Davar Kingdom of God - The Blessings of Sonship

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it (Mat 11:12).

We, as heirs of God, have come to inherit the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is where God's will and his good work of salvation, such as health and prosperity, love and peace, and the restoration of what was lost or destroyed, are being done. John the Baptist in his ministry taught the Jews that having Abraham as their (external) father would not automatically make them God's heirs, and preached the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. As a result, many had come to inherit the kingdom of God by seeking God's righteousness. Jesus saw it, and described it as in the above scripture. Obviously, the same result and phenomenon were seen in the ministry of Jesus who took over that of John.

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. … people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, … followed him (4:23-25).

Here, we see a very important truth that we need to know if we desire to live as God's heirs. God's kingdom is something we must seek in order to lay hold of it. Be aware that the kingdom of God in this sense is not the heaven that you will enter when you finish your life on earth. For heaven, you do not need to fight, but for the spiritual kingdom of God on earth, you need to fight and take it by the force of your faith. Even if you are entitled to all the blessings promised in the Bible as God's heir, no blessings will come to you automatically without seeking and taking them by faith. And this truth leads us to another important truth: that is, God has called all of us who are believers to be the forceful men and women who would go out and lay hold of God's kingdom, not only for ourselves, but also for our family members, friends, and the others around us. Believers are all, in this sense, warriors for God's kingdom, who go out to the places where Satan and all his spiritual forces are at work, and fight against them so that the kingdom of God be built there. In fact, this task of God's heirs is well illustrated in the story of the sending of spies to the Promised Land and its aftermath.

The Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders (Num 13:1-2)."

The land that had been promised to them would not be given to them automatically. God sent spies to the land to see if the people would desire to possess it or not. They had to desire it, and were required to go and take it by force. Yet, to our surprise, they did not desire it, and refused to possess it.

All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert (14:2-3)!

Having been filled with fear and complaints, they dumped the promise of God together will all the blessings they were about to receive. And they did not realize that it was a great rebellion against God.

The Lord said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them (v. 11)?"

As the people of Israel came out of Egypt to enter and take the Promised Land, we believers were saved from the world in order to lay hold of God's kingdom. Let us be strong and courageous like Joshua and Caleb who said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it!"

It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith (Rom 4:13).

In order for a man to be an heir of God, he must be righteous before God. With sin, no one can be an heir before God, and the promises of blessings given in the Bible are totally irrelevant to the unrighteous according to the Bible.

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10).

This principle can be observed in the stories of Genesis that we looked at earlier: for instance, we saw how Adam and Eve were driven out the Garden of Eden when they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, how Cain became a wanderer when he killed Abel, how all the wicked people died at the time of Noah's flood, and how Ham and his sons, Canaanites, were cursed by Noah after the flood. Thus, the righteousness of God and the eligibility to be an heir of God are inseparable in the Bible. And it is on the basis of this principle that Paul argues in Romans:

What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness (Rom 4:3)."

Again, Paul's interpretation of the story of Abraham in Gen 15 is very unique, and it is worth exploring it.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body (internal part) will be your heir (Gen 15:4)."

The Hebrew word for "your own body" is me'eh, and it means internal organs or the internal part of being, and thus, the "heir" here refers collectively to the descendants of spiritual birth rather than the biological descendants of Abraham. In other words, those coming from the internal part of Abraham are the ones who believe in their heart and are justified (Rom 10:10)—those that have experienced the spiritual rebirth by believing the reality of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all (Rom 4:16).

There is no longer the difference between the Jews and the Gentiles. We, believers in Christ, are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, segullah—God's treasured possession, and an excellent people. All the blessings promised to Abraham are ours, and we are a blessing as he was: those who bless us will be blessed through us. The status of humans as heirs of the universe at the beginning of creation has been completely restored in Christ.

… so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:7).

What is crucial for us, therefore, is that we should stand completely and firmly upon the fact that we have become the righteousness of God through the death and resurrection of Christ. When doubt comes, the sense of guilt comes in, and we stop living as heirs of God: as birds of prey begin to fly over us, we end up being Satan's prey.

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there (Gen 11:1-2).

