PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS

PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS

youversion.com

Note: The term “Christians” used in this article refers to those who are true followers of Jesus. “Christians” are the ones who are born again, who have personal relationship with Jesus, who has received Jesus as their Lord and King and as result they have become sons of God.

Many Christians think that God considers some workers more valuable than others—and at the top of the rung are missionaries, pastors and other people with “spiritual” vocations. 

If we’re honest, most of us probably buy into this thinking to some degree and believe there is a divide between the sacred and secular. After all, social workers and grant writers are more important to society than waste collectors and cashiers, right?

But that’s not true. During the Protestant Reformation, a doctrine was developed that has significantly altered the way many Christians understand themselves and their relation to God and others: the priesthood of all believers.

In sum, it teaches that all believers—no matter their personal history, ethnicity, occupation, you name it—are priests before God.

Prior to the Reformation, the western church taught that only clergy (ordained priests) had a sacred calling from God. But according to the apostle Peter, all Christians are priests: 

“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” (1 Peter 2:9). 

Peter hearkens back to Exodus 19:6, where God tells Israel, “you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

Although the people of Israel failed in their priestly calling, Christ has restored to believers our true identity as royal priests. 

In him, we stand on equal footing with one another, and each of us has a vital role in carrying out God’s work.

There is one body, consisting of various parts, and one head, Christ. Each member, though distinct from the others, performs a different function and is equally vital for the health of the body.

Connecting

Christians are equally important, serving one Lord, yet they fulfill different roles for the sake of the church and the good of society. 

What makes work sacred is not the type of work that we do but the work of Christ in us. Those who have been baptized into Christ all have equal standing and have been called by him to do work that not only bears dignifying significance, but also gives glory to God. 

No matter what line of work you’re in, you have a special calling from God to work for his glory and for the benefit of others.

Do you see your work as part of God’s calling on your life to be his priest, representing him in the work that you do?

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Such a powerful truth if only the body of Christ could understand this truth, the world would be such a better place. People would be free from guilt of not serving God if they are not a pastor, teacher, etc. 

Jesus, give the people ears to hear this truth!  Amen

Dr. Paul Taylor

#JSalum #ASONE

The Jesus I follow is not the one of history or traditions anymore.Josimar Salum

The Jesus I follow is not the one of history or traditions anymore. Dr. Josimar Salum

The Bible is not a book of "faith" only but of science, knowledge and of practical things in our lives. The whole world see the Bible, the book of Christians. I see the Bible the written word of my Lord Jesus, my Living God. I see the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as ONE, THE GREAT I AM very, very close to me.

We usually call the Bible a book of faith only, but this "faith" is more about religion than natural and normal life with God. 

As I see today I don't  have a religion, I don't practice a religion! I follow Jesus, a Person. The devotion I have, the prayers I pray, the songs I sing, the preaching I share are not a practice of the Christian religion for me! Not anymore! Equally essential are the work In all areas and the daily life itself with all dynamics involved, everything in practice, the every day life, prayers and life as normal, they are all a journey with Jesus, combined, entwined!

I see my brothers and sisters, believers in Jesus, as His Body everywhere and not limited to a church, a building, a organization. I don’t see them anymore in sheepfolds. I see myself walking in the streets and roads of today like when Jesus did walk with His disciples in the streets and roads of Israel, those days, so glorious as today.

I don't separate my life as Christian from the secular! Everything I do I do for the Lord. Not with a religious conscience, but as natural as to breathe. It is about who I am and not what I do. What I do is just the fruit of who I am. 

Jesus, fill me with your unquenchable Love like you are fully Love and let me be who you are and think like you do and talk like you talk, yes, yes, be just like you!

Yes, Yes! I consecrate my life to Jesus and keep my heart from contamination of hatred, of egoism, and all of fleshly works. But not as an ritualistic exercise, but an act of surrender to His will.  It doesn't work as if I decide to do good and then I do, instead it is as I surrender in Him and abandon myself in Him, His Life flows like a river through me. 

I consecrate myself to Him, but this is not a result of trying to follow rules, to match a "to do list" neither a "not to do list" made by men, by religious leaders or by myself, even if they were rules extracted from Scriptures. 

