The Priesthood of the Believer
Part 1 The Process Begins
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" (1 Peter 2:9).
In ancient Israel God established an earthly priesthood to receive tithe, offer sacrifices, oversee the tabernacle and later both Jewish temples in Jerusalem, and stand as a bridge linking heaven and Earth, God and man.
In ancient Israel God established an earthly priesthood to receive tithe, offer sacrifices, oversee the tabernacle and later both Jewish temples in Jerusalem, and stand as a bridge linking heaven and Earth, God and man.
However, the true priesthood was transferred long before A.D. 70, and the process began when Jesus, at age thirty, stepped into the Jordan River to be baptized. John the Baptist, the cousin of Christ, was the son of a priest named Zacharias who served in the temple in Jerusalem. John was baptizing believers at the Jordan River in an area called Bethabara.
This was the same location where, fifteen hundred years earlier, Joshua had crossed the Jordan River and instructed the Hebrews to take twelve smooth stones out of the Jordan River and build a monument on the Israel side of the river as a memorial and reminder that God opened the Jordan River for them to cross. The priest also lifted twelve stones from the wilderness and placed these in the dried riverbed. That day the water from the Jordan River was rolled back all the way to a city called Adam, at least ten miles away and south toward the Dead Sea.
The area where Joshua crossed is the same area where John baptized Jesus, and it has powerful prophetic significance. When a high priest was preparing to transfer the priesthood to his son, there was a threefold procedure:
1. The high priest’s son had to submerge in water for purification (Lev. 8:6).
2. The holy oil was to be poured upon the head of the high priest’s son (Lev. 8:12).
3. The high priest had to publicly declare that this was his son (Num. 20:28).
This three-part process occurred when Christ waded into the Jordan River. Christ stepped into the same area where Joshua had crossed. Joshua’s Hebrew name was Yeshuah, and Jesus’s actual Hebrew name is Yeshuah.
In Joshua’s time, the waters of the Jordan were rolled back to the city of Adam, just as Christ’s redemptive work removed mankind’s sins all the way back to the first man, Adam. When Christ stepped into the cold waters of the Jordan, He was being recognized by John, who was the son of a Jewish priest. Christ was not being baptized for the remission of sins because He was sinless. There is a deeper meaning to this baptism. Christ was thirty years of age—the same age that a Levite entered the priesthood (Num. 4:30).
Little did Israel know that the priesthood in Jerusalem was being transferred to one man—Jesus Christ! That pattern is seen in His baptism.
1. Christ was baptized in water, symbolic of preparation for the priesthood.
2. The Spirit descended upon Him like a dove; this was the anointing (Matt. 3:16).
3. God spoke from heaven, declaring that Jesus was His son (Matt. 3:17).
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
Mysteries In the Garden (Part 3)
It is not coincidence that Jesus chose three men out of the twelve that night in the garden. His three closest disciples, Peter, James, and John, each have a character trait that resembles atonement of the body, soul, and spirit.
Peter represented emotional atonement, James bodily and atonement, and John spiritual atonement.
Let's look at Peter first. He continually needed a healing of emotions. Before Peter received the Holy Spirit, he was brash, arrogant, and self centered. Peter rebuked Christ for saying He was going to die In Jerusalem. He was adamant that he would never deny Him, but had little confidence that others would follow his strong stance. To prove his loyalty the free swinging Peter took out his sword and whacked off the ear of the High Priest's servant. Hours later, however, his burning passion turned cold when he denied the Lord three times. To prove his point, he even cursed. Peter was emotionally unstable at times. Peter is a picture of one who loves Chrit but is on an emotional roller coaster and needs stability.
James, the second person in this inner circle, gives the details of the physical or bodily atonement. James gives the details of what a person should do when they are sick. “Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. James 5:14-16 MEV This passage deals more with physical healing than spiritual healing. Notice how confessing your faults to one another is connected to physical healing.
The third disciple was John. John's gospel gives the clearest message on the suffering of Christ and His redeeming work on the cross, We usually direct new converts to the gospel of John for this very reason. John stood at the foot of the cross while the others were hiding in fear. He focused on the spiritual atonement of mankind.
Jesus completed a three fold of atonement for mankind from the whipping post to the cross. The stripes in His back were for my physical healing. The crown of thorns on His head were for my mental and emotional well being. His death on the cross brought a death blow to sin and brought eternal life to my spirit.
Peter represented emotional atonement, James bodily and atonement, and John spiritual atonement.
Let's look at Peter first. He continually needed a healing of emotions. Before Peter received the Holy Spirit, he was brash, arrogant, and self centered. Peter rebuked Christ for saying He was going to die In Jerusalem. He was adamant that he would never deny Him, but had little confidence that others would follow his strong stance. To prove his loyalty the free swinging Peter took out his sword and whacked off the ear of the High Priest's servant. Hours later, however, his burning passion turned cold when he denied the Lord three times. To prove his point, he even cursed. Peter was emotionally unstable at times. Peter is a picture of one who loves Chrit but is on an emotional roller coaster and needs stability.
James, the second person in this inner circle, gives the details of the physical or bodily atonement. James gives the details of what a person should do when they are sick. “Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your faults to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much. James 5:14-16 MEV This passage deals more with physical healing than spiritual healing. Notice how confessing your faults to one another is connected to physical healing.
The third disciple was John. John's gospel gives the clearest message on the suffering of Christ and His redeeming work on the cross, We usually direct new converts to the gospel of John for this very reason. John stood at the foot of the cross while the others were hiding in fear. He focused on the spiritual atonement of mankind.
