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Scripture Reading: Gen. 1:26; Rev. 1:6; 20:6; 22:3-5
In the entire Old Testament there are three kinds of offices, or ministries. In this respect, we can divide the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament into three groups. From Genesis to Ruth there is the ministry of the priests. In this portion of the Bible there are kings among the Gentiles, but there is no king among the people of God. Here we have only the priests. Then from 1 Samuel to Esther there are the kings. Then after Job through Song of Songs, from Isaiah to Malachi, there are the prophets. The priests, the kings, and the prophets are of three kinds of offices, or ministries.
It is after the degradation of the priesthood that the office of the kings was manifested. The last priest in the line of the priesthood was Samuel. Before him, the priests were Eli and his two sons. These two sons were an absolute failure in the priesthood, almost bringing an end to the priesthood at that time. Therefore, the Lord raised up little Samuel. Because Samuel was not a direct descendant of the family of Aaron, although he was of the tribe of Levi, we may say that the priesthood of Aaron at that time was ended by the two sons of Eli. The Lord raised up Samuel to be a priest to bring in the office of the king. This proves that the kingship was manifested due to the failure of the priesthood.
Later, the office of the prophets was raised up due to the failure of the kings. Elijah and Elisha are the representatives of the prophets. They were raised up when the kingship, the ministry of the kings, became degraded, corrupted, and rotten. Even when King David failed by committing a sin, the prophet Nathan came in to function by speaking to the king (2 Sam. 12:1-12).
When the priesthood failed, the kingship came in, and when the kingship failed, the prophets came in. This indicates that the ministry of the prophets was not included in God’s original intention. What God originally intended to have was the kingship and, even more, the priesthood. We were saved not mainly to be prophets but to be kings and priests. Revelation 1:5-6 says, “From Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.” This verse speaks of a kingdom and priests, but it does not mention prophets. This again indicates that we are saved to be kings and priests. Many Christians today want to have the gift of prophecy. There is not much teaching encouraging the believers to exercise the kingship and do the job of the priesthood. There is, however, too much teaching encouraging people to seek the gift of speaking.
According to 1 Corinthians 14, we can desire to be a prophet, but there is no need to desire to be a king or a priest. The kingship and the priesthood are ours by birth. We were reborn to be kings and priests. We may boldly declare, “Praise the Lord, I have been regenerated to be a king and a priest! I was born a king, and I was born a priest.” First Peter 2:5 and 9 speak of the holy priesthood and the royal priesthood. We are kings as priests, so we have the kingly, royal priesthood. This is the same thought as in Revelation 1:6. On the other hand, 1 Corinthians 13:9 and 10 say concerning the gift of prophecy, “We know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is complete comes, that which is in part will be rendered useless.” The office, the ministry, of the prophets will end at the coming of the Lord, but the kingship and priesthood will never end. We will be the priests and the kings forever and ever (Rev. 22:3, 5).
At the present time, however, we need the prophets when the priests are weak, the kings are rotten, and neither do their duty. Such a degraded situation compels the Lord to raise up the prophets. Today in Christianity many people appreciate the prophets, speakers, preachers, and ministers, but they do not have enough regard for the priesthood and the kingship. This means that what the Lord desires to have is mostly neglected. Do we have the priesthood, the kingship, or simply the prophets? Too many today pay their attention only to the prophets, prophecy, speaking, and teaching. There is almost no kingship and priesthood.
Prophecy is a matter of a gift, but the priesthood and the kingship are matters of life. They are matters of our rebirth. We are all born to be priests and kings. If we prefer, we can desire the gift of prophecy, but this is not an item of our birthright. It is not solely a matter of life.
We must not pay too much attention to the gifts. The gifts were added in due to an abnormal condition. When the church is abnormal, we need a prophet, just as we need a doctor when our health is abnormal. We do not always have a doctor in our home, but we do always have a kitchen. Too often in a church there is the “dispensary” of the preachers, but there is no kitchen. We need food to be served more than we need medicine to be dispensed.
We were born to be kings and priests. If the church life is healthy and normal, there is not much need of the prophets. Instead, everyone functions as a priest. If everyone exercises the priesthood and the kingship, the prophets will have to find a job somewhere else. When the king fails, a “Nathan” comes, but if the priests with the kings are normal, there is no need for the prophets. First Corinthians 12 and 14 reflect an abnormal condition in the church in Corinth. Romans and Ephesians, however, reflect a normal condition. When we are in Ephesians and Romans, there is no need of 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, but when we are abnormal in the church life, we need the prophets; we need the gifts.
The church life is a life of the kings and the priests. It must not be a life of the prophets. If we need the prophets, we are degraded; we are in the “books of the prophets,” which reveal a degraded condition. Since the generation of the apostles, the church has mainly had prophets and preachers because of degradation. A great evangelist is the top preacher, the biggest speaker, but where are the priests and the kings? The Lord must recover the priesthood and the kingship.
