Since the dawn of time, it has been our Heavenly Father’s desire to bind together a family of men and women, boys and girls, all lovingly and joyfully attached to Him and to one another. He desires that we belong to Him. And most remarkably, He desires to belong to us.

The phrase “I shall be your God, and you shall be my people” (or its variations) is one of the most profound theological themes in the Old Testament. It expresses the Father’s covenantal relationship with His people unfolding across the biblical narrative in stages of promise, fulfillment, failure, and hope, culminating in a new covenant established by Jesus of Nazareth, who is Immanuel, God with us.

Genesis 17:7 records the Father’s commitment to Abraham, “I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants… to be God to you and to your descendants after you.” This marks the beginning of the covenantal idea: the Father chooses a people and binds Himself to them.

The story of covenant continues in Exodus with the Father’s promise to Moses, “I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God.”¹ This promise is reiterated throughout the Exodus, as the Father delivers Israel from Egypt and formalizes the covenant at Mount Sinai. Israel is called to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation,”² those who are His special people, belonging to Him, consecrated to His worship and His service. The Father’s covenantal commitment is reinforced in Leviticus, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.”³ Before entering the Promised Land, God renews the covenant with His people.

Enter into the covenant of the Lord your God, sworn by an oath, which the Lord your God is making with you today, in order that He may establish you today as His people and that He may be your God, ⁴

The prophets often use this phrase to call Israel back to covenant faithfulness or to promise restoration. Jeremiah cries out on behalf of the Father, “Obey my voice… and I will be your God, and you shall be my people.” ⁵

Ezekiel foretells a new day when by sheer grace the Father will transform His chosen people into those worthy of being “My people.”

I will give them one heart and put a new spirit within them; I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, so that they may follow My statutes and keep My ordinances and obey them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God.⁶

The New Testament reimagines the theme of “I will be your God, and you shall be My people”, reinterpreting it in the light of the fulness of God’s revelation and presence in Jesus Christ. A new covenant is established, one in which God is fully present with His people in the person of His Son and His embrace extends to persons of every nation and every race. In the gospel of Mathew, Jesus is introduced with the astounding claim, “They shall call His name Immanuel (which means, God with us).”⁷ Jesus is the embodiment of God’s covenantal presence. John echoes this astounding claim, introducing Jesus by proclaiming “And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of a Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth..”⁸ And just prior to His ascension, Jesus promises “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”⁹

The early church recognized the expansive and inclusive nature of this new covenant community. Quoting Hosea, Paul writes in Romans, “Those who were not My people I will call ‘My people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”¹⁰ Jesus followers from every people and nation, the Father calls us “beloved.” In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul gives a profound statement of our community identity.

For we are the temple of the living God, as God said,

“I will live in them and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

Therefore come out from them,

and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch nothing unclean;

then I will welcome you,

and I will be your father,

and you shall be my sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.”¹¹

And Peter echoes, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood… once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people.”

Visiting an Ambleside school this week, I have been struck by the many ways in which students were practicing being the Father’s people. At Ambleside, every person is greeted every morning by name with a smile. Assembly or chapel is first thing, with students and teachers gathering for prayer, a word of Scripture, and worship with song. Students then head to Bible class. While such “spiritual” activities are essential for building up the people of God, they are only the beginning. The countless little encounters of the day are what fundamentally shape the hearts of a people.

• The supportive word one student gives to another who is stuck on a math problem.
• The excited, delighted, wondering together at the glory of the sun.
• The sharing of Heidi’s simple goodness and care for all she meets, as read in literature class.
• The grief and even tears shared while reading in the Yearling of the death of Jody Baxter’s dear friend, Fodder-wing.
• The teacher’s supportive word to a student who is struggling to remain his best self.

All of this and so much more teaches us what it means to be the Father’s people. It even shapes us into such a people.

Perhaps, the event that best incarnated what it means to be the Father’s people was a laughter-filled, kindness-filled, love-filled game of “cops and robbers” in which the kindergarten students play the cops frantically, joyfully chasing and capturing all the high school students, who when caught are proudly brought to jail. Once all high school students are incarcerated, a teacher calls jailbreak, and the merriment begins again. Everyone is included, everyone belongs, the strong help the weak, there is high joy, kindergarten students and high school students are learning to be the people of God.

Bill St. Cyr

Co-Founder, Director of Training

Ambleside Schools International