This is how the story of the Tower of Babel begins. The significance of this story becomes highlighted when it is compared with the story of Abram in chapter 12. While people moved eastward from Mt. Ararat to the region of Shinar (northwest of the Persian Gulf) to settle there, Abram moved westward from Ur in Shinar to the land of Canaan (11:31), and it was by the Lord's command that he did so.

The Lord had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you (12:1)."

On the other hand, in the case of the Tower of Babel, it was by their own choice that they tried to build a town and a tower that would reach to the heaven, which is well expressed in the following words:

They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks (for ourselves) and bake them thoroughly." … Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth (11:3-4)."

Note that the subject of the verbs is always "we," and everything was "for ourselves." In contrast to this, the emphasis in the story of Abram is placed upon the will and wish of the Lord:

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing (lit. be a blessing!). I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you (12:2-3).

Here, the subject of the verbs is "I," and the rare use of the imperative form of Be-verb, "be a blessing!" indicates the strong wish of the speaker upon his partner. And noteworthy is the last statement, "and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you," which implies that these people will be gathered again and become one. The exact opposite of this happened in the Tower of Babel incident: the people tried to be one, but they were scattered.

The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same (lit. one) language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other (11:6-7)."

Apparently, God did not like the way they tried to be one by building a city and a tower (note the sarcasm in "let us go down"). What was wrong about it? In fact, here is the core (eye) of the sins of humanity (cf. Zech 5:6). It is important to keep in mind the fact that after the loss of the Garden of Eden, the world existed with no spiritual connection with God (an axis or a center that connects the heaven and the earth), and humans who were wandering in the land with no connection with God could not be heirs of God. Thus, the people in the story of the Tower of Babel tried to make such a connection by themselves, which is idolatry, and every kind of greed in the flesh (Eph 5:5). While the world was (still is) moving toward the same wickedness, God began with Abram to carry out his own plan of establishing a sanctuary that would connect the heaven and the earth so that humans, by faith, could become heirs of God again.

Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all (Rom 4:16).

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth (Gen 9:13).

Note the pronoun "my" in "my rainbow," which indicates that this rainbow is something God possesses. The Hebrew word qesheth means both 'rainbow' and 'bow' because the two have the same shape. A bow in the Bible is a symbol of victory over battles. The greatest battle that humans came to face was the battle against death, yet it was impossible for them to have victory over it. So God sent his Only Son to this world, let him die and go to hell, laying all the sins of the world upon him, and from there, he raised him, and exalted him to the highest place in heaven. It is as though God, using his own bow, pulled an arrow down as low as hell, and released it to shoot up into heaven. The arrow broke through the wall of hell, and blew away the clouds of death (according the Babylonian astrology, the Arrow-star, Sirius, measures the depths of the sea, and lowers the level of water in the floods as it rises high in the night sky in summer time. A bow is the weapon that Ishtar, the goddess of war, carries, and she is also called 'the Bow-star.').

He will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;

he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.

The Lord has spoken (Isa 25:8).

The expression, "forever," has a nuance of victory, and can be also translated as "in victory."

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Cor 15:54)."

The expression, "in victory," indicates that there was a battle, and it is connected with the "rainbow" or the "bow" that came up in the sky after the flood. Death has no longer power over us, and we will be only transferred from the perishable earthly body to the imperishable heavenly body. The resurrection in this meaning does not simply mean rising from the dead, but it also means ascending to heaven. Jesus often referred to his resurrection in this meaning as follows:

What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before (John 6:62)!

Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned (lit. ascended) to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, "I am returning (lit. ascending) to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God (20:17)."

The same idea with the same emphasis is found in the epistles as follows:

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name (Phil 2:8-9).

For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence (Heb 9:24).

Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Rom 8:34-37).

On this mountain,

he will destroy the shroud that enfolds (lit. face of covering upon) all peoples,

the sheet that covers (lit. mask casted upon) all nations;

he will swallow up death forever.

The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces;

he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.

The Lord has spoken (Isa 25:7-8).

