Who You Are In Christ - Partakers of the Holy and Royal Priesthood

So we've got basically three verses and then quite a bit of Hebrews that we'll look at this morning. The first one there is 1 Peter 2.9 and it says, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. So there's Basically, five things going on in that verse. We're going to look at the royal priesthood side of it this morning, and next week, the chosen race, holy nation, and the people for God's own possession, so that's four. We'll look at those other three next week, this morning, focusing on priesthood.

And there, Revelation 1-6, said, He has made us to be a kingdom, priest to His God and Father. to Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So I guess the first question this morning that we should think about is what is a priest? Does anybody have any thoughts on what a priest is? We do. You do? We do. Okay. A priest, yes, originally, maybe still somewhat, was someone who had a special connection with God. That people needed to benefit from. Okay. What kind of roles do you think that the priest then fulfilled for the people or for God? The priest has a bill between us and God. Between the Jews and God. Now, do you think that that priest had a special relationship with God?

More special than that of the people? Well, he had a position that was more special. A position? Yeah, he may or may not have had more. I mean like the Levites. They weren't just the greatest people necessarily. They had a position and an assignment. Okay.

One of the things that I was kind of looking at last night is a priest is a representative for the people to God. The opposite of that would be a prophet. A prophet would be someone who is representing God to the people. He's telling them So there's prophets and priests in their opposite roles.

So the priests certainly, it would have been a position of definitely privilege to be able to go into God's presence in the Holy of Holies like the Jewish priests did. And a privilege of great responsibility as well. The little chart that I have there, the type of priests. There's one more to kind of add to this, and that was before the Levitical priesthood was set up.

The Bible says that the head of each family was a priest. The head of each family was the representative for his family to God. I think we can all kind of view ourselves in that manner now, too, a little bit. kind of question of our family sure the head of the family does that mean the father and then when he has grandchildren he is still the priest for the family or is it just the individual as each family becomes the family well sure you have the overall we were talking about hey they lived a long time in those days right and if the head of the family if he was the priest for maybe three or four generations I think you have to look at the family unit in and of itself and the way that God talks about a family unit. In Genesis he talks about a man and a wife leaving their mother and father and cleaving to one another. I believe probably in that situation So you have your children and then once those children become married and start their own household, their own family unit, it's kind of another setup where he's now the head of that family. The son is the head of the new family and he would be the priest there.

But I would like to think that we would all have enough common sense to go to our elders for advice as well. I mean, I still go to my father-in-law and my dad for advice on things. You know, maybe not a go-between, like they're my representative to God, but I would still use them for advice and things along those lines. But it's like when you get married.

Father shall, whatever that's saying is, I can't remember right now verbatim, but you know, you leave your house and you for you get married to somebody and then you have one unit so then I should think that person would be well a priest is kind of a higher definition but you know what I mean yeah he would be the head of that house then exactly so it's nice to visit your father-in-law or your father and talk to him about some things but he would still be the head of his family absolutely yeah Yes, absolutely. Like Randy or myself, we're married men. We have a family. We have children. There's a lot of people like that in this room. And we are the head of our family unit, absolutely. That is what the Bible says and that's how God has set it up.

So you would be a priest in those days? Yes, yes. we could see that God was working through Moses. And then Moses tried to do everything. And then when he came back to Jethro, Jethro told him that he wouldn't be able to do that because he was only one man. So then they broke down everything into, what was it, thousands, hundreds, and tens. So I think you're kind of using the same thing here.

You know, even though God was still going through Moses, He was also going through those other people as well for the responsibilities that they had. So it's really, you know, just an expansion of that breakdown to say that the father of his own family, you know, so God's going to go to the leader, but the overall person is still the one that, you know, God still sees. I mean, Job, another example. I mean, God went through Job and he had sons and daughters, right? So. but I'm sure he went through them as well. Right. Randy?

