Have you ever spoken to a Catholic priest? What about an Episcopalian priest? Perhaps a Bhuddist priest? Maybe you’ve confessed sins to a priest, or maybe you were on your best behavior when a priest showed up around you.
In our small outdoor church, we’re studying the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. He lived as a Jewish prophet about 400 years before Jesus was born. He spoke some harsh words that he felt were from God for the Jewish priests. In fact, the words did come from God.
Tough Words
“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.” Malachi 2:1-2 (ESV)
The prophet Malachi is speaking to the Levitical Priests during the time of the return of Israel from exile in Babylon. These guys were precursors to the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day, some ~400 years later.
The Lord held His priests to a high standard, because they were meant to represent God to the people. As God’s representatives, did they show the people what God was really like? Does this sound familiar?
You Are a Priest
Did you know, as a born-again believer in Christ, that you are considered a priest? You are a New Testament priest. If you are in Christ, then you are a priest. Don’t take my word for it; let’s look at some Scriptures.
“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 Peter 2:4-5 (ESV)
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (ESV)
“[Grace and peace] from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6 (ESV)
You Are Part of a Priesthood
Not only are you a New Testament priest in Christ, you are part of a priesthood, an “order” of living according to the ways of a priest. We call this order “Church” in our time.
Not only are you “just a priest,” but in fact, Christ has made you “holy” and “royal.” This means you are set apart by Jesus Himself for His purposes (“holy”), and you are part of a royal family, meaning you are royalty. Another translation of Revelation 1:6 is that He has “made us kings and priests.”
So, believe it or not, you are a king-priest in Christ. You may not feel like a king-priest, but this does not make it any less true.
Sphere of Influence
The Lord has given you authority over a particular realm; let’s call it your “sphere of influence.” You have the ability to influence and control the things that happen in your sphere of influence. Maybe this sphere is large, or maybe it is small. It doesn’t really make a difference how big it is, or how small you think it is. Perhaps this sphere is just your being, or your household, or a portion of your workplace. But the Lord has given you a measure of authority over this place.
Now you get to decide what your influence will be inside of your sphere of influence. How do you respond to things? Do you respond well to problems? How do you deal with conflict? How do you respond to good news? What about bad news? How do you respond to the success of others? Do you celebrate answered prayer? Do you thank God for the work He is accomplishing in you and around you and in your sphere of influence? Or do you complain about your next door neighbor’s sphere of influence instead of focusing on your own? Do you groan about change in something you have no control over? You get to decide how you respond in your sphere of influence that God has given you.
You are a priest over your sphere of influence.
OK, I Believe It Now
Now you might say to me, “OK, so now I believe I’m a priest, Brett. What now? What do I do?” And I’ll say to you, “Yes! Now you are asking the right questions!”
We get a glimpse into how we are to act and what we are to do as New Testament priests from the Old Testament Levitical priesthood. God through Moses set up the Levitical Priesthood through Moses’s brother Aaron, who was directly descended from the person of Levi, the son of Jacob.
The priests had a several functions:
1) Set up and serve in the tabernacle, and then in the temple after it was built in Solomon’s time
2) Hear from God and declare God’s words to the people
3) Carry the Ark of the Covenant around, the physical representation of God’s Presence
4) Praise, worship, instrumental praise, the blowing of the shofar
5) Cutting up the sacrificial animals and offering them on God’s altar for the people, for sins and thanksgiving and dedication of children, etc.
6) Mediating and praying to God on behalf of the people
7) Being a source of truth and proper teaching in a world that’s drifting, a keeper and preserver of God’s written word
That’s quite a list, huh? And it’s not the complete list, just the things that came to mind as I was writing this up! Can you see how you, as a New Testament Priest, can relate to all of these things?
Israel as a Kingdom of Priests
Now, when the nation of Israel left Egypt miraculously and stood at Mt. Sinai, the Lord said something interesting to Moses.
“‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” Exodus 19:5-6 (ESV)
The Lord desired that the entire nation of Israel would serve as priests, and that they would basically serve the rest of the nations, showing them God’s ways and imparting God’s words.
Unfortunately, they chose to not completely obey God, mainly out of fear, so the law was instituted and only one of the tribes became priests.
But now, in these times post the cross, we are God’s kingdom of priests and holy nation.
The Original Plan
Is this too hard to believe? That God had an original plan and intention that people failed at, but that Christ was successful in implementing? It’s through Christ that we have been made priests to God. We don’t have to go through a priest to hear from God; we are the priests going directly to God.
The doorway to God is Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to Father God except through the doorway of Jesus (John 14:6).
Learn From Their Mistakes
Now, it behooves us to learn from our predecessors and not make the same mistakes they made.
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)
One of the ways to use God’s word is for correction, and God uses His words through the prophet Malachi to bring correction to the Levitical priests in Malachi’s day. And you know, if anyone has room to provide correction, don’t you think God does? If His representatives represent Him in a way that is not representative of His ways, He has the right to make some corrections.
We’ll dive deeper into these corrections in part 2, but for now, let me leave you with this thought.
Let’s Correct Our Thinking
Repentance is all about changing the way we think. Maybe you have elevated someone called a priest on a pedestal, thinking they were super spiritual and the only one qualified to hear from God. That’s the old way. The new way is this: you are a priest in Christ, qualified by God to hear from Him. You have been made a minister of reconciliation in these last days, to walk like Jesus walked and to do the things Jesus did.
Let’s pray and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what the Priesthood of the Believer is all about.
Prayer
Lord God, we need Your help to adjust our thinking. Holy Spirit, You are our Helper. Help us to understand what it means to be a New Covenant priest in our day and time.
We want to be holy ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we want to hear your voice in every situation. Continue to use Your Holy Word to instruct us and to correct us. Thank You for equipping us for everything we need in this life. Thank You for blessing us with every Heavenly blessing in Christ.
Recent Comments