Who are the people referred to in Romans 9:25?
In Romans 9:25 the people referred to are Gentiles whom God called out from among the nations. They were not formerly reckoned as God's people in the Old Testament, but now are His called ones, identified as members of the Body of Christ, the Church, not Israel.
Les explains that Romans 9:25 refers to Gentiles who were never reckoned in the Old Testament to have anything to do with Israel's God, but now are indeed a people God has called out from amongst the Gentiles and called to Himself. He connects this with Romans 9:26, where those once not God's people are called the children of the living God, and says that is us, the Gentiles. He further describes this as the position of the Body of Christ, children of God who enjoy a relationship Israel never attained, being joined heirs with Christ, to rule and reign with Christ. After this calling out of Gentiles, God will turn back to Israel, as Romans 11 will show.
As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.