Redeeming The Priesthood
Fall 2001
By Martha Lucia

The Church is at a pivotal point right now, a season in which a shift is occurring. We need to cry out and keep listening for the sound of heaven to hit the earth that will propel us into the new place. We are in a period called "intermediate between," suspended in time and space. It is a place between the beginnings of the last days, when Jesus cried, "It is finished," to the point in time when all things are redeemed unto God. This "intermediate between" is a time in which the saints, priests of God must demonstrate the glory of God in all the earth so that all men can be drawn to the light of His glory. We, the Church, have been given this time to take the gospel to the ends of the earth, to set the captives free, to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth. We need clear understanding of who we are in Christ and what our responsibility is in order to accomplish this.

God’s original intent for those who would serve in His kingdom is recorded in Exodus 19:6, "And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." These words were echoed generations later by Jesus Himself in Revelation 1:5 & 6 (Amplified), "To Him Who ever loves us and has once [for all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood, And formed us into a kingdom [a royal race], priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen, so be it." The shed blood of Jesus once and for all established what could not be accomplished through the law. He opened the way for us to be priests unto God forever and ever. It has always been God’s intent and purpose to have a kingdom of priests. This kingdom would have one king, Jesus.

Our identity and function as priests carries with it the power, authority, and privilege to triumph over all our enemies, to execute His judgment, to make known His manifold wisdom to the powers and principalities, and to cause the kingdoms of this world to bow to the King of all the earth. This is an awesome privilege, one in which we have been given the opportunity and responsibility to enter into the ministry of reconciliation. All peoples and nations, power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory, and blessing can be presented to God as we exercise our right and privilege before the throne of God. As simple and elementary as this may sound, to truly become priests of God will require transformation and sacrifice in ways that differ from the traditional ways of the world around us. Desperate, hungry people desire transformation and are willing to allow the fire of God to mold them into a holy nation, saints of God, a royal priesthood. To put the redemptive plan of God to work requires the priest being in the proper position.

God Establishes the Priesthood

Throughout history God has always had His priesthood. The first priest mentioned in the Bible was Melchizedek, the king of Salem. He appeared out of nowhere with a sound that should have rung throughout all the generations to come. It was a sound of righteousness, peace, and victory over the enemy, which God sent forth from His throne and made available to Abraham and all his seed. These three principles were to be an integral part in the life of the nation of Israel, but over the course of time the people grew further and further from that sound. Because of His mercy God opened a way back through Moses, designating the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron to be priests. But this original sound could not be reproduced in a lasting way. It took Jesus to bring eternal life to the sound once again. Each of these, the life of Melchizedek, the priests God established through Moses and the life of Jesus, will help us to understand our identity and function as priests.

Melchizedek

Melchizedek came on the scene as one who had no beginning and no end, a glimpse of eternal life. Whether he was an epiphany or not, he was the manifestation of what Jesus Christ became as his successor. He functioned as a king and a priest, ruler over the land and a minister to God. Hebrews 7:2 further describes Melchizedek as the king of righteousness and the king of peace.

The account of Abraham’s meeting with Melchizedek is in Genesis 14:18-20,

"And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all."

The significance of this meeting is greater than one might realize. God was showing His original intent for man, the place He originally established. This was a place where God and man communicated and the glory of God was their covering.

Melchizedek was king of Salem, which is one of the early names of Jerusalem, the place from which Jesus will reign as King of all the earth. We are in the "intermediate between" peace on earth, good will TOWARD men that was sounded by the heavenly host, and the lasting peace, which will come when all enemies have been put under His feet. God was presenting for the first time His priesthood through a man who was a king of righteousness and peace. He was giving to Abraham and to his seed, of which we are a part, a promise that eventually would bring redemption to the whole world. Through the sharing of the bread and wine, Melchizedek and Abraham were re-establishing the covenant that God had already spoken to Abraham, "Through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed." Melchizedek was coming as a high priest for the kingdom that God had cut out of all nations through Abraham. Melchizedek was basically saying, "As long as I am ruler over this land, you, Abraham, will share in the divine goodness that I, Melchizedek, have established here."

As the priest, Melchizedek pronounced blessing and victory to Abraham, and it would be eternal blessing for all His seed that followed as they co-labored with God. By paying the tithe to Melchizedek, Abraham was in essence buying into the priesthood that would one day be continued through his own seed Jesus. Hebrews 7:9-10 also gives credit for this tithe to Levi (father of the priestly tribe), and according to Galatians 3:29 we are of the seed of Abraham. Therefore, we also are included. The meeting between Melchizedek and Abraham established righteousness and peace as the means by which the children of Abraham would possess their promised land. As long as righteousness and peace were maintained in the land, the people would prosper and enjoy the blessings of God and victory over their enemies.

