A
Kingdom of Priests
God has vested in us—His
believing people on earth—authority by
which we may determine the destinies
of
nations and governments. He expects us
to use our authority both for His
glory and for our own good. If we fail
to do so, we are answerable for the
consequences. Such is the message of
Scripture, unfolded both by precept
and by pattern. It is confirmed by the
personal experience of many believers
and is written
across the pages of the history of
whole nations. In later chapters, we
will examine specific instances of
this, taken from the events of recent
world history and also from the annals
of American history. But first, in
this chapter, we will study the
scriptural basis of this authority.
God's
Words in Man's Mouth
An outstanding example is provided by
the career of the prophet Jeremiah. In
the opening ten verses of the first
chapter of Jeremiah, God declared that
He had set Jeremiah apart as "a
prophet unto the nations" (1:5).
Jeremiah, in response, protested his
inability to fulfill this role,
saying, "I cannot speak: for I am
[only a youth]" (v. 6). However, God
reaffirmed His call in stronger terms
and concluded by saying, "See, I have
this day set thee over the nations and
over the kingdoms, to root out, and to
pull down, and to destroy, and to
throw down, to build, and to plant"
(v. 10).
What an exalted position
for a young man, to be "set...over the
is nations and over the kingdoms."
This is authority on a higher plane
than the normal forces that shape
secular politics. To judge by outward
appearances, the subsequent career of
Jeremiah gave little indication of
such authority. On the contrary, his
message was almost universally
rejected, and he himself was
continually subjected to indignity and
persecution. For several months, he
languished in prison, and at various
times, he was at the point of death,
either by execution or by starvation.
Yet, the course of
history has vindicated the authority
of Jeremiah and his message. His
prophetic messages unfolded the
destinies of Israel and of nearly all
the surrounding nations in the Middle
East, as well as those of nations in
other areas of the earth. Twenty-five
hundred years have passed. In the
light of history, it is now possible
to make an objective evaluation.
Throughout all the intervening
centuries, the destiny of every one of
those nations has followed precisely
the course foretold by Jeremiah. The
more closely we compare their
subsequent histories with the
prophecies of Jeremiah, the more
exactly do we find them to correspond.
Thus
Jeremiah was in very fact "set over
those nations and over the kingdoms,"
and by the prophecies that he uttered,
he became the actual arbiter of their
destinies.
What was the basis of
such tremendous authority? The answer
is found in Jeremiah 1:9: "And the
LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put
my words in thy mouth." The authority
lay in God's words, imparted to
Jeremiah. Because the words that
Jeremiah uttered were not his own, but
those that God gave him, they were
just as effective in Jeremiah's mouth
as they would have been in the mouth
of God Himself. In all earth's
affairs, the last word is with God. At
times, however, God causes this word
to be spoken through the lips of a
human believer. Such a word may be
spoken publicly in prophecy or in the
authoritative exposition of Scripture.
More often, perhaps, it is spoken
within a prayer closet, in petition or
in intercession.
It is important to
observe that Jeremiah stood in a
twofold relationship to the secular
government of his day. On the natural
plane, as a citizen of Judah, he was
in subjection to the government of his
nation, represented by the king and
the princes. In no sense did he preach
or practice political subversion or
anarchy. Nor did he ever seek to evade
or to resist decrees made by the
government concerning him, even though
these were at times arbitrary and
unjust. Yet on the spiritual plane to
which God elevated him through his
prophetic ministry, Jeremiah exercised
authority over the very rulers to whom
he was in subjection on the natural
plane.
Sharing
the Throne with Christ
Jeremiah's career illustrates a
principle that is more fully unfolded
in the New Testament: Every Christian
has dual citizenship. By natural
birth, he is a citizen of an earthly
nation, and he is subject to all the
ordinances and requirements of his
nation's lawful government. But by
spiritual rebirth, through faith in
Christ, he is also a citizen of God's
heavenly kingdom. This is the basis of
Paul's statement, already referred to
in our previous chapter: "We...are
citizens of heaven" (Philippians 3:20
NEB).