These are the words that lie behind what John witnessed inside the empty tomb: two kinds of cloth were used for the burial of Jesus, but the one that had been around his head was placed separately from the other. Note, however, the coverings mentioned in this scripture of Isaiah are much larger covering the whole earth. They symbolize death that came upon humanity: death is depicted as if it is covering the whole earth as dark clouds. This description reminds us of the story of the flood in the book of Genesis. It says, "all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened (Gen 7:11)." The subterranean water burst into sky, producing thick clouds in the sky, so rain began to fall heavily. It happened when Methuselah (meaning "death sending") died as Enoch, his father, named him as a prophecy of the coming of the flood. It came to be fulfilled as God said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth (6:7)."

As Noah came out of the ark after the flood waters subsided, the first thing he did was to offer burnt offerings to God. The smoke reached heaven, and he smelled it, and said:

Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands (9:1-2).

It was back to square one, and God started over with Noah and his family. It indicates that his first plan to bless humans as his heirs had not changed at all even though sin had already come into this world, and humans continued to be sinful. His plan now was to redeem them from sins, and make them perfect heirs again.

And surely, I will demand your blood for your life; from the hand of every animal I will demand it, and from the hand of man, from the hand of each brother, I will demand the life of the human. As for the one who sheds the blood of the human, by the human, his blood will be shed, for in the image of God, he made the human (vv. 5-6, translation mine)

This was not simply to legalize death penalty, but rather, it was a prophecy concerning the one who was to to be given as a ransom for the lives of sinners. It meant that God would make a new covenant with humans and all the living things. And as a sign for this covenant, he promised to give his rainbow:

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life (vv. 13-15).

A rainbow appears when rain stops, clouds are disappearing, and streams of sunlight break into the land. It is a symbol of hope and victory over death—the resurrection of Jesus. The cloths that had covered his dead body were put off, and the tomb became empty. Death has been swallowed up in victory! Those who believe that Jesus was raised from the dead have overcome the world, and have become heirs inheriting the kingdom of God.

This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. … When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth (5:1-3).

The second point in the meaning of "in the likeness (Demuth)" and "in his image (tselem)" is that man was created as God's son resembling him in his divine nature. In a sense, Adam was given spiritual DNA from God, which was also handed down to the generations after him. It should be noted, however, that as for the heirs of the world after the Fall of Man, only one child—usually the firstborn son—in each generation was chosen as an heir.

After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Adam lived 930 years, and then he died (vv. 4-5).

Note the expression, "… had sons and daughters." While many other sons and daughters were born of Adam, Seth is recorded as an heir in the genealogy. However, from chapter 4, we know that Adam had two more sons, Cain and Abel, before Seth. Originally, Cain was the firstborn son who was to be the heir, but Abel was chosen for the following reason:

In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast (4:3-5).

The reason why Cain's offering was not accepted was because he did not do what was right following the instruction given to him as he brought the offering to the Lord. So the inheritance was removed from him and given to his brother Abel whose offering was accepted because he did what was right. As Cain watched Abel being blessed as an heir, he became so jealous of him that he ended up killing him. Jealousy is the worst kind of sin, and Jesus was also killed because of jealousy. God declared:

Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth (vv. 11-12).

Here the last sentence indicates that Cain was no longer an heir. So, God, out of his mercy, gave him a sign so that nobody would inflict vengeance on him.

In this way, the inheritance was removed from Cain, and given to Abel, but since Abel was killed, it was given to Seth, another son of Adam and Eve. After Seth, it was given to Enosh, and after Enosh, it was given to Kenan, and then to Mahalalrel, and so on. And finally, after Lamech, it was given to Noah. What you need to keep in mind is that the lifespan of these people in this genealogy was somewhere between 700 and 1000 years except that of Enoch, which was only 365 years. The first death, which was the death of Adam, occurred after Methuselah (the 8th generation) was born. If sin had not come into the world, death would not have occurred. And if death had not occurred, the passing on of the inheritance as seen in this genealogy would not have been necessary. The genealogy of God's heirs continues and comes to the generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. After Jacob the inheritance was extended to all his sons. In the same way, the inheritance given through Christ is extended to all believers.

Therefore, the promise (to be heir of the world) comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all (Rom 4:16).

