The understanding of Priesthood and Worship is pivotal or essential when it comes to effective ministering to the Lord. Many times, when we say “let’s us minister to the Lord”, most people actually don’t know what it entails, how it should be done and the ground upon which it should be done. In this article, we are just going to be considering three major biblical texts with some other sub-texts to corroborate what we will be discussing with ourselves. Text: Exodus 28:1-4, 40-41; John 4:21-24, 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9.

 

Text One: Exodus 28:1-4, 40-41

 

“Now take Aaron your brother (this is God speaking to Moses in this place), and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister to Me as priest, Aaron and Aaron’s sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. ² And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. ³ So you shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron’s garments, to consecrate him, that he may minister to Me as priest. ⁴ And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. So, they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister to Me as priest. ^40-41 “For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make hats for them, for glory and beauty. ⁴¹ So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and ^[l]sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests.

 

The first thing we would notice in the above Scripture is that God emphasized to Moses four times in that chapter how Aaron and his sons must minister to Him – as priest! Meaning that when they are about ministering unto Him, Aaron won’t come as Aaron, rather, he would come in the capacity of a priest, and not as the Aaron, the elder brother of Moses. In ministering to the lord, what God reckons with is your priestly status. It does not matter whether you are an apostle, a prophet, an evangelist, a pastor or teacher; it does not matter whether you have money in your bank accounts or you do not have it. When it comes to ministering to God, the first and the most important thing is your priestly posture.

 

That means there is something significant about ministering to the Lord as priest than as something else. Who is a priest? A priest is god’s representative among men. He or she is chosen by God to represent the people in offering gifts and sacrifices, thereby making atonements for sin on their behalf. Hebrews 5:1-4 says:

 

“For every high priest taken from among men is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins…” Meaning that each time God inspires you to give Him something, you do it through a medium; and that medium is the priestly office. So, God says “give me N100,000 naira.” You don’t carry the money and raise it to God and say “God, take it from my hand o.” No! You simply give such money through a medium. That’s why the Bible says in Hebrews 7:8 that here, “men receive gifts, but there He receives them.” ALSO, WHEN YOU PRAY, PRAY TO THE LORD AS A PRIEST. WHEN YOU SING, SING TO THE LORD AS A PRIEST.

 

It reads further: ² He can have compassion on those who are ignorant and going astray, since he himself is also subject to weakness. ³ Because of this he is required as for the people, so also for himself, to offer sacrifices for sins. ⁴ And no man takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was.” In the Old Testament, not everyone qualifies to become a priest. Only designated people appointed by God are anointed as priests. Such was Aaron and his sons that we read about. But in the New Testament, it is a different ball game as we will find out in the subsequent sections of this study as we go on.

 

A priest is also a messenger of God. Malachi 2:7 says: “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” Another way to look at the word ‘messenger’ here is envoy. So, we minister unto the Lord, it is important that we do it as priests because it is on that basis that whatever we do for God become acceptable.

 

Text Two: John 4:21-24

 

“Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.” The question is: why is this so? The reason is because worshipping God is now domiciled in INDIVIDUAL’S PRIESTHOOD and not tied to a physical location as the practice was in the Old Covenant. In the Old Testament, Jerusalem happens to be the place where the temple for worship was built and most time, people don’t believe their worship of God is complete or acceptable until they get to the Holy City to offer their worship to God. For example, the Ethiopian Eunuch that Philip converted in the book of Acts 8:26-40 was returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship and was reading the book of Prophet Isaiah before the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip to go join himself to his chariots.

 

So, when Jesus was speaking to the woman at the well of Samaria, Jesus was showing her that “see, worship will no longer be a Jerusalem affair anymore, it would now be based on individual’s priesthood because God cannot be tied down to a physical location.” Let us read further: ²² You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. ²³ But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. ²⁴ God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The reason why this would be so is because we all can now access the throne of God the Father and therefore, we can offer our gifts and sacrifices to Him. Philippians 3:3 says: “For we are the circumcision, who worship ^[a]God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.”

 

SCRIPTURES THAT CORROBORATE OUR INDIVIDUAL PRIESTHOOD

 

Exodus 19:1-6

 

“In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. ² For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So, Israel camped there before the mountain. ³ And Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: ⁴ ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself. ⁵ Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. ⁶ And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

 

From here, we can see categorically that the original intention of God is to make each and every one of us a kingdom of priests. EVERY MEMBER OF THAT KINGDOM WOLD BE A PRIESTS AND NOT ONE PERSON LEFT BEHIND. The system God had in mind is to make everyone a priest and each appearing before God as they are to worship Him. The painful that is that God couldn’t achieve this fete with the children of Israel because of the stubbornness of their hearts, but God achieved it with us in the New Covenant through Christ Jesus.

 

Revelation 1:4-6, 5:8-10

 

“John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

 

“Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:

“You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
¹⁰ And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”

 

So, on the basis of this finished works of Jesus Christ, we have been made kings and priests unto God and therefore, we can offer unto Him acceptable worship

 

Text Three: 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9

 

“Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. But you are a chosen generation, 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; ¹⁰ who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

 

WHAT DOES PRIESTHOOD AND WORSHIP ENTAILS?

 

#1. Consecration!

In worshipping God or ministering to the Lord as a priest, the first vital thing you must never forget is your consecration. Exodus 28:40-43 showed us. It says:

 

“For Aaron’s sons you shall make tunics, and you shall make sashes for them. And you shall make ^[k]hats for them, for glory and beauty. ⁴¹ So you shall put them on Aaron your brother and on his sons with him. You shall anoint them, consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister to Me as priests. ⁴² And you shall make for them linen trousers to cover their nakedness; they shall reach from the waist to the thighs. ⁴³ They shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister in the holy place, that they do not incur iniquity and die. It shall be a statute forever to him and his descendants after him.”

 

#2. Knowledge

 

Malachi 2:7 says: “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” This is exactly what our assignment on the face of the earth is as Christians. We have been made priests so that we can dispense the fragrance of the knowledge of God. Habakkuk 2:14 says: “for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters the sea.” This is exactly what our assignment demands and as priests, we must see to the fulfillment of it.

 

I pray that God will help us in Jesus’ name!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

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