Characteristics of the Early
Church:The Priesthood of All
Believers
In Old Testament times Jehovah
established a priesthood in the nation of Israel. The work of the priest was
"to offer gifts and sacrifices" (Heb. 8:3), "first for his own
sins, and then for the people’s" (Heb. 7:27). Jehovah selected a special
family out of all the tribes and families of the nation to serve as priests on
behalf of the entire nation. Woe to anyone from outside the family of Aaron who
attempted to usurp the priesthood for himself (Num. 16,17).
The teaching of the New Testament
concerning priesthood represents quite a change from that of the Old Testament,
however. The priesthood of Aaron and his family has been replaced by the
priesthood of Christ and His body. The Israelite priesthood, under law, was
characterized by distance from God, while the Christian priesthood, under
grace, is characterized by nearness to God. Only the high priest could
go into the inner sanctum or "holiest of all" of the tabernacle—the
very presence of Jehovah. He could do this only once a year, and only with the
blood of a goat to make atonement for his own sins and those of the people
(Lev. 16:2,15-17,29,30; Heb. 9:1-10). But when Christ died, the veil of the temple
that blocked the way into the holiest "was torn in two from the top to the
bottom" (Matt. 27:51). For this reason, we are told that believers in
Christ have "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by
a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that
is to say, His flesh" (Heb. 10:19,20).
Who is Our High Priest Now?
It is the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself who is a "merciful and faithful High Priest" (Heb. 2:17). He
is our "great High Priest" who can "be touched with the feeling
of our infirmities … in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin" (Heb. 4:14,15). He is a "holy, harmles, undefiled" High
Priest who is "separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens …
set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Heb.
7:26; 8:1). He is the One who offered one perfect sacrifice—Himself!—that fully
satisfied a holy God, in contrast to the repeated animal sacrifices offered by
the priests of Israel (Heb. 7:27; 9:9,12,14; 10:11-14). The Book of Hebrews
clearly proves the superiority of the priesthood of Christ over that of Aaron.
Who Are the Under-Priests Now?
If Christ is the High Priest, are
there under-priests as well? Yes indeed! But these are not confined to one
particular family or specially-appointed class of believers. Whenever the
Christian priesthood is mentioned it clearly has reference to all
believers, every member of the body of Christ:"You also, as living
stones, are built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood,… a royal
priesthood" (1 Pet. 2:5,9) To whom was the apostle Peter writing?
"To the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia,
and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the Spirit,… begotten … unto a living hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead" (1 Pet. 1:1‑3). This
epistle was not written to a special class of believers but to all
believers, including Christian servants (2:18), wives (3:1-6), husbands (3:7),
ministers of the Word (4:11), elders of the local assembly (5:1-4), and younger
believers (5:5). In the Book of Revelation, those whom Christ has made
"priests unto God" are the same ones whom He loved and washed from
their sins (1:5,6).
What Does a Christian Priest Do?
What do we do when we enter into
the holiest and thus draw near to Christ (Heb. 10:19,20)? We surely do not come
near with the blood of a sacrifice as Aaron used to do on the great day
of atonement. Rather, we come "by the blood of Jesus" (10:19),
the blood of a far superior sacrifice shed at the cross of Calvary. And as we
draw near we "offer up spiritual sacrifices" (1 Pet. 2:5), "the
sacrifice of praise to God" (Heb. 13:15). Surely each believer in Christ
has the privilege of doing this in his/her own private meditations and
devotions. We can enjoy a nearness to God through Christ that was not possible
for the family of Aaron.
But notice that the drawing near
into the holiest is linked in Hebrews 10 with "not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together." So there is also a collective aspect to
this—a drawing near to Christ in fellowship and company with other believers in
Christ. The highest possible expression of this drawing near to Christ in a
collective way is the observance of the Lord’s Supper. We gather together unto
the name of Christ, with Himself in our midst (Matt. 18:20), with Himself and
His atoning death the object of our meditations, praise, and worship (1 Cor.
11:24‑26), with Himself as our High Priest (Heb. 2:17; etc.), and Himself
as our Praise‑Leader (Psa. 22:22; 40:3; Heb. 2:12).
Many Christian denominations and
congregations today, while giving lip-service to the truth of the priesthood of
all believers, behave as if God’s order for the Church is the same as was His
order for the nation of Israel. They believe that persons specially appointed
as priests or clergymen are necessary to minister to the rest of the
congregation—the laity—and to represent them before God.
