A Royal & Holy Priesthood

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

My dad loved to watch the Sunday morning broadcast of the late Pastor Adrian Rogers at Bellevue Baptist Church in the Cordova area of Memphis, Tennessee. On this passage, Pastor Rogers wrote that Christians are a kingdom of priests, so in order to understand what that means, let’s look at what someone had to do to become a priest in the Old Testament.

The first thing the priest did was bathe from head to toe. This symbolized that he was saved (see Titus 3:5). When we are saved, we are bathed from head to toe in Christ’s cleansing blood. After his bath, the priest received a linen garment, which symbolized the righteousness that is provided by our Lord. Then he was anointed with oil, which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. How encouraging to discover God’s Word flowing from the Old to the New Testament to describe such essential details of the believer.

Exodus 19:6 “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

On Exodus 19:6, the late Henry Morris wrote that these were the words of God to Israel, even before they received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. As a priest serves as an intermediary between God and men, so this “kingdom of priests” had been called by God to bring God’s Word to mankind. As a holy nation with such a high calling, its people also should have been holy (that is, set apart and consecrated to God) in life and witness. God has chosen a new people, in whom “there is neither Jew nor Greek . . . for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). We are now “one body in Christ, and every one members one of another” (Romans 12:5). The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines the word “Priesthood as: the office or character of a priest. 

We now have been given the same high privileges long ago given to Israel. We who belong to Christ have been “born again” into the “kingdom of God” (John 3:3), and this is nothing less than a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. The apostle Peter said: “You also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5).

Not only are we a holy priesthood, we are a royal priesthood, a kingdom of priest-kings. We, indeed, have a high calling, and should devote our lives to showing forth His praises, for He “hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; unto him be glory and dominion for ever and ever” (Revelation 1:6). Have you been bathed in the cleansing blood? Are you aware you’re wearing a robe (the righteousness of Christ)? The Holy Spirit lives within you. As you go through your day today, be ever mindful: you are a priest—chosen, royal, holy, set apart for Him.