PRIESTHOOD AS BEARING ON YOUNG BELIEVERS
[p. 82] PRIESTHOOD AS BEARING ON YOUNG BELIEVERS
Romans 1: 1 - 4; Romans 5: 5; Romans 8: 14, 15; Romans 12: 1; Deuteronomy 18: 3 - 5
In what I have to say on this occasion I want to show how the epistle to the Romans lays the basis for priesthood. I wish to speak about priesthood, and to show how it applies to young believers. The Scriptures speak about the sons of Levi being priests, and they also speak more expressly about the sons of Aaron, and Aaron and his sons. The latter are more prominent in the wilderness, the former appear in connection with the land. The wilderness journey required more spiritual power, for the strain was greater, and so the priesthood, in the books that have reference to the wilderness, is generally confined to Aaron and his sons, whereas in Deuteronomy and Joshua the thought is generally extended, although not always, to the whole tribe of Levi. We can understand that special occasions and circumstances require the priestly element as expressive of what is wholly spiritual, as it is said, “Ye which are spiritual, restore such an one” (Galatians 6: 1), but it was an entire mistake to restrict priesthood to those only who are spiritual. It has to be extended to all who have the Spirit, and therefore it includes every true Christian, a true Christian being one who has the Spirit.
It is to be noted how even the epistle to the Romans, which is the most elementary and fundamental of all the epistles, lays down the basis for priesthood, so that the youngest believer may apprehend how he has part in it. In that connection, it is necessary to call attention to the manner in which the Son of God is presented in the epistle, for the idea of priesthood necessarily hangs on sonship.
[p. 83] The epistle to the Hebrews shows us that priesthood now is in the Son, as it is said, “A Son perfected for ever” (chapter 7: 28); and so in the beginning of Romans the apostle refers to the theme of his gospel as no less than the Son of God. As moving out in his service, we find that his first preaching was that Jesus is the Son of God, and he tells us later in explaining his commission that God revealed His Son in him that he might announce Him as glad tidings among the nations; Galatians 1: 16. He says to the Corinthians in his second epistle, “For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in him was yea”. We are not told in the Acts that he preached the Son of God in Corinth, but he tells us himself that he did so, and not only he, but two others as well who were qualified preachers, and a threefold cord is not easily broken. There was a threefold testimony in that city to the Son of God, and we learn from the body of this epistle to the Romans that the intent of the preaching was to bring believers in it into correspondence with the Son.
So you find in chapter 1 that He is declared to be the Son of God with power, not by the announcement of the Father from heaven, as the evangelists record, but by resurrection of the dead; that is to say, the testimony of the Son of God among the Gentiles was that He was “declared” to be such; not announced simply as such, but He was declared to be the Son of God. A declaration is something that is undeniable. He was declared to be the Son of God with power, it says. We are reminded in that word ‘power’ as to what marks Christianity; it is a system marked by power. Paul insists that his preaching was in power, and the declaration of the Son of God was in power. The announcement from heaven was not that, blessed as it was, but obviously the declaration of the Son of God must be in power, for it was by resurrection of [p. 84] the dead. Most of you will know that here it is not exactly His own resurrection that is in view, although He rose Himself from the dead, but includes that of others; but whether it be others or His own. He is “declared to be the Son of God with power ... by the resurrection from [of] the dead”. And then, not only so, but it is “according to the spirit of holiness”. Now I want to say a word about that, because priesthood involves holiness, and so the idea of holiness is embedded in the soul of the believer from the outset, as he believes the gospel — the idea, I repeat, not yet the thing. Things are presented to us in testimony that are to become effective in our souls by the Spirit; that is how God works in us. He presents an idea in the way of light, then He brings the soul to it by the Spirit. And so the gospel that Paul preached among the nations, polluted as they were, involved holiness. His preaching was the Son of God declared to be such by resurrection of the dead, and then it was according to the Spirit of holiness. Now, that idea received into the soul (and unless it is received, the gospel is not received) is taken up by the Spirit, and so it is said in chapter 5 that the love of God is shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit! In chapter 1 He is the Spirit of holiness; in chapter 5 He is the Holy Spirit who sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts, following on the light of the gospel. Morally the heart is prepared for such a transaction by the reception of the light of the Son of God.