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Gen 1:26)."

It is a great truth that God created everything for humans, and he intended to give the world to humans from the very beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth. Humans are, and have been always heirs of the world. Among the phrases in the above scripture, this time we will explore the meanings of "in our image (tselem), in our likeness (demuth)." Since our topic is about the inheritance we receive as sons of God, we will focus upon the following points that will help us understand what these phrases mean.

1) As statues that represent God

2) As children of God

3) As ones who walk on two feet

First, concerning point 1), it can be explained from the custom that existed in the ancient world—the placing of a king's statue in the land that he conquered for the purpose of showing that it came to belong to him. A good example of this is seen in the story of king Saul who went to conquer the Amalekites who occupied the region south and south-west of the Dead Sea. Having seen that the land became his, he went to Carmel and "set up a monument in his own honor (lit. … is now erecting a hand for him (1 Sam 15:12)." His action of erecting a statue or monument indicated that he now owned the land. It is important to know that both "tselem" and "demuth" are sometimes used in the Bible to mean "idol"—a statue of a god. God does not want anybody to make idols because God made humans as his statues to represent him. By making idols, we are denying the purpose and meaning of our own existence.

The story of Jacob who set up a stone pillar at Bethel is another example associated with this idea of God's statue (Gen 28). He called the pillar "God's house" that had the function of a ladder connecting between the heaven and the earth. However, we know that God does not live in a stone. What Jacob did not know was that the stone symbolized Jacob himself who represented God on earth and functioned as a ladder, or a bull that walked on two feet. And it is not difficult to see that the stone served as a mark indicating that someday the land would be possessed by him and his descendants. When he returned from Laban's house, he came to Bethel again, and worshiped the Lord.

And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from your body. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you (Gen 35:11-12)."

In this passage are found the expressions typically referring to the inheritance promised to the children of God. These words were, in a sense, a prophecy about the people of Israel who would come to exist as his heirs—the kingdom of God's treasured possession. Interestingly, there was, in fact, another kind of a kingdom that would come to be established in a similar way. The death and burial of Rachel prophecies about it. She died and was buried just outside of Bethlehem, and Jacob set up a stone pillar over her tomb (35:19). For us who know the New Testament, it sounds as if Rachel were laid there to pray for the coming of the Messaiah (Mat 2:17-18).

As for the point 2) above, the idea is obviously based upon the way children resemble their parents in many ways. For this meaning, we should look at the beginning of Adam's genealogy:

This is the written account of Adam's line. When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. … When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth (5:1-3).

Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mat 16:16)."

The most significant part of this confession by Peter in the mind of Jesus was "the Son": God is not only the Father of Jesus, but also of his disciples—one of the predominant themes in the gospel of Matthew. It frequently records the words of Jesus who taught his disciples calling God as "your heavenly Father" (5:16, 45, 6:1, 8, 15, 7:11, etc.). You see the same theme flowing in this passage of Mat 16.

Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven (v. 17).

According to Jesus, it was the Father himself who taught Peter that Christ is his Son. Here, the apparent implication, on the basis of the theme of Matthew, is that this God became also Peter's Father through his confession. And it should be remembered that in the Bible, the concept of sonship is always associated with the idea that children are heirs.

And I tell you that you are Peter (rock), and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven (vv. 18-19).

Kingdoms are inherited (cf. 1 Cor 6:9-10, James 2:5 etc.) . Thus, to have "the keys of the kingdom of heaven" means to inherit this kingdom with authorities. However, in order to be an heir of this kingdom, Peter needed to be a stone rejected by men following the example of Jesus who became the first such stone. Yet, Peter had no idea what this meant at this point (cf. 1 Pet 2:4ff., Eph 2:20). From that time on Jesus began to tell his disciples that he would suffer, be killed, and be raised to life on the third day.

Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you (v. 22)!"

In the eyes of Peter's mind, this messiah would go up to Jerusalem to be a glorious king, and the one sitting right next to him was Peter himself. Suddenly, Jesus turned and said:

Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men (v. 23).

