DRAWING NEAR
July 15
Sharing Christ's Dominion
"You are . . . a royal priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:9).
Christians serve the King and will someday reign with Him in His
Kingdom.
In Exodus 19:5-6 God says to Israel, "If you will indeed obey My
voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among
all the peoples . . . and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and
a holy nation." They were to be both priests and royalty, but they
violated the covenant and forfeited those privileges. Now, according
to Peter, Christians are the royal priesthood of God.
The Greek word translated "royal" in 1 Peter 2:9 was used of a royal
palace, sovereignty, crown, or monarchy. In this context it refers to
royalty in general. We speak of the royal house of England or France,
meaning not a building but a sphere of dominion. So it is with God's
spiritual house (v. 5). Believers serve the King and will also reign
with Him in His sphere of dominion.
That is affirmed elsewhere in Scripture. In the book of Revelation we
read, "Thou has made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and
they will reign upon the earth" (Rev. 5:10); and, "Blessed and holy
is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the
second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of
Christ and will reign with Him" (Rev. 20:6).
Your royal position has some practical implications for the way you
live each day. For example, when dealing with the problem of
litigation among Christians, Paul said: "Does any one of you, when he
has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the
unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the
saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are
you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not
know that we shall judge angels? How much more, matters of this
life?" (1 Cor. 6:1-3).
Never forget who you are in Christ, and don't let sin or the world
distract you from your priestly role.
Suggestions for Prayer:
Memorize 1 Timothy 4:12. Ask God to make you a better example of one
who represents His royal priesthood.
For Further Study:
Read Genesis 14:18-20 and Hebrews 7:1-17. Who was Melchizedek and
what was unique about his priesthood?
Drawing Near, Copyright 1993 John F. MacArthur, Jr.
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
http://www.gty.org
~~~
1 Timothy 4:12
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers
in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Genesis 14:18-20
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was
the priest of God Most High.
19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into
your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.
Hebrews 7:1-17
7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High
God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and
blessed him,
2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being
translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem,
meaning "king of peace,"
3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God,
remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch
Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.
5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the
priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people
according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have
come from the loins of Abraham;
6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes
from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.
8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of
whom it is witnessed that he lives.
9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to
speak,
10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met
him.
11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood
(for under it the people received the law), what further need was
there that another priest should rise according to the order of
Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?
12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a
change of the law.
13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe,
from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe
Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.
15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of
Melchizedek, there arises another priest
16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment,
but according to the power of an endless life.
17 For He testifies: "You are a priest forever According to the
order of Melchizedek."
~~~
These devotions are posted with permission from John MacArthur's
first (1993) devotional work, _Drawing Near_, and they are also sent
out daily for free to several folks via e-mail.
In addition, John's second (1997) devotional, _Strength for Today_,
is also available free via e-mail only. _Strength for Today_ follows
the same format as what you have seen here from _Drawing Near_, but
with different monthly themes.
If you would like to receive daily devotions via e-mail from either
of these series, just let me know (via e-mail), and I will gladly add
you to the list(s) of your choice.
You can hear John MacArthur daily via the Internet by visiting:
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In Christ,
Peter
Peter G. Chase :: Columbus, Ohio, USA
pchase1@wideopenwest.com
STOP! Who do you think Jesus Is?
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To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and to discover that the prisoner was you. -Alistair Begg
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