Our Priesthood As Believers

Feature 1 – November 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Our Priesthood As Believers

Melchizedek, also spelled “Melchisedec,” is the first priest mentioned in the Bible, and he was also a king (Gen. 14:18). The concept of priest and king in one person is further developed in other passages, such as Psalm 110. The New Testament links this thought clearly with our Lord Jesus Christ (consider Heb. 6:20–7:22). Under the Mosaic law, however, it was strictly forbidden that a priest would be a king

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or vice versa. For example, King Uzziah was smitten with leprosy when he tried to burn incense in the sanctuary in a priestly role (2 Chr. 26:18-23).

In this study we focus on those of us who are believers, described in Scripture as “kings and priests” (Rev. 5:10 NKJV). God the Father has adopted us as sons for Himself and blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3-6).

In the Greek New Testament, a close link exists between God’s sanctuary and priestly service. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for priest is kohen, meaning one who functions in God’s presence and takes care of His interests. Abraham did so, and we learn much of him in various contexts, even though he was not after the order of Melchizedek. Today, we may function in appropriate ways as priests and learn from the father of the believers – Abraham (Rom. 4:16).

Abram’s Example And His Followers
Having left behind his country, its idolatry and most of his family, Abram (later, Abraham) became a devoted worshiper of the true and living God who had called him. The patriarch built several altars on which he brought sacrifices to honor and worship God (Gen. 12:1-8, 13:4,18, 22:1-18). His son Isaac and grandson Jacob followed him in these exercises, as the author of Hebrews described (11:8-12). We may learn from them all.

When the Lord Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman, she asked about the living water He had mentioned (Jn. 4:11,14). In answering, He also told her about the Father who seeks worshipers, that God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must do so “in spirit and in truth” (v.24). This means the worship of God is not a matter of following man’s thoughts, rituals or customs, but of genuine fellowship with the only true God. It is a response to Him in accordance with who He is (Spirit) and what He has revealed in His Word (truth).

The Father seeks worshipers (v.23) who spontaneously respond to Him and His love. By comparison, under the law, God made righteous and reasonable demands. No one was able to fulfill them except the Lord Jesus, who completed His work (5:17-30). He confirmed this blessed fact in one word on the cross: Tetelestai, translated in our Bibles as, “It is finished” (19:30), and meaning “paid in full.” Thus, all of God’s requirements have been satisfied. The Father is now looking for a response to His love and to what His Son has done. Only His redeemed ones can give such a response, and they will forever!

In John 4:25-26 the Lord Jesus confirmed to the woman at the well that He is “the Messiah” (in Hebrew), or “the Christ” (in Greek), which means “the Anointed.” He was the One she was talking about and with whom she was speaking. Another amazing thing is how He communicated this matter to her by using the terms “I am,” as it is quoted, “I who speak to you am He.” “I am” is the same term He used many times in John’s gospel when speaking of Himself, and we recall “I AM” is the name the Lord used of Himself when He appeared to Moses (Ex. 3:14).

Salvation Comes Before Worship
Before we can become true worshipers, able to respond to our God and Father, the matter of salvation must be settled. Are you truly saved? How do you know you are?

God used the Jewish people to bring salvation (v.22). This is not by virtue of their being better than others or deserving of this honor, but it was because God’s sovereign grace planned it this way. We should always bow to God’s rights and plans (please read Rom. 3).

“Worship in spirit and truth” is right because “God is Spirit,” and He desires that such a response be made in accordance with who He is and His revealed truth (Jn. 4:24). To worship, a person must be born again (3:3-8). Then, we also need to have the right attitude and mindset, in submission to God and to His Word. Before talking with her about true worship, the Lord had touched this woman’s conscience, and she honestly confessed her condition (vv.16-19). After He had addressed these matters, the Lord freely spoke with her about the place and hour of worship – a conversation He could not have had with the scribes and Pharisees because of their unbelief.

The Lord Jesus explained to her that this hour is now, and that one can worship the way God desires in any place in the world – but only in spirit and in truth (vv.20-24). In the present period of grace, true believers all over the world may worship through our Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 13:15). The Lord explained this principle in John 14:6, as when He revealed, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Furthermore, He is the great Priest (Heb. 9:11), the Altar (13:10), and the true Sacrifice (v.12). We may bring our response in never-ending praise and worship of the Father and the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Adopted Sons
The priesthood of all believers is based on the position God has given us as adopted sons. Paul’s letter to the Romans shows how God has worked this out through redemption, having purchased us for Himself. Ephesians describes our previous condition of spiritual death and God’s wondrous intervention by taking us out of the power of death and giving us abundant life. In amazing ways, He has prepared us as a people for Himself, from among Jews and Gentiles, and brought us to Himself, much closer than Israel ever was or will be, even in the coming millennium.

