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Scripture Reading: Zech. 6:12-13; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; Rev. 5:9-10; 1 Cor. 14:1; Exo. 27:20-21; 30:6-8
Zechariah 6:12-13 says, “Thus speaks Jehovah of hosts, saying, Here is a man, whose name is the Shoot; and he will shoot forth from his place and will build the temple of Jehovah. Indeed, it is he who will build the temple of Jehovah; and he will bear majesty and will sit and rule on his throne; and he will be a priest on his throne; and the counsel of peace will be between the two of them.” This is a prophecy of the Lord Jesus building the temple of God. Shoot denotes the Lord Jesus. According to the flesh, the Lord is out of David; He is the Shoot growing out of David (Jer. 23:5). As the Shoot, He will build the temple of Jehovah and bear the majesty associated with building the temple of God. He will reign as a priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace will be between the priesthood and the kingship. These are extraordinary verses; it is the only place in the Bible that speaks of the combination of the priesthood and the kingship in the Lord Jesus for the building of the temple of God.
First Peter 2:4-5 says, “Coming to Him, a living stone,...you yourselves also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood.” Verse 9 says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood.” The kingship and the priesthood are combined in the term royal priesthood. This shows that both offices are combined in the saints, just as they were combined in the Lord Jesus. The combination of these offices in the saints is for the building of a spiritual house, which is the holy priesthood. Revelation 5:9-10 speaks of Christ’s death and of the saints being priests and kings, saying, “You were slain and have purchased for God by Your blood men out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made them a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign on the earth.” In these verses the kingship and priesthood are combined in the saints.
In the Bible the service of God’s people is carried out by the offices of the priesthood, the kingship, and the prophethood. Priests fellowship with God, kings reign for God, and prophets speak for God. The priesthood and the kingship are permanently and indispensably linked with each other. However, the prophethood is primarily supplemental. When the priesthood and kingship are functioning properly, there is no need for prophets. Prophets are needed only when kings fail and priests fall short. Hence, the prophethood should not be considered as a permanent office.
The two most prominent prophets in the history of Israel were Elijah and Elisha, who arose at the height of Israel’s desolation. At that time Ahab, who was the king of Israel, “did what was evil in the sight of Jehovah, more than all who were before him” (1 Kings 16:30). Similarly, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, allied himself in marriage with the house of Ahab (2 Chron. 18:1). Elijah and Elisha held prominent positions as prophets because the kings were in a poor condition, and the priests were not ministering properly.
The New Testament extensively speaks of the Lord as a King and a Priest but not so extensively as a Prophet. For example, the Gospel of Matthew speaks of the Lord Jesus as a King, and the Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of the Lord Jesus as a High Priest. However, there is no book devoted to the Lord Jesus as a Prophet. There are some verses that indicate the prophethood of the Lord Jesus, such as Acts 3:22-23, which refers to Deuteronomy 18:15 and 18 through 19, saying that God will raise up a Prophet from the midst of Israel. Even in the prophecy concerning the Lord’s building of the temple in Zechariah 6:12-13, only the priesthood and the kingship are mentioned, not the prophethood. When the function of the priests and kings is normal, the function of the prophets is not prominent.
Every believer is a priest to fellowship with God and a king to reign with the Lord (Rev. 5:9-10). We are royal priests (1 Pet. 2:9). In contrast, the Bible does not speak of all the believers as being prophets; rather, it says that we should desire earnestly to prophesy (1 Cor. 14:1). Although God’s children may not all function as prophets, they all are kings and priests and must function as priests and kings. It is only when the priesthood and kingship are weak, failing, and desolate that prophets emerge.
We have a serious lack in our service today. Although a few are ministering the word as prophets, it is hard for the saints to function according to the priesthood and kingship. Furthermore, there is almost a complete reliance upon preachers in Christianity. This shows that the priesthood and the kingship have been neglected. If this condition is not corrected, there will be no way to carry out God’s building.
Under normal circumstances everyone in the church should function as a priest and king. Every saint should fellowship with God, burn the incense, and light the lamps before God so that the fragrance of Christ would be rich, and the light in the Word would be bright. Furthermore, the saints should be full of God’s authority to reign for God. Regrettably, God’s children have neglected these two offices. Relying on prophets deviates from the normal way and leads to desolation. A church in a locality may have a few particularly strong ministers of the word, but if the condition of the priesthood and kingship among the saints is weak, very little building can occur because the situation is abnormal. When believers focus on preaching and depend upon preaching, the condition of a church is one of degradation. Prophets were raised up in the Old Testament only when God’s people were desolate, when the kings neglected their duties, and when the priests were absent in their function. The establishment of seminaries to train a minority of believers to be pastors and ministers speaks of the desolate condition of God’s people.
In the past I did not see the relationship between the priesthood and the building, even though I bore a heavy burden for the building up of the church. It is only recently that the Lord has showed me from Zechariah 6:12-13 that building is a matter of coordination between the priesthood and the kingship. This light has become increasingly clearer and brighter. Thus, I have the assurance to say that we must recover the priestly service and give heed to the fellowship in spirit in order for the church to be built. Without priests, God’s dwelling place cannot be built, because God’s dwelling place is intrinsically a priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5).
