The Believer's Calling as a Priest

The theological and foundational basis for the New Testament believer's ministry of prayer and intercession is his calling as a priest unto God. The Bible clearly declares that believers are:

A holy priesthood:

"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices accptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 2:5, NKJV, emphasis added).

A royal priesthood:

"But you are a chosen generatio, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His Marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9, emphasis added).

A kingdom of priests:

"And (Jesus) has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" (Rev. 1:6).

"And have made us kings and priests to our God; and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:10).

The nature of the priest's ministry is essentially intercessory - a ministry on behalf of others.

The background of believers' calling

The background of believers' call to priestly intercession is found in the Old Testament example of the Levitical priesthood. Among the twelve tribes of Israel, the Levites were called to function as priests. They were the designated priestly tribe. However, the will of God was for the entire nation, whom God had chosen in Abraham and redeemed through Moses, to function as priests. The Lord said to Moses and to the Israelites:

"And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6).

It is therefore God's will that all Israelites in the Old Testament and all Christians (the redeemed people) in the New Testament should be serving as priests

The simplest terms possible to describe the priestly function is to say that the priest's responsibility was two-fold- to stand before and to stand between.

The priest stood before God

He was to stand before God to minister to Him with sacrifices and offerings. This was aptly illustrated when the high priest (Aaron) went beyond the Inner Veil of the Tabernacle of Moses to make atonement for his own sins and for the sins of the people.

The priest stood between God and the people

The priest stood between the Lord God and the rest of the people so as to bring together a Holy God and sinful men at the place of the blood sacrifice.

The Melchizedek priesthood

In the New Testament the Levitical priesthood is changed to the Melchizedek priesthood (please read Hebrews 7:11 - 19). The Levitical priesthood was passed on from generation to generation through the descendants of Levi was based upon a physical requirement and lineage. But the Melchizedek priesthood, in which the Lord Jesus is the High Priest, is based upon the power of an endless, indestructible life. It is a "Resurrection Priesthood"! The Lord Jesus, then, is the High Priest (from the tribe of Judah, not Levi) and the Church is the priesthood that functions under His direction. We, the Church, as New Testament believers, are to stand before the Lord, as a holy priesthood and minister to Him. At the same time we are to stand between the Lord and others (believers or non-believers), as royal priesthood, in the ministry of intercession.

A picture of the Inner Veil

In the tabernacle of Moses, the Inner Veil is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ before His crucifixion. There would be no access into God's Presence, beyond the Veil, until sin had been dealt with.

When Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary, shedding His Blood, as both Sin Sacrifice and High Priest, as both Offering and Offerer, God, by a miraculous act, rent the Veil in twain (Matt. 27:51; Luke 23:45). This was a Divine act of God, for the Veil was rent from top to bottom. This signifies the grace of God - God approaching man and not man approaching God. The rent Veil symbolizes the broken Body of the Son of God at Calvary. The Veil must be rent and Christ must die. The rent Veil points to His rent flesh through which the Way to the Father is restored. It was lost since Adam and Eve sinned.

Jesus said to Thomas, one of His disciples: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

So, as New Testament believers we have the privilege to come to the Throne of grace, through our Lord Jesus Christ, and stand in the presence of God in our ministry of prayer and intercession.

Believers' priority in prayer and intercession

Here are some areas of concern we need to focus in on, as a royal priesthood exercising our God-given ministry of prayer and intercession.

Intercede for all men

Paul sid, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplication, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:1 - 4, NKJV).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Paul mentioned "first of all" which suggests that the first duty of Christians meeting together in a prayer meeting is to pray for all men.

2. The phrase, "Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks" covers all forms of prayer.

3. We are to pray and intercede for all men. it is the will of God for all men to come to salvation through Jesus Christ. While Scripture teaches elsewhere that not all men will be saved; it is nevertheless the will of God that all come to the knowledge of the truth. Praying for all men would include, of course, all the nations of the world. We need to pray for the fear of the Lord and a consciousness of God to become more evident and manifest among men.

