The New Testament says something surprising about ordinary believers.
It calls us:
- a royal priesthood (1Peter 2:9)
- priests to His God and Father (Revelation 1:6)
At first glance, that can sound strange. What does it mean? Am I supposed to wear a robe now?
To understand this, we have to start with Christ.
Jesus Alone Is the High Priest
Hebrews is very clear:
Jesus Christ is the High Priest.
He alone:
- offered the final sacrifice for sin
- passed through the heavens
- entered God’s presence on our behalf
- secured eternal redemption
We don’t do any of that.
We don’t reconcile people to God.
We don’t remove sin.
We don’t stand between heaven and earth.
That work belongs to Jesus alone.
So when Scripture calls believers “priests,” it’s not giving us Christ’s role. It’s describing what flows from His finished work.
We Are Priests Because We Share His Access
Under the Old Covenant, only priests could approach God.
Everyone else stayed outside.
But because Jesus finished the work, that barrier is gone.
Now:
- every believer has direct access to God
- every believer can draw near with confidence
- every believer lives in God’s presence
That’s what Hebrews celebrates. So our priesthood isn’t about hierarchy.
It’s about access.
Jesus opens the door.
We get to walk through it.
That’s the foundation.
But Here’s the Key: Our Priesthood Shows Up Especially Toward Unbelievers
This is where it becomes practical.
Yes, believers are priests before God.
But that priesthood expresses itself most clearly in how we relate to those who don’t yet know Christ.
Not by replacing Jesus. By representing Him.
Think of it this way:
Jesus represents us before God. We represent Jesus to the world. That’s priesthood in the New Covenant.
Think of how this relates to loving others when they are lost. If you see someone who is not walking according to Christian values, do you focus on calling them out or do you become a priest to them, to show God’s love.
1. We Carry People to God in Prayer
In the Old Testament, priests stood before God on behalf of the people.
Now believers do that freely for primarily unbelievers (as believers have their own access. Though there is nothing wrong about praying for other believers).
We pray for:
- family
- friends
- coworkers
- neighbors
- nations
Not because Christ is absent — but because Christ already gave us access.
This fits perfectly with First Epistle to Timothy 2, where believers are urged to intercede for all people.
That’s priesthood.
We bring people before God in prayer.
2. We Carry God to People
Priests didn’t only face God.
They also faced the people.
They carried God’s presence outward.
That’s what Paul means in 2 Corinthians when he says we are ambassadors for Christ.
So toward unbelievers, our priesthood looks like:
- showing grace
- speaking truth in love
- walking in humility
- reflecting Christ’s character
- pointing people to Jesus
We don’t draw people to ourselves.
We draw them to Christ.
Also in regards to healing, when we minister healing, we are representing God to people, when we say “Be healed in Jesus’s Name”
3. We “Offer” People to God Through the Gospel
Paul even uses priestly language in Epistle to the Romans 15, describing Gentile believers as an offering to God.
Not through animal sacrifices.
Through the gospel.
Through love.
Through lives transformed.
In the New Covenant, people become the offering.
That’s beautiful.
An Important Boundary
We are priests toward unbelievers in the sense of:
✔ intercession
✔ representation
✔ invitation
But never in the sense of:
✘ replacing Christ
✘ controlling access to God
✘ becoming spiritual gatekeepers
The moment priesthood becomes authority over people instead of service for people, it stops being biblical.
How This Fits with Hebrews
Hebrews teaches:
Jesus stands for us before God.
The rest of the New Testament shows:
We stand for Him before the world.
Upward: Christ for us.
Outward: us for others.
That’s the flow.
Final Thought
We are priests because Jesus opened the way.
And that priesthood is lived out most clearly toward unbelievers:
- we pray for them
- we love them
- we represent Christ to them
- we invite them into grace
Not because we are special.
But because Christ is.
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