Ephesians; 1:4 – Election of church age believer, part 48. Conclusion of the elected priest, The calling of the elect.

Class Outline:

I read an article yesterday about a company making microchips that would implanted inside a person all their knowledge, dislikes, likes, thoughts, dreams, etc. would be implanted on it. The article was entitled, “Humans to download their souls onto microchips so they can live forever.”

Mr Skellett added: “Living forever might sound crazy at the moment because the technology isn’t quite there, but we already have the technology to clone.

“The only thing is that something may be an exact replica in terms of DNA but it may be nothing like you because we are made up of both nature and nurture.

“Well I would say that nurture is all to do with learning, you are a product of everything you have experienced, your likes and dislikes and that’s arguably your soul.

“Your soul is you, it’s your beliefs, it’s your values.

“So imagine now that you’ve got a chip, and that chip has been collecting all of your personal details, all of your learning, that effectively becomes our soul.

“It may sound ridiculous, but you may be able to take that chip out and put it in another body and live forever - it’s not actually that ridiculous, is it?”

But the tech chief warns of other problems with microchipping and says it will make it possible to be spied on 24x7.

He also warns of people “hacking” people’s chips and making them susceptible to crime, saying: “What will happen to individuals when their body-chip is hacked?”

My soul is on a chip in my brain and some Chinese tech company is trying to steal it! What shall I do?

PSA 25:20

Guard my soul (microchip?) and deliver me;

PSA 26:9

Do not take my soul (microchip?) away along with sinners,

PSA 33:20

Our soul (microchips?) waits for the Lord;

He is our help and our shield.

PSA 35:17

Lord, how long wilt Thou look on?

Rescue my soul (microchip?) from their ravages,

We gather and learn the word of God so that we may care for our real souls.

PSA 42:2

My soul thirsts for God, for the living God;

When shall I come and appear before God?

LUK 9:24

“For whoever wishes to save his life [psuche] shall lose it, but whoever loses his life [psuche] for My sake, he is the one who will save it.”

Let them steal your old life. They can’t touch your new life in Christ.

The leaders of Israel investigated Jesus thoroughly and rejected Him. He was offensive to them and they stumbled over Him.

1PE 2:4 And coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected by men, but choice [eklekton: chosen out one or elect] and precious in the sight of God,

1PE 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

1PE 2:6 For this is contained in Scripture:

"Behold I lay in Zion a choice [chosen out] stone, a precious corner stone,

And he who believes in Him shall not be disappointed."

1PE 2:7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe. But for those who disbelieve,

"The stone which the builders rejected,

This became the very corner stone,"

1PE 2:8 and,

"A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense";

for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

1PE 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called [kaleo - verb “to call”] you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

1PE 2:10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The body of Christ, composed of all church age believers, are a chosen, or elected race of people, a royal priesthood, called to be holy and blameless and to proclaim His excellence.

This is a full time calling. I am never given leave of it. Any other calling in life besides this one is part-time, meaning that there are some hours in the day when I’m not operating in that calling. Even a mother and father take a break when the kids go to sleep. The calling of God is a life and not a ritual or a job that has a beginning and end. Perhaps that is why the calling is associated with eternal life.

1TI 6:12

 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called,

For this proclamation, the priest must be clean. He is always so in his position in Christ, but he must be in his life experience. He is to offer spiritual sacrifices, which are his ministry, help, assistance, and leading to others. He must seek the help of the Lord and when he does, he will only find mercy and grace. He must fear not entering into the Lord’s Sabbath rest through disobedience. It is the highest of callings ever given to a creature.

Once, the only priests to God were in the house of Israel. Before the Law was given priestly functions were carried out by the heads of the families. After the Law, only the sons of Aaron were priests.

The priests and the articles in the Tabernacle were anointed with the sacred oil. This meant that they were sanctified on the same level as the house of God and all its articles. But, like the articles, this holiness was ceremonial. Every part of that house represented something about the real God-Man Jesus Christ to come.

Now, all priests, meaning all believers, are sanctified in Him and are anointed with the Holy Spirit. The ceremony is gone and the reality is upon us, EXO 30:30 vs. 1JO 2:27.

As with all Old Testament articles and ceremonies, the Levitical priesthood was a type of the real priesthood to come. A permanent priesthood in which all the priests are fully clean forever, anointed forever, and also are royalty as related to the King and High Priest Jesus. We represent Him to the world. We assist other priests in their own duties as well as helping them to restoration when they get in trouble. We represent ourselves to the Father and seek His help and instruction through His word. All in all, the elected royal priest is an awesome position as well as an awesome responsibility.

The elect are king priests, a nation set apart to God, so that they proclaim His excellence in the world.

One king in Israel attempted to act like a priest and was judged for it. Uzziah was a good king, but his success went to his head and he entered the holy place and offered incense to God. As he did so, leprosy broke out on his forehead and would soon cover his body.

The point made is that not just anyone can be a priest unto God. A priest is elected, and in this age, the elect are only those who have personally believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior.  

Those who claim to be priests, who are not believers, put themselves in the path of discipline. All believer priests must live in holiness and blamelessness for the function of their priesthood.