As a citizen of heaven,
the Christian is subject to the laws
of the heavenly kingdom, but he is
also entitled to share in its
authority. This is the kingdom of
which David spoke in Psalm 103:19:
"The LORD hath prepared his throne in
the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth
over all." God's kingdom is supreme
over all other kingdoms and over all
other forces at work on earth. It is
God's purpose to share the authority
of His kingdom with His believing
people. In Luke 12:32, Jesus assured
His disciples, "Fear not, little
flock; for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom." The
comfort of this assurance does not
depend
upon the strength or numbers of the
flock, for it is a "little flock," a
company of "sheep in the midst of
wolves" (Matthew 10:16). The certainty
that the kingdom belongs to us as
believers is founded on the "good
pleasure" of the Father, "the purpose
of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will"
(Ephesians 1:11).
As Christians, our
position in God's kingdom is
determined by our relationship to
Christ. Paul explained this in
Ephesians 2:4-6, which is rendered in
The New English Bible: "But God, rich
in mercy, for the great love he bore
us, brought us to life with Christ
even when we were dead in our sins; it
is by his grace you are saved. And in
union with Christ Jesus he raised us
up and enthroned us with him in the
heavenly realms."
God's grace identifies us
with Christ in three successive
phases. First, we are "brought...to
life," or made alive. We share
Christ's life. Second, we are
"raised...up," as Christ was raised
up, from the tomb. We share Christ's
resurrection. Third, we are
"enthroned" in the heavenly kingdom.
We share Christ's kingly
authority on the throne. None of this
is in the future. It is all stated in
the past tense, as a fact already
accomplished. Each of these three
phases is made possible, not by our
own efforts or merits, but solely by
accepting in faith our union with
Christ.
In Ephesians 1:20-21,
Paul described the position of supreme authority
to which Christ has been exalted by
the Father: "When he raised him from
the dead, when he enthroned him at his
right hand in the heavenly realms, far
above all government and authority,
all power and dominion, and any title
of sovereignty that can be named"
(NEB). Christ's authority at God's
right hand does not necessarily set
aside all other forms of authority or
government, but it takes preeminence
over them. The same truth is expressed
by the title twice given to Christ in
the book of Revelation: "Lord of
lords, and King of kings" (Revelation
17:14; see 19:16). Christ is the
Supreme Ruler over all rulers and
Governor over all governments. This is
the position on the throne that He
shares with His believing people.
How shall we comprehend
the magnitude of what is thus made
available to us? The answer is given
in Paul's prayer in the preceding
verses of Ephesians chapter 1:
That the God of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may
give you a spirit of wisdom and of
revelation
in the knowledge of him, having the
eyes of your hearts enlightened, that
you may know...what is the
immeasurable greatness of his power in
us who believe, according to the
working of his great might which he
accomplished in Christ when he raised
him from the dead and made him sit at
his right hand in the heavenly places.
(Ephesians 1:17-20 RSV)
This
revelation cannot come by natural
reasoning or by sense knowledge. It
comes only by the Holy Spirit. He is
the One who enlightens the eyes of
our hearts and shows us two
interwoven truths: first, that
Christ's authority is now supreme
over the universe; second, that the
same power that raised Christ to
that
position of authority now works also
"in us who believe."
In
1 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul
further explained these truths that
are revealed to Christians only by
the Holy Spirit. He said, "But we
impart a secret and hidden wisdom of
God, which God decreed before the
ages for our glorification. None of
the rulers of this age understood
this; for if they had, they would
not have
crucified the Lord of glory" (vv.
