Well, we would like to continue with what we began this morning.
We find in the Word of God that the Lord has not only washed us from our sins in His blood, but He has also made us kings and priests unto God. So this afternoon, we would like to consider how He has made us priests unto God and what, as priests, we must do.
Again, I will remind you, brothers and sisters, that this is more than something that will happen in the future. We always project ourselves into the future and forget the present. I think it is a very common way of thinking among Christians.
The future is important, and yet it has to begin today. When you come to God’s work, you find that He always has the future in view, but it always begins with today. One day we shall all serve Him through eternity, but serving Him as priests must start now. If we do not begin to learn to serve Him today, then on that day we will not know how to fulfil our function as priests.
So the thought is that we who are the Lord’s, who have been washed by the blood and redeemed, are all priests. Now, this is not a new thought. It is found in the Bible, as you find in 1 Peter: as we come to the Lord, we are as living stones, built up together into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house,
to be a holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
So, as we come to the Lord, we are as living stones. We are being built up together into a spiritual house; but at the same time, we are a holy priesthood, a priesthood that serves in that spiritual house.
The universal priesthood of believers is a New Testament truth. Even in the time of the Reformation, back in the sixteenth century, we often think that the Reformation gave us two things. One is justification by faith, and the other is an open Bible.
Thank God for that, because before that time, during the Dark Ages, people did not even know that justification is by faith. They tried to work out their salvation by works, by accumulating merits, doing penance, and all kinds of things. During the Reformation, you find that there was a recovery of the truth of justification by faith.
Before the Reformation, the Bible was chained, a chained book. But after the Reformation, you find that it became an open book. It was translated into different languages so that people could read the Bible, and we do thank God for that.
But if you read the history of the Reformation, if you read the history of Martin Luther, you will find that even at that time Martin Luther advocated the universal priesthood of believers.
It is hard to believe, but that is the truth. In the sixteenth century, he preached the universal priesthood of believers—that every believer is a priest. But unfortunately, this truth was not heard at that time; it was not practised.
Very soon, among the Protestant denominations, this universal priesthood was unknown, completely buried, as it were. Martin Luther talked about it, but it was not practised. For four hundred years, up to our time, this truth has needed to be recovered.
I believe that more and more in our days people are beginning to see this matter of the universal priesthood of believers. Unless we see this truth and practise it, the church will never be built, and the work that God has entrusted to the church can never be fulfilled.
You can never expect a few people to carry the whole burden of the church and do all the work that God has entrusted to the church. That is just impossible. That is the reason why we find that it has not been done. The church is not really built, even after these four hundred years.
So it is about time that we really come back to the truth of God and see that, when He has saved us and redeemed us, He has made us priests. Every believer is a priest. To be a priest means that we serve God, because this is our vocation. The vocation of a priest is to serve God.
Now, in order that we may understand this matter of priesthood, or priest, better, I think we will again try to illustrate it with a life. In that life, we can see what a priest really means and how we can function as priests.
When we considered kingship, we used Moses as our example. When we come to priesthood, we will use Aaron as our example. Now, Aaron is not the first priest in the Bible.
In the days of the patriarchs, the head of the family was the priest of the family. For instance, in the family of Abraham, Abraham was the priest of the family. Isaac, of course, was the priest of the family. Jacob, in seeking to have the right of the firstborn, was actually seeking to be the priest of the family too.
So, in the days of the patriarchs, the head of the family was the priest. But when God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, He brought them into the wilderness. In Exodus 19, God said that He had brought them to Himself as on eagles’ wings, and that if they would keep His covenant and obey His voice, He would make them a kingdom of priests.
Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians,
and how I bare you on eagles’ wings,
and brought you unto Myself.
Now therefore, if ye will obey My voice indeed,
and keep My covenant,
then ye shall be Mine own possession from among all peoples:
for all the earth is Mine:
and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests,
and a holy nation.
