3/31/12- Christ our Priest

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Q. 25- How does Christ hold the office of a priest?
A. Christ holds the office of a priest by offering Himself up as a one-time sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and to reconcile us to God, and by continuing to pray for us.

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. (Romans 5:10-11)

 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:24-28)

Thoughts: We were enemies with God (Romans 5:10).  That is a hopeless situation bound for spiritual death.  We have a tendency to rebel against God our Maker. Yet Christ is God's solution to bring those who trust in his sacrifice to Himself.  The priest stands between God and humans and brings them together in reconciliation (2 Cor. 5).  Christ does this, but prays for us and sacrifices himself on the cross for us.  Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and at the same time our priest who offers sacrifice- this time his own self.  The cross is offered to the whole world (John 3:16), yet to some it is foolishness (1 Cor. 1:18) and to others it shows the power of God to love us unto death and to reconcile us to Himself.  

Prayer: Forgive me of my great sins O Lord.  

(Matthias Grunwald, crucifixion)

1984 translation: Q. 25. How is Christ a priest?

A. As a priest, Christ offered Himself up once as a sacrifice for us to satisfy divine justice and to

reconcile us to God, and He continually intercedes for us.

1647 original: Q. 25. How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
A. Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us.