But now to proceed. I want you to see how the Son of God is introduced in this epistle. We read in chapter 5: 10 that we have been reconciled to God by the death of His Son. The element of holiness received is a fundamental thought, and the next thing is the reconciliation; that is, that the very light which has come to me in regard to the Son of God involves that I am to be made as suitable and as [p. 85] acceptable in the presence of God as He is. I am reconciled by the death of His Son. Think of the light involved in that! I am brought into the presence of God in acceptability. As apprehending the death of His Son, I see that there is not one shade of distance between God and my soul.
All this is a matter of light. And then again (chapter 5: 6) the apostle says, “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly”, and in chapter 8: 3 he says, “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh”. Now I see that by the Son coming in the likeness of flesh of sin He has dealt with that which would hamper me in the presence of God. The existence of sin is a most serious matter, and God foreseeing how it would act in the believer against the Spirit, and against the development of priesthood in him, sends His own Son. I want you to note the expression. Such was the urgency of what was in hand. God sent His own Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin, and so He has effectively condemned sin in the flesh. Need I say it is in the flesh of the believer? Sin is surely condemned in every sense, but the point here is, that it is condemned in the flesh of the believer, so that it should have no place or voice there whatsoever. I am as free of it before God as Christ is; God has dealt with it effectively by the sending of His own Son, and why should I not condemn it? It is simply a matter of light. I shall come to the power in a moment, but this is a matter of light as to what God has done. He has reconciled us by the death of His Son, and condemned sin in the flesh by sending His own Son in the likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin. One would hesitate to use the expression were it not that the Holy Spirit uses it: “in likeness of flesh of sin, and for sin, has condemned sin in the flesh”, so that I am entirely unhampered now. It is a matter [p. 86] of light, I repeat, and it has to be maintained by the Spirit, otherwise the Spirit could not work in us. As I receive the light, then the Holy Spirit operates effectively.
Now you see how God has wrought in His Son to liberate us. We have the idea of power and of holiness, we have the idea of acceptance in the presence of God in reconciliation, and of the complete condemnation of sin in the flesh, and now parallel with that we have the operations of the Spirit. The Spirit of holiness in which Christ rose has shed abroad in the heart of the believer the love of God. What can be a greater conception than that the love of God should be brought into the believer’s heart? The very first service of the Spirit in the believer in this book is to bring in the love of God, to bring into my heart the very greatest thing in the whole universe — the love of God. That is His first service. It is not new birth. The Spirit does not come into the believer merely to reside because he is a believer; He comes in consequent upon redemption, and consequent upon the believer receiving the gospel. It says, “After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1: 13), but in coming in, He sheds abroad the love of God in the heart. Now, see what a vessel God has! It is not now that I have light simply; I have more than light; I have the love of God placed in my heart by the Holy Spirit, and what follows upon that, in the doctrine in regard to the Spirit, is that my members begin to act in relation to God.
What I am saying is within the range of the simplest and youngest believer. As the love of God touches you, you begin to recognise His rights over every member you possess, and you yield them to God as instruments of righteousness. I am afraid we mystify that word ‘righteousness’ sometimes. It is simply what is right, and it is surely right, as the [p. 87] love of God touches your hearts, to acknowledge that He has the right to you, that your members are all His. Then you begin to see that you are connected with the greatest possible things. God is pleased to use your members, your very feet, your eyes, your ears, your mouth; those members that have been employed in the service of sin, are now ready instruments for the expression of what is right in this world. And as you begin thus, the idea of holiness develops; and if you do not begin thus, then you are not a believer at all; you have not yet believed the gospel; but as you begin, then in the most initial way the spirit of holiness within you develops. It is difficult to define how these things work. The Spirit of God alone knows how to define accurately, but your members now begin to work; no longer as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but as servants of righteousness unto holiness. Holiness is not now merely an idea with you, it is beginning to work out by the Spirit, and then the apostle goes on to say, “Ye have your fruit unto holiness and the end everlasting life”. Mark, it is your fruit, not God’s fruit. The believer begins to see that fruit unto holiness is a fruit to be valued, and as he begins to taste its value, he extends its cultivation. I do urge on every young believer the cultivation of holiness; it is one of the finest crops you can produce for God. You have the idea here of a production; you have your fruit — your fruit — unto holiness. I, as it were, come to God with something. I cannot draw near to God without it, and what can be greater in this scene than a fruit like this, by which I draw near to God?
