Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.
No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.”
And he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”
During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
My Understanding: As I prayerfully read through this passage of scripture, especially in relationship with the song, “I Will Uphold You,” the Lord reminded me first of all that there is no longer a need for human priests, such as were in the Old Testament times, to be mediators between us and God. Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection, became our only High Priest and mediator between man and God. He became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He died once for all men, so that all may come to God through him. No longer do we have to go to human priests to have them offer sacrifices for our sins, because Jesus Christ was the ultimate and the final sacrifice. Through faith in him we can be forgiven of all sin, and can come into fellowship with him and with the Father, and can be one with them.
Yet, the Lord reminded me, as well, that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, in whom Christ dwells by his Spirit, are called of God and chosen by him to be a holy priesthood. So, although we do not serve in the same function exactly as the priests of the Old Testament, yet, as servants of Christ, we do serve our Lord as priests, “offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (See 1 Peter 2:4-5).
I Peter 2:9-10: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
Revelation 1:5b-6: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
So, with that understanding, I believe the Lord would have me examine these qualifications of priesthood that apply to us today and/or in a manner in which they are applicable to us today, as well as to examine the example of Jesus Christ, and in what ways we are to follow his example in being the Lord’s servants and his kingdom priests, holy unto him.
Chosen by God
Human priests had to be chosen by God and appointed by God to his service. They had to be called of God. They could not take this function upon themselves of their own accord. Jesus Christ, as well, even though he was/is God’s son, and he was/is God the Son, still he had to have this honor of becoming our high priest bestowed upon him by God the Father. The Son is always in submission to the Father. And, we, as well, as followers and as disciples of Jesus Christ, must first of all be chosen of and called by God. We cannot become believers in Jesus Christ of our own accord. The Father must draw us to Jesus Christ. We can do nothing in and of ourselves to bring about our own salvation. It is by God’s grace that we are saved, through faith, and this is not of ourselves – not of works lest any man should boast (see Eph. 2:8-9). Yet, we are called, not only to salvation from sins and to eternal life with God, but we are called to be the Lord’s servants, to live holy lives pleasing to God, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God (see Rom. 12:1-2), and to publicly proclaim praise and thanksgiving to God for all he has done for us, especially with regard to him delivering us from darkness and bringing us into his wonderful light.
Obedience through Suffering
Jesus learned obedience from what he suffered so that he could become our perfect sacrifice for our sins. It seems a strange concept to think that Jesus Christ, God the Son, had to learn obedience, yet he was fully man and fully God. He suffered just like we suffer and he was tempted just like we are tempted, yet without sin. He became a man, not only so he could become our perfect sacrifice for our sins, but he became a man and suffered like we suffer so that he could sympathize with our weaknesses, so he could become our compassionate and faithful high priest. He knows what we are going through from personal experience. He feels what we feel. That is awesome that we have such a God! And, we, too, must follow Christ’s example and learn obedience from what we suffer. When things go well with us and we face little resistance or suffering, persecution, etc., we may become complacent and lazy about our commitment to the Lord Jesus. Yet, when we go through difficulties, it should lead us straight to the heart of God. And through our obedience in suffering, it should lead us to maturity, to wisdom, and to being more resolute in our pledge to God to obey him in all things and to follow him wherever he leads us. We do not have to fear these difficulties or opposition, because our Lord God is with us wherever we go.
Humility and Submission
Human priests were able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, because they were also subject to weakness. Jesus Christ was also subject to weakness, yet he did not sin. Yet, that is how he is able to be sympathetic and compassionate with us. The human priests had to first of all offer sacrifices for their selves, and then they could offer for the sins of the people. Jesus, as well, had to take all our sins upon himself and bring them to death on the cross before he could become our high priest in bridging the gap between us and God the Father via his blood, so that we could be forgiven of our sin. Jesus’ prayers for the people were heard by God the Father because of Jesus’ reverent submission to the Father.
If we are to be the Lord’s servants, we must also be in a right relationship with God through repentance and obedience, through humility (recognizing our own sinfulness and/or propensity toward sin) and through submission (turning from sin and obeying God). When I considered how this applied to our lives today, the Lord reminded me of the passage of scripture in Galatians 6:1-5:
Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.