In other words, after the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt and brought to God, God’s purpose was to make them a nation of priests. That is, every Israelite was a priest. If there were two million people coming out of Egypt, then there were two million priests. All the men, all the women, all the children—everyone born into the nation of Israel—was born to be a priest.
That was God’s original purpose for the children of Israel. That was God’s thought concerning a people whom He had delivered: a nation of priests. Everyone had the privilege of serving God, and everyone was to serve God.
But unfortunately, when Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel broke the law.
When Moses came down from the mountain, he saw what had happened. He smashed the two tables of the law. He burned the golden calf, ground it to powder, scattered it upon the water, and asked the children of Israel to drink of it. That is, they were to drink of their own sins.
By doing that, the nation of Israel disqualified themselves from serving God. So far as God’s calling was concerned, they were called to serve God. They were called to be a nation of priests. That was what Moses said to Pharaoh: “Let My people go, that they may serve Me.”
Who would be going? The men, the women, and the children—all were to worship God. That was God’s calling. But because of their sin, God did not disqualify them; they disqualified themselves from serving God.
Then Moses stood at the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me.” The tribe of Levi came to him.
Moses commanded them to take their swords and enter into the camp, from gate to gate, and slay everyone whom they met—friends, neighbours, brothers, whoever they might be. On that day, three thousand were slain. Then Moses told the Levites to sanctify themselves before the Lord.
After that, we find that God chose the tribe of Levi and the family of Aaron to be priests. Only one family, the family of Aaron, and only one tribe out of the twelve, the tribe of Levi, were to serve God. The rest of the people and tribes were barred from God’s service. They could not approach God directly; they had to do so through the intermediary work of Aaron and his sons, with the help of the Levites.
Now, this was God’s emergency measure, not God’s original design.
The question may be raised: Why did God choose Aaron and his family, and the tribe of Levi? Did they not worship the golden calf as the other tribes did? They did. Was Aaron the one who actually made the golden calf? He was.
The children of Israel came to Aaron and said, “We do not know what has happened to Moses. Make us a god to lead us.” Aaron said, “Give me your gold.” They took off their earrings, rings, and all these things, and Aaron melted them and made a golden calf.
So Aaron was actually the one who was sinful in this rebellion. Yet why was it that he and his family, together with the tribe of Levi, were chosen to be priests? Aaron was no better than the other children of Israel. The Levites were no better than the other tribes. They had all fallen.
Why did God appoint Aaron and the Levites to serve Him? The only reason was that, when Moses said, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” they came and stood with Moses.
In doing that, they showed their repentance. They bore the fruit of repentance by cutting off all natural ties without reservation. That was the only reason why they were chosen.
So, brothers and sisters, in a sense that is our picture today. So far as our calling is concerned, we are all called to be priests, because He has made us priests unto God. That is grace. We are all called to be priests; we ought to be a holy priesthood.
Every redeemed child of God today is a priest, and everyone is called to serve God. This is our privilege and our duty.
But many are called, few are chosen. In other words, so far as God’s calling is concerned, we are all called. But unfortunately, we are no better than anybody else; we have all failed God. Yet those who repent and bear the fruit of repentance will be chosen.
In what way? In the way that we are willing to stand with the Lord against ourselves. If we give in to ourselves, we are not able to serve. But if we are willing to deny ourselves, then we will be chosen to serve.
I think this is the difference we can see. Why is it that among God’s people there are so few who seem to function as priests? We are all called to be priests, and we should serve God. We should. Yet in actuality, there are so few who are serving as priests.
Why is this? I think the reason is because we give in to ourselves. Just like the children of Israel, they gave in to themselves and began to serve other gods. By doing that, they disqualified themselves. They were in no way able to serve God.
No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve God and mammon, the Lord says. Oftentimes, people are so occupied, so engrossed in things other than God, that they deprive themselves of the privilege of serving God.
Only those who really deny themselves and cut off, as it were, all those natural bondages and natural ties can serve. Just like the Lord said, the violent seize the kingdom—violent toward ourselves. We must be willing to stand with the Lord instead of standing with the crowd.
