A holy Priesthood

 

Today’s devotional is about a phrase taken from this verse: “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5) Christians are a spiritual house made up of living stones, yet also a “holy priesthood” that offers spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ.

In the OT, the priests typified the atoning and intercessory work of the coming Messiah. In those days, people were thought to not have direct access to God and needed others to represent them before Him. This conception vanishes in the light of Christianity. By virtue of their relation to Christ all believers have direct approach to God. This means what was once a priestly privilege now belongs to all Christians. While some religious denominations still stick to having priests that represent them, no believer needs another to intervene between his soul and the Lord. Every person may and must stand for themselves in personal relation with God. Yet we do pray for one another out of love and a desire to encourage and build up our faith.

When I looked for the duties of priests, most of the hits said Christians share common spiritual characteristics with Old Testament priests but those definitions came from denominations with a hierarchy that puts their church leaders in a special authority over others. Some do this to the point of the priest being the only one who can read and interpret Scripture. This is not a NT concept.

The OT priests offered acceptable sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. Since Jesus is our acceptable sacrifice, this work is no longer necessary. However, some of the characteristics of OT priests do apply to NT believers. We are chosen by God, cleansed but not by special ceremonies but by the blood of Christ. We are also clothed in robes of righteousness anointed with the oil of the Holy Spirit, and expected to obey God, love His Word, and walk with Him. The OT says of faithful priests:

True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 2:6-7)

Those qualifications are paralleled in God’s people, now the only true priests. I’m humbled to think how I was chosen by Him from before the foundation of the world, cleansed by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, clothed with the righteousness of Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit. I’m “to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

That offering is my whole life. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1) and to live in such a way that God’s people and those yet to be saved are drawn to God:

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

This makes the priesthood of believers a high and holy calling. It is not about a special authority over other Christians nor fancy robes and a title. Pointing others to the glory of God requires the power of the Holy Spirit. I cannot do it without Him.

PRAY: Jesus, You did all that the priesthood exists to do. Being called to be part of this Body of priests who believe in You and do Your will is a privilege far beyond a mere title and job description. No Christian can claim a role as priest over other believers as every Christian belongs to this special class. We all have the privilege of reading and interpreting Your Word, of praying for others, of telling people about You. Thinking of others as Your priests also opens me to learn from everyone and be blessed by everyone. What a joy to share this position. I am thankful for the great honor You bestow on all of us who trust You. May we bring glory to Your name.

For Further Study: Read Leviticus 8 and 9 looking for the qualities Christ gives so that His people can be priests and for the differences that should happen because of this amazing status we have.

 

 

Our High Priest

 

Apart from the biblical role, the word PRIEST puts images in my mind of robes and cassocks, formal worship and solemn music, altar boys and traditions. When I was a child, the only church nearby was more of a social club. I heard the gospel at Daily Vacation Bible School but it didn’t sink in. After years of reading the Bible each day, the Lord got hold of me and I became a Christian. At that time, the nearest church was Baptist. It didn’t take long before I realized the importance of testing all I heard against the Word of God. One thing I noticed was the absence of the title of priest.

In the OT, a priest was the guardian of the holy place which invested him with both authority and responsibility. He bore the guilt for any lapses and even though all the people were to obey God’s commands and be holy, the priests were to be models of holiness. They oversaw sacrificial activities and mediators between God and his people. They also served as political advisers besides teaching the people the will and law of God.

Despite all that, there was a sense that all the Israelites were to serve as priests and this theme carries over to the NT where believers are affirmed as “a chosen people, a royal priesthood.” However, Jesus is our great high priest through whom all believers have access to the Father.

Hebrews 10:19–22. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

The Jews still had their priests and High Priest in the NT, but the book of Hebrews uses that term for Jesus Christ who has a permanent priesthood. He is without blemish or sin and therefore able to cleanse our consciences from sin once and for all time. Hebrews 10:14 says it: “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

Today’s dictionary still says a priest is “a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities.”

The evangelical churches do not recognize this as a leadership role because the NT says we no longer need a human priest to act as our go-between. As Hebrews 10:21–22 says of Jesus, “Since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

The NT also teaches the priesthood of all believers, not meaning that each of us can don a special robe or that we need another person to help us get in touch with God — we need only Jesus, the High Priest sent from God and who is our way to God. He said in John 14:6. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

However, all Christians share in priestly duties: we share the Gospel with those who have not heard it, pray for those who need God’s help, encourage and care for one another as God does for us, and urge holy living as we share biblical truth and mentor each other in the will and ways of the Lord.

Any religious groups that include the office of priest in their structure are often marked by many vows and rules for their activities stemming from tradition rather than biblical principles. Those groups and denominations without priests still have traditions and can be bound by legalism or rules for how to live. However, Scripture recognizes Jesus as the head of the church and His followers in the role of doing what He says according to His Word. We are accountable to Him.

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. This is a huge topic and my brief thoughts could be misinterpreted. However, I know that Jesus is my Priest even though I use other words to describe how His role functions. He died for my sin, redeemed me to be His child, prays for me, encourages me by His Word and His Spirit, guides my thoughts and actions, urges me to love and care for His people and share Him with all those around me. He tells me what to do and say, not as His slave or His subject, but as His child and His friend. I confess my sin to Him and know His forgiveness. He assures me of eternal life and gives me His deep, inner peace and joy. No human priest can do these things, not like Jesus or not at all.