Melchizedek Priesthood

THE KINGDOM OF GOD -Part 60 - by J. Preston Eby

At the last supper, in addition to taking the form of a servant and washing His disciple's feet, Jesus offered His disciples bread and wine. These are the two symbols of the Melchizedek Priesthood. "And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God" (Gen. 14:18). Deep down in the heart of men there is a strong and instinctive demand for a priest, to be a mediator, to lay one hand on man, and the other on God, and going between both to bring the two together into unification. A priest or priesthood infers that there is a reason why such has been called into play. It denotes that there is an estrangement between God and His creatures and the priest ministers to bridge that gulf and bring about peace or at-one-ment. Many today proclaim that there is no estrangement, no separation between God and man, that it is only a false sense of duality in man's mind, that he has only to see that he himself is God, and as soon as his true identity is recognized, he can proceed to manifest out of his divine self. If that is the truth then man did not truly fall, there was no sin in Eden, and no penalty for that sin; God did not drive man out of paradise, there was no need for Jesus to come to ransom us with His precious blood, and there certainly would be no need for the Melchisedek Priesthood! Nor would there be any purpose in any scriptural teaching of forgiveness by God, atonement with His blood, redemption through His blood, justification by the blood, sanctification by the blood, regeneration, new birth, or the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Jesus should have just come and told us who we really are and explained to us that none of these things can add anything to our inherent divinity, and gone back to heaven.

Webster's dictionary defines priest as: a mediatory agent between God and man. In the Old Testament the word priest is translated from the Hebrew word cohen, the root meaning of which is "one who stands up and draws nigh for another." The Greek word, in its root, means "to minister." Thus, a priest is one who "draws near and ministers on behalf of another." And the priest always draws nigh and ministers in two directions -- drawing nigh to God on behalf of the people and drawing nigh to the people on behalf of God. The priest stands and ministers unto the Lord on behalf of the people while, on the other hand, he ministers unto the people on behalf of the Lord. The ministry of the priest is an intermediary or go-between ministry. He reaches out with one hand and takes hold of God; he reaches out with the other hand and takes hold of humanity; and he brings the two together by virtue of his priestly ministration.

The inspired writer to the Hebrews says of our Lord Jesus the Christ, "We have such an high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man" (Heb. 8:1-2). What does he mean when he says that Christ is "the minister of the sanctuary"? In every temple there was a god, an unseen god, to whom the temple was devoted. But there was a priest, the priest of that temple, who was to receive the petitions and sacrifices of the worshipper and to get the answer back from the god. So it was with Aaron in the Old Testament. It is said of him and of the priests of Israel, "they shall stand in my presence to minister," and "they shall go out and bless in my name."

The High Priest in Israel was the mediator between God and the nation. He carried into the presence of God the sins and needs of the people, and carried the people in him. He obtained from God the power to declare the remission of sin and the right of blessing the people. God drew nigh unto the people in the person of the Priest. God ministered of Himself unto the people through the blessing of the Priest. "And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of the congregation, and came out, and blessed the people: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto all the people" (Lev. 9:23). From this Old Testament shadow the service of the priesthood under the New Covenant is clear, first to minister to the Lord, then to minister the life of Christ to those who sit in darkness, in the region of the shadow of death, until all are fully reconciled to God. The sons of God are called to be "a kingdom of priests," the government of God ministering unto creation!

There is both a Godward and a manward work in reconciliation, redemption, and restoration. And so our great High Priest, Jesus, stands as the minister of the sanctuary, the temple of God, "which temple ye are." Not only are we God's Royal Priesthood, WE are also the temple of the living God, a temple of living stones, an habitation of God through the Spirit! WE are the realm of His dwelling and the sanctuary in which, and from which, Christ ministers to creation! As we minister unto the Lord, there flows back from His presence a stream of blessing to impart to men upon the earth.