Only when we are willing to do such a thing—not in any sense because we are better than anybody else, but because we are willing to stand with the Lord—will we be chosen to serve and to function.
Again, there is a difference here. With the children of Israel under the law, when they failed God, they were barred from being priests. That was serious. But under grace, even though we see that only a few are chosen, as it were, to serve, it is the will of God that we help all the brothers and sisters to be restored into this priesthood.
They are not barred eternally. On the contrary, it is God’s will that every believer should function as a priest. One thing we really need to encourage among brothers and sisters is this: those who are not functioning as priests are to function.
We will never see the full meaning of the church unless we come to see every brother and sister functioning as a priest. Otherwise, the full meaning of the church will never be seen.
It is only when all the brothers and sisters, everyone, begin to function as priests—when everyone begins to serve the Lord, not just a few monopolising spiritual things, but every brother and sister serving as a priest—that we will see the full meaning of the church.
What is the occupation of a priest? The occupation of a priest is to serve God.
Sometimes priests do till the ground. Even in Old Testament times, you find that they were given fields. Sometimes they would go home and till their fields, work on their fields. But this was their avocation; it was not their occupation. Even when they were tilling the field, they worked in the field as priests. They never forgot that they were priests.
I think in our time it is the same thing. We are all called to be priests. Priesthood is our occupation. Serving God is our occupation. Every brother and sister lives for one reason: to serve God. There is no other reason, because we are priests. We are not like other people.
Some may work in the field. Some may work in an office. Some may work in the kitchen. Some may work in school. Some may do what people call spiritual work or ministry. But so far as priesthood is concerned, all these various things are our avocation. Our vocation is to serve God, because we are priests. That is what we are.
You may be working in the kitchen and bringing up the children, but in bringing up the children, you are a priest, bringing up the children for God. Or you may be teaching in school. You are a priest, teaching in school for God. Or you may even be a student. You are studying as a priest for God.
Or you may be in another profession. You are doing that profession unto God because you are a priest.
I think this is something we really need to emphasise in our days, because this whole matter of an intermediary class—a few who are called sacred and the rest common or laity—has become such a habit. We have become so accustomed to it that we have begun to accept it as true.
We begin to feel that there is a line dividing the so-called secular and sacred, not only in the work in which we are involved, but even among people. But there is no such thing in Scripture.
In Scripture, every one of us is a priest. That is what we all are. Whatever work we are doing is unto the Lord as priests. If you are preaching, you are preaching as a priest unto God. If you are cooking, you are cooking as a priest unto God. There is no difference between sacred and secular.
To the pure, everything is pure. To the priest, everything is a priestly function, and we must perform it unto the Lord.
Just like an elderly sister who is now with the Lord used to say, when she was washing dishes, “I wash dishes as unto the Lord.” It is different from merely washing dishes. You may wash your dishes well and the work is done, but if you wash them unto the Lord, then there is a difference in how you wash them.
I think this is something we really need to see: in the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus, He has redeemed us back to God’s original purpose.
It is not that He has redeemed us to a certain point and left us there. You find that our Lord always brings us back to the beginning. In the beginning—this is what redemption is. He brings us back to the beginning of God’s purpose.
God’s original purpose for us is that everyone is a priest. Therefore, everyone must serve God. We may serve God in different areas and capacities, and nevertheless we are all serving God. This is our life’s work; this is our vocation.
If we have other things to do, they are our avocation. They help us in serving God, and even when we are doing those other things, we are serving God too.
So I think this is the first thing we need to understand: our calling is according to priesthood. This is our calling. We do not need to think that we need a special calling to serve God.
That is our traditional thinking. If you want to serve God, you need a special calling. Now, I do not mean that you do not need a special calling to be a missionary going abroad. You certainly need to know the Lord’s will for that. But so far as our calling to serve God is concerned, it is universal.
