Pictures of the Church: Kingdom of Priests

Mark James

     My last article discussed what it meant for the Church to be Christ’s treasured possession. In this entry, I want to continue to look and think about word pictures that are used to describe the people of God and I want to look at the phrase “kingdom of priests,” with a focus on the word “kingdom.” If the Lord allows a subsequent entry, I will focus on the word “priests.”  The people of God in both the Old and New Testaments are called a kingdom of priests (Exod 19:6; 1 Pt 2:9). This is not solely an old covenant idea or a new covenant idea, but this word picture constitutes an essential part of the Church’s identity.

            What does it mean that we the people of God are a “kingdom of priests” as it says in the OT or “royal priesthood” as Peter quotes it in the NT? A kingdom or nation has 3 crucial components. In the history of mankind, every nation has had a ruling authority, laws, and citizens. These are the 3 components you need to have a nation or kingdom. So, Scripture calls us the church a spiritual kingdom, which means the Church has a spiritual ruling authority, spiritual laws, and spiritual citizens. Our ruling authority is the triune God Himself. He is our king. Psalm 10:16 declares, “The Lord is king forever and ever.” Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15 that Christ must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, meaning there is no King or Lord higher than the Lord our God. He is the head of and governor of His people, the Church. That means we are called as His people to submit to His rule and reign over us. We are to submit our thoughts, our desires, our will, and our lives to Him.

            But there is an earthly expression of Christ’s rule and government in the Church. Christ has given ministers and elders to the visible Church to exercise Church government on behalf of Christ Himself. The same Peter who calls us a kingdom of priests, writes a little later in chapter 5, verses 2-3, that elders are to shepherd the flock of God by exercising oversight over the sheep. Hebrews 13:17 states, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls…” The elders and ministers are here for your good and your protection. They are to protect you from wolves in sheep’s clothing by proclaiming truth and rebuking error. They are to pray for you and encourage your growth in grace. So, we are to submit to the Lord God, and we are to submit to the offices of minister and elder that He has instituted for the good and benefit of His people. Part of their job duty as given in Scripture is to be a visible manifestation of Christ’s invisible governing and ruling of His Church.

So, as we submit ourselves to the Lord’s rule and authority, of which one aspect is submitting to ruling authorities within the church, we do so in accordance with His laws, which He has revealed to us in His Word to guide and guard us. In both the Old and New Testament, we have God’s moral law, what we know as the 10 Commandments, that are God’s never changing laws to govern His people. And these laws do not just govern our external actions, but they also govern our heart as well. Jesus equates hatred in the heart with murder and lust in the heart with adultery. So, it’s not enough to think you’ve kept God’s moral law externally. God’s law also must be kept internally. So how do I know that I’m submitting my thoughts, my desires, my will, and my life to Him? By using God’s law as a mirror and using God’s Word to evaluate our thoughts, desires, will, and life. Unfortunately, we all have broken God’s law because we are all born in sin. We are all born guilty because of the sin of Adam and Eve. We have been plunged into ruin and darkness. But God in His infinite mercy sent forth His Son at the right time to keep His holy law so that He could be a perfect sacrifice in our place. We were deserving of death as law breakers against a holy and just God. Yet, Christ died that death in place of His sheep so that instead of death, we would have everlasting life. Now, for all who are in Christ, the guilt, condemnation, and power of sin has been broken. Whereas formerly we only wanted to do evil, now that we have been given a new heart, we want to do and strive to do those things that are pleasing the Lord. We want to do His holy will and think His thoughts after Him. Why? Because you and I are no longer our own. We have been bought with a price. Our Master and King has redeemed us from slavery to sin. Now, we can use God’s law as a mirror and guide to direct our steps and keep us on the straight and narrow path of wisdom.

Now, just like with earthly rulers and laws, there are penalties that come with breaking God’s law. And so, the Lord disciplines His children when we go astray. Proverbs 3:11-12 says, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.” And that verse is quoted in Hebrews 12:5. Just like our earthly parents are to discipline us when we disobey them, and just as governing authorities discipline us when we break their just laws, so our Heavenly Father disciplines us as His children when we stray from Him. Think of David and the discipline he had to endure because of the adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. Or when David took a census of the people which angered the Lord in 2 Samuel 24. Or Paul’s thorn in the flesh in 2 Corinthians 12 to keep Paul from being puffed up with pride. Perhaps you are going through a spiritually dry spell and God seems far from you because of hidden sin that has not been confessed and repented of, that withdrawing of God’s countenance from you can be His discipline so that that dry spell causes you to long for restored communion and greater intimacy with Him. This discipline of the Lord also includes church discipline. Just like the office of minister and elder make visible Christ’s invisible reign within the Church, so also church discipline makes visible Christ’s invisible discipline within the Church. It’s for your good and benefit so that you may be reconciled to God as well as to your neighbor; so that your soul may be warned back off of the path that leads to death and destruction; and so that the peace, purity, and building up of the church may be maintained. Now we know that no discipline is pleasant, but it is ultimately good. So, we submit ourselves to God’s law and governing authority made manifest in church order and when we go astray, God disciplines us either directly or through church discipline and the exercise of the keys of the kingdom.

Finally, because Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, our citizenship has been transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. We are citizens of a spiritual kingdom, and our ultimate allegiance is to our spiritual home and our spiritual ruler. This is why in Acts 5, when told that he could no longer preach Jesus, Peter replied, “We must obey God rather than men.” When the laws of man conflict with the laws of God, our higher allegiance is to God our King because ultimately, we are not citizens of earthly nations, but our citizenship is in heaven as Paul says in Philippians 3:20. And as citizens, we have all the rights and privileges that come with heavenly citizenship. We have protection and defense because our King is the Lord of hosts or Lord of armies. Our God is a Warrior King who will protect His people. After witnessing the destruction of Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea, Miriam sings in Exodus 15:3, “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is his name.” We see this same theme in the book of Revelation as the Lord Jesus Christ leads the armies of angels against Satan and his legion of demons. Why? Because we are citizens of His kingdom and He will not let any of His citizens by lost or conquered by the enemy.  So, we are citizens of a kingdom submitting to our King, living under His rule, and experiencing discipline when we break His law, but also enjoying all the rights and privileges of heavenly citizenship.

So why does all of this matter? Because every new day we have a new opportunity to demonstrate our heavenly citizenship as well as our submission to King Jesus. We can display our true citizenship and submission by working hard in our jobs and doing things the right way and not stealing or being lazy. Students can display their true citizenship and submission by studying diligently, as well as researching and writing in accordance with God’s truth in all that He has created. Children, teenagers, and young adults can display their true citizenship and submission by honoring and obeying their parents in the Lord. Grandparents can display their true citizenship and submission by helping their adult children in the nurturing of the grandchildren in the faith. Husbands and wives can display their heavenly citizenship in loving one another and the demonstration of the appropriate roles and responsibilities given to each one of them, as well as remaining faithful to one another. Every day is an opportunity for us to show that our citizenship is not of this world and our ultimate submission is to the Lord God above all earthly powers.  Dear Christian, you have a nation for a home. It’s a heavenly kingdom and a heavenly home. You belong to this heavenly kingdom as a citizen where we are to submit to and serve our great God and king according to His commandments. All because Jesus Christ has changed you and me by His grace and mercy from being a traitor to being a citizen through His perfect life, death, resurrection, and ascension.