Stanza 4 of Hymns, #848 says concerning the priesthood, “Through the church’s degradation, / Saints this office desolate; / Through the weakness of their spirits / Preaching doth predominate.” The priestly office is desolated through the church’s degradation. In today’s Christian churches we can hear much preaching, but when people are asked to pray, many are as silent as a tomb. When preaching predominates, it means that there is the ministry of the prophets, but there are no priests or kings. There is the gift, but there is no life. I say again, we were born to be priests and kings. The priesthood and the kingship are a matter of our new birth. We may desire the gift of prophecy, but that is not something of our birthright.
As we have seen, the ministry of the prophets is needed because of the failure of the priests and kings. The prophets are needed to restore the priesthood and the kingship. Therefore, after the priesthood and the kingship are restored, there is no more need of the prophets. The office of the prophet was not in the original intention of God. In the original intention of God there were only two things: the priesthood and the kingship.
There are two main aspects in the creation of man: image and authority, dominion (Gen. 1:26). Image refers to the expression of God, and dominion is for the representation of God to deal with His enemy. These two aspects were in God’s original intention. From the very beginning God intended to have His expression and His representation. He created man with His image that man may be His expression, and He committed His authority to man that man may be His representative. From the beginning to the end of the Bible there are these two lines, the line of image and expression and the line of dominion and representation.
The priesthood is for the expression of God. The priests enjoy the Lord, and they become His expression, manifestation, habitation, and dwelling place. Through the priesthood God fully gains His image and expression. The kingship, on the other hand, is for authority and dominion. The kings represent God to deal with His enemy. These are the two items of the original intention of God.
We have seen that Revelation 1:6 speaks of the kingdom and priests. Verse 6 of chapter 20 also says, “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.” This verse speaks of priests and reigning kings but not of prophets. Of course, this verse is related to the millennium, the thousand years, but chapter 22 speaks of the situation in eternity. Verses 3 through 5 say, “There will no longer be a curse. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His slaves will serve Him; and they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more; and they have no need of the light of a lamp and of the light of the sun, for the Lord God will shine upon them; and they will reign forever and ever.” The redeemed in eternity will serve the Lord before His face; this refers to the priesthood. Moreover, they will reign forever and ever; this is the kingship.
Please keep in mind that the priesthood is for expression, and the kingship is for representation. Both of these are matters of life, not of gift. Prophecy, however, is a matter of a gift, not of life. Even the Gentile prophet Balaam had the gift to prophesy, but he did not have the divine life.
As we have said, the prophets were raised up entirely due to the failure of the kings. The kingship, however, was raised up mostly due to the failure of the priesthood, but not entirely due to this failure. If the priesthood had not failed, there would still have been the need of the kingship. Zechariah 6:12 and 13 tell us that the Lord Jesus as the Builder of the temple is both the Priest and the King. God needs the kingship as well as the priesthood. However, we do not need prophecy if the priesthood and kingship are normal. We only need the prophets to recover the priesthood and the kingship when they are abnormal.
All the chosen people of God are intended to be priests and kings, but the kingship depends on the priesthood. This is why the Bible first speaks of the priesthood. This does not mean that we do not need the kingship, however. Rather, if the priesthood is strong, as it was at the time of Moses and Aaron, the kingship does not need to be manifested. It is when the priesthood weakens that the kingship is manifested. God’s intention is not firstly the authority of the kingship. The first item of God’s intention is to have His image. Eventually, though, we need both of these aspects.
The priesthood is the main item of God’s intention, while the kingship is to match the priesthood. The first proper king was David. After David came to the throne, when he brought the Ark of Jehovah into his city, he girded himself with a linen ephod, which is the garment of the priests (2 Sam. 6:14). This indicates that although David was a king and the kingship at that time was strong, he realized that he still needed the priesthood. When in a church all the saints are strong in life, enjoying the Lord, feasting on Him, and functioning as priests, there is not much need for the kingship to be manifested. The purpose of the kingship is to rule, reign, maintain order, and deal with the enemy. When the children of God are strong in life and functioning as priests, everything is already in order. There is no special need for authority to maintain the order.
The eldership in the church is not a matter merely of the image of God but of the authority of God. In this sense, the elders are not mainly of the priesthood but of the kingship. We should not have too much eldership in the church. Rather, we must have the priesthood, and the more we have the priesthood, the better. However, when the priesthood becomes weak, we need the eldership, that is, the kingship. In the early days of the Brethren, for example, they had the priesthood without much need for authority. Later, however, when they lost the function of the priesthood, they emphasized the need for authority in the church.
We all are born again as priests. Therefore, we have to learn how to enjoy our birthright. We must learn how to live as priests enjoying Christ, contacting Him, feeding on Him, living by Him, putting Him on as our clothing, and taking Him as our dwelling place. When we enjoy Christ in such a way, we will have the priestly function of always ministering Christ both to God and to man. Then our church life will be very healthy and normal, and spontaneously out of this situation the authority of God will be realized. It is by the priesthood that we have the kingship.
