WHO ARE
THE CLERGY?
By David Yeubanks
April 2005
Special Thanks To Joe
& Deanna Rodriguez for Help Proof-Reading This Document
How many of us were raised with the notion that there is
intended to be some elite class of spiritual leaders, which preside over an
assembly of Christians (i.e. a church) known as “the clergy”? And by “elite” I simply mean to emphasize
that these individuals are commonly understood to be those that inhabit a
religious office of ministry, generally as a paid profession, that is
believed to be separate and higher (in ranking authority, skill, honor and
responsibility) than the rest of the members in a fellowship of
Christians. These are typically
believed to carry the principle responsibility of hearing from God and
bringing His Word to the people every week.
They are frequently seen as counselors, whom the people in a
congregation expect them to have answers (from God) in response to their
daily troubles, hang-ups, questions and need for direction. In turn, these clergymen feel it part of
their weekly responsibility to prepare sermons to orate from the
platform. Furthermore, along with
these common presumptions, often the belief exists that giving to “the
clergy” (i.e. tithes, offerings, etc.) and/or giving to “the church” (i.e.
time, service, finances, ministry work, etc.) equals giving to God as the
clergy are seen as mediators for the people (akin to Old Testament Levitical
priests) and “the church” as being a temple (in similitude with the Old
Testament structure). Traditionally,
the other members who are not clergy are most often recognized as “the
laity.” The question, therefore, presents itself: Does God’s Word
actually make such distinctions among His people who are His body? And where did these terms actually come
from? Are they clearly defined in
Scripture? If so, where? And if they cannot be found in the written
Word of God but are proven to have been derived by some other means, then is
it wise to maintain support of a system that God has not ordained? Could it, in fact, be damaging to a
believer’s process of spiritual growth, reliance on God and intimacy with
Christ? These are important questions,
which this article intends to examine. When many people think of “the clergy” the thought of Roman
Catholic priests, bishops and popes often come to mind; little white collars,
crucifixes and black suits. While it
is absolutely true that many of our modern Christian practices actually
originate with Roman Catholicism and not expressly Scripture, my intent with
this article is not to single out Catholics or any denomination in
particular. When I speak of “the
clergy” I intend all of those engaged in the profession and position of
priest-like office. This may in fact
include the modern professional pastoral role, elders, apostles, etc. Many Christians think of these ministries
to be religious “offices”, having some higher, separate and intermediary role
apart from other believers. So, in
this sense, even many who are of the Protestant faith may easily be qualified
as clergy. Even our modern English
dictionaries define clergy as pertaining to Christian pastors and priests. My purpose with this article/e-book is to encourage readers to
dive deeply into the Word of God and not to merely settle for status quo
traditionalism. I hope to offer some
strong points to consider and questions to examine. I will also share some of the bold conclusions
that I myself have come to. As the
author of this work, I humbly submit to my readers that I am not a theologian
in any official sense of the word. I
do happen to hold an Associates degree in the field and love to study
Scripture and Biblical history as a hobby (and I have a number of close
friend who would easily be described as theologians and professors in the
field), but I do not suppose that any of these privileges of acquaintance or
qualities of earned knowledge make me an expert in matters of Hebrew or Greek
interpretation. I, like many other
students of the Scriptures, rely heavily upon the multitude of Bible
dictionaries, lexicons and commentaries (by scholars more learned than I)
available as resources for study as well as examining various Bible
translations and biblical contexts. I
also rely upon personal time spent in prayer and meditating upon
Scripture. I do not ask the reader to
simply take my word for anything (even though some of my conclusions are
boldly expressed). It is vital that
each person diligently study the Scriptures and draw their conclusions based
on honest research, fair examination and communion with the Holy Spirit, and
not merely because someone else “said so” or simply because something “sounds
good.” This is one of the great frustrations I have with “organized
religion” today; People often follow blindly because men, who suppose
themselves to be spiritual leaders, often “say so” and few have concern that
there may ever be error in their teaching and, many times, even those
teachers themselves impose that anyone who rejects their teaching or even
questions it is, inadvertently, rebelling against God’s anointed. This is nonsense! God expects us to be watchful and diligent
in our pursuit of truth. We should not
be ignorant and gullible. Our freedom
in Christ depends on it! While I will agree that there are those who may call themselves
members of “the clergy” and are generally sincere and appear to have pure
intent to serve God’s people, there are also plenty of hucksters out there
that claim to be “anointed” and who claim to preach “the truth.” Some for money (whether for wealth or
merely as a profession), others for power, others for fame, notoriety,
self-esteem, and still others for any number of reasons beyond a simple and
pure intent to lovingly care for God’s children. The latter (those with corrupted hearts and
minds) will likely take some offense to this article. The intent, however, is to encourage
believers to use discernment. This is
not meant, in any way, as an attack on those individuals who have a sincere
intent to care for God’s little lambs (not as lords over them, or who do so
for money, but as ones who set godly examples and who sincerely care for them
the way older brothers watch over their younger siblings – 1 Peter
5:2-3). But it ought to be a solemn
reminder and challenge to be careful about the motives of your heart and to
make honest examination of these things to be sure you are walking justly
before Christ, before His people and in alignment with the truth of God’s
Word. Even well-meaning servants can
miss the mark, become puffed up with pride, and become an obstacle in God’s
path if they lose sight of the truth.
The good news is that once we are made aware of our error, we can
repent and turn to the right way. All
I ask with this writing is that, before you judge my motive, hear me out
fully and then check your own. While the purpose of this article is not to cause people to take
on a suspicious attitude about everyone who occupies the functionary role of
a “minister” (for, despite some ignorance, there are still many good men and
women who occupy traditional religious roles), it is to encourage believers
to be watchful – because this is something our Lord commanded of us. Many of those so-called “leaders” who get
angry because some ask questions or require convincing (with Scripture and
actions) are – it would certainly seem – simply showing their “fruit” and
this should only make them that much easier for you to spot. And once they are spotted, they ought to be
left alone – as Jesus commanded. Matthew 15:13-14
(ISV)
- He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be
pulled up by the roots. Leave them
alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If one blind person leads another
blind person, both will fall into a ditch." BEWARE OF SELF-PROCLAIMING “ANOINTED ONES” Matthew
24:4 (KJV) - And Jesus answered and said unto them, “Take heed that no man
deceive you. For many shall
come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” The previous passage (Matthew 24:4), as
it appears in the original Greek (the language that much of the New Testament
was written in); says that “many shall come in my name, saying, ‘I am
Christ…’” The KJV correctly renders it
here. A number of newer translations
add the word “the” before Christ to indicate that this passage means that men
would specifically say that they were Him (i.e. Jesus). While it is true that there were those,
even in the first century (and afterwards) who came (as Jesus prophesied) claiming
to be Christ (in other words “the Messiah”), the literal words of Jesus here
do not add the word “the” to His statement to make it specific to Him. The word “Christ” is “christos”. It means “anointed one.” In other words, what we have here is Jesus
talking about MANY who would come IN HIS NAME claiming to be ANOINTED ONES.
His warning is continued repeatedly in the Gospels… Matthew
24:24 (NIV) - For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform
great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. The words “false christs” is actually one single word in the
Greek; “pseudochristos.” It (literally
translated) means “a false anointed one.”
Now, consider these things Jesus Himself warned His sheep about… How frequently do we hear men, standing
behind their golden pulpits, boasting that they are “anointed ones”? One particular televangelist comes to mind
that frequently says on his program, “brother I’m anointed!” Many of you have also likely heard these
same individuals warn you not to “touch God’s anointed ones” in threatening
tone to avoid being questioned or scrutinized for what they teach and do. Please notice, dear friend, that Jesus did not merely say that
many would come claiming to be Him (i.e. “the” Christ), but that they would
come claiming to be “anointed ones” (christs). Why would this deceive so many people? Because Jesus also said they would come “in
His name” (in other words, claiming to be sent by Jesus). They would look like the real deal. They would say, “we come to you in the name
of the Lord and we are anointed.” But
watch carefully when you hear this kind of boasting. It may be that the voice you are hearing is
pseudochristos! Remember, Jesus said
there would be MANY who come in His name.
Dear friend, it is BIBLICAL to watch out! Don’t ever let anyone tell you
different! YOUR LORD SPECIFICALLY
INSTRUCTED YOU TO BE ON YOUR GUARD ABOUT SUCH THINGS! And concerning those who attempt to use Scripture in threatening
you not to “touch God’s anointed”, please look with me for a moment at their
banner passage, which they so frequently remove from context to manipulate
you and induce fear and submission: Psalm 105:12-15 (NLT) - He said this when they were few in
number, a tiny group of strangers in It is 100% clear, by
the preceding passage, that God warned AUTHORITIES not to touch HIS
PEOPLE! Not the other way around! According to this passage, God regards ALL
HIS PEOPLE as being His anointed ones!
Keep that in mind when a man attempts to insert himself as your
authority and tries to avoid accountability by telling you not to touch him
(question him, correct him, disagree with him, or reject his word) because he
is “anointed”. A true anointed servant
of Christ doesn’t throw his weight around, boast in titles, or insist on
subservience, but he is humble and manifests a clear character of Christ
through his actions. Luke Such men like to be lifted up on pedestals. They don’t come as fellow brothers among
brothers with humility. They enjoy the
praise of men and expect to have a reward for their so-called labor. But Jesus taught something different. Luke 17:9-10 (MSG) - Does the servant get special thanks for doing what's
expected of him? It's the same with
you. When you've done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say,
'The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.'" WE MUST OBEY GOD AND FOLLOW HIM Keeping these things in mind, we should be able to spot the
fraudulent “servants” who are such only in word (their word) but do not
manifest the character and teaching of Christ. You will notice that many of these false
servants will direct you to obey their teaching (regardless of your being
uncomfortable with it). They say they
speak the truth and they speak for God.