Job is, actually I was going to mention Job, but you beat me to it, but that's a good point, is that you have a father who's taking, he's taking care, he's offering sacrifices and he's loving his children, even though they're out of his house. They've left his immediate domicile, if you will, and they've gone out and he's still offering up sacrifices just in case they blew it. But if you go all the way back into Genesis, Cain and Abel, they were offering sacrifices. That was the first murder. What should have been them operating in their priestly duty as independent men, it leads to them bullying. I'm sorry?

What's the conclusion? What's the conclusion? The conclusion would be that as you start your own household in these days, you would be the head and the go-between, the representative, not the go-between, the representative for your family. Does that make sense?

But as he said, it continues on also. We still have been In the family unit, we've still been given the authority to direct and lead our family. If you look at Colossians 3, it gives an order of how the household should operate at the end of Colossians 3. And the man is definitely left in charge. And he's to represent Christ, Ephesians 5, to his wife. He is that leader.

It's not identical to a priesthood. I think it could be both. Well, well, there's kind of two things going on. There's the Old Testament kind of model, which, you know, you had to be. is pretty exclusive you had to be a part of Aaron's family. It wasn't something you just kind of dropped into.

Right, and once the Levitical setup was there. I know, the Levitical setup was quite strict, but then you come to the New Testament and we find your next verse is going to get that, and I think we're all priests. Absolutely, yeah. So you've got to kind of, you know, there's a model, a Levitical model, we've got to look at that, but then what is it, you know, what is it for us as believers in Christ today, you know, as a new creation in Christ.

So that's an aspect, so, and you know, you can I've heard some people try to go back and they try to take on all the things that Aaron did and they try to live like Aaron lived. I'm going to go around and bless my family members and that's going to be... Some people just become fanatical. I've got to bless my children every night or I don't feel like I've really done my responsibility well.

Right. You know, God's given us, you know, we have a relationship. It's not law. So, what do we distinguish between those two? Yeah, and I think the three things that there's Levitical, the church age, and prior to Levitical, which is the one we were talking about where the head of each family was viewed as the representative for his family to God. So there's three setups there, and there's change after each one. You go from that setup where it's each individual head, and then to the Levitical setup and to where we are now, where we all partake in this royal priesthood. But let's talk a little bit more about the Levitical one. You had to be, like we were just saying, you had to be out of the line of Aaron. You couldn't be from the tribe of Judah and be a priest. You couldn't be from any of the other tribes and be a priest. You had to be from the Levites. And what do you think the primary thing that those priests had to focus on during that time period was?

Sacrifices. Absolutely. Yeah. And those sacrifices were nonstop around the clock kind of thing. I mean, they were working all the time. It was work, work, work, work, work. Stan, did you have something? Yeah, I was going to say, I think it was more than just the sacrifices. I think it was the, quote, law.

Sure, because the priest had to go out. If you had leprosy, they had to take care of the house. They had to clean the house and cleanse the house. There were dietary laws that people, if they came to the priest, he would have to tell them and reiterate what it was that God wanted them to do as far as dietary laws were concerned. The one we focus on the most is the cleansing of sin. But their job was very encompassing. It was a very, you know, demanding job. That's why they didn't have any other ones. That's why there was a whole tribe just dedicated to it.

Right. And they also carried the art. Right. Right. And they blew the trumpets. I was just looking at a list. I have a list of my whole list of things that they... Sure. You want to go through some of them? Okay. Well, first of all, they must be a son of Aaron. They must be a son of Aaron. Consecrated. No physical defects. They had to have a certain genealogy. I said Ezra, and it says, keeping the lamp burning continually, continually sacrificing, continuing to sacrifice with fire, covering furniture when moved, burning incense, offering sacrifices, blessing the people, purifying the unclean, diagnosing leprosy, blowing the trumpets, carrying the Ark of the Covenant, teaching the law.

Well, I don't know if we should really dig into each and every one of those. I don't know if we should get into that this morning. That may be a subject for another time. Because I don't have a good answer to it right off the top of my head. Can I clarify one thing? Sure.

With the issue of physical defects, because they were representing God and His holiness and His purity and righteousness. in the role and position of priest, if they were lamed in some capacity, whatever it is, they would give up their priestly duties. They would still be provided for through the tithe, the 10% to provide for the Levites, but the physical defect is not necessarily representative of, oh, they've got Down syndrome, or they've got some physical, you know, from birth thing. You could be lamed and messes you up, then you'd forfeit that. Once in a year sacrifices in the Holy of Holies made by a priest.

