A Priest at God's Alter.
The Biblical Portrait of a Christian. • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro
Intro
God’s purpose for the nation of Israel was that they be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation”, but they failed God and lost their spiritual privileges.
Those privileges are now enjoyed by the church.
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Under the old covenant, God’s people had a priesthood; but in the new covenant, God’s people are a priesthood.
“The priesthood of the believer” is a precious article of the Christian faith, the defense of which has cost many a life.
It means that all believers have the same acceptance before God and enjoy equal access to God through Jesus Christ, the Great High Priest.
“Therefore all Christians are priests,” said Martin Luther, “and accursed be the statement that a priest is something different from a Christian.”
His point is simply that all believers are priests, and no Christian should allow any other Christian to come between him and his Lord.
All Christians are invited to come boldly into God’s presence to worship him and present their needs.
Jesus Christ today is our High Priest in heaven, and there he represents us and intercedes for us before the Father.
1. The Process: Becoming a Priest
1. The Process: Becoming a Priest
How does a person become one of God’s priests?
The “process” is illustrated in the Old Testament ceremony of the induction of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood.
Notice the steps that were involved and how they illustrate the New Testament priesthood.
They were chosen and called by God
They were chosen and called by God
44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office.
Every Jew in the camp did not become a priest, but only those chosen by God—Aaron and his sons.
In order to become a priest one had to be born into the right family.
And that is exactly the way we become a New Testament priest, by being born into God’s family.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
It was not a matter of education, ability, or achievement.
Perhaps there were others in Israel who were smarter, more skillful, and more personable than Aaron and his sons.
But it made no difference. God had chosen Aaron and that settled it.
All Christians are chosen and called by God.They have nothing in themselves that merits God’s salvation.
It is wholly of grace.
No stranger in the camp of Israel was permitted even to come near to the priestly ministry on penalty of death.
They were washed
They were washed
4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
This was a bathing of the whole person, and it symbolized the cleansing of their sins.
The priests were to represent the people before God, and this meant maintaining a holy life.
As Christian priests, we have also been washed, and therefore we stand cleansed before God.
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
It is a biblical principle that “without shedding of blood is no remission”
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
We have been cleansed, not by the blood of animal sacrifices, but by the precious blood of Jesus.
They were clothed
They were clothed
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:
God told Moses to have special garments made for Aaron and his sons.
Unless they were properly attired, they could not minister in the tabernacle. And if they did minister without wearing these garments, it could cost them their lives
Jesus was made sin for us so that we might wear the robe of his righteousness and stand “accepted in the beloved”.
10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
They were anointed
They were anointed
7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
This anointing oil was very special because it was prescribed by God and could be used only for holy purposes.
It is a symbol of the Holy Spirit of God who has anointed every believer.
21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;
They were satisfied
They were satisfied
32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
Moses gave the priests part of the “ram of consecration” as their food.
The priests were given stated portions from some of the sacrifices as their remuneration for service.
A faithful priest would never go hungry!
The spiritual lesson is clear: as we serve the Lord, he supplies our needs and satisfies us.
2. The Privileges: Ministering as a Priest
2. The Privileges: Ministering as a Priest
Aaron and his sons, and their descendants, enjoyed some special privileges that were forbidden to other people in the nation of Israel. Each of these privileges applies in a spiritual way to the New Testament believer in the church today.
Caring for God’s dwelling place
Caring for God’s dwelling place
The three families of tribe of Levi were put in complete charge of the tabernacle, with each family assigned a specific area of ministry.
40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
What is God’s dwelling place on earth today?
The individual believer, the local church, and the whole church collectively.
In general, we can say that in this present age, God dwells in his people and not simply among them (Exod. 25:8).
Under the old covenant, God’s people made him a sanctuary. But under the new covenant, God’s people are his sanctuary.
This means that we as believer-priests have the wonderful privilege of caring for God’s dwelling place.
This begins with the care of our own bodies, which are the temple of God.
A Christian should no more defile his body than a Jew would defile the temple or the tabernacle.
God also wants the local assembly of believers to be a holy temple for his glory (1 Cor. 3:16–17).
It is tragic to see some professed Christians defile the local church by their sinful actions and attitudes.
Then they get angry and leave and start attending another church.
Before long, they are causing trouble there and the cycle is repeated.
“If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy” (1 Cor. 3:17).
Keeping the fire burning
Keeping the fire burning
Lev. 6:12–13
12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.
13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
When Moses and Aaron dedicated the tabernacle, fire came from God and consumed the sacrifices on the brazen altar (Lev. 9:22–24).
It was the responsibility of the priests each morning to remove the old ashes, put on fresh wood, and keep the fire burning. Without the fire on the altar, the people could not offer their sacrifices to God.
All of this has a spiritual application to us as believers, for each of us has a “spiritual temperature.” God wants us to have burning hearts (Luke 24:32), but too often we are lukewarm (Rev. 3:16) or even cold (Matt. 24:12).
Paul admonished Timothy to “stir up the gift of God” (2 Tim. 1:6), which literally means “put life into the fire again.”