You do not need to wait for a special call. You are called. You have been made a priest, whether you like it or not. It is better that you realise it and begin to function as a priest unto God.
Now, this is the first point. The second point is that, after Aaron and his sons were called to be priests, before they could serve in the tabernacle, they had to be consecrated.
You find this in Exodus 28 and Exodus 29. Exodus 28 concerns the priestly garments, and Exodus 29 concerns the consecration of the priests. They had to be consecrated before they could really function in the tabernacle.
For instance, Exodus 28:1 says:
And bring thou near unto thee Aaron thy brother,
and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel,
that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office,
even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron’s sons.
And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother,
for glory and for beauty.
And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise-hearted,
whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom,
that they make Aaron’s garments to sanctify him,
that he may minister unto Me in the priest’s office.
Aaron and his sons were set apart as priests. But before they could function in the tabernacle, they had to be hallowed, sanctified, through consecration.
In consecration, there were two main things. First, they had to be clothed with the priestly garments. Second, they had to offer different sacrifices, including one ram of consecration. Let us forget the details and concentrate on these two points.
In being consecrated and hallowed, Aaron and his sons had to be clothed with priestly garments. They could not serve God in their ordinary clothing. They had to wash themselves and put on the priestly garments.
Of course, the priestly garments were for beauty and for glory. This is different from the garment that we put on when we are saved.
When the prodigal son came back, the father took off his ragged clothes and put on him the best robe. This speaks of how, when we come to the Lord, we are clothed with Christ as our righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own; our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
When we come to the Lord, He takes away our righteousness—which is no righteousness at all—and God puts upon us the best robe, the robe of righteousness, which is Christ. We are clothed with Christ, and because we are clothed with Christ, we are fit to stand before God.
That is our standing before God. But to serve God is a different thing. To serve God, we have to put on the priestly garment.
Christians have a number of garments to put on. The basic one, of course, is the best robe, the robe of righteousness—Christ our righteousness—so that we may stand before God. He gives us the ground to stand before God. But to serve, we have to put on another garment, the priestly garments.
Of course, it is still Christ. We cannot put on anything that is not Christ. But it is more than Christ as our righteousness. It is Christ as our glory and our beauty.
In other words, we need to know Christ further—not just to know Him as our righteousness, but to know Christ as our beauty and our glory.
We need to know Christ as more than a Saviour. We need to know Him as our life, our joy, our peace, our strength, and our wisdom. We need to know Him more than merely as our Saviour. It is for glory and for beauty.
The ephod was a beautiful artistic work. It was made of gold and blue and other materials, and it had jewels and precious stones embroidered upon it. The garment that a priest wore was blue, with golden bells and pomegranates upon it.
All these things speak of the beauty and glory of our Lord Jesus. He is our life. He is our strength. He is our wisdom. He is our joy, peace, love, and everything. In other words, we need to know Christ as more than our Saviour. We need to know Him as our life, our glory, and our beauty.
The beauty of the Lord and the glory of His life must be put upon us. As we are clothed with Christ as our beauty and our glory, then we are fit to function as priests.
Oftentimes, people are saved, and yet they cannot function as priests. The reason is that they do not grow up in the Lord. A baby cannot function. A babe has to be served, but cannot serve.
It is only when we grow up in Christ, when we grow in the knowledge of Christ—and this knowledge is not merely mental knowledge but experiential knowledge—as we know Him and the power of His resurrection, and share in His sufferings and are conformed to His death, as we know Him in fuller measure, that we grow spiritually.
That is spiritual growth. That is putting on the priestly garment for beauty and for glory. It is with such a garment that we are able to serve.
Then, on the other hand, they had to sacrifice the ram of consecration. This ram of consecration was the one that really set them apart for priesthood.
After the ram was killed, the blood was applied to the right ear, the right thumb, and the right great toe of the priest. Why? Because, in order to serve God, we need cleansing of our ear, our hand, and our feet.
