A Holy Priesthood
1 Peter 2:4-9
"You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
(1 PETER 2:5)
In the last few years I've realized that perhaps the most important thing I can do for others is pray for them. That is not the limit of my responsibility, but it is the focus of it. And God has seen to it that I am uniquely equipped for such a ministry, for I belong to a "holy priesthood."
Old Testament priests represented the people before God, offering sacrifices and prayers on their behalf. The priests were anointed and set apart for that ministry (Exodus 30:30). We as Christians have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit (1 John 2:20) and are thus a "holy priesthood." We, too, are to offer "spiritual sacrifices," of which prayer is a very real part. James tells us to pray for each other, for the "prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (5:16).
David prayed, "May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice" (Psalm 141:2). Let's offer up prayers for many around us, prayers made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
INSIGHT
"LORD, I PRAY FOR MANY I KNOW WHO ARE LONELY, SAD, DESPERATE, IN TROUBLE, IN PAIN, FEELING HOPELESS. MAY YOUR KINGDOM COME IN THEIR LIVES."
READ THROUGH THE BIBLE IN A YEAR
1 Chronicles 6-7
Proverbs 27
Revelation 8-10
1 Peter 2:4-9
New Living Translation (NLT)
Living Stones for God’s House
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.
5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests.[a] Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. 6 As the Scriptures say,
“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,[b]
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”[c]
7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”[d]
8 And,
“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”[e]
They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests,[f] a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
Footnotes:
a. 1 Peter 2:5 Greek holy priesthood.
b. 1 Peter 2:6 Greek in Zion.
c. 1 Peter 2:6 Isa 28:16 (Greek version).
d. 1 Peter 2:7 Ps 118:22.
e. 1 Peter 2:8 Isa 8:14.
f. 1 Peter 2:9 Greek a royal priesthood.
WHAT DOES MARRIAGE MEAN [PART 3]
with Tim & Kathy Keller
Submitting to someone else is not a sign of weakness. In fact, mutual submission between a husband and wife is one of the keys to a strong and healthy marriage.
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