Hebrews 6:19-20 “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, (20) where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
There are two distinct priesthoods recorded in scripture. The first priesthood are the priests after the order of Aaron, who was the first high priest appointed by God to this priesthood. God ordained this priesthood under the Old Covenant and it is only the descendants of Aaron, taken from the tribe of Levi, that qualify to be priests in this order. This priesthood is drawing to a close and will end at the second coming of the Lord Jesus. The second priesthood are the priests after the order of Melchizedek. The above quoted passage of scripture teaches us that the Lord Jesus is the high priest appointed by God to this priesthood. God ordained this priesthood under the New Covenant and it is only the saints of God that qualify to be priests in this order. Unlike the priesthood after the order of Aaron however, the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek is an eternal priesthood. The priesthood after the order of Aaron performed functions that are types and shadows of the spiritual functions that the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek are called to perform before God. And so by looking at some of the functions performed by the Old Testament priests we can better understand the functions that the New Testament priests are called to perform.
Revelation 1:6 “and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
The above quoted passage of scripture confirms the truth to us that our Lord Jesus has made His saints to be both kings and priests to God the Father. And so we see that the church has a dual role to perform, i.e. to reign as kings in the earth and to minister to God as priests. Sadly many in the church want to reign as kings in life, but not many are willing to minister before God as priests. Nevertheless Jesus has made us priests to God the Father, and He expects us to fulfil this ministry which He has given to each one of us. And so it is incumbent upon us to learn how to fulfil our role as priests.
Hebrews 10:11 “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices.”
So what is the priestly role that the saints are expected to perform in the earth? The Holy Spirit answers that question for us in the above quoted passage of scripture, when He tells us that a priest is required to minister daily to the Lord, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices. Although the context of this passage is referring to the daily sacrifices that are offered by the priests after the order of Aaron, the same principle is also applicable to the priests after the order of Melchizedek. In other words, just as the priests after the order of Aaron are required to offer daily sacrifices, so the priests after the order of Melchizedek are also required to minister daily to the Lord, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices. The only difference between the two priesthoods is in the nature of the sacrifice, for under the Old Covenant the priests offered sacrifices of bulls and goats, whereas the saints under the New Covenant do not offer such sacrifices to the Lord.
Michael E.B. Maher
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