Note the following early Christian commentaries on 1 Pet 2:9. What is interesting is that these figures did not believe in the “either-or” interpretation (either a Priesthood of All Believers or an ordained, ministerial priesthood); instead, they held to “both-and” (in fact, many were priests and/or bishops) and written during times when sacerdotalism was part-and-parcel of the times:
2:9 A Chosen Race, a Royal
Priesthood
A Royal People. Clement of Alexandria: That we are a
chosen people is clear enough, but Peter said that we are a royal people
because we have been called to share Christ’s kingdom and we belong to him. We
are a priesthood because of the offering which is made in prayers and in the
teachings by which souls which are offered to God are won. Adumbrations.
The Approach to the
Sanctuary. Origen:
Because you are a priestly race you are able to approach the sanctuary of God. Sermons
on Leviticus 9.9.
The Altar Fire Maintained. Origen: If you want to exercise the
priesthood of your soul, do not let the fire depart from your altar. Sermons on
Leviticus 4.6.
King and Priest Together. Didymus the Blind: Under the old
dispensation, the priesthood and the kingship were two different things. No one
could be both a king and a priest. But afterwards came the gospel, which united
these two offices in Christ. From this it follows that the people whom he has chosen
will be both royal and priestly at the same time. Some people wonder how it is
possible, seeing that we are called from all the nations on earth, for us to be
regarded as one holy people. The answer to this is that although we are from
many different nations, the fact that we have all repented of our sins and
accepted a common will and a common mind gives those who have repented one
doctrine and one faith. When there is a soul and heart common to all believers,
then they are called one people. Commentary on 1 Peter.
All Believers Anointed. Augustine: In ancient times only one
high priest was anointed, but now all Christians are anointed. Sermons 198a.
All Christians Are Made
Priests. Leo the Great:
All who have been born again in Christ are made kings by the sign of the cross
and consecrated priests by the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Sermons 4.
A Holy People. Andreas: We are royal from the fact that
Christ is a king, and we are a priesthood from the fact that he is a priest.
Furthermore, we are also a holy people, so called by the one who is called holy
in himself. Catena.
A People Apart. Severus of Antioch: As believers in
Christ we have received exactly the same things as he already has. Since he is
of the royal tribe and became a high priest, so too have we been enriched by
these gifts. Having them, we have become a holy nation and a people for
safekeeping, that is, for being kept apart from the world; for we have entered
into his rest. Catena.
Believing Gentiles a Chosen
Race. Bede: This title of
honor, which God gave to his ancient people through Moses, the apostle Peter
now applies to the Gentiles, and rightly so, because they have believed in
Christ who was the true cornerstone of Israel’s faith. The Gentiles are
therefore a chosen race, in contradistinction to those who have been rejected
because they themselves rejected the living stone. They are a royal priesthood
because they are joined to the body of him who is both the king and the true
high priest. As their king, Christ grants them a share in his kingdom, and as
their priest he purifies them with the sacrifice of his own blood. On 1 Peter.
(James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John,
Jude, ed. Gerald Bray [Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000], 87-88)