Now in chapter 8, consequent upon the condemnation of sin in the flesh, we have room made for the Spirit to operate, so that all this that I have gathered up in my experience in the most initial way, as I said, enters into the use I make of the Spirit, in speaking to God. The believer in chapter 8 develops [p. 88] into a priest; he develops into sonship, and correspondingly into priesthood; for while it is as a son that I say, “Abba, Father”, I say it in the spirit of adoption, but I also say it in holiness. It must be so, and it is holiness which I have acquired by exercise in the practice of righteousness. The foundation subjectively is the love of God, that is the basis, and moving in that relation I acquire holiness. Now I see sin no longer hampers me, and I can regard myself as free from it, and I am in the Spirit, if so be that God’s Spirit dwells in me; and I can say I am led by the Spirit. It is a wonderful thing to come into that — the leading of the Spirit. It is quite right to be governed by light in any position, but to be led by the Spirit is life. It marks the Christian company; it is a living state of things; it is constant activity; “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God”. Romans is a development in that way. It is not simply a privilege conferred now, but as being led by the Spirit I am greeted divinely and recognised as one of the sons of God. How great the thought to be recognised as a son of God! It corresponds, I apprehend, with the journeyings of the children of Israel after singing to the well — after they recognised the Spirit in type. Henceforth they were not led by the light, objectively, but by the Spirit. There is little said about the tabernacle after Numbers 21, because it is not now what is objective that is in view, but what is subjective. I am led by the Spirit, I recognise I am a son of God, and so I say, “Abba, Father”. I have not received the spirit of bondage; I refer back to my experience, my experience confirms the statement that I have received a spirit of adoption, whereby I cry, “Abba, Father”, and that cry whilst it is the cry of a son is also a feature of priesthood, acquired by the produce of holiness.
Now in chapter 12 I have something to offer.
“[p. 89] I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God”. I do not know of any other language, other than typical language, that expresses priesthood more simply. I can present what no one can take from me, what is my own — my body. It belongs to me; God accredits it to me. So that every believer, the very youngest one, can take up priestly service, can present his body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. There is nothing more simple. In the secret of your closet you may present to God all that you are; you can present your body, “which is your intelligent service”.
Well, that is Romans, where we get, as we have seen, the soul history in faith and by the Spirit which constitutes the basis of priesthood, but now in Deuteronomy we see how the priesthood, thus understood, is to be sustained. You will have observed that Moses here speaks to “the priests, the Levites”; the whole tribe of Levi is now in view, and so we have food provided that the young particularly should take notice of. I speak thus because one often hears expressions of dissatisfaction from the young, that they do not understand and they assume that priesthood is beyond them, and that it refers to others. There is no doubt that in a certain connection it does refer to those who are spiritual, not only those who have the Spirit, but to those who are spiritual. And priesthood, I believe, under the hand of Aaron and his sons has this largely in view; but in Deuteronomy all saints are in view; it includes the whole tribe of Levi; and so the food involves what is initial. As Peter says, leading up to the same subject, “Desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word, that by it ye may grow up to salvation”. He has in view that the system, the constitution, should be built up by the word of God. That is the [p. 90] greatest thing a young believer can start with — the sense that he must be nourished by the word of God. “The priest’s lips should keep knowledge”, Malachi 2: 7. There is a great obligation resting on the priesthood as seen in the types, for the priest is to be in the mind of God; and for this his mind must be cleared of all darkening influences. The reading of novels, of magazines, and of papers that convey men’s thoughts, only darken and corrupt the mind, so we are reminded to be as newborn babes, desiring the pure mental milk of the word; that is to say, the word of God is great enough to minister to the mind. We are to be governed and to have our minds saturated with the word of God.
