Revelation 1:6 | Your Royal Priesthood in Christ: Spiritual Sacrifices
Memory Verse
And made us a kingdom, priest to our God and Father, to Him is the glory and the might into the ages of the ages. Amen (Revelation 1:6).
The Church is a royal priesthood, that is a holy nation unto God (1 Peter 2:9). This priesthood does not relate to the Levitical order and therefore has nothing to do with the Mosaic Law (Hebrews 7:14). Christ, as our High Priest, is a priest according to the Melchizedek order (Hebrews 7:15). Since the priesthood has changes, so has the standard by which the priesthood lives (Hebrews 7:12).
As priest according to the Melchizedek order, we offer spiritual sacrifices to God, not physical ones (1 Peter 2:5). Presenting out bodies as a living sacrifice is our reasonable religious service (Romans 12:1). The fruit of our lips confessing His name is a sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15). By living out who we are in Christ, we will offer the sacrifice of doing what is beneficial (Hebrews 13:16). Along with doing good, we are to fellowship with others saints (Hebrews 13:16). Taking God at His word and therefore living by the promises He gives us in Christ, we offer the sacrifice of faith (Philippians 2:17). Even our financial support for the ministry is a spiritual sacrifice when done properly (Philippians 4:18). To give correctly is cheerfully to give from a grateful heart, not based upon grief or necessity, but willingly and freely (2 Corinthians 9:7).
God desires those who worship in spirit and truth, not through their emotions (John 4:24). Worship is giving God credit for who He is and what He has done. It is a response that is based on truth, not feelings. It is not subjective, but objectively states the facts. As priest according to the Melchizedek order, we of the Church serve God in spirit and truth, living out the life we have in Christ by walking by the Spirit. As we conduct our lives in this manner, we will naturally offer spiritual sacrifices to God because in Christ we are all priests.