In serving God, the first thing is the ear. Oftentimes we think that serving God begins with the feet—we rush here and there—or with the hands, working for Him. But no. In serving Him, the first thing is the ear. We have to hear Him. If we do not know how to hear Him, we will never be able to serve Him.
So, in the ram of consecration, the first thing is that the blood is applied to the ear. Our ear has to be purified, set apart, and cleansed by the blood so that we can hear what He has to say.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, God said:
This is My beloved Son: hear ye Him.
Do not talk, but hear Him. After we have heard Him, then our hands are purified to work for Him, and our feet are cleansed to go wherever He sends us.
Why is a ram used for consecration? In Scripture, the ram speaks of devotion—wholehearted devotedness. The ram represents Christ, who offered Himself by the eternal Spirit without blemish unto God as a burnt offering. He devoted Himself absolutely to the Father.
The same blood, His life, is to mark our life. His blood is applied upon our ear, our hands, and our feet, so that His life characterises our life. We are in union with Christ in utter devotion, utter devotedness, unto God.
Out of the basket of cakes and unleavened bread, the hands of the priests were filled with the fat of the ram and a loaf from the basket. As the hands of the priests were filled, they waved these things before the Lord. By doing this, they were consecrated.
The word consecration actually means “filling of hands.” That is the meaning of consecration. As their hands were filled, they were consecrated.
What were their hands filled with? The fat of the ram and the cakes of unleavened bread. Again, we find that the fat of the ram speaks of the abundance of life.
Fat is the overabundance of life. Whatever is left over from the food we take in and use is stored as fat. Thus, fat in Scripture speaks of the abundance of life. Since fat is from the animal, in that sense it speaks of the divine life of Christ, the divinity of Christ.
In the divine life of Christ, in His divinity, all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. He is full of the abundance of the riches of the Godhead.
Then the loaf is made of wheat, and wheat always represents the human life of our Lord Jesus, His humanity. He was a grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died. The wheat is ground, made into a cake, and baked; this speaks of His sufferings and His death.
In Scripture, the oblation, the meal offering, always speaks of the human life of our Lord Jesus. It speaks of all the purity of His human life.
So when the hands of the priests are filled with the fat and the bread, it means that our hands are filled with Christ—both His divinity and His humanity. As we wave them before God, this is when we are hallowed.
In other words, we are to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. As priests, our hands must be filled with Christ if we want to serve.
We cannot come to serve God wearing our own clothing. We have to come to serve God wearing the priestly garments—that is, Christ as our glory and our beauty. At the same time, what do we have? What can we offer to God?
We cannot offer to God anything that is the product of our own work, like the offering of Cain. We cannot come to God with our hands filled with the produce of the land, the work of our own hands, instead of coming to God with our hands filled with Christ.
If we do that, we will be completely rejected. Our service will not be accepted. Oftentimes, this is our problem. We come to God with our hands filled with our own products—our plans, our programmes, our energy, and all these things, the best that we can produce.
But if we are doing that, we will be utterly rejected. It would be worse than not offering anything. When we come to the Lord, our hands must be filled with Christ.
In priestly service, we offer nothing but Christ. It has to be Christ—either His divinity or His humanity, either the riches of His divine life or the purity of His human life. With these filling our hands, we are sanctified and set apart to serve as priests.
So this is the second thing. First, the calling: we are all called. Second, the consecration: we have to be set apart. We cannot serve God with what we are or using what we have. We have to serve God by being set apart, and with Christ and in Christ.
Now, the third thing is this: as Moses had a staff, which is the symbol of kingship and authority, Aaron also had a staff.
The reason was that during the rebellion of Korah and his company, when they rebelled against God, they rebelled not only against Moses but also against Aaron. They said that the whole people, the whole nation, was holy, and asked why Moses and Aaron exalted themselves.
Even after the earth opened itself and swallowed up Korah and those with him, and even after fire came from the tabernacle and burned up the two hundred and fifty leaders, the children of Israel were still rebellious in spirit.