They will quote the Scripture and say that this is God’s will for you
to obey them because God has ordained them to lead you and give account for
you. Hebrews Does that passage
sound familiar? Well, it is important
to understand what these words actually mean in the Greek and in
context. Obey does NOT mean
unquestioned subservience – it does not mean to “follow commands” – and there
is also nothing in the original text to support the words “those that have
the rule over you.” Now, before you
accuse me of heresy, please continue with me here for a moment. Let’s examine this carefully. The Greek word for
“obey” (in the preceding passage) is “peitho” and it means “to be persuaded
by argument, to judge whether true or false”!
Simply said, this does not mean “obey” at all (not in the way most of
us were taught in church world).
Rather it means that a person must be convinced by a true
example. Once they are convinced, they
may choose to submit themselves willingly to that instruction. This submission is not harshly ordered of
them; they yield it willingly. They
are only expected to yield to something as they are persuaded of its truth by
sound reason and trustworthy example.
As a matter of fact, every reference to “obey” as it concerns
believers within the community of believers, is this word “peitho”, which
means to be persuaded by convincing (not to sub serve authorities). It may surprise some
that there is not one verse in the entire New Testament Scripture that
instructs believers to “unquestioningly obey” some kind of hierarchy of
church officials. The closest example
of such a concept would be “obey” as it is found in Titus 3:1 – which has
nothing to do with church leaders (“Remind your people to submit to the
government and its officers...”). This
Greek word for obey in this passage is not strictly “peitho”, though it may
be derived from it. It’s a different
word, “peitharcheō”, which means “to submit to the authority
of hierarchical rulers and superiors.”
Like “peitho” it has in mind the idea of willing submission according
to persuasion of truth. The difference
simply being the subject that kind of submission is given to – a ruler, a
government. Again, this word is NEVER
used in connection with so-called church leaders (for “archeo” is never used
to describe servants of Christ). There
is no hierarchy in the Lord’s Church – save Christ Himself as our Head and
Master. Peitho belongs to Christian
brothers and sisters… Peitharcheo belongs to earthly governments (so long as
they do not require us to violate God’s commands). Peitharcheo also belongs to God. But it NEVER belongs to men! Acts With the exception of
our submitting to secular governmental authorities (in so far as they do not
violate God’s will), the only one a believer must submit his absolute
obedience to is GOD. If the author of
Hebrews had intended to instruct his hearers that they ought to “obey” church
leaders in terms of “following commands”, he might rather have used the Greek
word “hupakouō” – a completely different word, which
means “to hearken unto a command.”
Hupakouō is used in passages like Ephesians
6:1, which says, “Children obey your parents because you belong to the Lord
for this is right.” It’s also used in
Colossians 3:22 concerning obedience to worldly employers. But again, this kind of obedience is never
expected in connection with those who serve as ministers of the Gospel – FOR
THEY ARE NOT RULERS OVER THE BRETHREN – THEY ARE SERVANTS OF THE
BRETHREN. It is easy to understand why
unquestioned obedience is never ordered of the saints in the New Testament
when you consider the many false teachers that had infiltrated the community
of believers (which both Jesus and His apostles continually warned
about). How would believers be able to
judge righteously and even walk away from such men if they had been instructed
to obey without question every so-called leader among them? Now, as we said
earlier, there is also no word in the Greek that represents our English KJV
phrase “those that have the rule over you.”
Does this surprise you? It did me
too when I first realized this. The
actual Greek word is “hēgeomai” and it simply
means “to go before, to go on ahead, to lead.” In other words, the author of Hebrews is
instructing believers to be persuaded by those who have gone on ahead and set
a godly example. THAT’S IT! It’s that simple! It’s not talking about blind obedience or
unquestioned subservience to church leaders.
It’s not talking about having a covering. It’s not talking about quietly submitting
to pastors, teachers, apostles and prophets no matter what personal
disagreements you may have with their doctrine. There is no example of Jesus or His
apostles teaching others that by submitting to “leaders”, even if they be
false, that God would still regard their submission as right (as though they
were submitted to God despite the error of men). This kind of teaching is a LIE. When you discern false teaching, you must
reject it! When men order your
submission and do not model the truth, you must avoid them and submit to God
rather than man. They have a
responsibility to demonstrate the character of Christ in their serving (if
they are in fact true servants of Jesus).
If they fail to do this, you must judge righteously and not follow
them. Christ alone is your
covering! He is your Head – even the
Head of every man! 1 Corinthians 11:3a (NIV) - Now I want you to realize that the
head of every man is Christ… The following article presents revelation I have found through
my own studies in the Scriptures. I
pray that your journey through the Word will be just as exciting. And, as always, if you find something here
you sincerely disagree with, I welcome comments and questions from anyone. Finally, I wish to convey that the depth of
examination this article presents is limited for brevity sake. It is in no way exhaustive. I realize that there may still be some
questions the reader has that are not examined here. I have merely tried to touch on some of the
main themes that I believe the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart for this
writing. Hopefully, this will inspire
a fresh challenge to dive wholeheartedly into the pages of God’s Word to seek
and find. I completely believe that
the Holy Spirit will guide the sincere heart to a comprehension of the truth
of Scripture as you pray and read His Word.
He is, after all, our blessed Teacher and Jesus assured us that He can
be wholly trusted to do just that; to lead us into ALL truth! May God bless you as you examine His Word
and tune your ear to the voice of the Holy Spirit. CLERGY & LAITY AS THE DICTIONARY DESCRIBES IT: To begin, let’s start out with the basics. How is this term, clergy, defined in some
of our English dictionaries? The last
source I have quoted from below is actually a thesaurus to show commonly
designated synonyms of the term clergy. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1996) - “The body of men set apart, by due ordination,
to the service of God, in the Christian church, in distinction from the
laity…” Wikipedia
Encyclopedia – “the generic term
used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. The term comes from greek κληρος
(fortune, or metaphorically, heritage). Rogets Thesaurus – “clergyman, divine,
ecclesiastic, churchman, priest, presbyter, hierophant, pastor, shepherd,
minister; father, father in Christ; padre, abbe, cure; patriarch; reverend;
black coat; confessor. Dignitaries of
the church; ecclesiarch, hierarch; ebdomarius; eminence, reverence, elder,
primate, metropolitan, archbishop, bishop, prelate, diocesan, suffragan, dean,
subdean, archdeacon, prebendary, canon, rural dean, rector, parson, vicar,
perpetual curate, residentiary, beneficiary, incumbent, chaplain, curate;
deacon, deaconess; preacher, reader, lecturer; capitular; missionary,
propagandist, Jesuit, revivalist, field preacher. [Antonyms: laity.]” Clearly, by the definitions above, we can see that the clergy is
commonly understood to be a specialized office of Christian ministry (and
leadership) – separated from those who do not occupy such offices (i.e. the
laity). The distinction is very bold
and real – the dictionary plainly defining “laity” as the antonym of clergy
(the direct opposite – separate and apart from). Some of the very terms marked as synonyms
for the word clergy include ones that define positions of authority,
hierarchy, reverence, priestly service and elitism. Before we continue here with the subject of the clergy, let’s
look briefly at the dictionary’s definition of “laity” as well to get an idea
of the distinction between itself and the clergy (we will examine these
definitions more thoroughly in a moment): The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English
Language, Fourth Edition Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1996,
1998) – “Those who are not of a
certain profession, as law or medicine, in distinction from those belonging
to it.” WordNet Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary – “1: the people of
a religious faith as distinguished from its clergy. 2: the mass of the
people as distinguished from those of a particular profession or those
specially skilled.” Note how each dictionary reference shown above emphasizes that
the laity represent individuals who are exempt, excluded from, and separated
completely from a given profession – most especially, for our discussion here,
separate from the clergy. The word
“laity” comes from Latin (laicus)
derived from the Greek ( The word “clergy” comes from the Latin word “clericus,” meaning
“priest” or “clerk.” The word “clerk”
or “cleric” comes from the Greek word “klerikos” and stems from the word
“kleros” which means “lot”, “heritage” or “inheritance.” In Webster’s extended notes on this term,
it references Deuteronomy 18:2 and makes mention of the Levite priests in the
Old Testament to example the meaning of this term “clergy.” To show context I will quote both verses 1
and 2: Deuteronomy
18:1-2 (NLT) - "Remember that the Levitical priests and the rest of the
tribe of Levi will not be given an inheritance of land like the other tribes
in We can see from Scripture (as well as
the dictionary) that “clergy” pertains to a people who are regarded as God’s
“lot” and have God Himself as their inheritance. Webster’s Dictionary goes on to immediately
draw a parallel from Levitical priests to Christian ministers: Webster’s
Interestingly enough, this same definition is common among many
of today’s clergymen. I have myself
heard ministers compare their profession to that of Levitical priests, only
in a modernized sense. However, this
parallel is problematic biblically for several reasons… Let’s look at a few. THREE REASON NUMBER ONE: Most Christians who
attempt to draw these same parallels (i.e. Old Testament priests to New
Testament pastors) fail to acknowledge the reason(s) why this priesthood of
Levitical clergymen were set up in the Old Testament (and therefore fail to
acknowledge why it is impossible to presume that it still exists in some
other form today). The Scripture
plainly teaches that the old system has been set aside. In fact, Hebrews 7:18 says that it was
disannulled (abrogated, abolished, set aside, cancelled, rejected)! Even more astounding is the fact that the
author of Hebrews remarks that, not only was it set aside and cancelled, but
it was set aside because it was useless and unprofitable! Hebrews 7:18 (Webster) - For there is verily
a disannulling of the preceding commandment on account of its weakness and
unprofitableness. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon
(G115 - athetesis) – “abolition,
disannulling, put away, rejection” Strong’s
Greek Dictionary – (G115 - athetesis) – “cancellation
(literally or figuratively): - disannulling, put away.” Vine’s Greek
Dictionary – (G115 - athetesis) – “a setting aside, abolition, is translated
‘disannulling’ Heb_7:18, with reference to a commandment.” There is a real challenge set forth here that will be difficult
for some to embrace at first. That is
the challenge to believe the Scripture when it says that the Old Covenant
priesthood and purpose was fulfilled in Christ and therefore the old system
abolished (as Hebrews teaches). Why
will this be difficult for some to accept?
