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1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rom. 15:16; Heb. 9:14; 1 John 1:9; John 1:29; Eph. 2:14; 5:26; Col. 2:9; Heb. 4:16; Rom. 10:17; Psa. 119:147-148
I. The definition of a priest
II. The holy priesthood
III. The royal priesthood
IV. The gospel priesthood
V. How to practice the priesthood
А. Be revived every morning to be saturated with the Lord
B. Bear the people on your heart to the Lord in prayer
C. Beget through gospel visitation
D. Nourish through shepherding
E. Teach in small groups
F. Build through prophesying
The priesthood is crucial to the building up of the church. There are three aspects of the priesthood — holy, royal, and gospel. But although there are three aspects, it is the same priesthood. We need to be priests in the priesthood with all three aspects. The “hood’’ refers to the building up of the priests. When you have a “priesthood,’’ you have the building up.
[The dictionary tells us that a priest is a person who serves God professionally. Most Christians would tell us that a priest is one who serves God. This is right, but what does it mean to serve God? Today’s Christians would answer that to serve God is to work for God. This answer is wrong! To say that a priest is a person who serves God is right, but to say that to serve God is merely to do something for God, is wrong.
To realize what a priest is, we must first see God’s eternal plan. God is a God of purpose. He has a purpose which He wants to accomplish. According to the revelation of the Scriptures, God has a plan to work Himself into a group of people, that He might be their life, and that they might become His expression. Based upon this plan, God created man.
Man was destined to receive God, to be filled, saturated and permeated with God, and to have God flow out of him that he might be the living expression of God. This is a brief definition of a priest. He must contact God, be filled with God, and be possessed by God completely that he may be built up with others in the flow of the life of God. Then the priesthood will be His living corporate expression.
Christianity’s concept is that if we love the Lord, we must work for Him. This is a natural, religious concept, not the revelation of the Bible. God never intended to call us merely to work for Him. God’s intention is that we must first open ourselves to Him that He may come into us to fill and flood us until He has taken possession of every part of our being. Our whole being must be saturated and permeated with Him. Then we will be one with Him. We will not only be clothed outwardly with Him as power, but permeated inwardly with Him as everything. Then spontaneously, God will flow out of us, and we will be built up with others in this flow of life.
I must repeat that a priest is not one who merely works for God. God has no intention of calling us to do something for Him. His intention is that we answer His call by opening ourselves to Him and saying, “Lord, here I am, not ready to work for You, but ready to be filled and possessed by You, and to be one with You.’’ Not until we are one with the Lord can we ever work for Him and be a real priest. The main function of a priest is not to work, but to spend time in the presence of the Lord until he is one with Him in the spirit. The priesthood that God plans to have is a corporate man who is saturated and permeated with Himself.]
First Peter 2:5 says, “You yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, into a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.’’ The holy priesthood is typified by the priesthood according to the order of Aaron. To be holy is to be separated from the common things, the worldly things, unto the holy God. Positionally or objectively, we need to be separated so that we may be filled with the holy God dispositionally or subjectively. If we are not separated positionally, we cannot come to the holy God. After we come to God, we will be filled with God and His holy nature, dispositionally. Then we will be as holy as He.
How do we come to God as a holy priest? The tabernacle and its furniture is a picture of our actual experience. The first piece of furniture in the outer court of the tabernacle is the altar. The altar signifies the cross where Christ died as our sacrifice (Heb. 9:14). When we come to God, we first need to offer Christ as our spiritual sacrifice, as typified by the five basic offerings — trespass, sin, peace, meal, and burnt offerings (Heb. 9:14). As you come to the Lord, He may expose you on something you said to your mother that was rebellious. You may pray, “Lord, forgive me for speaking in a rebellious way to my mother.’’ By praying this way, you take the Lord as your trespass offering. The Lord will forgive you of your trespass (1 Cor. 15:3; 1 John 1:9). You may continue to pray, “Oh Lord, I spoke in a rebellious way because I have a sinful rebellious nature. Thank You Lord that You have crucified my sinful nature, and were made sin on my behalf.’’ Here, you have offer the Lord as a sin offering (John 1:29; 2 Cor. 5:21). At this point you may feel peaceful because you sense that the Lord has forgiven you and has cleansed you. Then you may pray further, “Oh Lord, thank You; because You are my trespass and sin offerings, now I have peace with God and with my mother.’’ You have just offered Christ as the peace offering (John 14:27; 20:21; Eph. 2:14). You may then pray, “Lord, I am not a proper and balanced person; that is why I always argue with my mother. But I praise You, You are so fine, balanced, and pure. I thank You that You live in me, and that I can take You as my person.’’ You have just offered Christ as your meal offering (John. 11:15,35; Matt. 21:12-13; 23:33). Finally, you may pray, “Lord, in fact, I argue so much because I am for myself. If I were fully for God and His interest, I would never argue with my mother in a rebellious way. Lord, You are fully for God; You are absolutely for His heart’s desire. Lord, I am one with You, and You are one with me for God and His economy.’’ In this prayer you have offered Christ as your burnt offering (John 7:16-18).