This is one of the ways in which we function as priests. When we see our brothers and sisters involved in sin, we should not ignore the sin or placate it. We should not be afraid to speak to them about their sins out of fear that they may reject us. We should love them more than our own lives. Yet, before we can present to them gently their need to forsake their own sins, we must make certain we are in a right relationship with God and we are not holding on to any sins in our own hearts. Then, we should go to our brother or sister in love, compassion, mercy, sympathy and with gentleness of spirit to restore him or her to a right relationship with Jesus Christ. We need to do this in all humility, considering that we, too, are sinners saved by grace, and with full understanding that we, ourselves, are subject to weakness, so that we are not tempted in the process due to pride. We should test our own hearts and motivations before we speak to a brother or sister to make certain we have the mind of God in this, and that we are not going to him or to her for the wrong reasons. In all that we do, love should be our motivating force, and all should be bathed in prayer.
Sacrifice for Sins
A high priest’s function was to offer gifts and sacrifices for the sins of himself first, and then for the people. During Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions to God the Father on our behalf. Jesus Christ had to go through so much more than just his crucifixion in order to become our sacrifice for our sins and our high priest. He first of all had to leave his throne in heaven and his place next to the Father in glory to become a man and to take upon himself human flesh, and to become our servant. He had to suffer rejection, persecution, mocking, beatings, false accusations, harassment at every turn, misunderstandings, misperceptions of who he was and is and why he existed, blasphemy, abandonment, denial, betrayal, temptation to sin, human suffering, being spit upon, scourged, and ultimately death on a cross as though he as a common criminal. These were the sacrifices he made for us and for our sins so that we could go free.
We, as kingdom priests of God Almighty, are also called upon to make spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. We cannot do this in our own willpower or in our own strength. It must be done through Jesus Christ and through his strength and power within us. The first sacrifice we must make is presenting ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our spiritual act of worship to God (See Rom. 12:1-2). We must give our entire being to God wholly for his service, holding nothing back. We must be his and his alone, ready to do his will for his glory. We must forsake conformity to the world and to the world’s way of doing things, i.e. we must not be like those who are ruled by the flesh and fleshly desires. We must daily be renewed in our thinking by the power of the Holy Spirit of God within us. Then we will be able to prove by our lives the will of God for our lives.
Then, as the Lord’s servants who are committed to obeying him in all things, we will, as his kingdom priests, serve others in showing them the love of Jesus and in teaching them how they can come to know Christ, and how they can also live obedient and faithful lives to God. When we do this, i.e. when we make this decision to be fully devoted to our Lord in all things in being his kingdom priests and in ministering his love, grace and mercy to the legitimate needs of others, we will face opposition. Jesus said we would be hated as he was hated. He was mainly hated by the religious and the religious leaders, and so we should expect that even those within the walls of the institutional church may hate us, too, if we are truly walking in obedience to Christ and in surrender to his perfect will for us.
We should expect to be persecuted, mocked, misunderstood, misinterpreted, falsely accused, rejected, pushed aside, forsaken, abandoned, denied, betrayed, and possibly beaten and killed, as well, for our faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. We should expect to have to serve long hours, at times, and to have to sacrifice our own personal time, our own resources, our emotions, physical energy, our own wants and desires, and even our own reputations. We must humble ourselves and forsake pride. We must be willing to have people give us little regard, praise or honor. And, we must be willing to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine, to not compromise the truth of the gospel just to be accepted of men, and to be faithful in being ministers of the whole gospel of Jesus Christ. And, we are not to fear men or what man might do to us, because God is with us and will help us.
I Will Uphold You / An Original Work / November 4, 2011
Based off of Isaiah 41:8-20; Ephesians 6:10-18
You are My servant; I’ve chosen you.
I’ve not rejected you; I’ve been true.
Do not be fearful; I am with you.
Don’t be alarmed, for I am your God.
I will give you strength, and will help you.
I will uphold you with My right hand.
All who’re against you will be disgraced.
Those who oppose you, they will perish.
Enemies you search, but will not find.
They war against you; nothing will be.
I am your Lord God, who takes your hand;
Says, “Do not fear, for I will help you.”
The poor and needy, water they need.
Their tongues are thirsty; no drop to drink.
I will give answer; not forsake them.
I will make rivers flow from within.
My living water I will outpour
On those who seek Me; and Me adore.
Jesus provided the sacrifice;
For our sins blood bought; He paid the price,
So we’re forgiven all of our sins,
When we invite Him to come within.
He cleanses us from our impure hearts.
His life within us gives a new start.
Song Lyrics @ Public Domain
Audio, song lyrics and sheet music (free):
https://sites.google.com/site/psalmshymnssongs2/home/songs/i-will-uphold-you
Song on Video:
http://youtu.be/i0LFPI-isSU
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