You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
During the period of the Old Testament, Israel was God’s people, God’s chosen nation; but now all believers are God’s people, regardless of race. They pass from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. They have received God’s mercy, and their task now is to tell others about the great and merciful acts of God (9-10; cf. Exodus 19:4-6).