A Kingdom of Priests

What does the gospel we preach cause us to become? 

“For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation.

And you have caused them to become

a Kingdom of priests for our God.

And they will reign on the earth.”– Rev 5:9–10 (NLT)

What does it mean that we become a Kingdom of priests?

An Old Testament priest was a Levite, a select tribe of a chosen people, who walked behind the veil into the Holy of Holies, into God’s very Presence, and testified of the God only the priest experienced to the favored nation of Israel. That is a bummer for a gentile like me.

But there is good news for all people. The veil is torn! All tribes, languages, peoples, and nations can come into the Holy of Holies and become priests. The veil is torn! The Holy of Holies can get out! The Holy of Holies, God’s very Presence, can go to all tribes, languages, peoples, and nations. The Kingdom of God is at hand! We can reach out and grab hold of it.

The gospel message should cause us to become a Kingdom of priests who live in the Holy of Holies as we go into all nations. A people who grab hold of the Kingdom of God and carry it in our hands, who offer people the chance to step into God’s very Presence, that the Lamb of God may ransom them from their nations by his blood into the Kingdom of God, to become a Kingdom of priests.

Spend some time asking Jesus these two questions:

1. Am I a Kingdom priest? 

2. Does my gospel call people to become Kingdom priests? 

Jesus told me, “Yes and no.” Often I have been just a Christian, following a plan, trying to convince people to believe what I believe, yet not calling them to become anything. I’ve also had seasons when I didn’t know what I was doing, but God’s presence was there. I was living in the reality of his Presence and grabbing hold of his Kingdom. In those seasons I couldn’t help but invite people into his Presence and watch people be transformed.

I am convinced that if we are walking in the Holy of Holies, if we are holding the Kingdom of God in our hands, we need not be anxious about evangelism. God’s Presence will send us out and it will draw the nations in.

Right now, ask Jesus, “How can I walk into the Holy of Holies today?” Ask Jesus, “How can I grab hold of the Kingdom of God today and carry it in my hand?”

I would love to hear how Jesus spoke to you today. If you feel so compelled, please share in this shared doc how Jesus called you into the Holy of Holies. I’m eager to learn from my fellow Kingdom priests how to better steward God’s Presence.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bradyn Boone joined Novo in November and is headed to Malaga, Spain with his wife Jackie and their year and a half old son Marco. Bradyn’s background is in community and home building in disadvantaged parts of Dallas. He will be developing discipleship rich restorative homes and economic opportunity for exploited women in Europe while Jackie joins the SentWell team as a LCSW counselor.