You are A Royal Priest

Our beliefs about who we are dramatically impact our behavior. In a previous blog, I wrote about the reality that we are people God has chosen to bear much fruit. We are God’s chosen instruments. It is a beautiful thing to be chosen by Him to do His work. In this article, I will focus on another aspect of our identity – who we are as royal priests of God.

1 Peter 2:9 says, “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.”

New International Version

It’s impossible to over-emphasize the importance of the massive shift Jesus brought about when he died on the cross and rose again. At His crucifixion, Jesus destroyed the old system of Levitical priesthood and established a new system where all who followed Him would be royal priests. In the New Covenant, we are not physically born into the priesthood. Instead, when we receive Jesus, we are spiritually born into this status.

A Spiritual Caste Through Spiritual Birth

For many years, I lived in India. There, people of high caste birth have certain privileges. In Hindu society, there are specific things that only Brahmins are allowed to do. You can not become a Brahmin through study or effort – you must be born a Brahmin. It is not that different from how things were in the Levitical tribe. You could not become a Levite either. You had to be born one.

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are born anew. Our spiritual birth is into a new family – and it is a family of priests, those who are called to minister in the Kingdom. We are priests of God based on our spiritual birth.

Being A Royal Priest And What That Means

Not only are we priests, but we are also royal priests! I’ve had the privilege of living in Thailand as well, a land that honors and loves its king. In Thai, they even have a completely different way of speaking for addressing members of the royal family. The royals receive notable respect and carry significant influence and authority. It’s a helpful picture of what these verses might indicate when they call us a “royal priesthood.” We now have a place of favor, privilege, and authority as children of the King of Kings. I am a member of a royal family. I’m not a nobody, I’m a royal priest. And so are you!

What does this practically mean as we think of pursuing Disciple Making Movements? There are huge implications! There is no type of spiritual work that followers of Jesus can not do. We have been given authority by God to establish His Kingdom, to make disciples, and to do our Father’s work as His representatives here on earth. The same is true for all those we train. We (and they) can share the gospel, heal the sick, baptize, and serve the Lord’s supper- we are royal priests of the Kingdom.

Influence Of Our Former Religious Worldview

While we know this in our heads, often our behavior sadly reflects an Old Covenant belief system. Our worldview can be deeply influenced by Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, or whatever system we have come out of…even traditional Christianity. In those religious systems, only special people are qualified to do spiritual tasks. Only Levites, brahmins, monks, imams, pastors, or priests are to do spiritual work. Jesus came to abolish that Old Covenant and to bring in something new.

Why are we so quick to go back to the old?

Often, our beliefs have not gone from our head to our heart to our actions.

To release rapidly multiplying Disciple Making Movements, we must deeply embrace the understanding that every disciple is a royal priest. Every follower of Jesus must be encouraged to make disciples, baptize them, and teach new believers to obey all that Jesus commanded.

Who Gave Us This Authority?

Jesus himself gave it in the Great Commission.

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Without genuinely and actively living out the priesthood of all believers, we will only see a limited multiplication of disciples among the unreached (or anywhere). This is one of the core reasons why many churches do not multiply. They have not understood that every disciple has the same level of priestly authority to do God’s work.

Declare Your Priestly Identity

Declare it with me today. I am a royal priest of God. He has appointed and commissioned me to represent Him on this earth. Every work of spiritual service, especially the task of making disciples, is mine to do. The people I lead to Christ are also given authority by Jesus to make more disciples and to serve as royal priests.

Let’s start Disciple Making Movements– multiplying groups of royal priests who make more royal priests!