So how that figures in there, see there's quite a bit of clout. Yeah, that wasn't something that anybody else did. No. That was going on your knees, you don't really look at what you're doing. Nobody else went in there, right. Plus they had the rope. Right, yes, the rope, yes. Just in case something went wrong.

And then the next line that we look at is actually that of Melchizedek. And when we look at Hebrews 7 we learn some interesting things about Melchizedek. His name means the King of Righteousness. And he was the king of Salem. And Salem means peace. So he was the king of peace and righteousness.

I don't know if that sounds like somebody else to you guys. He was the priest who blessed. So after Abraham goes and battles with the kings, he's on his way back and he meets with Melchizedek. And Melchizedek blesses him. He doesn't ask him for a sacrifice. He blesses him. So he was a priest who blessed. The image he provides is that of a king and a priest in one person. So that's also kind of like somebody else that we can think of here. Scripture does not record his lineage, his birth, or his death.

So that is why in Hebrews 7.3 the writer of Hebrews says that he is a priest perpetually. It isn't that he didn't have a mother or father. It isn't that he wasn't born or didn't die.

It's just not recorded in scripture so it provides an interesting picture. One of the people that I read last night said that he was a picture of what Christ was to come. He was a picture of the reality that is Christ. An intercessor, just like Christ is to us. Well, and the other thing that Ryder was talking about last night was Ray Steadman.

Abraham's on his way back and he's just got loads of spoils. I mean, he's got all kinds of stuff. And there's going to be a lot of temptation for him to really, you know, this is cool, this is life, you know. And go away from the, he's also going to get offered a position.

And Melchizedek puts him in the right frame of mind, he blesses him, puts him in the right frame of mind to say, no, God is more important than these things. So not only does he bless him, but he also kind of teaches and mentors and puts him in the right frame of mind to deal with the situations that are coming. Which I think we can also compare to Christ. Doesn't he also make an offering to God?

He does. He tithes, he gives him 10% and he gives him 10% and not like the, you can have, let's see that goat looks kind of lame, you can have him, and I don't really like that goat, so you can have that. No, he gives him 10% of the choices stuff. He gives him all, you know, the best stuff.

So the differences between the Levitical priests and that of the line of Melchizedek 1, probably the one that we really want to focus on is that the Levitical priests are constantly dealing with the sin issue. And Christ has dealt with the sin issue. So he's no longer in a position where he's always having to deal with this sin issue. Oh, we've got to make these sacrifices, and we've got to keep you in line with the law, and we've got to make sure you're eating the right things. And he doesn't have to do all that stuff. The sin issue and all those things are dealt with.

He's now in a position where he can just bless us. And that's one of the other images that Melchizedek provides. The Levitical priests are always working. They're constantly working on all those things that we were talking about. And we're free from those works. Free from the works and sin. Free to bless.

What time period was Melchizedek in? He was during Abraham. Okay. I'm sorry. Isn't it true that he was also king of Jerusalem? Well, Salem, somehow the tying in of the word Salem. I don't remember exactly, but. Well, they say that that was probably the same place that is Jerusalem.

So if you think about that, and the question that was asked over there, Abraham was the first one that was called out by God, right? Other than Enoch, of course. But wasn't Abraham the first one that was called out? And so here, I cannot say that. We just call him Mel, that works.

Mal was already king of Jerusalem at the time that Abraham was doing his thing for God. So he was actually in place before, probably before God called Abraham out, right? And Abraham was the first he called out. And that's one of the points that the writer of the That's one of the things that the writer of Hebrew uses to show that the Melchizedek priesthood is greater than that of the Levite priesthood.

The fact that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek and the fact that I believe it's Hebrews 7.7. He says that, does anybody have that and want to read?

I believe it's Hebrews 7.7. Now beyond all contradictions the lesser is blessed by the better. The lesser is blessed by the better.