In other words, they still felt that they could serve God. They would not accept the fact that only Aaron and his family were chosen to serve God.
In order to settle this question of priesthood, God told Moses to tell the children of Israel that every tribe was to prepare a staff—a branch cut off from a tree. Each tribe was to prepare one staff, and the name of the tribe was to be written upon that staff. The name of Aaron was written upon the staff of Levi.
These twelve staffs were placed before the ark in the tabernacle overnight. The next day, the staff that budded and bore fruit would identify the tribe chosen by God.
Remember, all these twelve staffs were dead. When they were cut from the trees, they were dead. They were put before the ark, before the presence of the Lord, overnight.
The next morning, when they took out the twelve staffs, Aaron’s rod had budded. It brought forth flowers, blossomed, and bore almonds—bore fruit.
This settled once for all the whole matter of who could serve God. Only the staff that budded and bore fruit could serve God.
The almond in Scripture always speaks of resurrection. Why? Because the almond is the first tree that buds and bears fruit after winter. So in the Bible, the almond is always used as a type of resurrection.
Here, then, we find that none of them was fit to serve. None of them was able to serve God. They were dead—twelve staffs, twelve tribes, all the children of Israel. So far as their natural condition before God was concerned, they were all dead. None was qualified to serve God.
But the one that was raised from the dead, in resurrection, was fit and able to serve.
How can we serve God? We cannot serve God with dead works. We can only serve God in the power of resurrection. That is the only way that we can serve God.
God will only accept service in the power of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. If we come to God and try to serve Him with our natural energy, with our fleshly strength and wisdom, we will be utterly rejected, because these are considered dead before God.
Our God is a living God. He cannot be served by dead people or by dead works. If we want to serve God, we have to serve Him in the power of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
I think this is a very strict standard, a standard of which we need to be reminded. Oftentimes, we try to serve God, and yet we serve in our own strength. We do not serve with the staff of Aaron.
The staff of Aaron is the symbol of resurrection. Only with that staff are we able to serve God effectively. Let us remember that we can never serve God on our own. On the one hand, we must serve God; yet, on the other hand, we cannot serve Him except in the power of His resurrection.
This morning we mentioned Moses. When he was provoked, he took the rod from before the ark. God said, “Take the rod, and speak unto the rock.” Why? Because that is priestly function.
The rock had already been smitten, so it should not have been smitten again. All that was needed was to speak to it with the rod, with the staff of Aaron. That is priestly intercession, on the basis of what the Lord has already done.
Yet Moses, in anger, struck the rock with the staff. Surely he ruined that staff, and that was one reason why he was not allowed to enter the promised land. But there is a principle there.
So far as our calling is concerned, we are all called to serve. But we cannot serve except in the power of His resurrection.
Finally, what is priestly function? A priest does not only serve in the tabernacle; he also serves the people. A priest is to bring people to God and to bring God to the people. That is the work of a priest.
The work of a priest is manifold. They have many works to do. We are told that in the time of Christ, the priests served in the temple in twenty-four courses.
There were thousands and thousands of priests, so they could not serve at the same time. They served in twenty-four courses. One course would serve for a certain time, and then the next course would continue.
Before the day broke, before dawn, the priests who were to serve during that course gathered in a room. They cast lots, asking God to guide and direct them as to what each one would do during the day.
As they cast lots, the lot might fall upon one priest to burn incense, which was considered the highest privilege of a priest. Or the lot might fall upon a priest to light the candlestick. Or the lot might fall upon a priest to offer the burnt offering.
So you find that their work in the temple was ordered every day by casting lots. Also, when they served, they served as a team. Even though they were doing different works, they worked together as one under the direction of the high priest.
Aside from the work in the temple, they had other works to do. They were to teach the people. They were to tell the people what was sacred, what was clean, and what was unclean. They were to judge the people, and so forth.
In other words, their whole work was to bring people to God and to bring God to the people. That is priestly work.
