But I think it’s time to draw a line under this conversation.

Okay, I’m fine with that. I said a few comments back that I understood
and agreed with both you and Andrew about my concerns. It’s good to
agree sometimes. Sorry about the sarcasm in my last comment.

The difference between those who are ‘in’ the people of God, and those who are ‘out’ is quite simple.

Simple for you maybe, but not for me. In recent discussions on OST
"the people of God" has been characterized as both a "kingdom" and a
"new creation." The latter term carries more baggage than the former,
and I’ve been trying to unpack the bags to see what’s inside. You, Peter,
regard "the people" as an aggregation of individuals who "own Jesus as
Lord and receive the Spirit." It’s possible to look at it the other way
round: "the people" is an alternate reality permeated by the Lordship
of Jesus and the presence of the Spirit. It’s a figure-ground thing: is
it what’s inside you that matters, or what you’re inside of? The New
Testament would have it both ways: "Christ in you" and also "in Christ."

Another analogy: are you an English-speaker because English is in your
head, or because you live in an English-speaking society? The answer is
"both," but one can gain different insights depending on whether one
looks at English as an individual competency or as a language. To
extend the analogy perhaps beyond the breaking point, let’s suppose that English is the best language in the world. My main concern is
whether English-speakers, individually and collectively, are somehow
different from or better than, say, French-speakers. The answer, presumably, is that they are not.