6.12.25 ~ Baby and the Bathwater

Good morning!

On this 12th day of counting towards the firstfruit of the wine, I want to touch on a topic, not often broached, but accepted by the majority : The priesthood of the believer.

In this week's Torah portion Behaalotecha/when you ascend to light the lamps (Num. 8:2), there is a precedent, of a man for man substitution, that is established when the Levites take the place of all the firstborn in Israel (Num. 8:1-26)

"And I have taken the Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel." (Num. 8:18)

Do you see the substitution of one for another? Does it sound vaguely familiar? I'll let you ponder on that for a little while :-)

If you grew up in any of the Protestant denominations, you’re probably familiar with the doctrinal statement about the “priesthood of all believers”, a cardinal doctrinal principle of the reformation movement. The doctrine asserts that all humans have access to God through Christ, the true High Priest, and thus do not need a priestly mediator (like a pastor or any knowledgeable clergy). This doctrine introduced a concept into the church that meant all Christians were equal. The ordained clergy thus were representatives of the entire congregation, preaching and administering the sacraments of their reformed faith and the people were to just follow.

Where did this mindset come from? In a short answer: Rejection of the universal Catholic Church hierarchy. The official Catholic priesthood was replaced by an egalitarian view of no one is better than anyone else; which carries into their doctrine that in 'heaven' we will all be the same; worshiping the Lord, singing praises all day.  Just as political Europe was throwing off the shackles of kings and royalty, so the Protestant church followed suit, throwing off the spiritual chains of the Pope and his authorized enforcers.  Scripture was enlisted to justify religious political revolution.

All this influential history begs us to ask a few questions: Is the Kingdom a democracy?  Are all believers truly equal?  Has God done away with religious hierarchies?  Is every believer now his or her own authority about religious matters as the Spirit gives enlightenment leading us to make singular statements like, "that's not what it means to me"? Enquiring minds want to know.

In Paul's letter to the Romans he states:
“Every person is to be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (Romans 13:1).

At first blush, we often take this 'submission' to be our political governments, but Paul wasn't speaking about the conservative right or woke left, he was instructing submission to authorities in the synagogue; the place of worship.

If we assert the priesthood of all believers, we basically undermine all sense of spiritual communal authority.  If God speaks directly to me, then I don’t need to listen to anyone else.  If my salvation is based on the Spirit’s personal involvement, then my only guide to spiritual matters is the interaction of the Spirit and my conscience.  In fact, I don’t need to study, investigate, debate, or examine any other point of view because I have a direct pipeline to God. On the flipside, some just take whatever those in authority teach, readily accepting it as gospel, but fail to examine the Scriptures, the TaNaKh, to see if it's true (Acts 17:11).

They may assert that the roles of various groups or persons in the Tanakh (aka Old Testament) clearly have no bearing on their spiritual life.  I can confidently dismiss the differences between Levites and the rest of Israel.  They would say, the priests and their obligations, found in the Tanakh, don’t apply anymore.  Neither do the eternal laws, God's instructions/Torah, by the hand of Moses; Those were for people who needed human help with divine instruction.

Now, because I have a direct connection to the Almighty, no interpreter or assistance is needed.  Humbly, they might say something like, "I appreciate the local pastor because he plays his own role, but what he says about God’s word must still be compared to my inner, Holy Spirit initiated, correct standard.  I am free of all tradition, ritual, and sacrament.  On the spiritual plane, I have equality, guaranteed by Christ.; I am a royal priesthood by title and performance or submission to a higher authority doesn't apply to me...Unless, there's more to the story that I don't understand...As with David's statement reemphasizing Numbers 3:31:

Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God (the vessel that represents the presence of God) except the Levites; for the Lord chose them to carry the ark of the Lord and to serve Him forever.”
(1 Chron. 15:2)

The priesthood of all believers may have begun as a political declaration against the Catholic hierarchy, but it ends up as a rejection of God’s design for spiritual authority.  With the Protestant revolution, enquiring minds ask, "How much of the baby was thrown out with the bathwater".

Stay connected to the Vine. Produce new wine for the new wine skins. Celebrate His headship and those in authority over you...Don't forget to pray for them daily; they care for your souls (Heb. 13:17)!

Shalom!

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