The tabernacle was linked to the priesthood in the Old Testament; the priests could not be separated from the tabernacle, and the tabernacle could not be separated from the priests. The priests and the tabernacle implicitly reveal two aspects of one reality: The priests and the tabernacle speak of the service of God’s people to God, on the one hand, and of the dwelling of God among His people, on the other hand. Furthermore, the New Testament explicitly states that God’s dwelling place is a priesthood. Therefore, the building up of the church depends upon the priesthood.
In Ephesians 2:20 Paul says that the church, as the household of God, is “being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” The foundation of the apostles and prophets refers to the revelation that the apostles and prophets received for the building of the church. In 4:11 Paul also speaks of the Lord giving “some as apostles and some as prophets.” Apostles and prophets refer to the gifts that the Lord has given to the church, that is, to some but not all the believers. Paul speaks of the need to earnestly desire to prophesy in 1 Corinthians 14:1 because the church in Corinth was in a desolate condition; they were fully in the flesh and full of discord and chaos. They were interested only in outward gifts, but the inward matters of fellowshipping with God and being under God’s authority were lacking. Due to this condition the apostle brought up the matter of prophesying, because prophesying was the most beneficial gift for the building of the church in Corinth. From Paul’s viewpoint it was necessary to speak of prophesying. However, if the function of the prophethood is stronger than that of the priesthood and the kingship in the church, our situation is not normal. Such a situation also shows that the church is lacking in the building and is not being manifested as a priesthood. In a normal situation the church should have a priestly atmosphere that is full of priestly service with authority. Even if there is an occasional need for strengthening from prophets, the service of the church should be carried out by a royal priesthood.
The work of priests, as recorded clearly in the Old Testament, involved not only offering sacrifices in the outer court but also burning incense before God and lighting lamps (Exo. 27:20-21; 30:6-8). Furthermore, the Bible clearly shows that there is a relationship between lighting the lamps and burning the incense. The priests burned incense when they dressed the lamps in the morning and when they set up the lamps at twilight. Lighting the lamps is a matter of light; hence, it denotes the reading of the Bible. Burning the incense is a matter of offering up fragrant incense before God; hence, it denotes prayer. These two aspects are related to the fellowship of the church. If the brothers and sisters have no light or sweet fragrance before God, it is due to a lack of fellowship. If we all are priests and are living in the fellowship, we will be full of light and full of the fragrance of Christ before God. This should be our constant condition before God.
We must admit that our work and our various meetings shine little light to people and offer little fragrance to God because of the lack of our priestly function. Although some can speak the word of God as prophets, there is an urgent need for priests who light the lamps and burn the incense. If our service involves lighting the lamps and burning the incense, the saints will receive a supply that is much greater than what comes through exhortation. If we can help a brother only with teachings and exhortation, we may not be able to shine the light of the Lord upon him or impart the fragrance of the Lord into him. In order to do this, we must be more than prophets; we must be priests. If we are under the authority of God and draw near to God, that is, if we are royal priests, who pray both for and with a brother, we will be able to bring him into fellowship with God so that his whole being is full of light and full of the fragrance of Christ.
We have a great lack related to this point. The apostles said, “We will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:4). They placed prayer above ministering the word. The apostles were royal priests, who reigned and lived in fellowship to minister the word as priests. Moreover, their ministry of the word was mainly to unbelievers. After believing into the Lord, the new believers were brought into a priestly service. God wants us to fulfill a priestly service. We must go before the Lord and exercise our spirit to light the lamps and burn the incense. Our urgent need is not to give more messages but to pray more. We must rise up to be priests and enter into the Holy Place and into the Holy of Holies to fulfill our priestly service.
Although we have some aspects of the Lord’s authority and speaking among us, we are lacking in our experience of His priestly function. We may be able to speak many words of exhortation to a brother based on the Bible, but he still may not be affected in a positive way. However, we should lead him to pray so that the water of life begins to flow in him. Then he can be enlightened with just a few words to see his corruption, worthlessness, and filth so that he repents in tears. Such a response can come only from the shining of light within him, not from mere teachings.
In summary, being a priest is a matter of exercising our spirit to pray before God and of fellowshipping with God. We need to personally enter into God’s light, be enlightened by God, and touch the fragrance of Christ in order to be acceptable to God. Furthermore, we should pray with others to enter into God’s light with them. This is much more profitable than merely teaching with words, and this will build the church.
The New Jerusalem illustrates this point. The throne in the city signifies the Lord as King; the river of water of life proceeding out of the throne refers to the Lord as Priest bringing God’s people into fellowship with God through the flow of the water of life. We should submit to the authority of God and allow the water of life to flow in our spirit. In this flow there will be light and the sweet fragrance of the supply of life. This is the greatest need of the church today.
