Through the voice of the prophet, Hosea, God says that He will call the people who are not His, His and that they will call Him their God (Hosea 2:23). God through the Apostle Paul, takes this further by expressing that not only will he address us as His people, but He will call us His Beloved, which was not beloved (Romans 9:25).
We who are vile in our sinfulness can be only made blameless and pure by the blood of Jesus Christ. When we believe in Jesus Christ, as the One and Only true God, He takes us who are like trash/filthy (our righteousness is like filthy rags) and makes us His peculiar treasure (Exodus 19:5). He turns our rebellious heart into a repentant one, making us lovable, so much so that He can address us not only as His people, but as His very own BELOVED.
But, what does it mean to be called the Beloved of God?
Besides the fact, that the Beloved of God will BE-LOVED by Him, closer introspection of this text in Romans, reveal a fabulous hidden truth in it. When God addressed His Only begotten Son, Jesus, He called Him, beloved as he promulgated “This is my BELOVED son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5). When he addresses us as His beloved, He is not merely addressing us but adopting us. We will be called BELOVED; We will be called the CHILDREN of the living God.
The question that remains then is this, can God tell of us, “I am well pleased with you?” as He did of Jesus. Let us be imitators (followers) of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1) , so that when God calls us Beloved (which was not), He can also say, “I am well pleased with you!”
Romans 9:25-26 (KJV)
25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.
26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God.
