PRINCES AND PRIESTS
Eric J. Hanson
June 13, 2010
Read I Peter 2:9-10. This is written to believers in Jesus.
Now read Revelation 5:9-10. This is also written to believers in Jesus.
This is a high and lofty concept concerning us on God’s part. He calls us His priests; all of us who are believers. He also calls us kings, although some versions of the English Bibles translate that as “a kingdom”. Why would the Bible say such things as these? Here’s why:
Read the Adamic Charge found in Genesis 1:26-28. Humankind was created in the image of God; male and female. Adam was created to be the prince of this world. He was the king of Earth, under the direction and oversight of the King of kings, God almighty.
Adam lost this through sin. That is why Satan became, as Jesus sometimes called him, the prince of this world. Adam sold out to him by entering into the first sin as recorded in Genesis 3. Yet that very day, God predicted the ultimate crushing of Satan’s headship over the Earth.
Read Genesis 3:15. The “seed of the woman” mentioned here is Jesus Christ. Galatians 3:16 makes this very clear and plain. Jesus Christ is both the seed of the woman and the seed of Abraham.
Psalm 8 gives much more insight into God’s ultimate plan for man, and into God’s placement of man in the scheme of created things. Now read Psalm 8. We are lower than God, but everything on Earth was put under our feet. This is further evidence that we were indeed, in God’s perfect plan, princes of the Earth. This is totally consistent with Genesis 1, I Peter 2, and Revelation 6.
The scholars who translated the scriptures into English, hedged their bets in Psalm 8 and chose the term Heavenly beings rather than the simpler, plainer, and more accurate “God”. They simply could not believe that God meant what the Hebrew language actually states here. “He made us a little lower than himself. Here are some of the implications of that reality.
1. WE ARE OF GREAT WORTH. Many religious teachers teach that we are of little worth. God says that we are of such great worth that He went through extreme duress in order to buy us back from the slave markets of sin, death, and destruction. In the life to come, we shall never age, nor become weak. We shall know all things and shall see the Lord face to face.
2. WE SHALL RUN THE PLANET UNDER THE LORD DURING THE MILLENIUM PERIOD. Many teach that we are mere worms. God’s word says that we are created in God’s image. We were horribly distorted as image bearers of the Creator, due to sin, but Jesus died to wipe the record clean. When we reign in Jesus, the original Adamic Charge will come true. We shall, in truth, rule over every living thing under the oversight of the Lord Himself.
3. GOD IS THE ULTIMATE WINNER AGAINST THE DEVIL AND SIN. THAT IS WHY WE WIN TOO. The strength of what is stated in Psalm 8, I Peter 2, and Revelation 6 reflects the truth that God is a winner, not a loser. God will carry out his original plans for Man. God’s love for the human race combined with his total power and total wisdom guarantees this. The fact that Adam fell did not mean that God lost the war against Satan. God is a winner!
Current Priestly Implications:
1. In this age, each believer needs to be about the business of being filled with God in the person of the Holy Spirit, and then doing the works of God and proclaiming the Gospel. (John 14:12, Joel 2:28-29, Mark 16:15-20) We are under orders from the King of kings.
2. The Lord desires to use you in prophecy and probably other gifts of the spirit as well. (I Corinthians 14:1, 24-26, 31) Most believers fall short of this because of an unbiblical horrible self-image, which leads to thinking “I can’t”. Remember that the duty and the privilege of any priest is to minister to the spiritual needs of the people by going to God on their behalf, and blessing them on God’s behalf.
3. If you belong to Jesus Christ, but your life is passing by, and you are simply taken up with financial survival, emotional needs, and trying to be entertained, you are living way below God’s plan for you. I can guarantee that anyone who is living that way is not daily taking time to be quiet with God and in intimate communion with Him for the purpose of sensing His voice and His instructions to you about that day’s decision making. If this describes you, you probably are often emotionally distressed with issues of relating to people, perhaps even those closest to you. This is way below God’s plan for you.
CONCLUSION:
Are you relating to others as a priest of God?
Are you living as a prince under the King of kings?
Are you victorious in how you think of yourself?
Are you thinking about God’s priorities rather than just your needs and survival kinds of things?
Do you realize that God desires to use you and all believers supernaturally? Are you abiding in Christ by drawing close to God, and bearing good fruit?
All of these are God’s plan for you. These are the pathways of life for one who is flourishing in the Lord and walking more and more as a priest of God and as a prince in the Earth. Please take the time to think this over and spend time along with God about this. Also, good friends in the Lord can and should help each other along this path by means of encouraging each other along these lines.
May God’s best be yours. May you learn to walk as a prince under our great King, and as a priest among family, friends, and strangers. I am also available to pray and discuss these things with you.
In Jesus our Lord,
Pastor Eric.
