When we are reconciled to God through Christ, we are brought into God’s plan for the earth. And God’s plan is that all the people of the earth will be reconciled to Him. That is why He gives us the ministry of reconciliation. Our personal salvation makes us part of God’s holy Kingdom of priests who minister to others the reconciliation that He provided for all by the sacrifice of His Son.

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Show Notes:

We can see God’s heart for the world in His relationship with Israel. When God brought them forth as a nation, He told them to be a kingdom of priests. And what is the purpose of being a kingdom of priests? It is to minister to all the nations of the earth. As Christians who have been grafted into the covenant and promises of Israel, we share in this same purpose to be a kingdom of priests. As our High Priest, Christ reconciled us to God by His blood. This ministry of reconciliation is how a priest functions. And when we receive Christ, we also receive the ministry of reconciliation.

We miss this aspect when we focus only on our personal salvation. God commanded Israel to be a kingdom of priests, but He also told them to be a holy nation. You cannot have one without the other. God wanted Israel to be holy so that they could serve as His priesthood that would minister to the nations. The same is true of our salvation. When God saves us, He forgives our sins. But that does not mean we are supposed to do nothing except sit around and be forgiven. We are forgiven and cleansed of our sins so that we can be the priests who serve Him in His presence.

If we truly are concerned about what is going on in the world today, then it must be real to us that God wants salvation for all mankind. We are not here to be caught up in the hostility of this age that pits one nation or people or individual against another. We must be those who stand in the presence of the Father and contend with Him, by the sacrifice of His Son for all the world, that everyone in this age will be reconciled to Him. If we are Christians, then we have become His royal priesthood. We have become His priests with the ministry of reconciliation for the nations.

Key Verses:

• Exodus 19:5–6. “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
• Revelation 1:4–6. “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.”
• Revelation 5:9–10. “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God.”
• Romans 11:17. “You … were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree.”
• Genesis 12:3. “In you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
• 2 Corinthians 5:18–20. “God … reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
• 1 Timothy 2:1–6. “God our Savior … desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
• 2 Peter 3:9. “The Lord is … patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
• Isaiah 60:10–12. “Foreigners will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you.”
• John 3:15–17. “God did not send the Son … to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”

Quotes:

• “There’s a fulfillment of the promise to Abraham in that all the nations now are being included. And you know what? God has made you also, like Israel, to be a kingdom and priests unto God.”
• “The purpose of the Church is that it become the priesthood of God ministering in the earth.”
• “For people to die in judgment means that they became part of satan’s kingdom. I don’t like that. I don’t want him to have anybody in his kingdom. I want all to come to the understanding and the knowledge of the salvation that the Father has given us through His Son.”

Takeaways:

1. Our personal salvation is not an end in itself. It is what enables us to stand in His presence so that we can function as His priests.
2. We have been reconciled to God in order to enter His Kingdom as the priests who will minister His reconciliation to all the nations.
3. Let us contend with God that He exercise His true heart for the world that all people come to Him, be saved, and be part of His Kingdom.

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