So Melchizedek blesses Abraham and from Abraham the argument is that Levi was in Abraham's loins. So they view it as, you know, Abraham gave birth to, I don't know the line well enough to recite it, but Levi was a descendant of Abraham. And so when Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, it's showing that Levi also paid tithes. And when Melchizedek blessed Abraham, it also shows that Melchizedek blessed Levi. And therefore Melchizedek is greater than Levi.

The same line of argument is used, kind of one that we're more familiar with in Romans, where Paul talks about sin entering the earth through one man. So we were all in Adam's loins. We were all descendants of Adam. And sin entered through Adam to all of us. So that same line of argument is used in Romans 5 as well.

I think I also read that Melchizedek was a Gentile. A Gentile. Which really... Abraham making an offering to a Gentile. Right. Yeah. Well, and the nation of Israel wasn't set up so they're, you know, basically everybody's a Gentile. Yeah. I've heard him talk to various services that Melchizedek was a type of Christ. A type, yes. So, like a foreshadowing. Exactly. He was a type, a picture, a foreshadow of what was to come in Christ. And Christ's kingly royal priesthood. So the next question then, what does it mean to be a partaker of the holy and royal priesthood? What does that mean to you guys? What does it mean to be a partaker of the holy and royal priesthood?

Schaefer has an interesting quote. Oh, I'm sorry. Well, I'm just trying to figure out what this would mean. And so it's not real organized. Would you be a parishioner? I mean, you know, they didn't use that term, but somebody that would listen and believe. I'm not sure if I follow what you're saying. Well, what does it mean to be a partaker? I'd be a partaker of where we are right now, the church, so wouldn't Wouldn't that be the same? These people were partakers of what was being told to them, taught to them. Am I wrong here?

I don't know if I'm understanding what you're saying. Okay, I don't know what else to say. Okay. Do you know what I mean? I know what you mean. Okay. You want to take it then, Randy? I think Kurt's question is causing people to think of a different question than what Kurt was probably originally trying to ask. Can you restate your question? Because I think that's what's going on.

Their understanding of partaking is... Or what does it mean to you that you are part of? Cross out partaker and say that you are part of. God's royal and priestly or holy and royal priesthood. What does it mean to you to be part of that? It means that you're chosen. You are given responsibility and honor and blessing. You have a responsibility to other people because of it and to God because of it.

It's huge. Bigger than we are. That's a very good answer. Christ is the High Priest. And we are in Christ and Christ in us. Gives us the right to go directly to the Father. Absolutely. As a priest. That's what the priest does. Is that what you're talking about? Yeah, that's one of the privileges that it would mean for you to be part of that royal and holy priesthood. Absolutely.

Well, you know, in your verse here in Revelation 1.6, it's actually even stronger than that.

He has made us. I mean, and if it's that word made that we studied in previous lessons, I mean, it's something that God has done because we were in Christ. I mean, you know, it's a significant... He's placed us in His Son. We're also placed as being a priest to God. So, I mean, it's one of the... That's why we're studying it in this context here. It's something that we...

It's a great privilege But it wasn't of our doing, it was of his doing. So in a sense we're partakers of the priesthood just like we're partakers of Christ and all the other blessings we have. So it's part of that whole package deal that we may not understand initially, but we have.

It's similar to me that when the United States of America sends an ambassador to another country, that's a poor example because tied up to it. But that person is supposed to be a representative of this country to says and does, which is supposed to be good, he is supposed to carry that out toward the other country. So in other words, it's really not that much different than the prophet who was an ambassador of God to the people, except I think what's talking more about here is the image that they demonstrate to the unsaved, it would be, or to the rest of the world. And so the closer, seems like the closer you become to the image of Christ, which is the Yeah, I can agree with that. But, I mean, some of the things we've talked about, the privilege, the responsibility, there's a lot of things there. But it's interesting, Schaefer says, Israel had a priesthood, the church is a priesthood.

So you go from there being a select few that have this that have this privilege and right and ability to go into the Holy of Holies and spend time, well, not really spend time, but be with God. You go from just a select few to everybody. We all have, you know, the curtain was split. When Christ was crucified, the curtain was split and everybody now has access to the throne.