Because if the logic is followed through completely, it means that
other facets of the Old Covenant system will also have to be discarded, such
as the concept whereby some believe that the Jewish Temple is represented by
the modern day institutional church building.
If the Bible is embraced fully (in context), without compromise, it
will certainly mean that many of our modern day religious concepts and
practices which are often asserted to be essential, must be re-examined,
altered, and perhaps even discarded (lest they continue to keep us in bondage
and distracted from what truly is essential).
Truly many will not be willing to lay the axe to the unbiblical
traditions that they have held dear for years and they will reject the truth
and embrace their comfortable bondage.
I believe that, eventually, these will be some of those who have
become part of the harlot church system (Mystery Babylon – Revelation 18),
whom God will plead with that they come out of before they are destroyed with
her. I think that if more Christians understood the Old Testament
story better (concerning the Law and priesthood), and especially its reason
of typology, they would rarely make the kind of mistaken parallels they so
often do. They would also appreciate
far more, the measure of sacrifice Christ made and the freedom, grace and
ultimate blessing He afforded us through His death and resurrection. They would be utterly amazed at how
wonderful and precious is this rite of priesthood that God has bestowed on
all those who are born into His kingdom. Here’s the kicker: The entire arrangement of the Old Covenant
priesthood was presented as merely a temporary substitute. CHRISTIANS
MUST UNDERSTAND AND RECOGNIZE THIS VITAL, BIBLICAL TRUTH. When the Law was instituted and God set the
restrictions for how this priesthood must operate, the people understood that
disobedience to any portion of the arrangement, constituted sin and therefore
resulted in punishment and death – this was the curse. In other words, when you consider the Old
Covenant priesthood, you have to consider the context of the curse under the
Law. The fact is that you cannot have
the Old Covenant priesthood without the Old Covenant Law (which includes all
of its rituals and ordinances). The
two are intimately intertwined and require each other to exist and
operate. If any portion of the Old Covenant Law is made requisite, then all of
it is equally requisite and failure to comply with any detail puts you under
the curse! Galatians 3:10 (NKJV) - For as many as are
of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is
everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of
the law, to do them." James 2:10
(NKJV)
- For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point,
he is guilty of all. Keep in mind, this is New Testament instruction we are reading
here (by James and Paul). They are not
saying you get off the hook if you blow it because Christ gives you
grace. No! They are saying, “It’s Grace or Law
PERIOD! You have to choose! If you choose to live by the Law, then you
FORFEIT grace! YOU PLACE YOURSELF
UNDER THE CURSE OF THE LAW – NO EXCEPTIONS!!!” Dear Christian, do you understand this? Young believer who is reading this, don’t
let anyone rob you of your freedom in Christ Jesus by subjecting you under
the Law! Those who have taught you
such have not taught you well and their words (which are nothing short of
vain babblings) will lead you into bondage and ungodliness! (2 Timothy 2:16)
Christ is your Lord and King. He is
your covering and Head. No church,
pastor, prophet or apostle can occupy this divine position. Romans
4:14-18 (MSG) - If those who get what God gives them only get it by doing
everything they are told to do and filling out all the right forms properly
signed, that eliminates personal trust completely and turns the promise into
an ironclad contract! That's not a holy promise; that's a business deal. A contract drawn up by a hard-nosed lawyer
and with plenty of fine print only makes sure that you will never be able to
collect. But if there is no contract in the first place, simply a
promise--and God's promise at that--you can't break it. This is why the fulfillment of God's
promise depends entirely on trusting God and his way, and then simply
embracing him and what he does. God's promise arrives as pure gift. That's
the only way everyone can be sure to get in on it, those who keep the
religious traditions and those who have never heard of them. For Abraham is
father of us all. He is not our racial father--that's reading the story
backwards. He is our faith father. We
call Abraham "father" not because he got God's attention by living
like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a
nobody. Isn't that what we've always read in Scripture, God saying to
Abraham, "I set you up as father of many peoples"? Abraham was
first named "father" and then became a father because he dared to
trust God to do what only God could do: raise the dead to life, with a word
make something out of nothing. When
everything was hopeless, Abraham believed anyway, deciding to live not on the
basis of what he saw he couldn't do but on what God said he would do. And so
he was made father of a multitude of peoples. God himself said to him,
"You're going to have a big family, Abraham!" The Law indeed condemned all men to death because no human could
keep the Law perfectly. In order for humans
to walk in fellowship with God, and become a kingdom of priests as He had
always desired, they would have to be a perfect observance of every minute
detail of God’s Law. Not just
outwardly, but inwardly as well (as Jesus demonstrated and taught). God knew this would be impossible for men
(He knew that righteousness would never come through the Law – not because
the Law was evil but because men are imperfect and full of sin), but His plan
was to send His Son as the final and complete sacrifice for sin because He
Himself was sinless and perfect, who would restore man to God as a kingdom of
priests. Until this time, however, As a side point here, I would like to note how many Christians
today like to cite Old Testament passages like Deuteronomy 28 (the list of
blessings and curses). They think if
they follow this list of rules and righteous deeds then God will grant them
amazing blessings. The problem is that
even Deuteronomy
28:15 (NKJV) - "But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice
of the LORD your God, to observe carefully ALL His commandments and His statutes which I command you
today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…” As anyone can clearly see by reading this passage, there is not
a shred of gray permitted here! If a
person wants to obtain the blessings of Deuteronomy 28 through keeping the
Law, they had better not miss a beat because it could cost them their
life! Just look again at the severity
of the curses for disobedience… Better
put on your seatbelt and helmet for this one! Deuteronomy
28:15-45 (NLT) - But if you refuse to listen to the LORD your God and do not obey
all the commands and laws I am giving you today, all these curses
will come and overwhelm you: You will
be cursed in your towns and in the country.
You will be cursed with baskets empty of fruit, and with kneading
bowls empty of bread. You will be
cursed with few children and barren fields. You will be cursed with infertile
herds and flocks. You will be cursed
wherever you go, both in coming and in going.
"The LORD himself will send against you curses, confusion, and
disillusionment in everything you do, until at last you are completely
destroyed for doing evil and forsaking me.
The LORD will send diseases among you until none of you are left in
the land you are about to enter and occupy.
The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, fever, and
inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, and with blight and mildew.
These devastations will pursue you until you die. The skies above will be as unyielding as bronze,
and the earth beneath will be as hard as iron. The LORD will turn your rain into sand and
dust, and it will pour down from the sky until you are destroyed. "The LORD will cause you to be
defeated by your enemies. You will attack your enemies from one direction,
but you will scatter from them in seven! You will be an object of horror to
all the kingdoms of the earth. Your
dead bodies will be food for the birds and wild animals, and no one will be
there to chase them away. "The
LORD will afflict you with the boils of As we already read in the book of Galatians and James (and now
in Deuteronomy), failure to meet every detail of the Law condemned you (and O
did it condemn you). You couldn’t just
keep one or a few to exempt yourself from the curse. Christians so often
fail to realize this important detail about the Law – you can’t pick the
deeds you want in order to try and move God’s hand and get blessings. If you are going to try and keep one detail
of the Law in order to get the blessings attributed, you therefore obligate
yourself to keep EVERY detail of THE WHOLE law – and therefore you place
yourself under the curse of the Law – it’s just that simple! Again, as Paul said so plainly to the
Christians in Are you one that has been taught or that currently believes you
need to keep certain laws to gain blessings, favor, provision and protection
from God? Were you taught things like
you need to tithe your money to a local church organization or ministry,
attend services every week (i.e. Sabbath keeping), recognize a clergy caste
system in the religious organization you frequent, etc? If so, then let me boldly ask you
this: Were you also taught the rest of the story; that the Bible
clearly says that you are choosing to live under a curse because you believe
and attempt to practice rituals you think will get you points with God? (Galatians 3:10; James 2:10) Were you also taught that God’s grace
through Christ does not apply to you and Jesus’ sacrifice on We need to realize that there are false brothers and false
teachers in our midst and the Bible teaches that they are masquerading to spy
out our freedom in Christ to look for some way they might trip us up and lead
us into bondage (Galatians 2:4). Jesus
warned us about the times of the end; the earthquakes, the famines, the wars
and rumors of wars… but He warned us about the danger of false prophets,
false leaders, false anointed ones and false teachers FOUR TIMES AS
MUCH! Paul said that he did not cease
to warn the believers for THREE YEARS with tears streaming down his face
because he knew that savages wolves (dressed up like sheep – even from their
own numbers) were going to come in and try to devour them! Acts
20:29-31 (NIV) - I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among
you and will not spare the flock. Even
from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw
away disciples after them. So be on
your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you
night and day with tears. Consider for a moment, if you will, each of those concerns we
talked about earlier – the ones that so many Christians voice because of what
they have been taught by teachers who were in error; Concerns that God will
not bless and watch over them if they do not religiously adhere to certain
laws and legalistic practices. For
example, consider how prevalent is the pressure for Christians to “bring their
tithes into the storehouse” (storehouse meaning “the church” according to
this frame of thinking). Many
Christians have been taught that if they neglect to give money to a religious
organization (and its clergy), that God will not bless them, or guarantee
provision, or protection. Some even believe
or have been taught that they may also reap curses for not giving into such
“storehouses.” But the idea that God
only takes care of His children (even lavishing them with His blessings) if
they obey certain religious rules and regulations (especially those in the
Law of Moses – not to mention those entirely made up by men) runs 100%
contrary to the teaching of Jesus.