The second piece of furniture in the outer court is the laver. The laver signifies the washing of the water in the Word (Eph. 5:26). This water is the Spirit of life. We are cleansed by His Word from the defilement of the world (John 15:3). The first piece of furniture we come to in the holy place is the show bread table. The bread signifies the Word as our food (Matt. 4:4). The second piece of furniture in the holy place is the lampstand. The lampstand signifies the light received from reading the Word (John 8:12; Psa. 119:130). These three experiences are from the Word. When we use our spirit to read the Word, the Spirit will wash us, feed us, and enlighten us.
The third piece of furniture in the holy place is the incense altar. The incense altar signifies our prayer (Rev. 5:8). As we use the Word to pray, we enter into the holy of holies.
The main piece of furniture in the holy of holies is the ark. The ark typifies Christ as the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9). When we arrive at the ark we come “to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and may find grace for timely help’’ (Heb. 4:16). This is where we fellowship with God, and where God fills us with Himself to transform us. This is the place where we want to abide. By abiding in the holy of holies, we will know what the Lord desires and what He is burdened for, that we may pray accordingly.
Although we have described the process in a step-by-step way, our experience may not follow this sequence. Do not be too concerned; simply come to the Lord by prayer and with His Word. The Lord will guide us in our experience of Him, until we are saturated with Him.
First Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for a possession, so that you may tell out the virtues of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.’’ The royal priesthood is typified by the priesthood according to the order of Melchisedec. According to Genesis 14:18-20, Melchisedec came from God to bless Abraham with bread and wine. He came from God to bless man with the Lord’s table. After we go to God as a holy priest, separated unto God, we become saturated with Him. Then we need to go to God’s people to bless them with God as the bread and wine. The Lord’s table signifies Christ’s death and resurrection for man’s salvation and enjoyment. This is the gospel, the good news, for fallen, sinful man. In addition, this is what we share in the church meetings to build up the church.
Romans 15:16 says, “That I should be a minister of Christ Jesus to the nations, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, that the offering of the nations might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit.’’ The gospel priesthood mentioned here is not different from the holy and royal priesthoods. These three terms apply to three different aspects of the same priesthood in the New Testament. We are priests, and we are being built up as a priesthood, having Christ as the high priest.
The main function of the gospel priesthood is to preach the gospel to save sinners, so that they may be offered to God as acceptable sacrifices. Romans 15:16 talks about a minister of Christ Jesus laboring to offer the nations. 1 Peter 2:9 talks about telling out the virtues of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. And 1 Peter 2:5 talks about offering up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The functions of these three priesthoods are absolutely one. Actually, the gospel priesthood includes the holy and royal priesthoods. As a gospel priest we need to come forward to God to be saturated with Him first. Then the Lord burdens us to pray for a certain friend. We bring God to that friend as a royal priest. How do we bring God to him? We do it by telling him the virtues of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. “Virtues of Him’’ means His excellence, His power, His energy, the strength of life received through the gospel that delivered us out of darkness. As you tell your friend about His virtues, the word you speak brings faith into him (Rom. 10:17). This word has the power to deliver him from darkness. Then he will pray with you to receive the Spirit (Gal. 3:5); eventually, he will be baptized into the Triune God. This gospel experience explains how we, as a holy priest, offer someone as a spiritual sacrifice to God.
We need to be the holy priesthood, the royal priesthood, and the gospel priesthood. We should always come to God to be filled with Him, bring God to people by telling out His virtues, and offer the repented sinners as spiritual sacrifices to God. We do this not in an individual way but with others. We are built up as we perform our priestly duties. As we are being built up, more priests become saved and are added to the priesthood to be built up together with us. This is God’s way to build up the church.
In the Old Testament, the priests start to offer sacrifices to God in the morning. Therefore, [we also must enjoy the Lord in the Word every day early in the morning to have a new start each day (Psa. 119:147-148). According to God’s principle in His creation, He ordained to have a new year, a new month or a new moon, and a new day. Within every year we can have three hundred sixty-five new starts. If we failed for three hundred sixty-four days, we still have one more opportunity to have a successful day. We may have failed today, but then the Lord tomorrow is still here waiting for us. Tomorrow morning we will have another chance to have a new start. Within every twenty-four hours, there is a new chance for us to have a new start and be renewed.
