The Holy And Royal Priesthood

by PENN, I.E. | Category: Names That Need To Be Known | Oct 2006

According to the Scriptures, God has recognised four priesthoods to date. These are those of: Melchizedek; the sons of the tribe of Levi, known as the Levitical priesthood (of whom Aaron was the first high priest); the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb.7:1,11,24); and the priesthood in which believers today may find themselves, to which the adjectives ‘holy’ and ‘royal’ are distinctively attached (1 Pet.2:5,9). Examination of each of these shows how a person was made a priest, and that the priest’s work was to represent men to God and God to men.

Melchizedek

Nothing is said specifically of how the mysterious monarch, Melchizedek, the first priest of God in the Scriptures, came to be made a priest. He is unique; this information being deliberately withheld for the reason given in Hebrews 7:3. His work, however, was not unique because he gave to Abraham and blessed him, and then he blessed God and received a tithe (Gen.14:18-20). Thus, there were manward and godward aspects in both his words and works.

The Levitical priesthood

This, the second priesthood, was not established until the children of Israel were first redeemed from Egypt; constituted the people of God, God’s holy nation at Mount Sinai (Ex.19:1-8;24:1-8); and given instructions for the building of the house of God (Ex.25:1-27:21; 28:1-30:38; Ex.40:12-16). When all was done according to the Law, the divine truth that priests of God belong to the nation of God and serve in the house of God, was seen for the first time on the earth. Israel had become a kingdom of priests.

Aaron and his successors were men, appointed by God, from and for men. Their functions were to offer godward the gifts and sacrifices of the people of God, and manward, to ensure that all the people were fit to serve God (Heb.5:1-4). This dual role given at Sinai was confirmed by Moses prior to his death (Deut.33:10) and continued to the end of the Old Testament scriptures. At that time God castigated the priests for their failure, in offering sub-standard offerings in the house of God (Mal.1:6-14). Hand in hand with this, too, He condemned the priests for failure in their teaching and their duties of care towards the people. Indeed in his manward role, the priest is actually called the messenger of the Lord of Hosts (Mal.2:4-9).

Both roles of the Levitical priesthood continued during the days of the Lord in His flesh, since we see Him honouring their work in the case of the cleansed leper (Mat.8:1-4; Mark 1:40-44; Luke 5:12-14) and showing, also, how the priest was not to neglect to minister to the fallen (Luke 10:31). Then the kingdom was taken from Israel at the death of the Lord Jesus; it and the priesthood being replaced by those of the Lord and His New Covenant people.

The priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ

The priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ, prophetically announced as a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek (Ps.110:4; Heb.7:24), is the third to be recognised by God. It replaced that of Aaron and his sons (Heb.7:11-25) and its superiority is the cause of the New Covenant, of which He is the Mediator, replacing the Old Covenant (Heb.7:12; 8:1-7; 12:24). The writer to the Hebrews compares and contrasts His high priesthood with that of Aaron and his sons both as to appointment and function. As to appointment, we learn that whatever the priesthood, a high priest and therefore a priest of God must be of human birth (Heb.5:1). As such, he has a birthright to represent God to men and men to God (Heb.5:1). He is not a priest by birth, however, but subsequently must be called of God (Heb.5:4). He does not appoint himself, but must be appropriately sanctified, anointed and consecrated to his office by another (Heb.5:5) as was the Lord in resurrection (Heb.8:4-6; 5:7-10; 6:19-20).

As far as representing men to God is concerned, unlike Aaron, the Lord offers only gifts because He dealt with sin once and for ever at Calvary (Heb.5:1-2; 10:1-14). In addition, the Lord has no sin and there is nothing to correspond in His priesthood with that of priestly sin under the order of Aaron (Heb.7:26-28). But He must have something to offer from the people of God today since He officiates on their behalf (Heb.8:1-3). As representing God to man, Aaron had to deal gently with the ignorant and erring, ministering to the people to fit them for service to God (Heb.5:2). The Lord ministers similarly on behalf of the people of God, but the basis of His care is very different. Circumspection figured prominently in the Aaronic priest’s care because he was at heart no better than his fellows. The Lord, though knowing the weakness of our frame, and having been tempted in all points as we, triumphantly endured temptation and devilish onslaught (Heb.4:15). His is a victorious example completely to be followed (Heb.5:7-9).