Remember His words? Matthew
6:25-34 (BBE) - So I say to you, Take
no thought for your life, about food or drink, or about clothing for your
body. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing? See the birds of heaven; they do not put
seeds in the earth, they do not get in grain, or put it in storehouses;
and your Father in heaven gives them food. Are you not of much more value
than they? And which of you by taking
thought is able to make himself a cubit taller? And why are you troubled about clothing?
See the flowers of the field, how they come up; they do no work, they make no
thread: But I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed
like one of these. But if God gives
such clothing to the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
put into the oven, will he not much more give you clothing, O you of
little faith? Then do not be full
of care, saying, What are we to have for food or drink? or, With what may we
be clothed? Because the Gentiles (the
unbelievers) go in search of all these things: for your Father in
heaven has knowledge that you have need of all these things: But let your
first care be for his kingdom and his righteousness; and all these other
things will be given to you in addition.
Then have no care for tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself.
Take the trouble of the day as it comes. Do you see this? It is the unbelievers that worry
about having their needs met (fearing that if they don’t work hard enough –
they will be without and fail to prosper).
I repeat, this is a NON-CHRISTIAN mindset that believers are
succumbing to. A mindset that Jesus
instructed His followers to flee!
While the televangelists are telling everyone that the pursuit of
prosperity is what the exercise of faith is for, Jesus is saying, “you who
run after these things only prove that you have hardly any faith at all!” Jesus proclaims to His followers that
if the birds of the air don’t even sow or gather into storehouses and yet God
feeds and clothes them, HOW MUCH MORE will He feed and clothe us? What, my friend, does this say for all of
those “storehouse tithing to get blessing” sermons? Hmmm… And isn’t it interesting how God
illustrates the simplicity of the flowers of the field (who do not even labor
at all)? This should be a most
striking revelation – for Jesus said that NOT EVEN SOLOMON (the richest man
that ever lived) was so splendorously clothed as even the smallest flower of
the field – OF HOW MUCH MORE VALUE ARE WE TO OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN? Matthew
10:29-31 (NLT) - Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the
ground without your Father knowing it.
And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are more valuable
to him than a whole flock of sparrows. Continuing on this same matter
concerning some of these faulty mindsets that have become so widespread among
church-attending “laity” today, we see how many Christians are taught that
their acceptance by God and their being recognized by others as a true
Christian is perceived to be qualified and validated according to their
keeping of religious rules, attendance of religious meetings, financial
support of religious organizations, and their submitting themselves, often
without question, to a leadership system that governs their behavior,
mediates their relationship with God and claims to speak on His behalf (bring
them “the word of the Lord”). This is
the principle danger of the clergy-laity distinction; it clogs up the
spiritual pipes (so to speak) and the Lord is no longer permitted to be the
Lord. No longer is he the One Mediator
between God and man, but other mediators have stepped into place. Whether they intend to be roadblocks or not
does not change the reality that this is what their position creates. Many a sincere clergyman has become an
obstacle to spiritual growth and intimate relationship with the Father
without even realizing or intending it. It is a common teaching in the clergy
system to instruct the laity to give tithes “cheerfully.” While this article is not intended to be an
in-depth study on tithing, it is perhaps an important detail to at least briefly
examine because it is primarily through the doctrine of monetary tithing that
the whole clergy system (and organization as well) is generally maintained
(most often without question). On the
simplistic side of things, we might recognize the fact that buildings and programs
cost money to build and maintain. If
tithing were simply a matter of suggesting an amount that people could
contribute to help finance the organizations that they have chosen to
participate in (leaving any biblical question aside for the moment), that
would be one thing. But things are not
usually presented so basically. Most often Christians are introduced to
this subject under the teaching that God has ordained a system of clergy and
organized religion for a people (i.e. “the laity”) to submit to and who are
expected also to finance it. Tithing,
therefore, is not a mere suggested amount – it is rather said to be “the
commandment of God.” Christians are,
therefore, not being told to give out of free will volition, grace or love
(as Paul commanded in 2 Corinthians 9:7), but out of law and coercion (the
very thing Paul warned them not to give out of). Ironically, many in the clergy try to
soften the sound of this legalistic requirement to pay tithes by massaging
various passages of Scripture to make them sound as if they agree with their
teaching. They say that lay people
should give their tithes out of grace.
The problem is: you can’t give that which you are told that you
owe. You can only pay it. Tithing is LAW. It has nothing to do with Grace! And that’s without even mentioning the hard
fact that there is not even a doctrine of monetary tithing anywhere in
Scripture! What we have seen in
operation is what Jesus warned about in the book of Mark: Mark 7:7-9 (GNB) - It is no use for them
to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my
laws! “You put aside God's command and
obey human teachings.” And Jesus
continued, "You have a clever way of rejecting God's law in order to
uphold your own teaching.” Paul never taught tithing at any time
(and certainly not anything we might call “grace tithing”). Paul taught the Romans that if you pay
money to a worker, that cannot be regarded as a gift because a worker earns
his wage. Therefore, giving MUST be a
matter of freewill otherwise it is not giving at all. Grace is crucially tied to the subject of
giving in the New Testament. Legalism
like tithing cannot have anyplace within Christian practice because it fights
against grace. Tithing says, “in order
to gain God’s approval, blessing, protection, favor, anointing, provision and
prosperity, YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE LAW!”
Are you beginning to see why this is so crucial to comprehend? Because Christ set the ultimate example and
GAVE HIMSELF FREELY to us. I must
repeat, anyone who teaches you that God shows favor on you because you “do
something” to earn it, THEY ARE NOT PREACHING THE TRUTH! The Word of God in Scripture teaches the
opposite! Romans
4:3-8 (CEV) - The Scriptures say,
"God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him." Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is
something they earn by working. But
you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners
only because they have faith in him.
In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people
who are acceptable to God, even though they don't do anything to deserve
these blessings. David says, "God
blesses people whose sins are forgiven and whose evil deeds are
forgotten. The Lord blesses people
whose sins are erased from his book." Are your sins erased from God’s
book? Has He forgiven your sins? Then that is all the qualification you
require to walk in His blessings. The
minute you start to believe that He favors you and grants blessing or
suddenly reaches in to protect you because you “measure up” in some way
(whether it be through tithing, keeping commandments or attending religious
meetings regularly), is the minute you have lost sight of the truth. God loves you! God blesses you because He loves you! And He knows, just like the woman who
anointed Jesus’ feet manifested in Luke 7:47, that he who has been forgiven of much shows forth much love. THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT FOLKS! God desires His children to respond to His
love – not to Law. The clergy system
is a system comprised of legalism.
Upon legalism it thrives.
Through that legalism A DIFFERENT GOSPEL is presented to people! And in that legalism the believer in Christ
who becomes caught in the deception will lose sight of the truth because it
is a worldly system that fights against the way of the Spirit. Friends, how can we believe for a
moment that God will not lavish His blessings and His provision upon us when
we consider the birds of the air and the flowers of the field as Jesus so
clearly taught us? How can we dare
ignore His words and place the Law in precedence to even Christ? The kinds of doctrines have been propagated
for centuries through the clergy system in an attempt to coerce people into
supporting them and their system. But,
whether all of them realize it or not, their doing such comes at the expense
of forsaking the truth and trading the liberty and joy of the Gospel for the
legalism and bondage of religion. We need to keep alert, study the Scriptures, and trust the
discernment of the Holy Spirit. This
is vitally important my brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul the apostle marveled at how those he
taught the truth were so quick to embrace a different gospel and to put up so
easily with false teachers. These
teachers come in with their “principles” and their “spiritual keys” and their
“revelations” and their “commandments of Jesus” (twisting the Word of God to
fit their teachings and traditions) and what they mostly amount to is nothing
short of legalism, neatly packaged in Christian wrapping paper. We cannot allow our liberty in Christ to be
trampled on. This is what the enemy
desires; to rob us of the joy and intimacy of our relationship with Jesus, the
Lord. 2
Corinthians 11:2-4 (NLT) - I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself.