To have a new start is not hard. It is so easy. Just rise up a little earlier and say, “O Lord Jesus. O Lord Jesus.’’ You do not need to shout loudly to bother others. Just say, “O Lord Jesus.’’ To say this makes a big difference. Sometimes I forgot to call on the Lord immediately after I woke up. That became a big loss to me. As soon as I realized this I said, “Lord Jesus, forgive me for forgetting You.’’]
After calling on the Lord, you need to pray-read a few verses. The Holy Word for Morning Revival can be very helpful. Read and pray-read one or two pages a day. Use your spirit with the Word to touch the Lord. Memorize the verse that you enjoyed the most. Then write down what you enjoyed to share with other saints, later. It helps to have your morning revival material by your bed before you go to sleep, so you do not have to look for it in the morning.
By having a morning revival every morning, you will be filled up with God to perform your priestly duty.
You need to pray unceasingly to fellowship with the Lord, by calling on His name and by using the verse you memorized in the morning. You also need to pray specifically for your friends’ salvation at set times, by yourself and with others. Praying refreshes us, strengthens us, and directs us in our priestly function. John 15:16 says, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and I appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He may give you.’’ The asking is not for anything we want, but is specifically for fruit-bearing. James 4:2b says, “You do not have because you do not ask.’’ Based on these verses, if we ask we will have. The more we ask, the more we will have.
Sometimes people say that prayer does not work. After they pray, they stay home to wait for the Lord to work. Others may say that they are not effective in the gospel, yet they do not pray. Praying and going are two aspects of our co-laboring with God. On one hand, we need to pray much. On the other hand, we need to go much. We should not pray without going, nor should we go without praying. Eventually, if we do not pray and go, we will be disappointed and stop our praying and going altogether. According to John 15:16, we are chosen by the Lord to bear fruit. The way to bear fruit is to be pruned by the Father, to be cleansed by the Lord’s word, to abide in the Lord, to let Him and His word abide in us, to ask the Father for remaining fruit, to love one another, and finally, to go forth. If we do all of the above without going, it is still not adequate. We must go to where the people are, and also invite them to come. We sometimes give up if they do not come. The proper way is to go. Go to visit people as God visited us. Go and speak the word to convert them to the Lord. The little booklet Mystery of Human Life is very helpful in gospel preaching because it summarizes the Bible regarding God’s economy, man’s condition, and God’s salvation. Baptize your friends after they pray to receive the Lord. This is the God ordained way to function as a gospel priest. This is a wonderful experience that you should have.
After your friends receive the Lord, you must continue to pray for them and shepherd them into life, so that they may be established in the faith. This is usually more effective one-on-one. You need to teach them how to pray and to pray-read the Word by doing it with them. You also need to help them to read the Word everyday. Fellowship with them about what they read daily, so that they will continue to read the Word. Another crucial matter is to help them live by the sense of the spirit within them. Whenever we think, speak, or do things that are not of the Lord, we get the sense of death. Sadness, emptiness, and uneasiness, are examples of this sense. Conversely, when we have the sense of life we experience joy, peace, rest, etc. (Rom. 8:6, 13). When we live by this sense, we are living by the spirit. Praying, reading the Word, and living by the spirit are the three foundation stones of our Christian life. You must help your new believing friends to pray, to read the Word, and to live by the spirit.
In Matthew 28:20 the Lord said that after we baptized people, we should teach them “to observe all things, whatever I commanded you.’’ In Acts 20:27 the apostle Paul said that he “did not shrink from declaring to the saints all the counsel of God.’’ Therefore, you must teach the new ones everything you know about the Lord, His economy, His recovery, His church, etc. The best way to teach the truth is in small groups. When you have a small group of saints meeting together, there are more riches of Christ. If a new one asks a question that you cannot adequately answer, others may be better prepared to answer accurately. This is an example of the priesthood.
The last point concerning our practice of the priesthood concerns prophesying in the church meetings to build up the church. Prophesying, in 1 Corinthian 14, mainly refers to speaking for and speaking forth God. After having been revived for six days by praying and reading the Lord’s Word, and having gone forth to bear fruit, we should have much to speak on the Lord’s day to build up the church. On Saturday, you can compose a prophesy with the week’s enlightenment and enjoyment. In the meetings, we practice as royal priests to speak for God and to speak God into all the saints. You may say that you are young and do not know much. Whatever you currently know and have enjoyed is your portion to build up the church. If you do not prophesy, the saints will miss the portion that you have received from the Lord that week, and the building up of the church will suffer. Not only should you prophesy, you should also train your new ones to prophesy. The church will be built step-by-step as you and your new ones prophesy in the meetings.
We should endeavor to be the holy, royal, and gospel priests in the one priesthood. If we are faithful, the life and number in the church will increase and the Lord will build His church through us. Do not say that you are young, and then wait until you are older to get serious. Now is the time for you to start to function as priests. You will learn, and become experienced, mature, and perfected functioning priests as you are growing up. When He comes, you will have a great reward.