The New International Version reads “fan into full flame,” and The Living Bible says “stir into flame.”
It is our responsibility to keep the fire burning brightly on the altar of our heart.
We must get rid of the old ashes from past sacrifices and blessings, add fresh fuel each morning, and ask the Spirit of God—the breath of God—to blow upon the fire and bring it into a blaze to the glory of God.
Neglect will always hurt the fire (1 Tim. 4:14), and when the fire gets low, then we become lukewarm Christians, or even cold Christians.
Washing at the laver (Exod. 30:17–21).
As the priests served God in the tabernacle or temple, their hands and feet got dirty.
God commanded them to wash their hands and feet at the brass laver in the holy place.
And if they did not wash, they were in danger of death.
This same principle applies to God’s believer-priests today: if we want to have fellowship with the Lord, we must come to him for cleansing (John 13:1–11; 1 John 1:5–2:2).
The priests were washed all over at their initial ordination, which is a picture of salvation.
But they needed this regular cleansing, which is a picture of daily sanctification.
Burning the incense (Exod. 30:7–9).
There were two altars in God’s sanctuary, a brazen altar that stood at the door and was used for the blood sacrifices, and a golden altar that stood before the veil and was used for the burning of incense.
The golden altar pictures the offering up of prayer to the Lord (Ps. 141:1–3; Luke 1:5–17).
What a privilege it is to pray to the Father!
Believers in this present age have an even greater privilege than did the priests, for we are invited to come boldly into the very presence of God and give our petitions to him (Heb. 10:19–25).
When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in two, for he opened up the new and living way.
As the priest burned the incense each morning and evening, some of its fragrance would cling to him, and people would know that he had been at the golden altar.
As we pray, there should be a spiritual fragrance in our lives that lets others know we have been with Jesus.
“We are all priests,” said Martin Luther, “and our praying is the burning of incense.”
Lighting the lamps (Exod. 30:7–8.
The seven-branched golden candlestick stood before the veil to the right of the golden altar.
It was the priest’s responsibility to trim the wicks each morning and light the lamps each evening.
This candlestick primarily spoke of God’s light and truth shining through the nation of Israel to a dark and sinful world.
It can be applied to the testimony of the church (Rev. 1:9–20) as well as to the witness of the individual believer (Matt. 5:14–16).
The priest attended to the lamp in connection with his ministry at the altar of incense because prayer and witness go together (Acts 4:31), as do prayer and the Word of God (Acts 6:4).
Eating the bread (Exod. 25:23–30; Lev. 24:5–9).
Each Sabbath, the priest placed twelve loaves of special bread on the table in the holy place, and only the priests were permitted to eat it.
The loaves reminded the priests that their nourishment (physical and spiritual) came from God.
Jesus Christ is the “bread of life” (John 6:33ff. ff.); he, like the manna, was sent down from heaven to give spiritual life to the world.
But he is also the “showbread” in the sanctuary, given to sustain life.
We must feed on Christ if we are to have the spiritual strength we need for our pilgrim journey.
Entering through the veil (Lev. 16).
When the priest got to the veil that separated the holy place from the holy of holies, he had to stop.
Only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, was the high priest allowed to go past the veil and into the presence of the glory of God.
But the believer-priest today can enter God’s presence at any time because the way has been opened by Jesus Christ (Heb. 10:19–25).
In fact, the believer-priest has the privilege of living “within the veil” at all times.
It is important that we see the beautiful sequence that is illustrated by the tabernacle.
We start at the brazen altar where the blood is shed for our cleansing.
Then we enter the holy place where we cleanse our hands and feet before we approach the golden altar of prayer.
We feed on the bread and trim the lamp, but we don’t stop there.
The veil has been opened and we can go into the holy of holies, into the very presence of God.
Offering the spiritual sacrifices (1 Pet. 2:5).
As God’s priests, we bring “spiritual sacrifices” to him through Jesus Christ who is our “altar” (Heb. 13:10).
The word spiritual does not suggest “immaterial,” because some of the sacrifices we give are definitely material.
Rather, spiritual “of a spiritual quality.”
If unsaved people offered them, these sacrifices would not be spiritual, nor would they be accepted by God.
We have already noted that prayer is a sacrifice we offer to the Lord (Ps. 141:1–3), and so is our praise of God (Heb. 13:15).
God sees our good works as spiritual sacrifices (Heb. 13:16), as well as the money we give for his service (Phil. 4:14–18; Rom. 15:27).
God certainly wants our bodies yielded to him as a living sacrifice, not a dead one (Rom. 12:1–2); and he also wants us to give him our hearts (Ps. 51:17).
The winning of others to Christ is also an act of spiritual worship (Rom. 15:16). The words minister and ministering come from a Greek word that means “priestly service” and gives us our English word liturgy. Paul looked upon the Gentile converts as a sacrifice “offered up” to the Lord (Eph. 5:2; Heb. 10:5, 8). This lifts evangelism to the highest plane possible, for when we witness to others and win them to Christ, we are performing acts of worship to the Lord. Witnessing is not “Christian salesmanship.” It is a holy act of worship to the glory of God.