For I promised you as a pure bride to one husband, Christ. But I fear that somehow you will be led
away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived
by the serpent. You seem to believe
whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than
the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a
different kind of gospel than the one you believed. Christians rarely, if ever, consider these things when they take
certain passages out of their context (as many have been taught to do) to try
and manipulate the hand of God in getting His blessings. It’s sad that so many believers today fail
to understand the power of the Gospel and neglect to see that, through Jesus,
we obtain every spiritual blessing possible! Ephesians
1:3-11 (NLT) - How we praise God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because
we belong to Christ. Long ago, even
before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and
without fault in his eyes. His
unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing
us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the wonderful kindness
he has poured out on us because we belong to his dearly loved Son. He is so rich in kindness that he purchased
our freedom through the blood of his Son, and our sins are forgiven. He has showered his kindness on us, along
with all wisdom and understanding.
God's secret plan has now been revealed to us; it is a plan centered
on Christ, designed long ago according to his good pleasure. And this is his plan: At the right time he
will bring everything together under the authority of Christ-everything in
heaven and on earth. Furthermore,
because of Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us
from the beginning, and all things happen just as he decided long ago. Isn’t that the best news you’ve read
all day? What incredible cause for
joy! How often have we really
considered the depth and breadth of Jesus’ amazing love and incomprehensible
grace? How could we ever presume that
legalistic subservience to religious rules and regulations could be more
blessed that what Christ has given to us FREELY and COMPLETELY by His
Spirit? How could we ever trade the
willing obedience to His Spirit for the killing letter of the Law? 2
Corinthians 3:6 (GNB) - it is He who made us capable of serving the new
covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit. The written
law brings death, but the Spirit gives life. The
prospect of gaining blessings by observing laws is only for those who wish to
trade the Gospel for the “ministration of condemnation” (2 Corinthians 3:9)! Yes, I said trade the Gospel. You can’t have it both ways. On the other hand, those who choose the
ministration of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:8) and believe the Gospel of
Grace, will live unto God through obedience to Christ… and for them there is
no condemnation. Romans
8:1-4 (KJV) - [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ
Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it
was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit. THE LEVITICAL PRIESTHOOD Now, back to our discussion of the Old Covenant priesthood and
why it doesn’t fit with our modern concept of clergy over the laity. Let’s take a few moments to look at how the
priesthood and the Law was implemented in the Old Testament. I’m going to have summarize quite a bit to
get us through this as briefly as possible. Exodus, chapter 20, marks the introduction of the Law (the 10
commandments). God set forth a stipulation
(see Exodus 19:5-6) that IF His people would obey His voice and keep
His covenant, they would be to Him a kingdom of priests. Exodus, chapter 25, marks the command of
God to build the Tent of Meeting. The
Tent of Meeting (or Tabernacle) was a portable structure that the Israelites
took with them on their journey in the wilderness. This God desired in order that He may dwell
among His people. Exodus 28:1 marks
the beginning of the priesthood of Aaron. Before this time every man was, essentially, the priest of his
own household by virtue of God designating that all the firstborn in the land
be dedicated unto Him (Exodus 13:2).
God desired that His people would all become priests unto Him. The Tabernacle was to be God’s dwelling
among men and so it was that the people would draw near to the Tent of
Meeting and God would speak to His servant Moses as a man speaks to his
friend and all the people observed. But then, something went terribly wrong
(not without God’s foreknowledge though).
The people failed to listen to God’s voice and they rebelled against
His Covenant (see Exodus 32); even turning from Him to worship idols. There is a side point here I would like
to make. This point was inspired by a
close friend of mine, Deanna Rodriguez, who encouraged me with some important
details that we ought not to miss from this passage of Scripture. You may have noticed, as I have, that some
of the movies which depict the story of Moses returning from the mountain and
finding the people in idolatry, show the tribe of Levi as though they were
innocent bystanders who did not participate in the rebellion. But you know what? The Scripture does not say this. What it does say is that God drew a line
when he observed the sin of the people.
Exodus 32:26 (NIV) tells us
that Moses “…stood at the entrance to the camp and said, ‘Whoever is for the
LORD, come to me.’ And all the Levites rallied to him.” I mention this side point to encourage us
all that none of us are without sin.
We all have embraced error at one time or another. We all have turned our back on God at some
point. But just like God drew the line
and said, “I know you have sinned grievously against Me, but now I ask you,
who will leave that behind and stand with Me?” I believe God can challenge us
with the same call. Just as Jesus told
Peter that he would deny Him three times, but that afterward he would be
restored and encourage his brethren.
Some of us have embraced some faulty teaching over the years. I did myself for many years (and many of
those old religious ways of thinking still plague some of my thought
processes and I have to continually lay them down at the cross). God lovingly and passionately calls out to
us, “come away with Me. Come out of
the error you once embraced. Repent of
it. Will you stand on My Word and
believe My truth? Will you do it even
if it’s not the popular consensus?”
Levi responded to God’s call and they chose to align themselves in the
Way. So God chose, from this point, that the
Levites (adopting them alone) would be set apart and serve Him continually as
priests. God told Moses that the people ought to be destroyed because of
their sin and for breaking the Covenant, but Moses prayed to the Lord and God
withheld His wrath. He vowed not to
destroy them if they would enter again into covenant with Him. At this time, God still permitted We then move into the book of Leviticus, which details all of
the sacrifices and ordinances of the Law and every function of the Levitical
priesthood. Look now to the book of Numbers (chapter 18), where God
designated that the food tithes of Israel be designated to the Levites as a
support for their ministry to Him because they were not allowed an
inheritance of land with the rest of Israel and were set in “office” as a
substitute. It is at this point that
God orders that no longer shall anyone be permitted to draw near unto the
Tabernacle lest they bear sin and die. Numbers
18:22-24 (NLT) - "From now on, Israelites other than the priests and
Levites are to stay away from the Tabernacle.
If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and die. The Levites must serve at the Tabernacle,
and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent
law among you. But the Levites will receive no inheritance of land among the
Israelites, because I have given them the Israelites' tithes, which have been
set apart as offerings to the LORD. This will be the Levites' share. That is
why I said they would receive no inheritance of land among the
Israelites." In Numbers 18 it references how the people could no longer draw
near to the Tabernacle and hear directly from the mouth of God lest they bear
the consequence of their sin and die.
This was because of the rebellion of Korah and his men (prior in
chapter 16), who incited the people to complain against Moses and Aaron and
tried to convince them that the priesthood, which God had ordained, was a
common thing. Korah and his followers
rebelled against God’s order and they were killed. Forever from this event forward, the
Israelites were no longer permitted to draw near to the Tabernacle or they
would die. The Deuteronomy account (18:16-17 – shown below) reflects back
on the entrance of this whole system, when the people, because of fear,
pleaded that Moses would go up and hear God for them and then reiterate His
words to them (also see Exodus 20:19; Deuteronomy 5:24-28; Hebrews 12:19). Deuteronomy
18:16-17 (NLT) - For this is what you yourselves requested of the LORD your
God when you were assembled at Until the death and resurrection of Jesus, it was required that
priests go before God on their behalf and prophets to speak on behalf of God
to them. No man could draw near to God
because he would die. The priesthood
and the ministry of the Tabernacle was set up as a temporary arrangement
until at last the Great High Priest, Jesus Christ, would die for all mankind,
paying the price once for all, allowing people to draw near unto the Lord
once again – themselves becoming His Tabernacle. Deuteronomy continues: Deuteronomy
18:18-19 (MSG) – “I'll raise up for them a Prophet like you from their
kinsmen. I'll tell him what to say and he will pass on to them everything I
command him. And anyone who won't
listen to my words spoken by him, I will personally hold responsible.” The previous passage reveals a two-fold
message from God concerning how He would deal with His people. In the first respect, He would send them
prophets who would proclaim His words to them until the coming of the Messiah. In the second respect, God here intends
that this coming “Prophet” is actually also a reference to the Messiah
Himself who would save His people from their sins and restore fellowship
between man and his Creator. This
truth is evidenced by Peter’s reiteration of this passage in the New
Testament. Acts
3:17-26 (MSG) - "And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were
doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all
the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew
exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans. Now it's time to change your ways! Turn to
face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to
refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely,
Jesus. For the time being he must
remain out of sight in heaven until everything is restored to order again
just the way God, through the preaching of his holy prophets of old, said it would
be. Moses, for instance, said, 'Your
God will raise up for you a prophet just like me from your family. Listen to
every word he speaks to you. Every
last living soul who refuses to listen to that prophet will be wiped out from
the people.' All the prophets from
Samuel on down said the same thing, said most emphatically that these days
would come. These prophets, along with
the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree. God's
covenant-word to Abraham provides the text: 'By your offspring all the
families of the earth will be blessed.'
But you are first in line: God, having raised up his Son, sent him to
bless you as you turn, one by one, from your evil ways." Stephen also confirms this
understanding in his last message, given before his martyrdom: Acts
7:37 (LITV) – “This is the Moses who said to the sons of In conclusion of this point, what we
have seen is how God intended the Old Covenant Levitical priesthood to
temporarily substitute and model, as a type and shadow, the coming priesthood
under a New and better Covenant.