And what Stan was talking about where God is using us to show his image to the unbelieving. The priesthood that is the church is one that is in the eyes of God, is sin free, and it is a blessing to him as he uses it to reveal himself to the unbelieving.

Absolutely. So we are the example. We should be an example. Right? How do you think you do that? By believing you just change. You transform. You have peace and people want that. And then you can convey the word. How did you become a believer in Christ? Because I was introduced. Did you do it by works? He did it by faith. So the same thing here. You're to be an example by faith. A couple of verses that will switch you here.

One would be, the first one there is 1 Peter 2.5. He says, sure, go ahead. I'm sorry, I don't want to. No, no, go ahead. One of the things I think is an important thing, and maybe you're going to go over this, so I hope I don't steal a doctrinal thing.

The requirement for an Old Testament priest to go into the Holy of Holies was a whole routine of purification. There was a significant amount of effort that had to go in so that that small amount of time could be spent in the Holy of Holies. And if it wasn't for things that are part of being identified with Christ there's no way we could have had or we can't have access like we're told in Hebrews 8 you can boldly go before the throne of God when I was legalistic and didn't understand grace I thought that was the craziest one of the craziest passages in the entire Bible was this idea that I could boldly go before God because I didn't understand that I had been made righteous in Christ so that I was still putting the the Levitical priesthood requirements on myself to a certain degree. I didn't think I had to kill animals, but I just knew that I had to. He thought that you really needed to deal with sin on your own terms. On my own terms, exactly. And Christ has already dealt with him on his terms. God has.

Yeah. And that's a significant thing to understand when we talk about priesthood is that old priesthood is not Don't drag in Old Testament priesthood into the New Testament concept of our priesthood. Because you're just mucking it up. At least, I mucked it up. Right. And that statement, you know, the book of Hebrews was written to Hebrews. And that statement would have been absurd to them too.

Boldly go before the throne. There's two people that do that. Or one person. You know, nobody. We don't do that. The common person doesn't do that. And you're telling me that everybody's going to go ahead and go boldly before the throne. So absolutely, it would have been a nutty statement. But to us, under our system of grace, having sin already dealt with, it's part of our faith. That's what we believe. It's true of us. Okay, sorry about that. No, that's fine. Thank you for adding two. Absolutely. I think Randy brought up a good point. I think because we have an old nature, we still have two natures.

We tend to think, even though we know we're in Christ, I still have to clean my act up. If I really want to get serious about God, I really have to clean my act up. And we really don't. It's not to say that we're to disregard sin, but we're to be firmly from me believing that where he's placed us, and to count upon that, it's kind of the reverse.

We kind of think, well, I'll be a little bit better, I'll get closer to God. Well, no. You have to realize you're already close to God, and that you start from the top down rather than the bottom up. It's a totally different perspective, seeing that you're seated in the heavenlies, and you have this wonderful blessing, and you start from that place rather than the other way around. And that's what the Levitical part kind of gets all It kind of messes you up a bit. They're starting from the bottom up. And they had to make themselves, you know, for that one day, to go into the Holy of Holies, they had to do a lot of work.

And we're to believe that Christ has already done that work. And we can start from that wonderful place and not from having to make ourselves better, which we really cannot do that. Christ is, you know. Well, and that's not what God wants of us either. He doesn't want you to try and make yourself better. He's already made you everything that you could be.

The knowledge and presence of the Holy Spirit was that we vividly understood back in the days. Back in which days? In the days of the forming of the Jewish nation and all that stuff and Moses was here and all that stuff. Was his presence vivid? Yeah, it was his presence but he was not perfect. Christ said I'm going to send you another comforter. Now was that comforter that he sent us after we were saved, or while we were dead, when we were saved, was he present through all of these things that happened in the past? Well, how do I want to address that? We all have the Holy Spirit all the time. As Christians, it will, it's, God seals us with it, it never leaves. That is not true of an Old Testament saint. Yeah, the Holy Spirit doesn't come with no custom. Right.