Here, the way Jesus acted was almost equivalent to the way he acted when Satan said to him, "All this (all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor) I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me (Mat 4:9)." It is important to note that the issue in both cases was the inheritance of kingdoms. Jesus said to the disciples:

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it (vv. 24-25).

To "deny himself and take up his cross," or to "lose his life for me" means to die with Christ, and it points to the spiritual rebirth that a believer in Christ experiences. Such is the one chosen to be an heir of the world. Keep in mind what God said in Jer 27:5: "With great power … I made the earth and its people and the animals that are on it, and I give it to any I please."

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul (v. 26)?

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground (Gen 1:26)."

When you read the whole chapter of Genesis 1 from the beginning, you get a sense that the world was created for humans who were created at the last. In fact, God said, "… and let them ruler over the fish of the seas, … over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground," and it indicates that he had planed and prepared everything so that humans could rule over what he had created. And this leads us to the idea that we humans are the heirs of the world. This does not mean, however, that we can rule over the world selfishly, not according to God's will. Needless to say, such a self-seeking and dictatorial manner of ruling is a sin, and this ownership by humans assumes that the world is without sin.

More importantly, the Bible also says that the world and everything in it were initially created by and for God the Son, the first image of the invisible God.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Col 1:15-17).

Note the expression "the image of the invisible God," which the Son was at the beginning, before anything was created, and definitely before he was born as a human, a descendant of Adam in the New Testament time. He is the head of humans, and in him, we exist as sons of God. The expression, "the image of God," signifies sonship with God being the Father.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves (Eph 1:3-6).

Note the expression, "he chose us." In the Bible, the one chosen belongs to the one who chooses. Then, note the expression, "he predestined us to be adopted as his sons." Because we were created, in order to be the sons of the Creator, we needed to be adopted. This adoption was planned and purposed before the creation of the world. In the same way, Israel was chosen, and adopted as God's own possession.

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. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites (Exod 19:5-6).

Note the expression, "my treasured possession" (lit. "(a) treasure belonging to me"). The noun in Hebrew is segullah, and it is always used referring to Israel except once. The idea is that Israel was chosen in God's love, and became "treasure" to him. See, for instance, the following passage:

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 (segullah). The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, … But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you … (Deut 7:6-8).

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1).

The very first verse of the Bible indicates that everything that exists today was created by God, and is, therefore, owned by him. For everything in this world, there is someone who owns it, and nobody is allowed to use anything that is not his/hers without the owner's consent. The above scripture implies that God is the owner of everything, and we are only allowed to use what he has with his permission.

Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all (1 Chr 29:11).

These were the words spoken by David, the anointed king of Israel, to whom God promised that he would establish his kingdom forever. For many years, he ran away from king Saul who tried to kill him because of his jealousy. He went out for battle countless times, and always came back with victory expanding the territory of his nation. The people were blessed, and the kingdom became powerful through him. Yet, when he desired to build a temple for God, he was refused. So he prepared providing hundreds of tons of gold and silver as well as the other materials so that his son would build it. David said:

Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all (v. 12).

This truth, he knew very well: "wealth and honor come from" God, who only entrusted some of what he owned to him for a certain period according to his own purposes. In fact, God lets those who stand upon this truth see the hidden windows, through which he pours out all the spiritual blessings upon them.

But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand (v. 14).

Those who consider what has been only entrusted to them by God as something they posses as their own do not give. When they give, they tell others concerning something very small they did as if it were something very big. This is what it means to take God's glory to themselves. Glory belongs to God, and it must be given to him. And, there is a truth that is even more fundamental: we ourselves belong to God as we were all created by him. Whose am I: have you ever asked this question? Well, since it was God who created you, you must be his: your life, your talents, your money, whatever you posses, and your existence itself are all his. And in order to teach the world about this, God chose and created Israel.

You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 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 (Exod 19:4-5).

The difference between those who are God's treasured possession and those who are not is the difference between light and darkness, life and death, or blessings and curses. This is because those who are not God's treasured possession have come to belong to somebody else. And if you come to be adopted as a child of another parent or family, you will be required to live according to the rules of the new family. For Israel, these rules were the Law. Since their God was righteous and holy, they needed to be righteous and holy also.