Hebrews very clearly tells us that this priesthood and everything
associated with it was imposed with a
time limit; that one day, its need to exist would be fulfilled in Christ
– and thus the former system would come to an end. Hebrews
9:8-11 (MSG) - This was the Holy Spirit's way of showing with a visible
parable that as long as the large tent stands, people can't just walk in on
God. Under this system, the gifts and
sacrifices can't really get to the heart of the matter, can't assuage the
conscience of the people, but are limited to matters of ritual and behavior.
It's essentially a temporary arrangement until a complete overhaul could
be made. But when the Messiah arrived,
high priest of the superior things of this new covenant, he bypassed the old
tent and its trappings in this created world and went straight into heaven's
"tent"--the true Ephesians
2:15 (NASB) - by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the
Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He
might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace. Colossians
2:14-17 (KJV) - Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of
them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of
an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days: Which are a
shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Hebrews
8:13 (NLT) - When God speaks of a new covenant, it means he has made the
first one obsolete. It is now out of date and ready to be put aside. REASON
NUMBER TWO: The second reason why the common parallel made between Old
Testament priests and New Testament pastors is problematic biblically is
because of the number of New Testament passages (especially the book of
Hebrews) that tell us there has been a drastic change in the priesthood (1
Peter 2:5-9; Revelation 1:6). The Old
Levitical code was completely set aside!
It was taken out of the way to make room for a new High Priest and an
entirely new priesthood. This new
priesthood would no longer be an elite, exclusive group (except in the sense
that they would be separate from the world – which would perhaps be a more proper
modern concept of “laity”), but this new priesthood would include all those
who had been born into the kingdom of God through Christ Jesus. No longer would a human serve as priest
between God and His people, but now Christ alone would be the High Priest
between God and men. In the richest
sense, “the clergy” was transferred among all “the laity.” Hebrews
7:11-28 (NLT) - And finally, if the priesthood of Levi could have achieved
God's purposes-and it was that priesthood on which the law was based-why did
God need to send a different priest from the line of Melchizedek, instead of
from the line of Levi and Aaron? And
when the priesthood is changed, the law must also be changed to permit
it. For the one we are talking about
belongs to a different tribe, whose members do not serve at the altar. What I mean is, our Lord came from the
tribe of The Scripture teaches that this new
priesthood of Christ is UNCHANGEABLE (verse 24)! The Old Levitical system, including the
priesthood and EVERYTHING PURPOSED TO SUSTAIN IT (including the tithes and
offerings), were set aside! They were
no longer needed! Hebrews
7:18-19 (ISV) - Indeed, the cancellation of the former regulation has
occurred because it was weak and ineffective (for the law made nothing
perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we approach God. Remember what Numbers 18 told us about
the old system of the Levitical priesthood and even the tithes that were purposed
to support it? They were imposed
because of the curse and they were set in motion because men were not allowed
to draw near to God, lest they die because of their sin. Jesus set the record straight once and
forever! No longer are we kept from drawing
near to the Father. No longer are
tithes, offerings, sacrifices, physical temples, and a Levitical (or even
Levitical-type) priesthood necessary to enter into relationship with God (let
alone maintain any aspect of it). The
priesthood was changed and so was the Law (verse. 12). There is no tribe of Levitical priests in
operation today! If a minister today suggests that he is a modern type of Levitical
priest (clergyman), he suggests such on NO authority of Scripture. The Scripture is very precise as to what
the function of a clergyman is: Hebrews
5:1 (NLT) - Now a high priest is a man chosen to represent other human
beings in their dealings with God. He presents their gifts to God and
offers their sacrifices for sins. I have sat in church services where
newly ordained ministers were read the ordination of Aaron, the high priest,
aloud from Scripture to the congregation (Exodus 29) as a charge to serve
well in their religious office and to emphasize their being set apart for
ministry in the church! I still marvel
at how God’s people choose to remain in such ignorance about things like
this, refusing to acknowledge that there is only ONE High Priest of our
confession today – it is Jesus Christ.
But then, Paul marveled at this same thing; how Christians so easily
put up with false teachings. 2
Corinthians 11:3-4 (MSG) - And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced
Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity
of your love for Christ. It seems that
if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached--different
spirit, different message--you put up with him quite nicely. There is only ONE priesthood of men,
and that is each believer in his/her direct relationship with God. Dear reader, I pray you catch this critical
revelation and I pray it completely excites you and sets you free. Christ, our High Priest, makes His throne
within our hearts. The Scripture says,
as we read previously in Hebrews 7, that His is an UNCHANGEABLE
priesthood. The order of priesthood is
therefore complete. There is no need
for another. 1
Timothy 2:5 (EMTV) - For there is one God, and
one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Hebrews
3:1 (NLT) - And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong to God and are
bound for heaven, think about this Jesus whom we declare to be God's
Messenger and High Priest. Hebrews
9:11-12 (NLT) - So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good
things that have come. He has entered that great, perfect sanctuary in
heaven, not made by human hands and not part of this created world. Once for all time he took blood into that
Most Holy Place, but not the blood of goats and calves. He took his own
blood, and with it he secured our salvation forever. Now, if we know what a priest is
(someone who is chosen to represent other human beings in their dealings with
God as well as present gifts to God and offer sacrifices), how can we ever
attribute such function to a man who is set over other people? The New Testament, as we have examined,
presents us with two kinds of priests ONLY!
One is Christ, our High Priest.
His sacrifice for sin was ONCE for all and He ever stands as our
Mediator between us and God. The other
priest (clergyman) is the believer himself who has direct access to God
through Jesus Christ. And what
sacrifices and gifts do these kinds of priests offer to God? The Scripture is clear: Hebrews
13:15-16 (NLT) - With Jesus' help, let us continually offer our sacrifice of
praise to God by proclaiming the glory of his name. Don't forget to do good and to share what
you have with those in need, for such sacrifices are very pleasing to God. 1 Peter
2:5 (NLT) - And now God is building you, as living stones, into his
spiritual temple. What's more, you are God's holy priests, who offer the
spiritual sacrifices that please him because of Jesus Christ. Who are the real "clergy"
today? Isn’t it clear? We, the body of Christ, are! 1 Peter
2:9-10 (NIV) - But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are
the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received
mercy. Revelation
1:6 (NLT) - He has made us his kingdom and his priests who serve before
God his Father. Give to him everlasting glory! He rules forever and ever!
Amen! REASON
NUMBER THREE: The third reason why the common parallel made between Old
Testament priests and New Testament pastors is problematic biblically is
because we know, from our prior examination of the literal meaning of clergy
in both Scripture and modern dictionaries, that the Greek word(s) “klarikos”,
“kleros”, etc. (which “clergy” is derived from) pertains to a group of
individuals who have identified God alone and His kingdom as their
inheritance and they, in return, are also regarded as His beloved heritage,
His lot. It is so evident, yet again,
that under the New Covenant, ALL OF GOD’S PEOPLE are the heritage of God in
Christ Jesus! Our inheritance is to
partake of His kingdom as His people, His priests, His children both now and
in the world to come. Look now at the following passage as it
is rendered in the King James Version of the Bible. Notice, in this encouragement by the
apostle to those who were entrusted to care for God’s people, what the
apostle calls God’s people here. He
does not call them “the laity”; rather, he calls them “God’s heritage” – the
Greek word used here, “kleros”, means “heritage, inheritance, lot”. In other words, God is telling the elders
not to lord over His CLERGY (that is the very word used), and those clergy
are all of His people! 1 Peter
5:1-3 (KJV) - The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an
elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the
glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you,
taking the oversight thereof,
not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being
ensamples to the flock. I find it interesting that several of
the newer translations of the Bible do not translate the Greek word used in
this passage (kleros) as “God’s heritage” but rather alter it completely –
even changing it from describing a people who are counted as God’s heritage
that no man is to “lord over” and transfer ownership to the elders; some
example of how “kleros” is incorrectly translated in other versions is:
“others” (MSG), “those assigned to you” (NAB); “those allotted to your
charge” (NASB); “those entrusted to you” (NIV); “the flock under you” (EMTV); “your possessions”
(Darby); etc. Few versions
translate it as it is defined so clearly in the Greek. Among those few are Young’s Literal
Translation (YLT), which translates it “the heritages”; the 1833 Webster Bible (WEB),
“God's heritage”; and the
Bible in Basic English (BBE), “God’s heritage”. But the gold medal goes to the Douay-Rheims
Bible of 1899, which translates the word “kleros” as “the clergy”! You can see how quoting this verse as
“the clergy” presents a major problem with the hierarchical religious
structure that has been employed for the last 1,700 years; this one verse
alone demolishes it! Likely this is
why some have sought to alter its translation. But, there are others like it, which
present a consistent harmony of the Scriptures. Consider Paul’s letter to the Ephesian
Christians: Ephesians
1:11 (ASV) – (Christ) in whom also we
were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the
purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His will. The Greek word used for “heritage” in
the previous passage also means “inheritance”, which it is also translated as
in other versions of the Bible. The
Greek word is “kleroo” and is akin to klerikos and kleros. Kelroo means: “to obtain an inheritance or
to make a lot (i.e. a heritage).” To
give a little bit broader example of its use elsewhere in the Scripture, note
that it is the same word used in the following passage: 1 Peter
1:4 (GW) - We have been born into a new life which has an inheritance
that can't be destroyed or corrupted and can't fade away. That inheritance is
kept in heaven for you. The hope is not merely of eternal
existence, but that we become heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ as we see
from the following passages: Galatians
3:29 (BBE) - And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and
yours is the heritage by the right of God's undertaking given to Abraham. Revelations
21:7 (WNT) - All this shall be the heritage of him who overcomes, and I
will be his God and he shall be one of My sons. Indeed we are His Clergy and He is our
ultimate inheritance! You will not
find one New Testament passage that identifies a separate ruling class of
priests separate from the rest of the body of Christ. This is the great myth, nay – the lie, of
tradition! THE CLERGY SYSTEM = THE WORLD’S SYSTEM So what does all of this mean for the
popular clergy-laity distinction? It
means simply that it runs 100% contrary to the Word of God as presented in
Scripture! It presents a problem of incredible
division within the body of Christ!