I cannot emphasize too strongly the important truth that ALL PRIESTHOOD has a double outreach -- ministry to both God and man. It could not be otherwise, for a priest is one who "stands between" two factions in mediation, and the moment a priest ceases to touch both God and man, unifying the two, he simply ceases to be a priest. He may be a worshipper who speaks to God, or a king who rules the people for God, or a prophet who delivers a message from God, but no man can have a one-sided ministry and be a priest. The priest must touch God with one hand, and mankind with the other, bringing the two together by his ministration. Anything less or different than this is not priesthood at all.

It is interesting to note that the Melchizedek Priesthood is likewise a priesthood flowing in two directions. "And Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine: and he was priest of the most high God. And he blessed him (Abraham), and said, blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth, and blessed be the most high God" (Gen. 14:18-20). How meaningful that Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and then goes on to also bless the most high God. God is raising up a priesthood, the body of the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, that will not only be able to bless men, but they will bless God, for they BECOME THE BLESSING OF GOD in the earth.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the High Priest of the Melchizedekian Order, to which we, the members of His body, the Royal Priesthood, are called. As we grow up into His fullness we shall experience all that the Order of Melchizedek represents. In Jesus we see the dual aspect of true priesthood for while He has beautifully offered Himself up to God as a sweet smelling savor, an acceptable sacrifice, with the incense of all His divine attributes, He also "is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). I have met many would-be sons of God across the land who pride themselves that they have been called aside to minister unto the Lord, but they have no corresponding vision to bless or save men, and wouldn't walk across the street to minister to a needy soul. I do not hesitate to tell you, precious ones, that such have no true revelation of what is embodied in the Melchizedek Priesthood. How I rejoice in the knowledge that Jesus Christ, the High Priest of the Melchizedek Order, does indeed have a ministry manward. He is still saving all who come to God by Him! He is still touched with the feelings of our infirmities! He still maketh intercession for us! He is still writing His law upon our hearts! He still has compassion on the ignorant and them that are out of the way! He is still reconciling by His blood all who call upon Him! Without His Priestly Ministry I, and you, too, precious friend of mine, would still be lost without God and without hope in the world. Thank God, HE REACHED DOWN HIS HAND FOR ME! What if Jesus only ministered unto the Father?!

In light of the Melchizedek High Priesthood of Jesus we are admonished, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16). " . . . that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people" (Heb. 2:17). "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (I Jn. 2:2). He ever liveth to bring such victory to His creation, none left out, none rejected, none too filthy or depraved or rebellious for Him to touch, for "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (Jn. 12:32), and "all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before Thee" (Ps. 22:27). And there shall come a priesthood that shall truly labor together with Christ until all enemies are subdued under His feet, until death is no more, until all things are made new, until the knowledge of the glory of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea, and until HIS LIFE FILLS THE UNIVERSE, praise His name!

We have received the call from our Father to follow Christ into His new Kingdom order for this New Day. He is preparing our hearts to enter into an entirely new kind and dimension of ministry that will transcend the church age ministry as far as the heavens are above the earth. This is the ministry of the Melchizedek Priesthood! The Melchizedek Priests are the genetic reproduction of God, born of His life, revealing His heart, expressing His love, manifesting His glory. The Melchizedek Priests inherit all the wisdom, splendor and power of their Father. They are the fullness of God shed upon the earth in the ministry of the restoration of all things. They are the source of divine blessing for all the families and peoples of the earth. Being born of God, the Melchizedek Priests do not minister according to man's carnal religious ways, ideas, traditions, methods, or means. They are motivated only internally, by the leading of the spirit of God and by the outflowing of agape-love. The Melchizedek Priesthood is the new, spiritual state of being God's sons for the new age of the Kingdom now dawning.

The Melchizedek Priests are born of this new order and character that transcends the in-part ministry of the church systems wherein we walked in our childhood in Christ. These Priests are not apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, or teachers -- they are King-Priests after the order of Melchizedek, which is the order of manifested sonship. They live in the fullness of God, but come forth with bread and wine to nourish and bless and restore in the form of servants. They are the sons of men who become the sons of God. They are born of agape-love, enter the Melchizedek Priesthood, and become God's Kings and Priests unto all creation. Becoming a son is not an ego trip. It is a position of great responsibility. We pray that we will be equal to the challenge God has set before us, and that we will be enabled to fill the place He is calling us to. Amen.