The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God (Short Studies in Biblical Theology)

This study book on the priesthood is so easy to read and understand.

My reason for not giving it four stars is rooted in the fact that the question, "Why does it matter to me as a believer?" is rarely answered. I did thoroughly enjoy learning the connections between the priesthood and God's plan for humanity and even the Savior. Overall, a solid study of the topic and how it flows through the whole of Scripture. As a chosen priesthood, every believer can find something within, but it isn't always clear in the application. Worthwhile read.

This gave a good definition of priesthood and priety duties but was one of the weaker entries in this series in my opinion.

This book is a heavy study of the priesthood of Jesus specifically as it’s explored in the book of hebrews. It feels like a monograph I would have had to read as part of my Hebrews class in bible college. I want to emphasize this reads like a textbook. If you worked at it this could be a resource for a sunday school class- but it isn’t written for that. It’s also important to note that this presents the themes of the priesthood as part of a systematic theology. That means there’s a lot of other assumptions and presuppositions included in here too as part of this system. It’s a conservative take- a bit too patriarchal for my taste, as I’m not a southern baptist. It reads like a lecture with sound footnotes for further exploration. For such a foundational part of the setup the idea that even modern secular societies worship and have priests gets little fleshing out. The book he references I’m sure does it more justice and it may be an attempt to not lose focus or draw too heavily from one source. But- fleshing that out in the beginning would provide a steady comparison throughout the book and help this book be more accessible for those who aren’t as academic or had years of college level training. It’s a fine resource, but I cannot stress enough how much this feels like a textbook for a book of Hebrews college class. Devotional illustrations are far and few between and it’s just dense and a little heavy handed. This is not a resource to encourage you to study scripture on your own or as a community and grow closer to God by drawing your own connections. This is a lecture telling you what each passage means and what to believe- and because it’s a systematic theology there are some things lumped in with that with little room for varying interpretation or even nuance.It’s a useful book- but I’ve already had a college class on the book of Hebrews and it’s too rigid and dense for me to recommend this to the average church goer (plus I’m not a fan of gifting books in systematic theologies- I can never agree with them 100% and they tend to indoctrinate and lean towards fundamentalism instead of equip and teach for a deeper faith and share in the variety of orthodox Christian practice, teaching, and experience). Other than students and teachers/pastors I don’t really know who this is for.

First sentence: In the beginning God created a priest. And not just any priest, but a royal priest--a man made in God's likeness, a son fashioned to reflect God's beauty, an image-bearer commissioned to rule God's world with holy affections. God commissioned the first family--Adam and his fellow image bearer, Eve--to be fruitful and multiply and fill the world with God's glory.The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God is one of the books in Crossway's series Short Studies in Biblical Theology. This book traces the theme of the royal priesthood through the entire Bible--Genesis to Revelation.Early on it defines (explains) the terms priest and priesthood. Schrock makes clear the importance (significance) of the concept of the priesthood in Scripture. He writes,"The aim of this book is to study the priesthood so that we might delight more fully in the glory of God's Son, our great high priest. Moreover, by learning the history and purpose of priesthood in the Bible, we will better understand God's work in redemption."Schrock defines priesthood in this way, "Priests are consecrated mediators between God and his covenant people, who stand to serve at God's altar 1) sanctifying God's Holy Place, 2) sacrificing God's offerings, and 3) speaking God's covenant."He then unpacks how the books of the Bible fit together (work together) to portray this image, this concept of the Royal Priesthood. He traces everything out as is made clear in the table of contents:In the Beginning: The Royal Priesthood PatternedThe Law: The Levitical Priesthood LegislatedThe Prophets: The Priesthood Promised, Compromised, and Promised AgainThe Writings: The Royal Priesthood AnticipatedThe Gospels: The Royal Priesthood ArrivesActs through Revelation: The Royal Priesthood MultipliesI love that he uses the Jewish ordering of the Old Testament! I think it makes his argument stronger/more coherent.You might suppose that this one would be "dry" or "boring" or too scholarly to be appealing/engaging. But I found it a good, solid read. I didn't find it confusing or too weighty/heavy. I thought it offered much food for thought.I agree with the author when he writes,"In a world of competing glories, therefore studying the priesthood is basic for Christian discipleship. When secular priests entice Christians to worship in their temples, we need the true priest-king interceding for us and applying his blood to atone for our sins. We need a biblical vision of Christ's priestly glory to empower us to reject all substitutes and worship him alone. In short we need a biblical theology of royal priesthood that leads us to Christ. For to be made in God's image and created for God's glory means Christ's disciples are called to be a family of royal priests--sons and daughters who serve in the presence of the Lord by means of the finished work of Christ, our great high priest."We DO need a biblical vision of Christ's priestly glory to empower us to reject all substitutes and worship him alone.