When men divide themselves into a clergy class that stands apart from
the rest of the believers in an assembly, this division is completely against
the Scriptures! It is a fraud! Its alleged authority is only sham
authority. Men who employ and maintain
this modern system of priesthood, whether in ignorance or by deliberate
intention, are essentially placing God’s free people back under the Law. While it is good to forgive and pray for
those who may do these things to the body of Christ, God’s people need not
subject themselves to such unbiblical nonsense. Remember: Galatians
5:1 (CEV) - Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now
hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again. We also see a very clear picture in the
1 Peter 5:3 passage of the purpose for “pastors” (elders) if you will allow
the term. They are not rulers or
authority figures in the lives of believers.
Peter clearly says that those of you elder ones are not to be as lords
over the people but SERVE AS EXAMPLES!!!
Peter also says that they are to care for the flock which they are
AMONG, not over. Following this
consistent verbiage, it seems impossible to imagine that in a split second
(in the very same verse) Peter would shift from this mindset of love,
service, humility and brotherhood to one that implies a possession of God’s
people by human rulers! It is so
evident that this man, Peter, walked closely with the Master, for his words
are entirely reminiscent of the directive of Jesus to His disciples: Matthew
20:25-28 (NIV) - Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the
rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise
authority over them. Not so with you. Instead,
whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever
wants to be first must be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to
be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." What is Jesus here describing? Nothing less than the world’s system of
hierarchical government. He says to
His own, “among you it will not be so!” I must reiterate His words: AMONG YOU IT
WILL NOT BE SO! Even greater He says, “do you want to have
the highest place of honor in My eyes?
Then you must become the slave of your brethren – even to the point of
laying down your very life for them.”
This is an incredible thing the Lord requires of his would-be
“leaders”. The word “slave” in this
passage is an extreme word. In fact,
it is a word that manifests itself as the OPPOSITE of what we typically see
modeled in the modern organizational church system. It represents the picture of a bond slave. Thayer’s Greek Dictionary defines
“slave” (in this passage) as one who is “devoted to another to the disregard
of one’s own interests.” Strong’s
simply describes the position of a slave who remains in a constant state of
subservience and subjection to others.
This is the image of one who takes no reputation or title upon
himself, no boasted display of authority or strength, no calling of attention
to himself or his deeds, but lowers himself to place of a lowly servant; one
who washes feet and waits on tables… in other words, THE OPPOSITE of what you
would expect from a worldly ruler who stands before all as one higher and
more important, is addressed by a formal title and exercises authority over
the others. Jesus describes the
complete opposite of that image and even says that this servant will be most
like unto Himself, as one who would even give his life (die) for the others
he serves. This
servant will also be as Jesus, who DID NOT CHARGE for the service He enacted
(Matthew 10:8 – “…freely you have received, now freely give…”). Remember, a bond slave is one who serves –
not because he is forced to or because he is hired to – but because he
chooses to out of no other motive but love.
The true “pastor” is simply an elder brother. He is one who serves others in the fashion
of a humble bond slave. He doesn’t do
it for money, honor, or position – HE DOES IT FOR LOVE. He doesn’t seek to be noticed by
others. He doesn’t sport an official
title. He is a SLAVE of Christ and a
bond servant of his brethren. I realize that there are many who
sincerely intend to serve God’s people as “ministers”, although they do so
under the false designation of a “clergyman”.
As Jesus said, speaking of our ignorance in the sins we have committed
against the Truth, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.” Thank God for His mercy, but we ought to
move from ignorance to truth. Many of
these individuals (these “clergymen”) we could most likely assume, based on
the general demonstration of their visible service, are not necessarily “in
it for the money” per say and, in fact, may live on a very modest
salary. Perhaps they even labor long
hours, ministering to others. There
may even be some who, inspired by the writings of Paul, do not ask for a
salary at all but are supported only by freewill offerings of their
congregations and who place no coercion upon God’s people to give of
necessity (though these would be extremely rare in today’s religious
society). I sincerely hope there are
such persons who serve God’s people with such mindsets. My intent with this article is not to assert
that all “clergymen” are inherently evil because they may take money from
their congregants and are addressed by a title; however, we need to examine
this tradition according to the teaching of Scripture and if it is found to
be inconsistent with the instruction and example of Christ and His apostles
(and I will boldly suggest to you - it is), then we must bring ourselves to
that crossroads and choose our path.
God is rich in mercy and He forgives and equips us for His
service. We should not be afraid to
trust Him as we also lay down ourselves and the ways that seem right to us
(or that we have always done out of tradition and habit) at the foot of His
cross. While I will agree that some of
these individuals “in the ministry” have simply been misled themselves and
engage in profession out of ignorance or misunderstanding, this does not
lessen their error and the problem it creates among God’s people. It does not lessen their need to face
facts, examine these truths and repent.
And while there are certainly men and women of God who serve from a
pure heart (even though they may have embraced some things in ignorance), how
many of the others today who preside in positions of professional (paid)
“ministry”, whom also often regularly preach on authority, submission, giving
money to “the ministry”, and who separate themselves from the rest of the
believers in terms of the unbiblical clergy-laity distinction – have you ever
seen example (with their lives) the uncompromising image of the one Jesus
described to His followers; one who does NOT rule over the others, making
himself chargeable to them, but makes himself their slave? Hmmm…
You see, this will be a point of conviction no matter what motive a
man/woman approaches his “ministry”.
For some, even the best-intentioned among us, this will be a painful
thing to examine. And, again, the
purpose of this writing is not to cause pain, but to encourage spiritual
growth – that we may even experience the vibrant existence as brothers and
sisters walking together that those in the early Church knew. Dear professional clergyman reading this,
God’s mercy is extended to you… please do not allow the character or image of
a false shepherd to have any application for you. If you are a sincere servant of Christ and
sincerely desire to care for God’s flock, then cease from ignorance this
day. Hear what the Spirit of the Lord
is saying; stop perverting the teaching of Christ and align yourself with the
truth. If you sincerely love God’s
people then let your actions prove this sincerity. The body of Christ needs true servants of
God, who will not get in the way of the Lord and His sheep but who will lead
them to Him and who will sacrifice himself, if need be, for their protection
– so that their vision will never become distracted from their One Lord and
Shepherd. Remember, they are not your
sheep! They do not owe you money and
you do not own them. They belong to
ONE Shepherd and they are God’s children.
Do not cause them to stumble. Matthew
18:6 (MSG) - But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking
advantage of their simple trust, you'll soon wish you hadn't. You'd be better
off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Most Christians are familiar with the
passage that tells us if our eye offends us, cut it out… but what many fail
to realize is that Jesus was talking to His disciples (the ones He
would be sending out to care for His sheep).
Jesus’ instruction to cut off any offense was TO THEM WHO PRESUME TO
LEAD OTHERS! In other words, they were
not to EVER get in the way of God who is the Father of His children. If they did He says it would be better for
them to cut off their hand that allow an offense! Please observe this passage according to
its proper context Matthew
18:7-10 (MSG) - Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a
hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don't have to make it
worse--and it's doomsday to you if you do.
If your hand or your foot gets in the way of God, chop it off and
throw it away. You're better off maimed or lame and alive than the proud
owners of two hands and two feet, godless in a furnace of eternal fire. And if your eye distracts you from God,
pull it out and throw it away. You're better off one-eyed and alive than
exercising your twenty-twenty vision from inside the fire of hell. Watch
that you don't treat a single one of these childlike believers arrogantly. You
realize, don't you, that their personal angels are constantly in touch with
my Father in heaven? In the first book of John, we find an
interesting verse, which actually further stresses the severity of Jesus’
command that we just examined earlier in Matthew 20 (the command for His
disciples not to be aligned with the world’s style and concepts of
government): 1 John
5:19 (NIV) - We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world
is under the control of the evil one. There is something interesting about
the original Greek word for “world” in the preceding passage. It actually refers to, not just the earth
or the people in it, but the governmental system and order of the Gentile (or
non-Christian) world. This is very
important to recognize because Jesus told His followers in Matthew 20:25-28
that they were not to relate to one another based on the pattern of the
world’s governmental system. This
truth strikes boldly in the face of the majority of institutional church
leadership structures today, which have completely ignored Jesus’ command and
patterned themselves PRECISELY after the world’s governmental hierarchical
leadership paradigm. This is an issue that must not be swept
under the table for it is not merely a suggestion by the Lord; it is a
commandment. Churches who do not
follow the Lord’s teaching here are therefore operating under a false spirit
(the very spirit of anti-Christ – the spirit which lies in accord with the
rule of the evil one), for the Lord does not govern His Church according to
the Gentile nations (i.e. the spirit of the world). Either we are for Him or we are against
Him. Granted, this is a hard thing to
consider, but it must be considered.