The same thing is true today. We are all priests, and being priests, what is our work? Our work is to bring people to God and bring God to the people.
Anything included in bringing people to God and bringing God to the people is priestly work. It may be in the temple, or it may be outside the temple.
What is the temple today? The temple today is the church, the house of God. It is no longer a physical temple or a physical place; it is a spiritual house.
At the same time, we are a spiritual house and a holy priesthood. On the one hand, we form the spiritual house; we who are the Lord’s are the spiritual house. On the other hand, in the house we serve as priests. In serving as priests, we have different works.
Our works are all appointed by the Lord. Today, we do not cast lots.
Recently, when I was in Leesburg, a brother came to me and asked, “Can we cast lots today? Is it right?” He said that sometimes they could not decide on certain things, so they cast lots.
During Old Testament times, that was the way they did it. Why? Because the Holy Spirit had not yet come. They had to be guided externally. They prayed to God before they cast lots and asked God to guide the lot so that God’s will might be done.
Even in the book of Acts, before the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost, the one hundred and twenty cast lots in order to decide whether Matthias should fill the vacancy left by Judas.
But today, we do not need to cast lots. Why? We have the Holy Spirit dwelling in our spirit.
The Holy Spirit who dwells in our spirit will guide us and teach us in all things. Instead of casting lots, we need to go before the Lord, pray, wait, listen, and allow the Holy Spirit who dwells in us to guide and lead us.
When the priests served in Old Testament times, they served under the direction of the high priest. Who is our High Priest today? Our High Priest is Christ, who is now at the Father’s right hand interceding for us. Our High Priest is also the Holy Spirit, who is in us representing Christ.
So here you find that, today in the church, we are all priests, and we must all function in the house of God.
We cannot just come together once a week on Sunday, spend an hour, and be entertained or served. This is the traditional way of service. On Sunday, we come for an hour, are entertained by some music, and all we need to do is attend.
Perhaps we do a little more, but basically you find that one or a few are functioning, and the rest are just passively sitting there receiving. This is not the church.
To really see the church is to see that when God’s people come together as the house of God, everyone is functioning. Everyone is functioning.
You may say, “If everyone is functioning, it will be chaotic.” No. Why? Because the Holy Spirit is in control.
We believe in the Holy Spirit. We believe that Christ is present with us. We believe that He is the High Priest. If we believe this, and if we really wait upon Him and give ourselves to Him, you will find that He will direct us.
As we meet together to worship and serve Him, He will direct us. He will. We have to have faith.
In Old Testament times, if the priests did not have faith in the lot, it would have been very difficult. After the lot was cast, someone might have said, “No, I do not think that is what I should do. I want to do something else.” But they did not do that.
Whatever the lot fell upon, that was what they did. They believed that God’s guidance was there, and they all worked together as a priesthood under the direction of the high priest.
So, brothers and sisters, this is something we must practise. We need to see it. If we really experience it, it is so beautiful, so glorious.
As God’s people come together to worship the Lord, there need not be a printed programme, and yet there need be no chaos. Why? Because everyone comes and puts himself in the hand of the Lord, allowing the Holy Spirit to choose.
If He wants one brother to begin a prayer, if He wants another sister to pray, if He wants someone to share something from the Word, or whatever it may be, it is all under the direction of the Holy Spirit. You find that everything fits together.
The Lord will be glorified, and people will say, “The Lord is in your midst.” That is the church. That is the church, because every priest functions.
Everyone may function differently. Some may have a hymn, some may have a song, some may have a revelation, some may have a tongue, some an interpretation—whatever it may be. Everything is done decently and in order.
Why? Because the Holy Spirit is in charge. That is the way we serve as priests.
Every believer must function as a priest in offering praises, worship, singing, prayers, and sharing of the living Christ. This is the responsibility of every believer.
There is no one who is merely to come and sit there, receive and receive, and never exercise the gift and grace that God has given to him or her. No, it should not be so. We are all priests.