In the proper church life, God is expressed and His authority is exercised. This is the priesthood plus the kingship. In such a situation, there is not much need for the office of the prophets. By the Lord’s mercy we can testify that in some of our meetings for the Lord’s table we have the priesthood with the kingship. There is no teaching, no exercise of the gifts, and no prophecy. There is simply the ministering of the priests with the kingship. When we come into such a meeting, we can sense the image, the expression, of God with His authority and representation; that is, we sense the priesthood and the kingship. That is the right and normal condition of the church. When we are weak, however, the priesthood is gone and the kingship disappears. Then the prophets rise up. To have the expression of Christ and the representation of God, and to not require prophecy, is the normal condition. This is what the Lord will recover. In the thousand-year age and in eternity there will be no prophets. Even today in the Lord’s recovery we can have a foretaste of the things to come.
This is not a mere exhortation for us to function. We must realize that function is a matter of life. Therefore, we have to feast on the Lord, live by Him, and mingle with Him, as the priests did. This is why the first item we covered in the previous chapter was to see what a priest is. We must be that kind of person with that kind of life, enjoyment of life, and growth of life. Then we will be the right persons to express Christ. This is our function. Then along with this priesthood we will have the sense that the kingship also is here. The authority of God is exercised along with the image of God. Whenever we have the image of God, we have His authority. Adam was created in the image of God, so the authority of God was committed to him (Gen. 1:26). Authority always goes along with image.
It is by the priesthood with the kingship that the image of God is expressed and the authority of God is exercised. Revelation 20 and 22 tell us that both in the millennial kingdom and in eternity, when we will serve as priests, we will also reign as kings. Moreover, there will be no further need for the ministry of the prophets. I hope that by His mercy the churches in all the localities will have a life full of the priesthood with the kingship, not requiring the ministry of the prophets; that is, I hope that we would have much life without the need of much gift.
We may receive a gift without life, but we can never have authority in the church without life. If a brother is in the position of an elder but is short of the growth of life, gradually and eventually, he will lose the real eldership, that is, the authority. However, the more a brother grows in life and is filled with the riches of Christ, even if he is not in the position of an elder, the brothers and sisters will realize that with him there is the authority. This is illustrated by the budding rod of Aaron in Numbers 17:2 through 8. The rod is a symbol of authority, and the budding of the rod is a matter of resurrection life. The authority among the Lord’s children is a matter of life, not merely a matter of position. To elect a brother to be an elder does not work. We can place him in the position of an elder, but if he does not have the growth in life, his dead, lifeless “rod” will not bud. The kingship is a matter of life. Prophecy, on the other hand, is a matter of gift. We can receive the gift of prophecy quickly, but we cannot exercise the kingship in this way. The kingship depends on the growth of life. We have to feast on Christ, put on Christ, dwell in Christ, and be mingled with Christ. Christ must be wrought into us, woven into us, and mingled with us. Then we will have the measure of Christ to serve as priests. This is a matter of life, not of gift.
To one extent or another, we are all priests. Some may be bigger priests, while some are smaller priests. Some may not be priests in the Holy of Holies, but by the Lord’s mercy they are priests in the Holy Place. Others still may be priests in the outer court. Perhaps last year we were in the outer court, but this year we are in the Holy Place. Last year we may have known only how to offer the offerings, but this year we know how to offer the incense. Perhaps next year we will be priests in the Holy of Holies. For this we need the growth in life. The way to have the growth of life is by feeding and feasting on Christ.
Hebrews 10:19 tells us to enter into the Holy of Holies. Only the priests can enter the Holy of Holies. In this way the book of Hebrews confirms that we are the priests. If we were not priests, we would not be entitled to enter the Holy of Holies. Today the Holy of Holies is in our human spirit. Therefore, we need to learn how to know and discern our spirit (4:12; Rom. 8:6). Then we will know how to exercise our priesthood. If we do not know our spirit and cannot discern our spirit, it is hard to practice the priesthood. To know our human spirit is not mere doctrine. If we did not know where our mouth was, we could not eat. In the same way, we must be brought back to know our spirit, where we can contact the Lord.
I have the full assurance that the Lord will recover the enjoyment in our spirit for the proper priesthood and kingship. This is the Lord’s recovery, which is a matter of His government. It is not a small matter to touch the government of the Lord. May the Lord be merciful to us that we would learn to know Him in a living way as the tree of life, to know our spirit, and to exercise the priesthood to enjoy Him. May the Lord be merciful that we would go to Him and stay with Him for some time about all these matters. We should pray over and pray regarding all these things. Then we will see that this is not merely a teaching. Rather, all these matters are for us to share in and enjoy.