4. The Chuch is to pray and intercede for rulers (kings, if any) and all those who ar in authority. This includes political, judicial, legislative, and local leaders. Good government is the will of God because good government provides a conducive environment for the spread of the Gospel. When the Church fulfills its priestly function of praying for the government, then we will see the release of righteousness in our land and the availability of divine wisdom for the problems we are facing now.


Intercede for spiritual leaders


Paul asked the Churches (Ephesians, Thessalonians) to pray for him:


"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints - and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel" (Eph. 6:18, 19, emphasis added).


Paul asked the Ephesians to pray for him so that he would have a mouth of utterance to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel.


"Finally, brethren, pray for us (Paul, Silvanus and Timothy), that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you, and they we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men; for not all have faith" (2 Thess. 3:1, 2, emphasis added).


Paul beseeched the Thessalonians to pray that the Word of the Lord through him would have a free course.


The writer of Hebrews (probably Paul) was deterred from visiting the Jewish believers by some adverse circumstances over which he had no control. This might be either imprisonment, sickness or the want of a convenient opportunity of visiting them.


One of the greatest areas of neglect in the Church today has been intercession for spiritual leaders. As a result of our prayerlessness, we havs seen a number of God's servants become morally and/or doctrinally disqualified to serve as leaders. it is imperative we pray for our leaders. They must function in their God-appointed ministries if the Church is to come to unity and maturity.


Paul said, "And He (Jesus) Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:11 - 13, NKJV, emphasis added).


The ministries concerned are those of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher - the so-called five-fold ministries of the Church.


Christians who are called to these ministries are constantly on the battlefront lines where the enemy's attacks are the most severe and damaging. They must be lifted up in intercession so that the Word of the Lord may come forth with power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. One of the common tactics the enemy uses to make a person's ministry ineffective is tho attack him, directly, physically, mentally, spiritually or through the members of his family. We need to cover our spiritual leaders with prayer and intercession - especially to intercede for their ministries, their families, and for their vision.


Pray for unity in the Body of Christ


In John 17, the Lord Jesus interceded for His disciples and prayed that they would be one as He and the Father are one. In our praying, we need to do likewise. As royal priests, believers at all times must continue to pray that the prayer of Jesus would soon be fulfilled. We must understand that the brokenness and fragmentation of the Church, the Body of Christ, being divided by denomination differences, not only grieves the heart of the Father but also seriously hinders our appeal and outreach to a lost world!


Pray for the suffering and persecuted Church


We need to intercede for our brothers and sisters who are living and serving the Lord in countries that are hostile to the Gospel. We must pray that they will be strengthened and encouraged to stand for their faith in the midst of persecution.


The writer of Hebrews said, "Remember the prisoners as if chained with them - those who are mistreated - since you yourselves are in the body also" (Heb. 13:3).


We are admonished to remember, in prayer, those who are imprisoned because of their faith. They are our fellow believers in the same Body of Christ.


In the Book of Acts, when Herod imprisoned Peter, the Church prayed for him:


"Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the Church" (Acts 12:5).


The verses following describe how Peter was set free by an angel.


Intercede for the cause of world missions


Jesus said, "The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest" (Luke 10:2, KJV).


Not all of us are called to world missions but all of us are called by Jesus Himself to pray to the "Lord of the harvest" to send forth laborers into the harvest. The laborers are so few that some of the harvest is spoiling! In harvest time you do not sow seed, you thrust in the sickle! While there is, of course, a continual need to sow the seed of God's Word, the great need of this end time hour is to teach, train, equip, and inspire the laborers to reap the harvest. Pray especially for missionaries and workers and leaders as they lead the way in harvesting. Pray for the release of more funds to finance the Great Commission in every nation.


Jesus said that the field is the world and the havest is the end of the age (Matt. 13:38, 39)


Conclusion


Let us praise God for calling us to salvation and for calling us to participate in the redemptive process of those around us by serving as New Testament priests.