An image of the church
A Royal Priesthood
Peter gathers old titles once given to Israel and lays them on the church. You are a chosen people, he says, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God. Two of those words rarely meet. Kings rule and priests draw near, but here the same people do both. The church is a company of royal priests, brought out of darkness to declare God's praises.
“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:”1 Peter 2:9
The image
In the old covenant, priesthood belonged to a single tribe, and most of Israel could only stand at a distance while others went in. Peter says that wall is gone. The whole church is now the priesthood, every member given access to God and a work to do before him. A priest exists to draw near and to bring others near, to offer worship and to stand between God and the world. That is now the calling of ordinary believers, not a special class among them. And the priesthood is royal, joined to a king, sharing in his reign rather than merely serving in his courts. Peter even names the purpose, that this people would show forth the praises of the one who called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. A royal priesthood exists to make God known.
What it teaches us
This teaches the church that there are no second-class members and no spectators in worship. If every believer is a priest, then drawing near to God is not the privilege of a few professionals, it is the birthright of all. It dignifies the ordinary Christian as one who has real access and real work before God. It also teaches that our priesthood is for others, not just ourselves, since a priest stands between God and the world to bring them together. And it teaches purpose. We were not called out of darkness merely to be safe but to shine, to make the excellencies of God visible to a watching world. A royal priesthood is a people on assignment, near to God and sent for his praise.
How it centers on Christ
The church can be a royal priesthood only because of one who is both King and Priest. Peter has just called Christ the living stone, rejected by men but chosen by God, and it is by coming to him that we are made priests at all. Our access to God is not our achievement, it was opened by his sacrifice, the priest who offered himself. Our royalty is not our own, it is shared from his throne. Even the praises we exist to declare belong first to the one who called us out of darkness, and that light is his. So the whole identity is derived, every title borrowed from him. He is the great High Priest who brings us near, and the King who makes his people royal beside him.
Questions people ask
What does it mean that the church is a royal priesthood?
It means every believer, not just a clergy class, has direct access to God and a priestly work to do. Under the old covenant only one tribe served as priests. Peter says the whole church now shares that calling, and it is royal because we are joined to Christ the King. We draw near to God and exist to declare his praises.
What is the priesthood of all believers?
It is the truth that every Christian, not only leaders, can approach God directly and serve him as a priest. Peter applies old priestly language to the whole church, giving each member access to God, worship to offer, and others to bring near. No special class stands between believers and God, because Christ the great High Priest has opened the way for all of them.