Spiritual sacrifices The priesthood

1Peter 2:4 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house (where God abides), to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (There are about five in the New Testament)

THE FIRST PRIESTHOOD
Moses spoke to Israel in the Old Testament and told them they were to be a nation of priests (Exodus 19:5). He set apart a priesthood that was to offer sacrifices to God on Israel’s behalf.

THE FIRST SACRIFICE
The first sacrifice was the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 9:22). The first blood sacrifice offered was when God killed an animal to make hide-skin clothing for Adam and Eve to cover their sin and shame after the fall (Genesis 3:21).
Adam and Eve first tried to cover their own shame and guilt by using fig leaves to cover their nakedness, but this did not work because it was their own self-consciousness that devised this superficial covering. This never works, because we do this out of a feeling of feeling unaccepted for who we are in our weakness and so we try to hide that with things of our own design and making .
They also each put the blame onto someone else. Adam blamed his wife and said ‘the woman you gave me made me do it’. So he is also blaming God in this act of blame avoidance. Eve blamed the serpent ‘The devil made me do it’. This blood sacrifice of God for Adam and Eve foreshadowed the death of Jesus Christ as the lamb slain before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8) in giving his life to the Father on behalf of all of us and our sins, covering our shame and guilt through his love for us.

THE SECOND PRIESTHOOD AND THE SPIRITUAL SACRIFICE
God’s love covers THE multitude of sins and that means all sin.
1Peter 4:8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
So our love for one another covers the shame and guilt for each other as each of us falls short and misses the mark of living in the fullness of God. That is a spiritual sacrifice of a spiritual priesthood.
Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

When we do this we do not cause another person to have to cover up for themselves by hiding from themselves or by blaming others. This act of mercy allows them to see who they really are and that they are loved as they are in the eyes of God. Then that person can accept their own responsibility in walking in light and truth and can be healed from their shame and guilt and self consciousness.
The alternative is that we judge and punish one another. If God did this to us we would stay in hiding under our inadequate covering of fig leaves of or own making, and hide from God and his love.
When Adam and Eve tried first of all to cover themselves up with fig leaves they stayed in hiding
It was only when they could see that they were still loved by God after they had fallen short and missed the mark that they could then accept the covering of hide-skin that was provided by God for them. We have to get on our knees and ask for grace to offer this spiritual sacrifice. That love is powerful and strong. It can also be tough and impose boundaries on people’s behaviour who are in our sphere of care.