The prophethood is not as basic a ministry as the priesthood and kingship. The book of Hebrews tells us that Christ is a Priest, and the book of Matthew tells us that Christ is a King. But not one book tells us that Christ is a Prophet. Of course, in some verses He is called a prophet, but not one entire book emphasizes His prophethood. This is because the prophethood is not as basic for God’s purpose as are the priesthood and kingship.
This is true of the church today. Peter tells us that the spiritual house, which is the building of God, depends on the priesthood (1 Pet. 2:5, 9). This priesthood is not only the holy priesthood, but also the kingly or royal priesthood.
In Zechariah and Haggai we see the three ministries of the priesthood, kingship, and prophethood. Zechariah was a priest, but he spoke as a prophet.
Haggai was a prophet, but he helped the priesthood and the kingship in the building of the house of God. The governor and the high priest were the ones to take care of the building of God’s temple, but they were a little weak and even discouraged. Therefore, the prophet was called to help.
But the prophet did not build the temple; the governor and the high priest did. God only sends the prophet to strengthen the priesthood and kingship that they might build up the house of the Lord.
Can the church today be built up by the prophet? No, it can only be built up by the brothers and sisters who exercise the priesthood and kingship. The position of the prophet is to help, but not to build. We think that we need a preacher, a minister of the Word, or a teacher. We all pay too much attention to the prophethood and neglect the priesthood and the kingship.
However, the priesthood and the kingship are both our birthright. A prophet would be unnecessary if we would enjoy and exercise our birthright. The problem is that doctrinally we understand that we have been born priests and kings, but we simply do not know how to exercise this birthright. The only way to exercise the priesthood and kingship is to learn the lesson of the incarnation. We must be mingled with the Lord by opening ourselves again and again to Him. Then He will saturate us with Himself.
The throne of God is the center of the New Jerusalem. This is the kingship, the authority, the headship, and the lordship. Then from the throne issues the flow of the river. This is the priesthood. The throne is the kingship with the authority; the flow is the priesthood with the fellowship. When we open ourselves to the Lord, He is able to flood us with Himself that He may flow out to others. Then we are in the fellowship of the priesthood, and the flow of this fellowship brings the authority of the throne with it. The whole New Jerusalem is under the throne and the flow of the living water. This indicates that the whole building of God is under the priesthood with the kingship.
Most Christians give their attention to ministers, preachers, and teachers. This means that they give their attention to the prophets. But not many prophets will take care of the building of God. Most of them simply give some messages about redemption and then establish standards of moral behavior. Therefore, it is impossible for the Lord to have His building. This is why the Lord is recovering the church life today. His recovery is nothing other than the recovery of His building.
We must learn that today our major need is not to have the prophets. What we need most is to assume our position as priests and kings. This is our birthright. We have been born in the house of God as priests and kings; now we must be bold enough by His grace to take up this position. But merely to declare this does not work. We must also open ourselves to the Lord for Him to possess us and saturate us with Himself that He may flow out of us. Then we will have the flow of the priesthood, in which there is the authority of the kingship.
It is in this way that we come to the meetings. We simply behave as priests and kings. We do not come to teach others, but we open ourselves to the Lord that His flow might flow through us to others. We simply open our spirit to express something to the Lord by praying or praising. Once the Lord has a channel through us, the flow out of us into others will be so prevailing that the whole meeting will be a flow of living water. There will not be teaching with the exercise of the mind, but only the flow through the exercise of the spirit.
In today’s so-called church service, the minister speaks by exercising his mind, and the listeners exercise their minds to listen. Hardly anyone exercises his spirit; therefore, there is no flow. It becomes a teaching with a religion—not the flow with life. Consequently, there is no nourishment or building up. For this reason, we must not pay too much attention to the prophets. If you would all take the position of the priesthood and kingship, even I would simply be a priest and king among you. It is only when the priesthood is so weak and the kingship has disappeared that the ministry of the prophet is necessary. This is abnormal. I long to see the time when there is not much teaching or instruction. Only the flow of life through every member will build up the church.
The building of the tabernacle was without any prophets, but was very much with the priesthood and the authority. Moses represented the authority of kingship. At the same time, Aaron was the high priest. This was also true in the building of the temple, for there was the priest as well as King Solomon. And the one who prepared the way and the materials for the building of the temple was David, who was in both the kingship and the priesthood.
Also, in the recovery of the temple, there was the governor of Judah with the authority of kingship, and there was Joshua, the high priest. Not one prophet built the temple directly. The prophet only functioned indirectly, helping the priesthood and the kingship.
Likewise, in the two books of the recovery, Ezra and Nehemiah, Ezra was a priest, and Nehemiah was a governor with authority. One was in the priesthood, and the other was in the kingship. There is not one book for the prophethood as such, but there are many books for the prophets to help the kingship and the priesthood. Strictly speaking, the prophetic ministry is unnecessary for the building up of the church if the basic need of the priesthood and the kingship is fully taken care of.
We all must open ourselves to the Lord and let Him flow in to transform us. Then we will have the authority and be in order. There will be the flow of life with the headship in the meetings.
In today’s situation in Christianity there is no fellowship, but there is much confusion. This is not normal. The normal church life has the fellowship of the priesthood with the order of the kingship. Everyone is under the authority of the Head when they are all in the flow of fellowship. For example, look at our physical body. The arm is under the shoulder, the hand is under the arm, and the fingers are all under the hand. All the members must be under the head in order to be built up together. There is then no confusion, but everything is in order with the fellowship of the flow of life.
I do long to see a group of believers who realize the real meaning of the priesthood and the kingship and do not look to a preacher or teacher. If the Lord sends someone to help them, they are grateful, but they are not dependent on him, for they all exercise and enjoy their position as priests and kings.
In both the Old and New Testaments, this two-fold ministry is necessary in the building of God. First Peter 2:5 and 9 tell us that the building of the spiritual house is the priesthood and that this priesthood is holy and kingly. These priests are kings. They know the fellowship and the authority, meaning that they know the life and the Lord’s headship. We must have the life flowing within and be under the headship of the Lord.
The church is not a matter of democracy or autocracy; it is a matter of kingship. When I am going to speak to a brother, I must speak under the headship of the Lord. I do not have the freedom to say anything apart from the Lord. This is not the control of man, but the control of the Head over the Body. If we are under this headship, we will also be in authority. It is needless for you to exercise authority over others; they will sense the authority in you by your being under the authority of the Head.
Suppose a brother is very careless about the headship. He says whatever he chooses to say and criticizes the brothers freely. Eventually, he will become lighter than air. He will have no weight. The more he criticizes, the less authority he has. But, on the contrary, if a brother is under the headship of the Lord, his mouth, his thinking, his mind, his heart, and his work are all under the control of the Head. The more he lives in this way, the more others will sense the weight and the authority. This is true kingship. The authority in the church is not by organization or by voting, but is that which comes by being under the Lord’s headship.
We all, as the children of God, must realize that we are born priests and kings. Therefore, by His grace we must assume this position by exercising our spirit to take the priesthood in reality and to be under the headship. Then the fellowship in life with the headship of the Lord will build up the church.