One of the greatest privileges that every Christian possesses is access into the very presence of God. Romans 5:2 reminds us that we have “access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” We rejoice not only because we are accepted in Christ and have a perfect standing before God, but also because this access is not dependent upon the spiritual efforts of someone else. Every believer has already been “made fit” through the merits of Christ (Col. 1:12), the only truly qualified Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). Because of His sinless life and sacrificial death at Calvary, Christ opened the way for every believer in Himself to come boldly to the throne of grace “to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). There is no need for any person on earth to represent us before God. Positionally, we have been raised up and made to sit together in heavenly places with Christ (Eph. 2:1-6) despite what we were before we came to faith in Him. This means we can enjoy access into God’s presence all the time through faith in Him – praise the Lord.
In the Old Testament, God had said to His people, the nation of Israel, that they were a “special treasure” and “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:5-6). As such, they could have and should have enjoyed ongoing access into the presence of God. However, at Mount Sinai they failed miserably in their spiritual privileges by committing idolatry and immorality (Ex. 32). When Moses challenged the people to take a stand for the Lord, only the tribe of Levi came forward to express their allegiance to God. Others faced severe chastisement because of their sin. As a result, the tribe of Levi was honored with the priesthood which became their exclusive privilege from that time forward.
In the Old Testament, the role of Israel’s priests in the service of the Tabernacle (and later with the Temple) was to represent the people before God. Priests had the responsibility to take the offerings that were brought to them and then bring them to God on behalf of the offeror. In effect, it was a two-class system – the people who brought their sacrifices, and the priests who offered up those sacrifices to God while other Levites served in other ways. The priest’s focus and responsibility were heavenward and related to worship while other Levites’ focus and responsibility were horizontal and related to service among the people. This is how spiritual service was accomplished.
However, despite this tremendous privilege and responsibility there was still much failure on the part of the priesthood. The Old Testament is replete with examples of rank irresponsibility within the priesthood. This was true throughout Israel’s history, especially during the dark days of the judges and right down to the time of Malachi. Some priests, like Samuel, demonstrated faithfulness to God, but others did not. Nevertheless, the priesthood was established by God and constituted the spiritual life of His people.
In the New Testament however, we see a completely different picture in the spiritual life of God’s people, the Church. Instead of the two-class system that existed in Israel, we see no distinction in spiritual worship and service among God’s people. Instead, all believers are entitled to access before the Lord in worship as well as the spiritual privilege to serve.
In Matthew 27:51, we read that at the precise moment the Lord died on Calvary, the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. Made of thick cloth, the veil represented a barrier between God and man thus preventing access into His presence except for the high priest once a year (Lev. 16). No hand of man could have ever torn that cloth. The fact that it was torn from top to bottom indicated that it came from the unseen hand of God which made it possible for this to take place. In the words of a Fanny Crosby hymn, He was opening “the life gates that all may go in.”
What it means to us today is that there is nothing that bars anyone from coming into God’s presence when they come through faith in Christ and His finished work. Additionally, this means that a believer does not have to rely on the work of another person to represent them before God. It also means that service for the Lord is not the exclusive privilege of a separate class of people, but rather it is the privilege and responsibility of every believer in Christ. As 1 Peter 2:5 puts it, we are a “holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This truth is written to all believers, not just to a separate class. The focus is an upward worship of God to offer up spiritual (not physical) sacrifices, one that does not require the services of another. Further, in verse 9, the Word of God states that we are a royal priesthood to “proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” The emphasis here is on our witness and service for the Lord – a horizontal emphasis compared to the vertical emphasis on worship in verse 5.
The New Testament truth of the priesthood of all believers stands in direct contrast to present-day Christendom. By relegating these privileges to a certain class of people, Christendom reverts to an Old Testament model of clergy-laity distinctions and disregards this truth of access and service to be exercised by all believers. One part of Christendom emphasizes the need for a particular individual to represent the people, while another emphasizes the need for education and theological training to qualify such an individual for spiritual service.
Not so! These distinctions have been put away in Christ. What was true in Israel before the events at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:5-6) has been restored through the Lord’s finished work of redemption. There is now no “clergy-laity” distinction. If anything, it is not the “clergy” but the “laity” concept that is the problem today! Continuous access into the presence of God and service for the Lord through the spiritual gifts given to each one is the privilege and responsibility of every believer in Christ. It is not just the domain of a certain group of people (see Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:27).
The priesthood of all believers is a treasured truth of New Testament teaching. May each Christian fully understand their blessings and privileges in Christ and act on them in their daily walk with Him.