With the meeting of Melchizedek and Abraham, God was revealing or uncovering His plan for a priesthood that would rule and reign forever. God was showing His kingdom and authority of rule that would be established forever, without beginning (Melchizedek) and without end (Jesus). Psalm 110:4 said of Jesus, "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Paul reiterated the same passage in Hebrews 5:6. God ordained that Jesus would be Melchizedek’s successor. The righteousness and peace shown forth through Melchizedek as he met with Abraham is the same righteousness and peace Jesus bought back for us - HE became the price of redemption. The blessing of victory was also carried forth with Jesus. David’s prayer in 1 Chronicles 29:11 aptly describes our Lord and all that He shares with us:

"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all."

As an "intermediate between" Melchizedek and Jesus, God established a priesthood which offered a way for the Israelites to approach God. It was God’s original intent that the entire nation of Israel be priests so other nations would learn of the living God through them. God’s original purpose is reflected in Exodus 19:5 - 6 (NKJV),

"Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."

When Moses brought forth these words to the nation of Israel, they agreed they would do all that the Lord had spoken. As God directed, the nation of Israel prepared to meet Him. Boundaries were set around Mount Sinai to prevent man or beast from touching God, for they would not live if they even touched the place of meeting. On the third day the sound of heaven came to earth. Moses responded by gathering the people at the foot of Mount Sinai. The sound of heaven continued to ring forth as the mountain quaked violently and the sound of the trumpet grew louder. God was about to do something new in the earth!

Through all this, God’s mercy was extended to the nation of Israel, which He had cut out from all the people in the earth to be His representative. The people did not obey, but God’s purpose would not be thwarted - He set apart Aaron and his sons, a subset of the nation of Israel, as priests to bring forth the sacrifices and offerings, which would consecrate the people and atone for their sins. Through consecration and atonement, man could be temporarily reconciled to God. Aaron and his sons would be the vehicle God would use to bring this about.

This was not a simple task. The priests were required to wear special clothing, which reflected the glory and beauty of God. Atonement had to be offered to sanctify them. There were specific laws for the priest to keep, laws of how to present the sacrifices and how to keep the vessels of the tabernacle. As we look at these in a little more depth we will begin to see the awesomeness of our purpose and responsibility as priests.

The clothing God prescribed spoke loudly of His heart and plan for this nation. The names of the sons of Israel were worn on their shoulders. A breastplate of judgment was fashioned with twelve precious stones on which the names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraved. In the breastplate were the Urim and Thummin, which were used to receive divine messages from God. These two stones represented "light" and "perfections" or "illumination" and "truth." Around the bottom of the priest’s robe were pomegranates and bells so the sound of the priest could be heard when he went in and out of the holy place. He wore a turban on his head with a gold plate attached that said "Holiness to the Lord." All this was his protection against death as he bore the iniquities of the children of Israel before the Lord.

As priests today, we are to demonstrate God’s heart. We do this as we minister unto God, which should be reflected in our attitude and service unto Him and all of His creation. Our priestly garments are to reflect His glory and the beauty of His holiness. We are to esteem the majesty of God, the abundance of His wealth and the splendor of His magnificence. Even as Aaron wore the names of the children of Israel, we are to bear the names of every people, tongue, tribe and nation before the throne of God, crying out along with Jesus for His inheritance, the heathen and the ends of the earth for His possession. We are to execute judgment as we receive the divine messages from God. The headdress Aaron wore to declare holiness to the Lord was incapable of providing a clean conscience, but now our conscience is purified from dead works to serving the living God (Heb. 9:14). There should be a sound that is heard ringing from our very beings – we are alive in Jesus! As we walk in truth as a light unto this world it will point all men to Jesus Christ.

God also prescribed the way Aaron and his sons should consecrate themselves so they could minister as priests before Him. Each of them had to be dedicated to the Lord by anointing with oil, washing with water, sacrificing of a bullock and a ram. Blood was applied to the right ear, the thumb of the right hand and the large toe of the right foot. The complete ritual of consecration took seven days. During that time atonement was also made for the altar. The altar and whatever touched it had to be holy because it was here at that holy spot, the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, that God would meet with the sons of Israel and display His glory.

Consecration and holiness must take on a new meaning in our lives as priests. To be consecrated means to be or make or observe as clean. It also means dedicate, to be holy, to prepare, to proclaim and to purify. As part of this royal priesthood, having all the rights and privileges of the King, we have the awesome privilege of being God’s conduit for others – tribes, tongues and nations – preparing the way and compelling them to come to God. Holiness implies a separation unto God, even as the nation of Israel was separated unto God as a holy (or separate) nation. Aaron and his sons were separated unto God as the priests. There is a certain conduct that is befitting of holiness, and can only be obtained as we join in fellowship with God and walk in His grace and mercy. As saints and priests of the Most High God, we have the awesome privilege of receiving and sharing in all the benefits that resulted from Jesus’ victorious triumph at the cross.