7-8 RSV). This "secret and hidden
wisdom" reveals Christ as "Lord of
glory." It is "for our
glorification," for it shows us that
in our union with Him we share His
glory. Paul continued, "But, as it
is written, 'What no eye has seen,
nor ear heard, nor the heart of man
conceived, what God has prepared for
those who love him,' God has
revealed to us through the Spirit"
(vv. 9-10 RSV). Paul again
emphasized that knowledge of this
kind is not imparted through the
senses, nor is it forthcoming out of
the inner resources of man's reason
or imagination, except as these are
illuminated by the Holy Spirit.
In
verse 12, Paul summed this up: "Now
we have received, not the spirit of
the world, but the spirit which is
of God; that we might know the
things that are freely given to us
of God." One of the things thus
given to us is our position in
Christ at God's right hand. Paul
here contrasted two sources of
knowledge. "The spirit of the world"
shows us the things of this world.
Through this we understand our
earthly citizenship, with all its
rights and responsibilities. But
"the spirit which is of God" reveals
to us the kingdom of Christ and our
place in it. Through this we
understand our rights and
responsibilities as citizens of
heaven.
If,
at times, our position with Christ
on the throne seems remote or
unreal, the reason is simple: we
have not received the revelation
that the Holy Spirit, through the
Scriptures, makes available to us.
Without this revelation, we can
neither understand nor enjoy the
benefits of our heavenly
citizenship. Instead of reigning as
kings, we find ourselves still
toiling as slaves.
From Slaves to Kings
From the beginning, it was God's purpose
to share with man His dominion over the
earth. In Genesis 1:26, the initial
purpose of man's creation is stated:
"And God said, Let us make man in our
image, after our likeness: and let them
[the human race] have dominion...over
all the earth." Because of disobedience,
Adam and his descendants forfeited their
position of dominion. Instead of
reigning in obedience as kings, they
were subjugated as slaves to
sin and to Satan.
However, the
dominion that was lost to the whole race
through Adam is restored to the believer
in Christ. "For if by one man's offense
[that is, the offense of Adam] death
reigned by one; much more they which
receive abundance of grace and of the
gift of righteousness shall reign in
life by one, Jesus Christ" (Romans
5:17). The consequences of Adam's
disobedience and of Christ's obedience
are both already manifested in this
present life. Death reigns now over
unbelievers. Likewise, believers reign
now in life by Christ. Through our union
with Christ, we have already been raised
up to share the throne with Him, and we
are reigning there with Him now.
God's purpose in
man's redemption reflects His original
purpose in man's creation. God's
redeeming grace lifts man from his
position of slavery and restores him to
his position of
dominion. In the Old Testament, this is
demonstrated in the deliverance of
Israel from the slavery of Egypt. In
Exodus 19:6, God declared to Israel the
purpose for which He has redeemed them:
"And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of
priests, and an holy nation." "A kingdom
of priests" speaks of dominion
restored—kingship in place of slavery.
God offered Israel a double privilege:
to minister as priests and to reign as
kings. As we will see in later
chapters of this book, some of the great
saints of Israel, such as Daniel,
entered into this high calling. For the
most part, however, the nation failed to
accept God's gracious promises.
In the New
Testament, to those redeemed by faith in
Christ, God renews the calling that He
originally gave to Israel. In 1 Peter
2:5, Christians are called "an holy
priesthood." As priests of the new
covenant, their ministry is "to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God
by Jesus Christ." The "spiritual
sacrifices" offered up by Christians are
the various forms of prayer—
particularly worship and intercession.
Then, in 1 Peter 2:9, Christians are
further called "a royal [or kingly]
priesthood." The phrase "a royal
priesthood" exactly corresponds to "a
kingdom of
priests" in Exodus 19:6.
In the book of
Revelation, the same phrase is again
applied twice to those redeemed by faith
in Jesus Christ. In Revelation 1:5-6, we
read: "Unto him [Christ] that loved us,
and washed us
from our sins in his own blood, and hath
made us kings and priests unto God and
his Father." And again in Revelation
5:9-10:
