In the last chapter, we saw that Adam, Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all priests. If we read the whole Bible, we will see that these godly persons were priests who fulfilled the purpose of God.
We have mentioned that the leading ministry in God’s economy is the priesthood and that the kingship was brought into function through the priesthood. David was anointed by Samuel. Samuel was more than a prophet; he was a priest. Samuel was brought up and even educated in the house of God as a priest. It was through him that the kingship was brought into function.
The first positive king in God’s sight was David. One day when they brought back the ark of God, David was so excited that he put on a priestly robe, the ephod. What did that signify? It simply meant that the king needed the priesthood. It was the priesthood that brought in the kingship.
Spiritually speaking, it is the life that is filled with God Himself that brings in the authority. The kingship coming out of the priesthood means that God’s reigning power comes out of God’s life. If we have this kind of life, we will then have the authority.
Christians are not only holy priests, but also royal or kingly priests (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). In other words, we are the priesthood.
First, God created man in His own image and then committed His own authority to man (Gen. 1:27, 28). The image is related to the priesthood, and the authority is related to the kingship. The authority of kingship comes out of the life of God’s image. We must be so one with God that we become His very expression. Then out of the life of God’s image we will have the authority. Thus, the authority of the kingship is brought in by the image of the priesthood.
Not only was the kingship brought in by the priesthood, but, by careful reading of the Bible, we will see that the prophethood was also brought in by the priesthood. Although Isaiah was a prophet, he was really a man in the presence of the Lord. Actually, he was not a priest, but spiritually, he was a priest. Also, Elijah and Elisha were not legally priests, but in reality both of them were priests, because they spent their time and their life in the presence of the Lord.
Before we can be a prophet, we must be a priest. I have heard many people talk about 1 Corinthians, saying that we must desire the gift of prophecy. However, only the priesthood can actually bring in the real prophethood.
I am especially interested in those prophets who were in the recovery. Nearly all the main prophets in the recovery were priests. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah were priests. These three priests were the main prophets for the recovery. And if we read the book of Daniel, we will see that he was spiritually a priest, even though he was not one legally. He spent his time and his life in the presence of the Lord. Eventually, he was a person who was really one with the Lord. Many people pay attention to the prophecies of Daniel, but neglect the priesthood of Daniel. Daniel was a priest because he was first mingled with the Lord.
We have seen that the kingly authority comes from the priesthood. Now we see that the real spirit of prophecy also comes from the priesthood. Look again at Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and Zechariah. Without exception, their prophethood came absolutely out of the priesthood. Whether you are a priest, a king, or a prophet, you must first have the priesthood. The priests need the priesthood, the kings need the priesthood, and the prophets also need the priesthood!
Look again into the Psalms. Although most of the Psalmists were not priests, all of them were spiritually in the priesthood! For example, “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple” (Psa. 27:4). David wrote this Psalm. If he were not a priest, how could he dwell in the house of the Lord? To dwell in the house of the Lord indicates the life of a priest!
One Psalmist says that to dwell in the courts of the Lord is better than a thousand days! This is the best way to redeem the time, because it can be redeemed one thousand times! We must not be satisfied to stay in the outer court. We must learn to stay in the very presence of the Lord; for there, an hour is better than one thousand hours! This is the priesthood which brings in the kingship and the prophethood.