But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God's OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1 Peter 2:9)
...and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father-to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:6)
...With his own blood [the blood of Jesus Christ]--not the blood of goats and calves--he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever (Hebrews 9:12)
In the Old Testament, the High Priest could only go into the presence of God one time per year and only then after an extensive ritual cleansing. If he did not follow the cleansing ritual, he was not pure and could not be in the presence of God without experiencing death. If you remember, when the Ark of the Covenant, where the presence of God dwelt, was being transported from one place to another, some of the priests stumbled and a man (Uzzah) stepped up to keep the Ark from falling. Since he was not qualified to touch the Ark where the presence of God dwelt, he fell dead. Later, 70 men died because they looked inside the Ark. The holiness of God separates Him from humanity. This separation was the end result of Sin entering the world in the Garden of Eden. That separation has been the subject of creation since the beginning. The quest of life is to bridge that separation so that humanity (us) can be in the presence of God again. The Old Testament is a story of God's desire to have fellowship (allow man into his presence again).
Enter Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He entered the Holy Place once for all and made an eternal sacrifice for all of humanity. To secure that sacrifice for ourselves, we must put our faith in Him as our Lord and Savior. As evidence that Jesus' sacrifice was sufficient to bridge the gap between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man, when Jesus died, the curtain in the temple (again where the presence of God dwelt), was torn from top to bottom, signifying that it now was unnecessary to separate the holiness of God from sinful man. A NEW way had been established. In fact, the Bible refers to those who put their faith in Jesus as a "Kingdom of Priests." Not just any priest, but a cleansed priest able to enter the Holy presence of God because of the cleansing of the cross.
Praise God for making us a Kingdom of Priests. As priests we can bring the needs of the people to God and ask for His intervention and forgiveness. We can fellowship with Him, embrace Him, and come into His Presence.
Help Us Lord to Operate in Our Place as Priests in this present world.
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