Our work is to bring God to the people and to bring people to God. As we are under the direction of the Holy Spirit, whether through a prayer, a song, or a word, it must bring people to God and bring God to the people.
That is important. This is why Paul said that everything must be for edification—that is, building up. It should not be anything merely to destroy or to display oneself. It has to be building up, bringing people to God and bringing God to the people. This is our priestly function.
This is not only done when we are in the temple, as it were, when we are together. Even outside the temple, the priests had work to do. They had to teach the people, judge the people, and so forth. This shows that wherever we are, we can serve the Lord as priests.
But I would like to add something more. You cannot separate the priests from the Levites. The priests were Levites too.
So far as priestly function and Levitical function are concerned, they are very closely related. The priest cannot fulfil his function without the help of the Levites, and the Levites’ function would not be complete without the work of the priests.
What is the difference between the Levitical function and the priestly function? The main difference is that one is what we would call spiritual and the other is what we would call physical.
The priests were to offer sacrifices to God, burn incense, light the candlestick, teach the people, and so on. The Levites, on the other hand, helped the people kill the sacrifices, flay the skins, draw water, and, when the tabernacle moved, carry the things and do all these so-called physical things.
Yet these physical things are related to the spiritual things. If the physical things are not taken care of, the spiritual things cannot go on. If they do not carry the tabernacle and set up the tabernacle, the priest cannot serve. If they do not draw the water, the priests cannot wash.
These two works are closely related. That is why in New Testament times there is not a distinction between Levites and priests. In other words, we who are priests are also Levites.
Every believer must do two works: the Levitical work and the priestly work. We must function in the spiritual sense, and we must also function in the physical sense.
We all need to be involved in cleaning the place, setting the chairs, and helping brothers and sisters, even with physical things. This is the Levitical work.
For instance, one sister may be sick and have children. Then another should come in and help with the children. That is Levitical service. There are many things involved, and this is also part of our service unto God as priests.
I hope we do not have the feeling that only what is called spiritual is worthy, and that physical things are below our dignity. No. In New Testament times, there is no distinction between Levites and priests. They become one.
As many as there are people of God, there should be as many kings and as many priests. As many as there are children of God, there should be as many who rule for God and who serve God.
So far as God’s work of salvation is concerned, this is not only the aim and purpose of salvation; this is what the Lord has already accomplished for us. It is done. We have been made kings and priests.
But so far as our experience is concerned, we have to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us, to work us into the reality of being kings and priests.
If we allow the Holy Spirit to perfect such a work in our lives today, so that we may function as kings and priests unto God, then one day God will really give us what is ours in eternity.
Today, everything is not yet ours. But one day, when He really gives us what is ours in eternity, then we will really know how to be kings and priests.
I hope that, as long as the Lord leaves us on this earth, every day will be an opportunity. Every day is a day in which we are trained. Every day is a day in which we learn to be priests and kings unto God.
Every day we learn to rule—not allowing our circumstances to rule over us, but ruling over our circumstances. Remember Joseph: no matter where you put Joseph, he was a king. He was always on top. That is what we must be.
We must also learn to rule in the sense that through prayer we can bind and loose according to God’s will. We have to serve as priests, not only doing what we call spiritual works, but also doing the physical works connected with them.
I believe that this is really God’s will for us. We need to enter into this more, because it is about time that we really see this. He is coming again so soon.
Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, Thou dost love us to such an extent that Thou wilt not just wash us from our sins and redeem us, but Thou hast made us kings and priests unto God. What a salvation!
O our Father, our God, we do desire that, being made priests and kings, we may live and function as kings and priests. We do not know how, but we know that Thy life in us is a kingly life and a priestly life.
So we just give ourselves to Thee once again and ask Thy Holy Spirit to teach us, to guide us, to train us, and to work us into the reality of it, that we may really rule as kings on earth for Thee, and that we may really serve as priests on earth for Thee. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.