Are you a priest? 07/05/2023

You might be seriously wondering what I am talking about. Are you a priest? Maybe, you are convinced that you are not a priest and not likely ever to be one. In the town where I was born and brought up, we all knew what the word priest referred to. A priest was a single male who functioned in the Roman Catholic church. When I was asked the question as a young lad, "Are you a Catholic or a protestant?", my reply always caused some confusion. "I am a Christian." But in my head, I would not have really imagined that I was a priest or would ever become a priest.

But I was wrong. The Bible teaches that every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest. The Book of Revelation confirms this truth. [Revelation 1:6] "and has made us to be a kingdom of priests." This needs to be unpacked. I love the truth that becoming a priest had nothing to do with me - "has made us." Who has made us a kingdom of priests? The previous verse leaves us in no doubt that we are made a kingdom of priests by the agency of Jesus Christ.

[5] and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [Revelation 1:5 ESV].

It could not be much clearer. Jesus Christ has made me a priest and he did that because of His love for me. It was his sacrificial death which made it possible for me to become a priest. This is the first reference in the book to the cross. It is certainly not the last. One of the outcomes of the death of Jesus is that I have been freed from my sins by his blood. His death has set me free from the tyranny and slavery of sin. This is a cause for worship and praise. In fact, priests are associated with worship and service for God. Every Christian is a priest who has been given this role by the risen Christ so that we will engage in worship and service. By the way, this applies to both men and women. It also is not restricted to one hour per week - it is speaking about our whole life. Paul talks about us presenting our bodies as 'a living sacrifice' and priest in the Jewish religion were the ones who handled animal sacrifices which were offered to God.

[1] 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 ESV]

I need to explain, first of all, the origin of this line of teaching. I want us to think not only of us as 'priests' but as a 'kingdom of priests.' The nation of Israel were chosen to be just that - a nation of priests.

[5] Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; [6] and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” [Exodus 19:5-6 ESV]

So we have traced the origin of this amazing phrase. The setting is important if we are to understand what this is all about. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. They hated it. They had few rights. The Egyptians treated them as beasts of burden - they were exploited by a cruel, selfish ruler - Pharaoh who was afraid of this foreign people living in the land of Egypt. He had used infanticide to suppress them. He sentenced them to a lifetime of slave labour making bricks out of mud in the hot Middle Eastern sun which baked the people as well as the bricks. They were given a quota which they had to make each day and if they failed they were whipped and beaten by supervisors. Many were killed at the hands of these brutal oppressors.

But all that was in the past because God had set them free. He had delivered them from this slavery and they had been led out of Egypt by God's chosen deliverer, Moses. They had been led across the Red Sea miraculously. They were on their way to the land God had promised them. They have arrived at Sinai. God is reminding them of what he had done for them. He wanted every one of them to respond to this deliverance by living a life of obedience and service. This is where the expression 'a kingdom of priests' fits in. God was not speaking about ritual. He was seeking spontaneous worship and service from a people who had been redeemed and delivered from a life of misery. God speaks about rescuing them 'on eagles' wings' and he wanted their love and loyalty. God says, "I brought you to myself."

God outlines a covenant which is conditional- if they obeyed God's voice and if they kept this covenant, they would become God's treasured possession among all peoples. They would become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. It was God's intention that every Israelite would function as a priest. Why did that not happen? The people did not obey God as He had commanded them. They soon began to sin and to grumble and complain. They blamed God for the lack of food and water in the desert. They insulted God by saying that they would have been better off in Egypt.

God chose one tribe, the descendants of Levi (one of Jacob's sons) as the priests. All the priests who served in the sanctuary offering up sacrifices to God came from this family. But that was under the Old Covenant. We are now part of the New Covenant and we discover that we are priests - every true follower of Jesus Christ. It is Peter, who was a Jew by birth and one of the 12 apostles, who outlines this wonderful truth in his first letter.

[4] As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, [5] 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 2:4-5 ESV]

This honour is not reserved for Jews. Peter's letter makes it clear that it applies to every believer in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:6-7). Our primary function is to worship. That is what is meant by offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Whenever we engage in an act of worship, we are offering up a spiritual sacrifice. It might be a hymn or a prayer or an expression of worship in our home or church. It is from the heart - from grateful hearts that have been delivered from the slavery of sin.

Peter's letter also speaks of functioning as a priest in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to others.

[9] But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. [1 Peter 2:9 ESV]

The context of Peter's letter is significant. Peter is addressing Gentiles (people who were not born into a Jewish family) as well as Jews. As members of Christ's church, we have been called to proclaim to others what he has done for us. We are a chosen race - even though we are not Jews. We are a royal priesthood - associated with King Jesus. We are His possession.

Are you a priest? If you are not a committed follower of Jesus Christ you are not. But if you have believed in Him as your Saviour, you are a priest in God's temple. You have the privilege of engaging in worship and service for the One who delivered you from the slave market of the world which is operated by Satan, the prince of the power of the air.