In Israel’s past, God chose one tribe – Levi – to serve Him. From this tribe He chose Aaron and his family to serve as priests (Ex. 28:1). This was during the wilderness journey, within one year after they had been delivered from Pharaoh’s power. Their Levitical service was linked with the tabernacle, as God had instructed Moses (Num. 1:50). In the Promised Land, God replaced the tabernacle with the temple and its service (compare 1 Chr. 6, 2 Chr. 5). 

In contrast to those arrangements, our priesthood is linked with the glorified Lord Jesus and the heavenly sanctuary to which we have free access, even though we still live on this earth (Heb. 10:19-22). We may serve God as priests in any country, but not as belonging to this world, in contrast to systems of idolatry as described, for instance, in Acts 14:13. We serve not as being better than others – for we are not – but because of the grace of our God.

An Ongoing Response
God is looking for a response to all He has wrought and to what the Lord Jesus has accomplished. God’s mercy and compassion about our miserable condition led Him to send His own Son. He accomplished everything that was needed for our redemption and deliverance. Also, He enabled us to serve God as priests in a way that is acceptable to Him. On behalf of God, the apostle Paul pleaded for us to present ourselves as “a living sacrifice” (Rom. 12:1). In the same verse, He further elaborated that the sacrifice is “holy,” set apart for God in tune with His holiness and His rights.

Let us not forget that it is a “sacrifice” in response to the price our Lord paid. Our service is for Him, and it is something we cannot take back. Furthermore, it is something “reasonable,” that God can expect from us in a way that really makes sense. He bought us for a price that we may honor God in return, including with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20). “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2). Much could be said about these verses. May we reflect on them and respond to God’s desires in love and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let us consider another verse that puts our priestly service in the right perspective: “As you come to Him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:4-5 ESV). Our service as priests is not only for the time we are in this world, but God’s plan is to have us for Himself in this way forever.

It is forever, because He “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (Rev. 1:6 NKJV). A similar thought is expressed in Revelation 5:9-10 (ESV): “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, for You were slain, and by Your blood You ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.’” In Revelation 20:6 we are seen as “priests of God and of Christ,” reigning as kings2 from heaven, together with Christ for 1,000 years! 

Parallels And Contrasts
Hebrews draws parallels and contrasts between the Old and New Testament orders of worship. The first order was related to this earth and given by God through Moses. The second order was given based on Christ’s accomplished work. It represents a new order of worship linked with Him as we see Him now, “crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:9). Hebrews has the word “priest” 14 (2x7) times, usually linked with Aaron and sometimes with Melchizedek, who represented a priesthood prefiguring Christ’s new order. In addition to this, toward the end of Hebrews we read: “We have a great Priest over the house of God” (10:21 ESV).

Before that new order was instituted, the Lord Jesus was hanging between heaven and earth on the cross. There He accomplished a work no one else ever could do, for God’s glory and for our redemption. He was the perfect Sin-offering and satisfied God’s righteous and holy demands, which we never could meet. At the same time, He was the High Priest who accomplished the work of the Day of Atonement (see Lev. 16), which no other priest could ever complete because it needed always to be repeated. However, Christ finished His work and is now seated at God’s right hand,3 and represents there a new order of priesthood because of His accomplished work. He is the living Proof that it cannot be repeated, as Hebrews and many other Scriptures clearly demonstrate.

Honor and worship to Him forever!

ENDNOTES
1. A king could not officially be a priest, but in some cases we read that a king would act in a priestly way, such as in public prayer and worship.
2. We will be functioning as priests and reign as kings, whereas now we serve Him as His witnesses and disciples, associated with a rejected Christ.
3. Saul of Tarsus met the Lord on the road to Damascus as He called Him from heaven (Acts 9). Saul’s conversion is referred to seven times in the New Testament. Christ’s present position at God’s right hand characterizes Christianity (Acts 7:56). Believing Paul wrote Hebrews, he referred to it seven times (Rom. 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:3, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2) and Peter confirmed it (1 Pet. 3:22) as being characteristic of Christ’s accomplished work. Praise God!

By Alfred Bouter