Does the New Testament speak of a
special class of believers with greater authority and privilege than the rest
to draw near to God with their praise and worship? Nowhere! In fact, to
establish such a class implies that other worshipers cannot directly approach
God with their gifts and sacrifices. They are kept at a distance while others
approach for them.
In 1 Corinthians 11 and 14 we find
instruction given to believers as to their conduct when they come together. In
chapter 11 the Corinthians were enjoined not to allow the holy observance of
the Lord’s Supper to be marred by divisions and class‑conscious cliques
among them (11:17‑34). In chapter 14 they were told, "When you come
together, every one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue,
has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done unto
edifying" (14:26). The apostle goes on to set upper limits on the number
of speakers and to order that the "women keep silence in the churches, for
it is not permitted unto them to speak" (14:27‑34). In all of the
instructions given as to the conduct of the believers when they come together
in gatherings of the local church or assembly, there is not the slightest hint
of a single person ordained or assigned to lead the assembly in its worship.
Rather, all indications point to many of the brothers participating in
such a meeting. And is this not in keeping with the truths we have already
noticed in Hebrews, 1 Peter, and Revelation that Christ is our High
Priest and Praise-Leader, and that all believers comprise the Christian
priesthood?
In case any of our readers has
never experienced it in person, let me try to paint a picture of an assembly of
Christian priests gathered with their High Priest to observe the Lord’s Supper.
As led by the Holy Spirit, several brothers may in turn give out specific hymns
to be sung by the congregation, and intermingled with these hymns may be
prayers of thanksgiving and praise (perhaps as simple as, "We thank Thee,
Lord, for dying on the cross for us; amen") and meditation on the
sufferings of Christ. One or two brothers, again as moved by the Holy Spirit,
may stand up and read passages of Scripture, with or without comment, that help
to focus the hearts of the congregation on the beauties and glories of the
person of Christ and on the agonies and sufferings of His death on the cross
for us. Sometime during this service a brother will be moved by the Holy Spirit
to get up and give thanks for the loaf of bread and the cup of wine, symbols of
the body and blood of Christ, and will pass the loaf and the cup to those who
are in fellowship, that is, identified with the assembly. The brother who does
this may pray with great eloquence or with stammering lips; may be 101 or 61 or
21 years old; may have been in fellowship for eight decades or eight weeks; may
be a millionaire or a pauper; may have a Ph.D. or be a third‑grade
dropout; may be red, yellow, black, or white. Where each one in the assembly is
humbly waiting on the Holy Spirit for guidance, this gathering of priests can
be a most wonderful, awesome experience of united, harmonious praise and
worship.
One may ask, "If any one is
allowed to participate, are not mistakes sometimes made?" Yes, to be sure.
Occasionally, hymns may be given out or prayers uttered or scriptures read that
have little or nothing to do with commemorating the sufferings and death of
Christ. Sometimes a brother may participate when not led by the Holy Spirit,
but rather, perhaps, by a sense of his own importance and for the purpose of
putting himself forward, or perhaps through a lack of understanding. But the
Lord knows all about our weaknesses and failures and bears with us and
overlooks a great deal in us. Would we, because of occasional weakness and
failure, give up a meeting where each male priest is free to participate, as
led by the Holy Spirit, for one where only one priest is given the privilege
and authority to speak, regardless of whether he is actually led by the Holy
Spirit?
What About the Female Priests?
The picture we have just
painted—and which is acted out in thousands of local assemblies around the
world each Lord’s day—seems to include only the male priests, the brothers in
Christ. What about the female priests, the sisters in Christ? Do they have any
role to play other than as spectators?
Yes, they have a most vital role
to play! First of all, they have the privilege of drawing near, within the
holiest, in their private meditations and devotions. In this their privilege is
identical to that of the brothers. Second, in meetings of the assembly where
"it is not permitted unto them to speak" (1 Cor. 14:34), they often
provide a solid spiritual foundation for the meeting. I know (from my personal
experience) that there is a tendency for the brothers sometimes to be occupied
with what they should say so as to make the best impression on others, whereas
the sisters are free to give themselves to pure meditation upon the Lord
without worrying what others will think. And so, I suspect, the Lord may often
take much more pleasure in the inaudible praises of the sisters than the
audible ones of the brothers.
