The Holy Nation of Kings, Ambassadors, Priests, and Temples

Kings, Ambassadors, Priests, and Temples of God

Within the New Testament are many references to the Father's elect children being kings, ambassadors, priests, and temples. But are these references only spiritual analogies or are they expressions of physical and spiritual realities during the gospel age of salvation? If these references are realities, what meaning do they have today? And how do these kings, ambassadors, priests, and temples interact and function to serve God the Father's and Jesus Christ's purpose today?

If in fact the Father's children are literally kings, ambassadors, priests, and temples, the answers to the above questions are extremely important and have enormous implications pertaining to one's spiritual life and responsibilities as a child of God today and one's future as an immortal spirit-being in the Family and Kingdom of God.

This study presents an overview of foundational information which is necessary in order to explain the enormous implications of being a member of the Father's royal household, a king, an ambassador, and a citizen of his holy nation and a priest who serve him and his son in his temples during the gospel age of salvation.

The Holy Nation

Many people think that the Kingdom of God is a spiritual reality that will only be entered into upon one's death and resurrection. Although the Kingdom of God is spiritual and is not yet physically present on earth there are many parables, prophecies, and promises recorded in the New Testament concerning the elect's status as citizens of the Kingdom of God. Moreover, the scriptures clearly show that the Father's elect children who are alive today are citizens of a holy nation who are subject to both the physical and spiritual laws of the Kingdom of God (1.Pet.2:9-10).

This study explains what a kingdom is and the functions and responsibilities that each of God the Father's children have as a citizen, a king, and an ambassador within his holy nation during the gospel age of salvation.

The Father's Temple Worship System Today

The apostles and the early church understood and taught the deep spiritual meanings and relationships between the Levitical priesthood, the temple worship system of national Israel, and the holy nation of kings, ambassadors, and priests who serve the Father and Jesus Christ through temples of flesh during the gospel age of salvation.

Being a temple of God during the gospel age is not some abstract thought or mystical concept, it is a literal reality for those who are the Father's elect children on earth. Therefore, in order to more clearly understand how the Father's temple functions within his elect children today, we need to have some understanding of the temple system of ancient Israel, the temple system after the return of Christ, and the heavenly temple system.

This study explains some of the more important allegorical and literal meaning and relationships between the temple worship system of ancient Israel and the temple worship system during the gospel age of salvation which began on the day of Pentecost in 30 A.D. when the holy spirit was sent to dwell in temples of flesh.

God's Temple Worship System: Sacrifices, Offerings, and the Priesthood

The Old and New Testaments show that the various sacrifices and rituals of the earthly temple system of worship given to ancient Israel were symbolic of some higher meaning that is a part of the Sovereign Father's heavenly worship system and that the objects in the court of the earthly tabernacle and within the sanctuary were symbolic representations of things in heaven.

The scriptures show that God is to be worshiped, served, and communicated with through a temple and its accompanying sacrifices and rituals. Therefore, it behooves those who want to worship the true God to understand the literal and symbolic meanings that are associated with this temple system of worship.

Under the Father's agreement with his elect children during the gospel age of salvation, his children are royal priests of his household who serve him in his earthly temples and are responsible to administer his worship system on earth under the direction of Jesus Christ who is their high priest.

This study explains much of the symbolism associated with the temple system as it relates to the reality of the Father's elect children during the gospel age of salvation.

The Royal Priesthood During the Gospel Age

In his letter to the Father's elect children the apostle Peter said, " You are a holy priesthood who are to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to the Father through Jesus Christ. . .. You are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for possession, so that you may openly speak of the One [the Father] who has called you out of spiritual darkness into his marvelous light" (1.Pet.2:5, 9 Para.).

The New Testament is full of scriptures that speak of the Father's children being priests; therefore, the following important questions need to be answered if one is to fulfill one's responsibilities as a priest during this age of salvation: Just what are the responsibilities of a priest today, and what authority does one have as a priest during this age? This study answers these and other important questions concerning the Father's priesthood that exists during the gospel age of salvation.

The Father's Will for His Children

Although most of the Father's elect children believe that he and his son Jesus Christ are actively involved in human affairs, many are uncertain of exactly what his specific purpose (his will) is for their life, others believe that everything (whether good or bad) that happens in their life is the result of God's intervention.

The Bible clearly shows that the Sovereign God's primary purpose for creating humanity is to increase his spiritual family and kingdom, and that he must sometimes intervene in human affairs in order to accomplish this purpose; however, does the Sovereign God of all that exists personally micro-manage the lives of his elect children and every human on earth or is most of what happens in the lives of his elect children and in world dictated by time and chance, situations beyond one's control, or circumstances of one's own making?

This study answers these questions and explains what the Father's will is for his children in the context of the present and the future.

Communication with God

God has been communicating with humans and humans have been communicating with God since the creation of Adam; however, it has always been God's prerogative if communication between himself and people will be conducted and how, when, and where this communication takes place.

Many scriptures speak about the need to communicate with God the Father and this communications importance to one's spiritual survival. This study explains who is authorized to communicate with God the Father and how to establish and maintain a personal and ongoing relationship with him through proper communication.