Lent reminds us that we are a Royal Priesthood. It is the second way we show to the world that we are members of God’s big family.
In our last reflection, we looked at the fact that being members of God’s family, we are also members of the Body of Christ. And, being members of Christ’s Body means that we are members of each other too.
You may need to review my previous two articles in this series, “Who we are as a Church:”
The following lines, as I said above, describe how what God has done through Christ makes us a royal priesthood, and what it means in our lives today.
First, we have to understand that God, through faith in Jesus Christ, brings us back into God’s big family. Second, as members of God’s big family, we are also members of the Body of Christ, and members of each other.
Now, how do we become members of this royal priesthood, and what does that mean?
Let’s use 1 Peter 2 to help us answer the above question. On your own, read verses 1 through 9.
But, for the sake of this article, I’ll only be using pieces of this scripture, and not the entire section of 1 Peter 2 we’re looking at in this reflection.
When you survey the entire Bible, you’ll realize that worshipping God is at the center of who we, humans, are.
An example is what we read at the beginning of the Ten Commandments:
- You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol. You shall not bow down to them or worship them
- You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God.
- Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. See Exodus 20:3-6.
It’s all about worship!
When God made the promise to Abraham that He would free his descendants out of Egypt where they would live in slavery for over four hundred years (Genesis 15:13), it was all about worshipping the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Here’s what God tells Moses when the time to fulfill what He had promised Abraham (based on Genesis 15:13):
Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. Exodus 8:1.
Come to Him
Read 1 Peter 2:4,
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight.
Worship means coming to God. Notice that the verb, in the above scripture, “come,” is in the present tense. God waits for you to choose to come to Him “now,” not tomorrow. Salvation is today!
Nothing else happens if we don’t start by coming to Him, Jesus Christ.
Peter talks then of what happens next after we choose to come to Him.
Through Christ, The Living Stone, we become living stones too!
In other words, when we come to Him, we will become just like Him. We will newly be made in the resemblance of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Read verse 5,
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Becoming living stones stands for the fact that God also makes us life-giving people. We communicate life to things we touch, people we interact with, and any environment we enter throughout the day.
That’s who we become when we choose to come to God, living stones, just like Jesus Christ.
God builds us into a spiritual house through Christ
When we draw near God through Christ, God builds us into a spiritual house.
That’s amazing. Isn’t it?
We, humans, often tend to take everything into our hands, even when it comes to our Christian faith. Remember that every time we do so, God steps out of the process!
Pay attention to the way Peter uses his verbs, especially in verse 5 above. It’s in the passive voice meaning God is the only ONE who does the work in us.
He is the One to build us into a spiritual house. And, He does it according to His own blueprints. In other words, He does it according to His plan.
We become a Holy Priesthood
Read verse 5 again,
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
We are a royal, and holy priesthood because of Christ. God has made us so because we’ve chosen to obey. Our obedience to God and God’s Word, by believing that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, has also made us God’s own possession and a chosen race (see verse 9).
Those who reject Christ, as the Living Stone, He then becomes a stumbling block to them. As a result, they will also fall in the end. But we, who choose to trust in Him, will never be put to shame (see verses 6 through 8).
As a priest, God would like to use you to lead others back to Him so that they can worship Him, and Him alone.
[bctt tweet=”You’re the only means God needs to reveal Himself to your family members, classmates, co-workers, neighbors, and even the stranger. ” username=”emmanuelnaweji”]
In other words, when you hear anything about somebody, or when the Spirit brings up a name in your mind, what do you do with that information? A priest sees that as an opportunity to stand before God on behalf of this person.
Jesus came to stand between humankind and God. He intercedes and prays on our behalf. He went where we couldn’t go. He used death to get there. Then, he bore all our sins and illnesses and nailed them to the cross (Colossians 2:14).
Giving up His own life was the ultimate sacrifice none of the previous priests could have done. They only sacrificed animals. But, the Son of God sacrificed His own life for us. Read Hebrews 10:1-18.
So, what are you willing to do for other people in the name of Christ? When things aren’t working for others, do you gossip about them? Or do you choose to play your role as a priest by standing before God on their behalf?
Bringing it together
God, through Christ, has claimed you as His own child. He has made you priest (an intercessor) for your people, and one from whom others can learn how to live a holy life that’s pleasing to our Heavenly Father.