Several times I have had the
experience of a sister coming to me after a meeting and saying that a thought I
had expressed, or a scripture passage I had read, or a hymn I had given out was
exactly what was going through her mind at that very moment. Experiences like
this serve to solidify the bonds that unite the saints together in an assembly.
Also, in many cases a married brother will receive spiritual insights through
conversations with his wife during the week, and the Holy Spirit may lead him
to express such thoughts in a meeting of the assembly.
Some may ask why, if all
Christians are part of the priesthood, only the brothers are allowed by
God to engage in priestly activities in a public way. I don’t profess to know
the entire answer to that. The Lord will reveal it in the glory, I am certain.
But I believe it is related to the teachings of Scripture that "Adam was
first formed, then Eve" (1 Tim. 2:11‑13), "the head of the
woman is the man" (1 Cor. 11:3‑10), and "the husband is the
head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church" (Eph. 5:22‑24).
The sisters’ silence in the meeting may serve as a "mute testimony"
to the truth that Christ is Head of the Church, and thus the brothers as
representing Christ in this setting must be most careful that whatever they say
in the meeting does not come from themselves, for their own glory, but is truly
from Christ, truly "the oracles of God … that God in all things may be
glorified through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 4:11).
Some sisters in this era of the
"ERA" (Equal Rights Amendment) may tend to be resentful that God has
ordered them not to take a public part in the assembly meetings. They may
resent it that the brothers get all the glory and honor of the public place.
But this misses the whole point. Neither sisters nor brothers are to be seeking
personal honor and glory, either in this world nor in the one to come. It is God
who is to be glorified through Jesus Christ as we just noticed in the
previous paragraph, and as we find emphasized throughout the Scriptures (for
example, Josh. 7:19; 1 Chron. 16:10,24,27‑29; Psa. 22:23; 50:1; Mal. 2:2;
Matt. 6:13; Luke 2:14; Rom. 15:6,9; 1 Cor. 6:20; Rev. 1:6; 5:12,13; and
numerous of other references). Those who receive glory and honor for themselves
in this present life cannot expect further reward in the next life (Psa. 49:18‑20;
Matt. 6:1‑6). Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, may we earnestly
desire that all glory and honor and praise go up to God, and not seek
one iota of it for ourselves. I truly believe that when the rewards and crowns
are given out at the judgment seat of Christ, it will be the sisters who
worshiped and served the Lord quietly, in the private sphere given to them by
the Lord, who will carry away the most and best rewards.
Silent Priests
While the sisters are not
permitted by God to exercise their priesthood in public meetings of the
assembly, there are many brothers who fail to exercise their God‑given
rights and privileges in this regard. Why is this? For some it may be that they
just are not enjoying a close walk with the Lord; perhaps they are allowing
their job and hobbies and home improvement activities to crowd out their
"quiet time," time they should be spending daily reading the Word,
meditating on it, praying, and worshiping. If this is the case, their cup of
praise will not be "full and running over" on the Lord’s day. It is
what we gather through the week from the Word that will form our thoughts for
expression at the Lord’s Supper. Further, our preparation is greatly enhanced
by our being punctual, being seated at least a few minutes before the scheduled
time of the meeting (Luke 22:14).
For others, I believe, the reason
is self‑consciousness, which is a polite word for pride. Many are afraid
that if they speak up in the meeting they may stumble or stutter or say the
wrong thing or be rebuked by another. That certainly may happen. Join the
crowd! By remaining silent when the Lord, the Praise‑Leader, has given
you something to contribute, you may preserve your own self‑glory and
protect your self‑image from the slightest tarnish, but at the same time
you take away from God’s glory by failing to give Him the glory that He
deserves.
Has anyone ever thrown a birthday
party for you? I’m sure most of us can answer in the affirmative. When you open
your gifts, what do you say? Do you remain silent because you are afraid that
you might not be able to say "Thank you" with just the right
inflection, or with an appropriate degree of enthusiasm? Or do you say, "I
just don’t have a gift for saying ‘Thank you’"? I have never yet met a
person who wasn’t able to say a simple, "Thank you," when receiving a
gift. Why, then, is it so difficult to say aloud in a group of fellow‑believers
gathered around the Lord, "Thank You, Lord, for dying for us; amen"?
May the Lord encourage each male
priest to take advantage of his privilege of bringing glory and honor to God by
allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him to participate in the assembly praise and
prayer meetings. May the Lord encourage each of us, brothers and sisters alike,
to draw near to Him frequently, within the holiest, with our prayers, praises,
and meditations, "the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name."