Revelations 1:5b-6: To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
καὶ ἐποίησεν ἡμᾶς βασιλείαν, ἱερεῖς τῷ θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ, αὐτῷ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας [τῶν αἰώνων]· ἀμήν.
This brief sentence says a lot about what Jesus has done for us. The end of v. 5 describes redemption from sin. The cause for this is Jesus’ love which he revealed through sacrificing himself to the justice of God as the sacrificial lamb in behalf of sinful humanity. This brings to mind the Old Testament laws and sacrificial system. As John recorded in his gospel, Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:36).
The result of this is that we have become a kingdom of priests. This also recalls the Old Testament in Exodus 19:5-6: “Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” The difference between ancient Israel and the church is that the church does not need to struggle to be a kingdom of priests or a holy people because of God’s grace. Israel struggled and failed to keep God’s laws. Believers now can fulfill God’s law because Jesus is the fulfillment of the law (Romans 10:4). The Holy Spirit writes God’s laws on our hearts, in particular, the law of love.
The end result of this is the recognition of God’s sovereignty in our lives and in the world. There is an implied condition that will become more explicit at Revelation unfolds. Will the reader accept this sovereignty and this offer of grace?
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