Jesus completed a three fold of atonement for mankind from the whipping post to the cross. The stripes in His back were for my physical healing. The crown of thorns on His head were for my mental and emotional well being. His death on the cross brought a death blow to sin and brought eternal life to my spirit.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Mysteries In The Garden (Part 2)
And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. —1 THESSALONIANS 5:23
The physical body can become sick, the soul (mind) can experience negative emotions, and the human spirit can become tainted by sin through disobedience to God’s Word. The atonement sets out to redeem the spirit, renew the soul, and restore or heal the body, causing a person to become whole or complete in Christ.
Isaiah breaks down how the sufferings of the Messiah will impact the tripartite nature of mankind:
1. The atonement of the body
Isaiah prophesied that, “With his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Isaiah looks forward to the atoning work of the Messiah. Peter, however, looks back at the finished work of the cross and proclaims, “By whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).
2. The atonement of the soul
Isaiah revealed the atonement for the soul when he wrote, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Christ was also oppressed and afflicted (v. 7). Oppression, sorrow, and grief are all emotions that can wreck havoc on the emotions and minds of believers. Yet Christ carried sorrow and grief to the cross on our behalf.
3. The atonement of the spirit
The prophet then revealed that the Christ would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities (Isa. 53:5). In verse 10 he wrote, “Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.” Sin is a spiritual disease that eats away at man’s spirit. Christ’s ultimate goal was to redeem the spirit of a person and impart the gift of eternal life.
Isaiah sums up the sufferings of the Messiah in the last two verses of Isaiah 53: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. —ISAIAH 53:11–12
The physical body can become sick, the soul (mind) can experience negative emotions, and the human spirit can become tainted by sin through disobedience to God’s Word. The atonement sets out to redeem the spirit, renew the soul, and restore or heal the body, causing a person to become whole or complete in Christ.
Isaiah breaks down how the sufferings of the Messiah will impact the tripartite nature of mankind:
1. The atonement of the body
Isaiah prophesied that, “With his stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). Isaiah looks forward to the atoning work of the Messiah. Peter, however, looks back at the finished work of the cross and proclaims, “By whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).
2. The atonement of the soul
Isaiah revealed the atonement for the soul when he wrote, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). Christ was also oppressed and afflicted (v. 7). Oppression, sorrow, and grief are all emotions that can wreck havoc on the emotions and minds of believers. Yet Christ carried sorrow and grief to the cross on our behalf.
3. The atonement of the spirit
The prophet then revealed that the Christ would be wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities (Isa. 53:5). In verse 10 he wrote, “Thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin.” Sin is a spiritual disease that eats away at man’s spirit. Christ’s ultimate goal was to redeem the spirit of a person and impart the gift of eternal life.
Isaiah sums up the sufferings of the Messiah in the last two verses of Isaiah 53: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. —ISAIAH 53:11–12
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Mysteries In the Garden Part 1
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. —1 CORINTHIANS 15:45
In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam was not born through a normal birth process, and neither was the second Adam, Jesus Christ. The first Adam was formed from dust, and the second Adam was formed in the womb of a virgin (Gen. 2:7; Luke 1:27–31). The first Adam was perfect before the Fall, and the second Adam was sinless throughout this life (2 Cor. 5:21). The first Adam fell into sin while living in a garden, and the second Adam had the sins of the world placed upon him in a garden called Gethsemane. At the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the first Adam experienced death, and at a tree called a cross the second Adam experienced death. But through the cross, the second Adam conquered death, hell, and the grave and is alive forever more (Rev. 1:18). Eternal death began in a garden, and the plan of redemption began near the temple in Jerusalem, in a garden called Gethsemane.
There is a powerful mystery surrounding that fateful night of destiny in Gethsemane. It was in this very garden where Christ revealed to Nicodemus that, as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so He (Christ) would be lifted up (on the cross) to draw all men to Him (John 3:14). The story of the brass serpent in Numbers 21:2–9 is an amazing picture of the redemptive work of Christ. Israel had sinned and was bitten by serpents. As people lay dying, Moses constructed a brass serpent on a pole. All who looked to the brass snake lived!
God chose a brass serpent to represent Christ, since brass represents humanity and the serpent represents sin. Christ became man and bore our sins on the tree!
In the Garden of Eden, the first Adam was not born through a normal birth process, and neither was the second Adam, Jesus Christ. The first Adam was formed from dust, and the second Adam was formed in the womb of a virgin (Gen. 2:7; Luke 1:27–31). The first Adam was perfect before the Fall, and the second Adam was sinless throughout this life (2 Cor. 5:21). The first Adam fell into sin while living in a garden, and the second Adam had the sins of the world placed upon him in a garden called Gethsemane. At the tree of the knowledge of good and evil the first Adam experienced death, and at a tree called a cross the second Adam experienced death. But through the cross, the second Adam conquered death, hell, and the grave and is alive forever more (Rev. 1:18). Eternal death began in a garden, and the plan of redemption began near the temple in Jerusalem, in a garden called Gethsemane.
There is a powerful mystery surrounding that fateful night of destiny in Gethsemane. It was in this very garden where Christ revealed to Nicodemus that, as Moses lifted the serpent in the wilderness, so He (Christ) would be lifted up (on the cross) to draw all men to Him (John 3:14). The story of the brass serpent in Numbers 21:2–9 is an amazing picture of the redemptive work of Christ. Israel had sinned and was bitten by serpents. As people lay dying, Moses constructed a brass serpent on a pole. All who looked to the brass snake lived!
God chose a brass serpent to represent Christ, since brass represents humanity and the serpent represents sin. Christ became man and bore our sins on the tree!
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