God continued to describe the functions of the priests as He described the altar of incense (Ex. 30). Aaron and his descendants were to light the lamps on the altar and burn perpetual incense before the Lord throughout all generations. God prescribed that no strange incense, burnt sacrifices, meat offerings, or drink offerings were to be made on the altar. Our function as priests is to be a light unto the world, ever interceding before the throne of God on behalf of all of God’s creation. It took effort and labor on the part of Aaron to maintain the perpetual burning of the incense. This can be likened to travail as we stand as priests before God.

The priestly function has with it an obligation to enter into travail and groaning along with all creation until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord covers the earth and the redemptive plan is complete. Paul wrote in Romans 8:22-23,

"For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body."

We have to search the mind of the Spirit and make intercession according to the will of God in order to make known the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places (Eph. 3:9-10). Through Jesus we have the right and privilege to boldly access the throne of God with petitions and every kind of prayer. We are priests unto God through Jesus the Son and partakers of His nature and character that is forever interceding before the throne of God. His intercession will not cease until all His enemies are under His feet and the restoration of all things has been accomplished. Even as Abraham carried the seed of a nation within his loins, we have in our intercession the seed of the word, which can birth nations and bring change and healing to our world. "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:6)

The laws associated with keeping the vessels of the tabernacle and presenting the sacrifices were so extensive that God gave the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons to do the service of the tabernacle. The Levites had willingly separated themselves unto God and done what was required. This was the character God desired for His kingdom of priests. The Levites purified and washed themselves and Aaron presented them as an offering to the Lord making atonement on their behalf to cleanse them. Once established the Levitical priests were to serve for a limited number of years and were not to serve in the area of the altar or inside the veil. This ministry was reserved for Aaron and his sons.

In the same way the Levites were given to Aaron, we have been given to the Father as priests in His Kingdom. But a willingness on our part is involved. We have to earnestly desire the heart of the Father and the building of HIS kingdom. We cannot enter into the priesthood with the thought of building any kingdom other than HIS. We have entered into an eternal destiny – always priests before God, ministering unto Him.

Jesus the High Priest

When Jesus died, the sound of heaven hit the earth with such force the earth quaked, tombs were opened and many were raised to life, and the curtain of the temple sanctuary was torn from top to bottom. The way for the priesthood was now in the earth. Victorious over death and hell, Jesus carried those keys in His hands, bringing the sound of heaven, the winds of change, to the earth once again. "And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled the boulder back and sat upon it." (Matthew 28:2)

The price of redemption paid by Jesus, as He became our High Priest and Apostle, redeemed the priesthood unto God, and went all the way back to Melchizedek, re-establishing the throne of righteousness and peace and the covenants spoken by the Old Testament prophets. Jesus didn’t stop there. His redemption went all the way back to Adam and Eve, restoring the glory that covered their nakedness and redeeming the relationship, the communion that God originally desired to have with His people. It is done: we have access to God through the redemptive blood of Jesus and we are priests prepared to minister unto Him. Jesus said in John 17:10, "And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them." We are representatives of the kingdom of heaven in the earth.

The grace of Jesus was freely given to replace all the ordinances, consecrations and sacrifices that were previously required. We were divinely enabled by God to rule over all the earth and occupy (i.e., do business) until Jesus returns. We can only do this as we minister unto God. This ministry is demonstrated as we serve God. Each day each of us should ask, "How I can serve You? What do You want accomplished today?" As we join with Him seated in the heavenly places, we can know His heart and understand His purposes and in turn exercise them here on the earth. Our goal is to bring heaven to earth. How can we do that if we don’t take our place as priests?

Jesus paved the way for our intercession to be heard in heaven as was written in Hebrews 4:14-16,

"Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."

Jesus, the High Priest, is our example. In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death. May we rise up in our priestly position and begin to offer up prayers and supplications, vehement cries and tears to our God on behalf of all tongues, tribes and nations.

"Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus." (Hebrews 3:1)

As partakers of this calling, we share in a heavenly invitation to be seated in heavenly places with Him. We must consider (behold, discover, perceive and exercise our minds toward) Christ Jesus, who is the Apostle (a special delegate, set apart, sent out and set at liberty) and High Priest (to rehearse the kingdom from the beginning of time) of all we say and pray. Jesus (as High Priest) follows His words to ensure they accomplish what He intended. When we send His word back to Him through our intercession, He (as Apostle) sends it on to the Father to ensure a finishing work. We have to hear the sound of heaven and join with it in intercession to see the works of the kingdom established on earth. "Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, O earth, the words of my mouth." (Deut 32:1)

The book of Revelation 1:5-6 and 5:8-10, once again gives us a glimpse of what God intended we become all along. Quoting from The Power New Testament,

"And from Jesus Messiah, the Faithful Witness, Firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To the One who loves us and has loosed us from our sins by His blood, and He made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen." (Rev. 1:5-6)

"And when He took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb. Each having a harp and a gold bowl filled with burning incense, which are the prayers of the saints, and they were singing a new song saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were slain and You purchased mankind for God by Your blood from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and You made them a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign upon the earth.’" (Rev. 5:8-10)

There is only ONE king, Jesus, and only ONE kingdom, the kingdom of God.

