgiveness, through repentance, then we have eternal life. When Nicodemus was talking with Jesus here, the crucifixion had not taken place, but Nicodemus would be one of the men that would prepare Christ's body for burial.

It is nice to be baptized because Christ was, but that is not what gives the eternal life. There is membership in the church, with all the other dos and don'ts it sets forth, but they have nothing to do with your eternal salvation. What is important is that you look to the cross that God's only begotten Son died upon, and believe on His only begotten Son, and friend, that is where eternal life comes from; believing in Jesus Christ the only begotten Son.

Don't let people rob you of the simplicity of God's Word, it is simply those that believe in Him and repented in Jesus name that shall not perish, but has eternal life.
 
birdie said:
Matthew 1:21 says, "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."

I notice a lot of people on this site interpreting the phrase "his people" and "my people" as cultural Jews only. Jesus' people are so often seen as just cultural Jews rather than anyone he has saved from any background. Who are Jesus' people in the above verse?

Here are some other verses for comparison:

"Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:" (Isa 51:22)

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin,and will heal their land." (2 Chron 7:14)

"From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance." (Psalm 78:71)

"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." Psalm 100:3

"For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance." (Psalm 94:14)

"He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend ishis name." (Psalm 111:9)

"As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD isround about his people from henceforth even for ever." (Psalm 125:2)

"And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt." (Isaiah 11:16)

"So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand." (Daniel 11:15)
Click to expand...

Jesus said,He was only sent to the lost sheep of Israel,and salvation is of the Jews,and He came unto His own,but His own did not receive Him.

He came to save His people from their sins,Israel,the Jews.

Israel as a nation rejected,Him,which Jesus said the Jews will not see Him again,until they say blessed is He that comes in the name of Lord.

Salvation was available to the Gentiles,which when they receive the Spirit,they become a Jew inward,and become His people.

But in the Old Testament a Gentile could still take hold of that covenant that was given to Israel if they wanted to have that covenant.
 
Mark 3: 34 & 35

And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers
Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Part of the will of God below.

Matthew 6: 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12 & 13


"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

The KJV translation of the prayer has in it "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."
 
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In context of the verse in the OP , His people were the believing Jews and converts.
Now it is all who believe the Gospel of Christ, Gentiles included...

even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"
(Rom 9:24-26)
 
His people are the elect of God, from both Jews and Gentiles. All that the Father gives Him.

John 6:37
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.

1 Peter 2:9-10
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
 
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