Called As Priests
You have been chosen! Selected! Called! To be priests of God.
And this isn’t some cheap marketing technique to get you to read the rest of this blog. This is actually the good news, the gospel, of the Kingdom of God. God, in His infinite goodness and love, has extended the most unthinkably good offer to anyone who believes in Jesus.
The Gospel of the Kingdom isn’t primarily about a rescue from judgement. It isn’t even about a betterment of humanity. It isn’t about a new set of traditions or rules. And it isn’t all about us.
It is an invitation to a dynamic life of love-union with God Himself.
This divine calling is clearly seen through the concept and model of what the Bible calls “priesthood.”
Before we get to the part of you and I being invited into this through the sacrifice of Jesus, let’s double back and quickly cover some of the Biblical history regarding the role of priests.
In the Old Testament, priests are often mentioned. They held a very important role in maintaining worship by offering sacrifices, interceding for the people, tending to the house of Lord, and even teaching the Scriptures. The priests were required to be from the tribe of Levi and direct descendants of Aaron.
Not only were the priests set apart for the ministry of God, but even among them only one, called the High Priest, could go into the Holy of Holies and minister directly to the Presence of God. He was required to wear certain clothing, go through an intense purification process, and a rope was even attached to his ankle in the event that he died in the Holy of Holies! This monumental event was only to take place once a year during the time the Tabernacle of Moses was the central place of worship and continued when the temple was built.
These men were mediators. They stood between the awesome Presence of God and the sinful people He was bent on dwelling with. It’s hard to imagine such a significant job description.
Given that historical backdrop, there might seem to be little similarity between the historical priesthood and every believer today. It probably wouldn’t be worth our time to try to find it if it wasn’t for a handful of Scriptures. Here’s a few of my favorites that mention this Divine calling on every believer:
“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV)
It’s pretty clear that understanding priesthood is important, isn’t it? If we are all being built up for this, we need to know what it is. And what are “spiritual sacrifices”, anyway?
Romans 12:1 (ESV) gives more clarity. “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Friends, we are the sacrifice, we are the temple, and we are the priests! God has chosen people--imperfect, finite human beings--to be loved, known, and included in the eternal dance of Goodness found only in Himself. This was His dream that birthed creation. To be with us, and for us to be with Him, has always been His insatiable desire.
Lastly, one of my personal, all-time favorite verses, really nails it down:
And they sang a new song, saying,“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:9-10 ESV)
In these beautiful words, I find what I have searched for so long. In this heavenly song, I find my purpose.
It is glorious and absolutely shocking to think that God--the Great I am, who created the universe with a Word--this mighty One has called you to minister to Him. But this is exactly what the Scriptures testify!
It has little to do with whether or not others recognize this calling on your life. This calling is between God and you. Being a priest to God has almost nothing to do with being in what we Christians have termed “ministry”.
If priests are simply those whose primary attention is fixed on loving Jesus and presenting themselves to Him, they might be found in Walmart or in a construction company. After all, if it is God who gives this purpose, and if it is God who instructs His people in what they are to do, then who are we to say they can only be in a church, house of prayer, or on the mission field?
Sadly, in the western Church, some of us have returned in form if not in name to old structures of priesthood Jesus did away with. We cannot draw a line between “ministers” and their “congregations.” We cannot build systems that draw people to Jesus but make them dependent on certain gifted individuals. We need to teach every believer to walk in the full glory of priestly ministry.
The priesthood of every believer is a beautiful and necessary truth that needs to be re-introduced at every level of Christian ministry in which it might be lacking.
And I’m not just talking about local, conventional churches. Even in the house of prayer movement there can be an unhealthy emphasis placed on musicians, worship leaders, and even prayer leaders. People can come to watch a few gifted and practiced worshipers minister to God even in the prayer room!
This should break our hearts! Every single believer has a call to prayer, worship, and communion with God. It is not for special people. It is not just for “intercessors” or “worship leaders.”
Priestly ministry is not primarily about what you do but about how and why you do it. Are you working to simply make money or appease the expectations of those around you? Are you preaching because you’re addicted to the applause of humans? Are you “serving the Lord” but with a negative attitude?
We each need to take a long hard look at why and how we are doing what we do.
It seems simple to me. How are we to serve and work? “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV) Why are we doing it? “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15 ESV) We do everything out of love and wholehearted obedience.
I know this is convicting. Just writing this is sobering for me. And sometimes I wonder, how seriously are we supposed to take this? But even though I don’t know exactly how this plays out practically, I do know that the rewards are great. If we truly live everyday as priests to God, we will never have to live for the approval of people or lack purpose behind all that we do.
I pray that each of you will pick this calling up and say yes to it! You do not have to look for someone else to do it. You do not need to wonder if you are qualified. It’s for you.
Thank you for reading “Called As Priests”, written by Tim Ornelas. We hope it encourages you! If you would like to share this article, please feel free to do so. If you have any thoughts or questions, you are welcome to email us at admin@gatewayprayer.com.