Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Royal Priesthood

I am gonna take a break from Psalms for a little while. But will still be posting some of my studies.

Royal Priesthood

1 Peter 2:1Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,

It is talking about a changed life. Laying aside means to put off from oneself.

:2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

We should desire the milk of the word so we can grow and feed on the meat of the word. Grow, get strong, be healthy. Our spiritual growth depends on how much we feed on the Word.

:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious,

Jesus is alive and solid. Jesus was rejected by men, but God chose Him and He was precious in God's sight. We are also precious in His sight.

:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

God said we are also living stones. Before Jesus we were dead weight. It says we are built up a spiritual house. Can one stone make a house?

Eph 2:19 Now,therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
:20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
:21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord,
:22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Jesus is the cornerstone of our house. Along with the apostles and prophets and the other children of God we make up a house.

Eph 4:15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ -
:16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does it share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

We grow up into Him.

Back to verse 5 in 1 Peter 2. We are a holy priesthood. Holy means separated to God.

Priesthood means body of priest (we are all priests if Jesus is our Savior). Priest are called to serve God and offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

:6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”


Those who believe on Him will not be ashamed.

:7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,”
:8 and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

Even to those who stumble at the word. That would be us. Are we being offended by the word of God?

: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;
:10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.

Holy means separate or saint. Nation means race. We are called special. In the King James it says peculiar. Peculiar means purchased possession. God's own. I was once called peculiar and when I thanked the person they had no idea why I thought that was a good thing lol. So of course it opened the door for me to share why I wasn't offended.

A royal priesthood is a group of believers who come together and serve God as a group.

Just like any other walk of life, there are good priests and not so good priests in Christianity.

We are to be in service to God, giving spiritual sacrifices to God through Jesus Christ. Every born again believer should be serving God.

Eli was a self centered priest according to the word of God. He chose to disobey God. He refused to do what God told him to do. God commands us to get our house in order. Eli ignored God. He got fat on the best of what was given to God.

What are we doing with what we know God wants us to do? Are we obeying or ignoring God?

Eli lay down and his eyes began to go dim till he couldn't see. God's light went out and Eli couldn't/didn't see it. Because of his disobedience his whole family died.

You must not only be available but willing to do what God wants.

Ez 48:11 It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

Zadok kept God's charge when the others went astray.

Ez 40:46 The chamber which faces north is for the priests who have charge of the altar; these are the sons of Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the Lord to minister to Him,”

They were in charge of the altar and came near to the Lord to minister to Him.

Num 4:15 And when Aaron and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary and all the furnishings of the sanctuary, when the camp is set to go, then the sons of Kohath shall come to carry them; but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. “These are the things in the tabernacle of meeting which the sons of Kohath are to carry.

Only the priests could touch the holy things. We are part of that priesthood.

Rev 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Heb 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

There was always a high priest. Jesus is ours.

Heb 7:24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.
:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
:26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher then the heavens;
:27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.
:28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

Jesus had an unchangeable priesthood. He didn't come from the tribe of Levi. He came from the tribe of Judah.

There is no longer a Levitical priesthood, There is now a royal priesthood under Jesus.

Heb 8:1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: we have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

Heb 10:14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.






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