The Priesthood Of Believers
Feature 2 – November 2023 – Grace & Truth Magazine
The Priesthood Of Believers
The Priesthood Of Christ Two men from the pages of the Holy Scripture and of history who were priests of God were Melchisedec and Aaron. We have no information as to the birth, ancestry or death of Melchisedec. Aaron, however, was a son of Amram and brother of Moses and Miriam, an Israelite of the tribe of Levi, and the first high priest of Israel.
Yet, Melchisedec lived before Aaron. We read: “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace; without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually” (Heb. 7:1-3 KJV).
God in His wisdom withheld much information from us so that Melchisedec might be a picture of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. “Having neither beginning of days, nor end of life” indicates no one alive at that time knew when Melchisedec was born or when he died.
This king-priest Melchisedec was of a higher order than Aaron, who served in an earthly tabernacle. The order of Melchisedec is what our Lord Jesus took, for He was not a priest on earth offering gifts and sacrifices after the order of Aaron; priests from the line of Aaron were doing that. The course of the Aaronic priesthood ran from Aaron until Christ died (consider Mt. 27:51). Instead of coming in the line of Aaron, Christ came after a different order and from a different tribe (Judah).
This Melchisedec ranked higher and greater than Abraham, Levi and Aaron. We see this presented to us in Hebrews 7:5-10. There we read: “And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: but he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchisedec met him.”
It is in the order of this man’s priesthood that our Lord will reign for 1,000 years over the entire earth. That is when He will sit as priest on His throne: “Even He shall build the temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both” (Zech. 6:13).
The Priesthood Of Believers
We, who are integrally connected to Christ through new birth and sovereign grace and made flesh of His flesh and bones of His bones (Eph. 5:30), are priests of God and of Christ. The entire priesthood descended from Aaron, each having a special role to perform. So also, we – male and female – who are born again into the family of God are priests by virtue of being born of God. This priesthood has two aspects which each Christian is expected to perform today. They are:
- The holy priesthood. We are told in 1 Peter 2:4-5, “To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” This is the holy priesthood, and that is what we are.
- The royal priesthood. First Peter 2:9 says, “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Therefore, as it will be in the millennial reign, so we do even now: we bless God and bless man.
As holy priests our duty is toward God, to love and serve Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mk. 12:29-30). Hebrews 13:15 adds, “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name.” This is the primary purpose of the holy priest.
Every child of God ought to offer spiritual sacrifices to God continually. Of course, when we come before Him we offer what we have laid up in store from Him and for Him. Consider Mary of Bethany. When did she obtain the costly pound of spikenard, and for how long did she keep it before she anointed the Lord? We do not know. But now, like Mary, let us lay up to give to the Lord that which we treasure greatly. Are not these the worship, praise and adoration of our hearts?
What a joy and privilege, too, for every brother, old or young, to rise in an assembly and offer up worship on behalf of all present, from that which we have on our hearts.
On the other hand we have the royal priesthood, which has to do with our service toward man. We may be reminded of the words already shared: “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). Every act of kindness for Christ, every word spoken for Christ, every time we minister the Word in the power of the Spirit, every time we preach the gospel, every service that is done for Christ – even to a cup of cold water given in the name of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ – is done as royal priests.
Another aspect of the royal priesthood is that here and now we have the grand privilege to show forth the praises – the excellencies – of Him. That is, we show forth the moral glories of Christ, such as His love, grace, mercy, compassion, holiness, kindness, peace, meekness, gentleness and faithfulness.
A service of the royal priest is to teach men the truth. We see this in Malachi 2:7, where we read: “For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at His mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.” The priest teaches men about God’s will and ways – that which is well pleasing to God and what God desires to see in His saints. The heart of the priest is occupied with the Lord’s interests, so he goes to God with the people’s interests and speaks to Him on their behalf. Then, the priest comes out to the people from God and blesses them, speaking to the people on God’s behalf. It is a function that we do right now as we pray and intercede for men and teach them the words of God.
May the Lord be pleased to strengthen and sustain us in this happy function as priests of God.
By Milton Jamieson