The idea of having an earthly king was not God’s idea. This is made clear in 1 Samuel 8 when the elders of Israel asked Samuel to "make us a king to judge us like all the nations." Upon receiving this request, Samuel inquired of God and God responded (1 Samuel 8:7 & 9):

"Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them."

As directed, Samuel forewarned the people and described the behavior of the king. It wasn’t a pretty picture. The king would take their sons and daughters for his purposes. He would take the best of their fields, vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants. Bottom line, the king would build his kingdom by taking the best of everything God had given the nation of Israel as their possession, and ultimately he would enslave the Israelites. Even with this warning, the people refused to hear. They wanted to be like all the other nations. They wanted a king to go out before them and fight their battles. The nation of Israel desired to follow the pattern of the heathen nations rather than God’s pattern of being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation, with only one king – God.

This is what makes us a peculiar people as Peter wrote in 1 Peter 2:9,

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light."

We, the Church, must recognize that there is only one kingdom and one King. God did not ordain the divisions that separate us. We are all royal priests and part of one holy nation that serves one God. We, as His stewards, are required to be faithful to His house. As part of His royal family we come in the name of the King to do His bidding, to carry out His will in the earth even as it is in heaven. Royalty has all the privileges and rights of the King.

As priests we are instruments for His purposes. We are to proclaim liberty and set the captives free, thereby destroying the barriers that have held people in bondage. Kingdoms built by man’s culture include ethnic and religious boundaries and belief systems. The spiritual forces behind these kingdoms that reside in the lands and territories long to hold the feet of the people in these regions "to the ground." As priests, God has given us the authority over these spiritual forces (Eph. 6:12) so we might assist in freeing the people and in restoring the relationship between God and man, which God established in the beginning. That relationship is one in which man was able to stand naked before the Lord, unashamed. In God’s sight all creation is His there are no boundaries or borders, nothing to separate God and man. All the world, the earth and the universe belong to Him, and as we take our place as priests unto God, hear His voice and follow His command, we will see the kingdoms of this world bow to Him. As priests of God’s kingdom we have the awesome privilege of standing before Him to bring reconciliation between God and all creation.

The Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words by W. E. Vines defines the priesthood as a body of priests, consisting of all believers, the whole Church (not a special order from among them), called " a holy priesthood" and "a royal priesthood." A "holy priesthood" is associated with offering spiritual sacrifices, while a "royal priesthood" is related to showing forth the Lord’s Excellencies. Paul wrote in Romans 12:1, "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." This is the sacrificial offering we must make as a "holy priesthood." Paul continued in Romans 12:2 stating: "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." As priests, we are servants of God who know the voice of the Master and allow the Word of God and the transforming power of the Spirit to be continually changing us from glory to glory. We are not to fashion ourselves after this world, but to be clothed in the image of God bearing His righteousness, peace, salvation, truth, vengeance, zeal, glory and beauty.

In the era of restoration recorded in Ezra 2:63, the Israelites could not continue to rebuild the temple until a priest with the Urim and Thummin stood up. As mentioned, the Urim and Thummin were in the breastplate of judgment. Urim means fire, flame, enlightenment, revelation. Thummin means, completeness, fullness, wholeness, perfection, integrity. Sounds like the apostle and prophet! As we are in this time of restoring all things, the priests are to stand before God carrying the seeds of revelation received as prophetic people. As we pray and our Apostle and High Priest, Jesus, intercedes for us, the Holy Spirit will reveal, declare, disclose and transmit to us the strategy needed (John 16:15). Then we can execute judgment to see things brought to completion and wholeness.

When the presence of God is apparent – the land rings of it.

"And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again." (1 Sam. 4:5) When the righteous rule, the land rings and rejoices with us. "And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard." (1 Kings 1:45)

The Old Testament Priests function was to receive gifts and offer sacrifices unto God as New Testament Priests we all have received gifts to bless the body of Christ and a lost world and our lives to present as a sacrifice unto God.

As we become a kingdom of priests, our heart will beat in unity with the Father’s – one heart, one mind, one kingdom, one King, and one body. As we take our priestly positions and enter into the Holy of Holies with our intercession, travail and groaning, we will take hold of the kingdom of heaven and bring that sound to earth – the sound that will shift us into the new place God has for us .