What is the chosen race (1 Peter 2:9)?

The apostle Peter wrote the book 1 Peter to Christians scattered throughout Asia Minor (1 Peter 1:1–2). In a key passage in the book, he describes their identity in Jesus Christ using four terms. He writes, “But 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). The phrase chosen race refers to all Christians, both Jew and Gentile, who are united as God’s people in Jesus.

Peter’s first readers were living as social and spiritual outsiders in the Roman culture. This identity as God’s chosen people would have been a meaningful reminder that they belonged to Him, even as society rejected them. Peter urged them to leave behind their old ways of living and to embrace their new identity as God’s people through Jesus Christ.

In the context of 1 Peter 2:9, the apostle contrasts Christians and non-Christians. He explains that non-Christians have rejected Jesus and God’s Word. He describes them as stumbling “because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for” (1 Peter 2:7–8). But Christians are different. They are a “chosen race.” This description doesn’t refer to their ethnicity, as Christians consisted of Jews and Gentiles from many nations (see Acts 2:9–10). Believers’ identity is rooted in God’s sovereign and gracious election for His special purposes.

The phrase chosen race comes from the Old Testament. On Mount Sinai, God said to the Israelites, “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5–6). Moses later reaffirmed Israel’s identity as God’s people in Deuteronomy 7:6, saying, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” In the Old Testament, the concept of a chosen race referred to the Jewish people, but the New Testament applies this description to the church.

The word chosen suggests that salvation for all people, Jew and Gentile alike, is according to God’s grace, received through faith in Jesus. Thus, salvation is not based on good works or racial background. The Old Testament makes this clear regarding Israel. Moses writes, “The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors” (Deuteronomy 7:7–8a).

The New Testament affirms the same truth concerning the church. Paul writes, “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:26–27).

In addition, the New Testament teaches that all Christians comprise one united “race” of people. In this sense, race doesn’t refer to ethnicity but to shared origin, beliefs, values, and practices. The unity Jews and Gentiles have in Jesus is stronger than any racial divide. For instance, Paul writes that Jesus “has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier” and that His purpose was “to create in himself one new humanity out of the two” (Ephesians 2:14–15). He also says, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him” (Romans 10:12).

At the end of 1 Peter 2:9, the apostle says Christians are a chosen race so they “may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” Jews and Gentiles are both born in darkness, as all people have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). But, through His death and resurrection, Jesus offers salvation to all, reconciling them to God and to one another, so that together they may declare His praises (cf. Revelation 7:9–10).