One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is 1 Peter 2:9,

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”

This is my identity statement as a Christian. I am particularly attached to my identity as a royal priesthood and in today’s post, I will tell you why this is important.

When God created humankind, He gave us two basic responsibilities: to rule over all His creation and to have fellowship with Him. Easy peasy right? Well, it was supposed to be easy until sin entered our world. The day Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden of Eden, they lost their dominion and rule over creation. God used to visit them in the cool of the day for fellowship and that also came to a grinding halt that day. Their disobedience robbed the first humans of their basic function as kings (rulers over all God’s creation) and priests (fellowship with God). And this became the fate of all humankind. We were always supposed to be a kingdom of priest- priests who ruled on earth in the kingdom of our God. And through generations, God has been working behind the scenes to restore us to our original status as kings and priests.

After God had delivered Israel from centuries of slavery in Egypt, He made the Israelites a promise to restore them to their place as a kingdom of priests under His ultimate reign. He promised to bring them to Canaan, the Promised Land, a land akin to the Garden of Eden— “a land with great and splendid cities that you did not build, with houses full of every good thing with which you did not fill them, with wells that you did not dig, and with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant” (Deuteronomy 6:10-11 BSB). And God was going to restore them as kings and priests:

Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine. And unto Me you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you are to speak to the Israelites.

Exodus 19:5-6 BSB

With their obedience, all the Israelites would become a kingdom of priest unto God. And although Israel committed to obey, they faltered. One day, they made a golden calf, worshipped it, and compromised their priesthood. The anger of God burned against the Israelites and that day Moses asked, “who is on the Lord’s side?” The Levites rallied to Moses and killed many of their relatives who had worshipped the idol. That was the day the Levites were set apart as priests unto God. Although Israel as a whole was still a kingdom under God, they were no longer priests.

Afterward, Moses said, “Today you have been ordained for service to the LORD, since each man went against his son and his brother; so the LORD has bestowed a blessing on you this day.”

Exodus 32:29 BSB

Many years later, the Israelites decided that they no longer wanted to have God as their king (1 Samuel 8). They wanted to be like the nations around them with a physical head of state, which brought an end to their status as “a kingdom under God.” Although they always remained God’s chosen people, they were no longer a kingdom of priests.

Fast forward to the new testament era and Jesus steps into the earthly scene with one mission: Restoration. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus would reconcile us to God so that we could once again become the kingdom of priests unto our God. This is why all who believe in Jesus Christ need to accept his lordship over their lives as He restores us into God’s kingdom.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!

Romans 5:17 BSB

Thousands of years before Jesus came down to earth, it was prophesied of Him: “And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 7:14 BSB). Before He ascended back into heaven, Jesus said to His disciples:

So as my Father has given me a kingdom, I’m giving it to you.

Luke 22:29 GWT

Once again, humankind had been restored to their place as kings in God’s kingdom; for indeed the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. Amen. (Revelations 11:15).

But how about the priesthood? This restoration happened at the moment of Jesus death. It was a literal restoration which involved the tearing of the curtain in the temple (Matthew 27:51). You see, everyone had access to the temple but only the consecrated priests, the Levites, could go into the Most Holy place separated by the curtains. But at the moment of Jesus’ death, the curtain that physically caused separation in the temple was rend from top to bottom, signaling that not only the Levites but all people now had access to God (Hebrews 10:19-20).

Just as the separation of Levites from the nation of Israel to be priests happened through the shedding of blood in Exodus 32, the restoration of all mankind to the priesthood also happened through the shedding of Jesus’ blood. As His blood flowed down His body and down Calvary’s cross, we were restored fully to our status as the kingdom of priests unto our God! This is why being a royal priesthood means so much to me!

As I conclude, I leave you with this doxology from Revelations 1: 4-6, which affirms your current status as kings and priests unto our God.

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! O You Royal Priesthood. Welcome into the Kingdom of Priests.

Yours truly!