There are times in the Old Testament where it says that folks had it, had him, but he left. And that's where you get into the charismatic view of, I've got him, he left. I made something so he's mad at me and he left, I've got to get him back. We have him all the time. Samson wished not the Holy Spirit to depart him.

Absolutely. There's a great example. One of the intellectuals in that movie was talking about the God of the Old Testament. And the reason, supposedly, that he actually went away from the faith is because he couldn't believe in a God like the God of the Old Testament, the God who took Aaron's two sons. They made a mistake. They presented strange fire. They were gone.

OK, but previously we talked about Jesus being the propitiation, and that satisfies the anger of God, the anger towards sin. So the God of the Old Testament was in the Old Testament. But we're lucky, we're in the church, and we have priests. We have a priest, which is what we're talking about today, who has satisfied the anger of God, the propitiation. And like I always say in this class, it's not peace at Christmas around the world, it's peace with this God, this God of the Old Testament. And we should consider, you know, be thankful for that we are, you know, working through this priest named Jesus, who God sent to forgive us our sins so that we could have a relationship with God and not have to deal with his anger.

You know, if this guy in that, this intellectual, if he understood that, he wouldn't have a faith. He can't get beyond this Old Testament God. And a lot of people can't. And that's really sad. Well, and the thing that's true about the Old Testament God is the same God that we worship today.

And if he were being absolutely fair, to be absolutely fair without grace, we'd all be dead. If he understood that that's what we deserve, that intellectual understood that's what we deserve. Because of his character, that's what we deserve. He'd fall down on his knees and be thankful for Christ. Well, he might.

But, you know, that's that's how I am, because I realize that's what I deserve. And see, he gave grace to Aaron because Aaron made mistakes, too. But his two sons, for whatever reason, and God's plan and God's ultimate knowledge, as Paul would say, you know, God does And so Aaron's sons basically were killed because they made a mistake. Well, I wouldn't say he does whatever he wants to do because it has to line up with his character.

Right. But yeah. Well, but the case with Aaron's sons is that they had willfully ignored what was clearly stated to them. It wasn't like the law was not presented to them in the order that was in place. Bud's question about the Holy Spirit, it's important to understand that the Holy Spirit does behave in the Old Testament consistently. He's still part of the Godhead.

He shows up in 1 Samuel 10.6, Saul gets anointed to be the king. and you will prophesy with them. When we changed into another man, the Holy Spirit does show up and is actively engaged in certain cases to prove God's will. It just sounds so different, but I will send you another comforter. Oh, okay. He will, this and that. That's what got me off the hook. Okay. Another, not Christ. Yeah.

I think it's important that we have the understanding that God isn't angry or vindictive. He's fair. Those are people things. God is just. That is an attribute of God and anger is not really one of them. That's a human emotion. Well, God is not, I would say that, you know, love and so on, but I don't think he gets angry. He does. I would say that God doesn't get angry at us. God hates sin. Right, but that's not anger. He can't look on sin. It's an opposite to himself. That's why it's important we have Christ between us and the fathers. He can't work on sin.

Wrath is part of God's character. Because he's patient, but God is slow to anger. But he does get angry. But it's always the righteous anger. Yeah, I think the righteous anger, I think there are, if you look at Christ in the New Testament, Christ never gets angry at the unbelieving. The only time that you see Christ get angry is when those who claim to be believers are doing things that don't line up with the character of God. That's the only time you see him get mad. When he deals with the unbelieving that are in sin, he loves them. He shows them love and he deals with them. But the only time you see Christ get angry, that the temple would be an example of that, is when people who are claiming to be believers do things that don't line up with what God wants them to do.

That is, that would be God's righteous anger. Another thing along those lines, you know, when Christ is on the cross, it's prior to his dismissing his spirit. as though he didn't know this was going to happen or thinking people wouldn't misunderstand that. Why was God the Holy Spirit?

Well, he can't look upon sin, he can't look upon the things that Christ is paying for on the death of the cross. And they misunderstand that. Yeah, the thing that we talked about with Christ on the cross when Stan brought it up in a previous class is the agony that Christ is going through being separated from his Father. And it never happened before. So that's the agony that he's expressing there. But back to the lesson.