I walk in Spirit, the Spirit of Christ and this intimacy with Him is enough to be able to let me walk with Jesus and love others like He does. It is a supernatural oneness to just see Him loving others through me. It is not anymore even perceived as me but only Him. 

I follow Jesus as a natural fruit of my relationship with Jesus. It is about knowing Him, believing Him, serving Him and others. In simple words, loving Jesus and my neighbors! There is not serving Jesus if I don’t serve my family, my friends and to as many people as I can. 

Then I read the Scriptures of God to be testified about the Living Word, about Jesus Himself I have already met, the One who lives with me! In this way the Scriptures of God have a brilliant significance and meaning for me! They became alive to reveal the Person of Jesus. This person that I abide in Him and He in me! 

Jesus is Health, Salvation, Joy, Hope, Deliverance, Healing, not in "spiritual" matters only, but for the soul, the body, for everything in me, for my business life, for my educational life, for my entertainments,  for life in a whole, actually even more for life elsewhere then when I am in church, it is related to practical ways and not as if prayers were magic words that I pronounce. 

What Jesus says and it is written about Him and Life in general in the Scriptures have practical meanings for me not to be followed religiously, but naturally. It is a little hard to explain how I see when you see yourself following Jesus as your religion. I have broken that box. I would say only that instead of being rules and laws they became instructions, guidance, corrections, exhortations, signs and wisdom for me. Not impositions anymore or things that I have to desperate try to do. If not! I would be punished. 

It is like to be a little leaf that the wind have made it rest upon the waters of a river and the waters carry that leaf as they wish! This is the estate I call complete surrender that I earnestly desire to remain in it forever.

#ASONE

REAL (6): We are not Christians, we are followers of Jesus Christ!

We are not Christians, we are followers of Jesus Christ

By Josimar Salum, based on an article by Ed René Kivitz 

We are just followers of Jesus Christ. We follow his footsteps. And if he died, also we died. And if he was resurrected by the power of God, we will also be resurrected at the last day. And now we no longer live for ourselves, but for our God who gave us life when we live for others.

We have no temple or altar, because we do not do animal sacrifices. We need not go to the temple or offer anything in any altar because Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  

We do not offer more sacrifices on the altar, because our life is a sacrifice to God. We give ourselves over to our God as a living sacrifice, the true act of worship is to live for him. Everything we do, we do for the glory of our God. In fact it is not what we do or do not do it is the act of worship, but we ourselves, that is, our life itself, consequently, everything we do is an act of worship. We take care of people, those who are close; all that cross our path. This is worship.  

For the same reason also we do not have priests, because we do not need people to make sacrifices for us on an altar or in a temple, because our life is that it is the sacrifice, the altar is the Cross of Jesus and we are the temple. Alone, individually I am not the temple. Collectively we are the temple. And we are priests, but none of us are a religious authority. We have no one greatest among us, only Jesus Christ. Only Jesus is greater! He is alive among us right here, right now! And we have no holy men in our religion. There are holy men around the world, but NOT holy men of a religion. In fact, we do not have a religion.

We do not have a sacred day. Sunday is not the the Day of the Lord, every day is the Lord's.  Our ancestors had a holy day: the Sabbath. But that was in the time when we needed to go to the temple to take animals so that our priests had to sacrifice them. Now that we surrender to our God as a living sacrifice, the true act of worship is to live for Him. And we live for Him while living for our neighbors in any day, any time.

Let us be clear: we do not have a religion! We are followers of Jesus, we are not Christians because Christianity is not the religion of Jesus Christ. Christianity is the religion of Constantine, the Roman emperor. Because it was Constantine who began reassembling all that Jesus Christ had dismounted. It was he who began to build temples dedicated to God, officiated a day of the week for worship, invented to worship God is something that is done in temples, appointed priests, and started this mess that we see today. 

Jesus taught that we do not need temples, altars, priests, sacrifices and holy days. Ah! He taught that He loved us as we love each other, serve each other, pray for each other, build each other up, comfort each other, support each other and embrace each other. We are not independent, neither we act independently, we depend on God and we are His body as we are individually members of one another. We are His sheep in His Church and we are His disciples in His Kingdom and thus never act independent of each other, we are never alone. Yes, Jesus taught that God is Spirit and they that worship him, must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Jesus Christ is God.