The priesthood of the people of God today

Peter wrote to baptised believers (1 Pet.3:21) living in various, contiguous, Roman provinces (1 Pet.1:1-2) who had been brought together as one spiritual nation, people and priesthood (1 Pet.2:5, 9). Each and all were in one flock under the rule of overseers (1 Pet.5:1-11). John wrote to the seven churches in Asia, only one of those districts, identifying them as part of the same kingdom. As did Peter, John spoke first of their salvation by faith and subsequently that they were made a kingdom and priests in that same priesthood (Rev.1:4-6). Paul spoke to men who were overseers in but one church in that district of Asia, the church of God in Ephesus. Whilst there, he had preached not only the gospel of salvation from hell (Acts 20:21), but also concerning the kingdom and the whole counsel of God. The outcome of his work was to establish that local assembly as part of the flock of God tended by those overseers (Acts 20:25-28). Thus, whether viewed as a single assembly, a district of assemblies, or a collection of districts, the same structural unity is evident throughout the nation. Believers in all the churches of God composed the house of God, the kingdom of God, the flock of God, the people of God, God’s holy nation.

So, the fourth priesthood (those for whom the Lord ministers as Great High Priest today) is composed of believers in churches of God comprising the house of God. Such have received His kingdom in succession to Israel, as promised in the parable of the vineyard, and as the Lord promised to His little flock (Mat.21:33-46; Acts 4:5-12; Luke 12:31-32; Heb.3:1-6;7:26;8:1-3;10:19-25; 12:18-29;13:10-16). It is the kingdom associated with the Mount Zion that is above, its heavenly Jerusalem and the ‘true tabernacle’. As with the Levitical Priesthood, its ‘service’, is variously translated in the New Testament as ‘worship’, ‘divine service’, or ‘ministering’ (Heb.8:2;9:14;12:27-29; see Phil.3:3).

Holy and royal priesthood service today

Within that house, in holy priesthood capacity, believers are able to offer up ‘spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ’ (1 Pet.2:5; the Great High Priest), that is, ‘a sacrifice of praise to God ... the fruit of lips which make confession to his name’ (Heb.13:15). They do so at the Remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ when they enter into the Holies where He has gone as their forerunner having made propitiation for their sins (Heb.2:17-18; 6:20; 9:25, 10:19-23). From these things we see also that, though of a different priesthood, the Great High Priest officiates in the heavenly sanctuary (Heb.8:1-5) on behalf of the priesthood of believers in the house of God today whose praise He leads (Heb.2:12). They worship by keeping today’s ordinances of divine service just as much as Aaron and his sons kept those of their day (Heb.9:1)

But the priesthood is also a royal one and its function is to tell men of the excellencies of their High Priest, the King of Kings. The terms associated with this function confirm that this New Covenant people are the literal successors of those similarly described under the Old Covenant (cp.1 Pet.2:9 and Ex.19:5-6) but also govern the approach to royal priesthood service. So the messenger of the Lord of hosts has to carry out his service in conformity with the laws that govern his nation. In particular, he must accept the discipline of working with his fellows and must do nothing to prejudice the standards and agreements accepted under God by them (as for example Acts 15:22-34;16:4). He will receive help and succour from his High Priest in the difficulties of such service because, as far as possible, he must do no wrong nor work with wrong-doers (2 Cor.6:14-7:1; Heb.2:17-18;4:14-16;7:25). In sum, he should operate from within the churches of God and be subject to the rule of overseers (Heb.13:17). The apostle Paul certainly saw his service as a priest to be so even though his former associates thought he belonged to a mere sect (Acts 24:14). Paul declared his position boldly in the unlikeliest of circumstances far removed from entering into the Holies (Acts 27:23). He saw clearly that it was a service to do with the gospel of Christ (Rom.1:9) and expected all in the Church of God in Rome (and indeed in all churches of God) to be similarly committed (Rom.12:1-2).

Though these dual roles of all priesthoods are deliberately named and discrete in today’s priesthood (1 Pet.2:5,9) they are closely connected, being sometimes, literally, set out side by side in the Scriptures. For example, in the diagnostic criteria of the first and of every church of God, service godward at the breaking of the bread, is linked with service manward, at the assembly prayer meeting (Acts 2:42). Similarly, the exhortation to enter into the holy place in worship to God is immediately followed by the instruction concerning love and good works to man (Heb.10:19-25). Then again, following the instruction to service Godward in spiritual sacrifice, a complementary exhortation to ‘do good and communicate’ to man is given and is actually termed a sacrifice (Heb.13:15-16). Indeed the two aspects of service, on occasion, are more inextricably linked, because the offering up of sacrifice to God at the Remembrance simultaneously proclaims the Lord’s death to the whole world (1 Cor.11:26) and what is said during that ordinance of divine service is to be for the listeners as well as primarily for the Lord (1 Cor.14:26).

(All Bible quotations are from the R.V.)

PENN, I.E. | Oct 2006
Names That Need To Be Known