Somebody want to read 1 Peter 2.5 for me? as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. So what are these spiritual sacrifices that Peter's talking about right here? Are they sacrifices like in the Old Testament where we're sacrificing animals? Absolutely not. So what are they? It's our life. It's our life? Spiritual sacrifice would be giving up of self?

Knowing when Book of Peter was written and what the people were going through, they were being persecuted. giving up your things that you need, you think you need. You know, and not necessarily living a more spiritual life and accepting the struggles and the suffering that God has put in your path. The imagery of Husband and wife, Christ and the Church, came up earlier, and I think that's a good imagery of what you could view a spiritual sacrifice as, giving up of self. The husband giving up his needs for that of his wife, or vice versa. I'd say that would be a good imagery of it.

Romans 12.1 says, Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. The word that's in there that I think is great is living. A living sacrifice. When you think about the Old Testament, the sacrifices, the things that that were done there. It was a dead animal. And Christ is not dead. Christ is living. He is risen. He is living. And the price that was paid is alive.

And God's looking for that kind of same thing from us. The living sacrifice that we are, moment by moment, day by day, giving up self for God. and the above spiritual sacrifices are those two different sources or are they just kind of wrapping them in different same thing wrapped in different language? It's a good question. Well, as we are, as we are here on earth, our bodies are part of our spirit.

I don't know for certain. Well, it's not. Sometimes your body could be involved and sometimes not. Sometimes it's, you know, it might involve, if you physically are doing something, if you're serving somebody, you have to physically do something. In another case, it might be accepting the Lord, you know, expressing humility in Christ, just saying, you know, being gracious. That's not necessarily a physical thing. That's a good question. What was the question? I'm sorry.

I was asking between those two verses it says in Romans present your bodies a living holy sacrifice and I'm wondering if there's a distinction between that and the above verse where it's talking about spiritual sacrifices or are they basically one in the same just different language approaching the same thing I just taught Romans 12.1 a couple weeks ago at a Tuesday night Bible study. My translation is just spiritual service or worship. But the way I understand this, and I think to be consistent between the two of them, is that you have the issue of relationship moment by moment. spiritually oriented. And so, it's going to work out in your body, but it's going to be a result of the Holy Spirit working in your life. Does that make sense to Roger and Kurt there? It says a spiritual response, a spiritual sacrifice. It's that moment-by-moment relationship.

The Holy Spirit draws you towards whatever this action is, fulfilling Ephesians 2.10, that this is good work. It may be physical, it may be emotional, it could be just something that the Lord teaches us at the moment, and we respond by not doing something, or by doing something instead of sacrifice. Does that make sense? Yeah, I see that as making sense.

Alright, the next question there is What is it that you rule over as a king and priest? The sin nature, the world, the devil. All that Christ rules over and all that you were in Adam is no longer, those are things that you rule over now. Moment by moment, walking in faith. Alright, what does this mean to me? Since you are in Christ, and Christ is the king and priest, is a king and priest, so are you. It means that since you are in Christ, and he is in the line of Melchizedek, that your priestly duty is blessing.

Not dealing with the sin issue, but blessing. You don't need to focus on the sin issue because it's taken care of, and your life is free to be a blessing to God, proclaiming the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into marvelous light. And then First Peter there talks about, you shall be holy for I am holy. The obvious question is how?

By faith in Christ, who he is, who you are in him, and that from him you gain all your spiritual positions and possessions. That's what we're learning about in this class, who you are in Christ. You're learning about what your faith is in. What is true of you.

Alright, I'm going to end in prayer and then we can go enjoy the service. Heavenly Father, thank you for our time this morning. Thank you that we can learn about who we are. Thank you for revealing yourself, your love, and revealing who you have made us. It's an amazing blessing that we can enter boldly into the throne, that we have access to your presence and to your love through our faith in Jesus Christ and what He has done. I pray that you would bless us and that we would bless you in return. In Jesus' name, Amen.