John in Revelation 10 was told to take the little book from the angel and to eat it up. Ezekiel, too, had to eat the roll. As eating that which conveyed the mind of God, they would each have in his entire being the very mind of God; his moral being would be formed by that. He would be in correspondence with the Lord, for He said, when asked as to Himself, “Altogether that which I also say to you”. It is not simply that I have taken the thing into my head, but the word of God has been assimilated into my being, so that I am it, in that sense; that is the principle. So in our measure we are to correspond with the Lord; what we say, we are, and the young believer has to begin with that thought.
So the priesthood in Deuteronomy (chapter 18: 3) was furnished first with the shoulder, then the jawbones, and then the maw or stomach. These things are remarkable; they were the priest’s due from those who brought a sacrifice; but I think in view of all Christians being contemplated, we can understand the bearing of them. First, we all need strength; we would all admit how weak we are, even when we started our Christian career. But when any trouble arises in any locality what is needed is the shoulder.
[p. 91] Saints are often governed by personal feelings; or they live on a wretched controversy; these are not priestly features at all, and what is needed is something to strengthen them. The shoulder suggests ministry that strengthens. Then the jawbones suggest the power of mastication. We have to learn how to take in the thing, and prepare it for absorption in the system; we must not compel the stomach to do what the teeth should do, so to speak; we have to learn to use our organs. Then there is the maw, reminding us that things have to be taken in. When John ate the little book, it was sweet in his mouth, but became bitter within him. The word of God is that to a believer, it is sweet to the taste, but as you assimilate it you see the full bearing of it, the consequences in a judicial way, and it is bitter. I speak of it thus because what is in your mouth may not convey just what it is. It is sweet there surely, but as you apprehend it fully you grasp the import of it, you see much greater consequences, and it may be more serious ones than you saw at the beginning. The word of God searches out, and discovers in us what has to be absolutely refused and judged.
But not only these things. The young believer is to have corn, as it says here, “The first-fruits of thy corn, of thy new wine, and of thine oil, and the first-fruits of the shearing of thy sheep, shalt thou give him”. Corn refers to Christ as Man. It is, as we may say, the staff of life, and we need it every day. The wine comes next, which I apprehend is stimulation. The young need that, for they often become drooping and are readily discouraged. Paul speaks often of encouragement, and the young need to be encouraged, and it comes in by one who himself has been encouraged of God. The young need careful food, ministry that will build up a good constitution according to Christ; but they do need encouragement; one knows it. One who is advanced in years has an advantage; he can say, “I have been young, and now am old”. The young cannot say that. The elder has something in correspondence with the young. Every one advanced in years knows how easily he was discouraged when he was young. So the young do need encouragement, and so the first-fruits of the new wine is for the priests.
Then there is the oil, and oil distinguishes us. Young people like to be distinguished, and oftentimes there is a desire for ability to preach, but the distinction that is from God is got from the oil, not now the Spirit working in you, but characterising you externally. You take it on by walking in the Spirit, and therefore you have the first-fruits of the oil. And then also the first-fruits of the shearing of thy sheep. Why should the priests need wool, when enjoined not to use it in the sanctuary? Linen was to be worn. What is to be used next to the skin of the priest in the sanctuary is linen, that is to say, young ones need to be kept sober. Linen is sobering, it does not excite the flesh; it keeps us from attempting to use eloquence in the presence of God, or using fine language obtained from others. Linen holds you to what you know, and to your own impressions, and to what you can bring yourself. “Five words” if uttered humbly and soberly in the presence of God are acceptable to Him; it is indeed delightful to God. Then why should they need wool? The answer is very simple. Young Christians need warmth, and they get it in the circle of the saints, when there are offerings of that kind. Where saints are together in the energy of affection there is warmth; you feel, as it says in the book of Job, your garments becoming warm. This is a great matter for young people, for it induces priestly state as viewed in a right way. True warmth is found in the circle of the saints, by the love of the saints, and that is a matter of great importance. So the [p. 93] first-fruits of the shearing of the sheep were to be for the priests, the sons of Levi.
I hope what I have said will be understood as showing how priesthood is developed in the epistle to the Romans, and that the young may take it to themselves and begin simply and humbly to present their bodies to God, and then see to it that they get right food — suitable food — that which God provides, that it may give them character, so that priesthood may be maintained.