What will be our response? Will
we yield to the Lord (who has commanded us not to exercise authority over His
people as the world does in their governmental systems), or will we reject
Him and follow what seems right in our own arrogant eyes? If we expect to walk in all that which God
intends for His people, we must follow His Spirit completely and put off the
way of the world. 1
Corinthians 2:12 (GNB) - We
have not received this world's spirit; instead, we have received the Spirit sent
by God, so that we may know all that God has given us. John When John warned the believers about
coming false teachers and anti-Christs he said such would rise out of
their own midst (1 John 2:19) because such men had loved the world and
its ways of doing things. John gave a
bold appeal to the Church and declared boldly that if we follow the world’s
way, we actually demonstrate with our actions that we do not walk in the love
of the Father (as Jesus also said, “you cannot serve two masters” Matthew
6:24). The world’s system is the
gateway to pride and greed. Is it any
wonder these two things are so prevalent among many so called “leaders” in
today’s system of organized religion? 1 John 2:15-16 (CEV) - Don't love the world or anything
that belongs to the world. If you love the world, you cannot love the
Father. Our foolish pride comes from
this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything
we see. None of this comes from the Father. 1 Corinthians 3:18-20 (GNB) - You should not fool
yourself. If any of you think that you
are wise by this world's standards, you should become a fool, in order to be
really wise. For what this world
considers to be wisdom is nonsense in God's sight. As the scripture says,
"God traps the wise in their cleverness"; and another scripture
says, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless." Paul, who wrote the
words quoted in the previous passage, was the same man who had been
thoroughly educated in matters of religion, the Law, and religious
government, yet he despised all of that and brought none of that foolish
counsel into the Christian community.
In fact, there is a word he gave it; DUNG! (Thayer’s Greek Dictionary
– “any refuse, as the excrement of animals, offscourings, rubbish,
dregs”)
Many preachers have quoted pieces of this passage talking about how Paul
counted all things loss for the sake of Christ, but not many of them dare
mention this truth that the very thing Paul counted loss is often the very
thing they love to glory in; their religious credentials, titles, authority
and wisdom. Philippians 3:6-10 (MSG) – (I
was) a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of
persecuting Christians; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's
law Book. The very credentials these
people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing
out with the trash--along with everything else I used to take credit for. And
why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the
things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to
the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand,
everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I've
dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by
him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes
from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from
trusting Christ--God's righteousness.
I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally,
experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all
the way with him to death itself. Still think that God favors an elite
clergy caste system? Earlier, we
examined Matthew 20:25-28. Now, if
this wasn’t a strong enough exhortation by Christ, look at what the Lord
commanded His followers concerning the bearing of religious titles and ranks
of authority and honor (only further illustrating His rejection of the
world’s system of leadership as it pertains to his followers and those would
serve Him): Matthew
23:8-12 (NLT) - Don't ever let anyone call you 'rabbi,' for you have only one
teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. And don't address anyone here on earth as
'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don't let anyone call you 'Master,' for
there is only one master, the Messiah.
The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Scholars agree that the term “rabbi” as
it was used in the time of Jesus was a title that the Pharisees invented for
themselves to ascribe honor to their teaching abilities. It was a title completely inflated with
pride and vain glory. According to
scholars, the Pharisees liked to tell people they received the title from
kings and gloried in the title as if they were kings themselves (see John
Gill’s Exposition of the Bible concerning Matthew 23 for the full historical
reference). Matthew
23:5-7 (NLT) - "Everything they (the Pharisees) do is for show. On
their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside,
and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head table
at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! They enjoy the attention they get on the
streets, and they enjoy being called 'rabbi.' Albert Barne’s, in his commentary on
this passage, noted the implication behind the use of the term; as he said,
“every time it (the title ‘Rabbi’) was given to them (the Pharisees) it
implied their superiority to the persons who used it, and they were fond,
therefore, of hearing it often applied to them.” One might wonder, concerning these
things, what is the true motive that fuels the use of religious titles
today? Have things really changed that
much from when Jesus ushered this bold, uncompromising warning to His
followers; not to take up titles and insert themselves as masters (official
leaders) over their brethren? The very
use of such lofty titles as Rabbi carries with it the implied meaning that
the one uttering the title is less than the one receiving it (less in
authority, less in importance, less in honor, less in ability, less in
spiritual and intellectual maturity, less, less, less). To bring Jesus’ words into an even
clearer, present-day context, we might note how several biblical commentaries
equate the word Rabbi with our modern day title “Doctorate of Divinity” (for
example, see People’s New Testament Commentary on this passage). Jesus said to let these kinds of things
alone! Adam Clarke's
Commentary on the Bible says, "Our Lord plainly
foresaw that, in process of time, a spiritual domination would arise in his
Church; and, to prevent its evil influence, he leaves the strong warnings
against it which are contained in the former part of this chapter (Matthew
23). As the religion of Christ is completely spiritual, and the influence by
which it is produced and maintained must come from heaven; therefore, there
could be no master or head but himself: for as the Church (the assemblage of true
believers) is his body, all its intelligence, light, and life, must proceed
from him alone." Paul the apostle echoed the mindset of
Christ when he heard news that Christians were following their teachers and
calling themselves after their names.
Herein is evidence of denominationalism in the Bible itself. Note that Paul scorns it and return focus
to Christ alone. Note that he asserts
so boldy that denominationalism (division) has no place in God’s family: 1
Corinthians 1:10-13 (NLT) - Now, dear brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by the
authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let
there be real harmony so there won't be divisions in the church. I plead with
you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. For some members of Chloe's household have
told me about your arguments, dear brothers and sisters. Some of you are saying, "I am a
follower of Paul." Others are saying, "I follow Apollos," or
"I follow Peter," or "I follow only Christ." Can Christ be divided into pieces? Was I,
Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Paul said so boldly, that when
Christians employ these kinds of practices THEY ARE ACTING LIKE
UNBELIEVERS! Look at the following
words he also gave to the Corinthians: 1
Corinthians 3:4-7 (NLT) - When one of you says, "I am a follower of
Paul," and another says, "I prefer Apollos," aren't you acting
like those who are not Christians? Who
is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels? Why,
we're only servants. Through us God caused you to believe. Each of us did the
work the Lord gave us. My job was to
plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God, not
we, who made it grow. The ones who do
the planting or watering aren't important, but God is important because he is
the one who makes the seed grow. We might as well look at how this is
done many times today; For example, you have groups like the “Lutherans”
(named after the one whose doctrine they follow; Martin Luther), you have the
“Church of Christ” (which would constitute a denomination that says, “I am of
Christ”), you have the “Pentecostals” (which name themselves after
Pentecost), and so on. Even many, who
classify themselves as “non-denominational” or “house church-goers”, by
making emphasis of these things in distinction apart from the rest of the
body of Christ, are thereby removing the simple focus from Christ Jesus
alone. All of these are evidence of
division in the body of Christ. It is
just a sinister as the unsanctioned distinction between clergy and laity in
the body of Christ! If that offends
someone, I am sorry to offend. My
heart is not wound anyone with these words.
But God’s Word is so clear on these points. We are forsaking the commandments of God
for the traditions of men by ignoring His Word and embracing our own system
of religion! FUNCTIONARY GIFTS NOT OFFICES Considering all we have examined thus
far, it should already be clear that the distinction presented forth by
organized religion called clergy and laity is most apparently false and
against the teaching of Scripture!
Please understand that my point is not to suggest that the many
individuals who consider themselves “pastors” and “teachers” in the body of
Christ are all evil people. Many of
them are sincere and love God deeply and desire to serve the Lord with all
their hearts. Truly some abide by
these concepts out of ignorance and others keep them because of fear. But let us move now from ignorance to
truth! And let us stop fearing men but
trusting God at last, for either we trust that He is Lord or we don’t. Let us center our lives around the strong
foundation, which is Christ the Lord! It is a grievous thing among God’s
people today when we miss the bold admonishment of Scripture, which teaches
us to recognize such gifts that God gives us as intended simply for function
in the body to help us to grow up together in Him; not to make us lords over
one another and not to create offices and religious titles for ourselves to
prance around in. A lot of those in
“church leadership” love to quote Ephesians 4:11 as their banner verse to
justify what they call “the five fold ministry”; representative of
institutional church government and hierarchy. Ephesians 4:11 (NIV) - It was He who gave
some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to
be pastors and teachers… So much is implied in this kind of
terminology (i.e. “the five-fold government”) that is, in all actuality, the
imagination of man… far beyond what the Scripture passage itself actually
teaches. Paul never says in this
passage that these five ministries are offices. Nor does he say they are titles or official
positions of “ministry.” What Paul
does say, first of all, is that these are GIFTS: Ephesians
4:8 (NKJV) - Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led
captivity captive, And gave gifts to men." And here is where the real damage has
been done; In the actual Greek, these “ministries” are actually descriptions
of FUNCTION not office! They are NOT
titles! They are all ACTION
words! Paul is not listing
hierarchical church offices or titles for men to wear on their shirt; he is
making mention of gifts of service to the body of Christ - PERIOD. Unfortunately, you will not likely ever
hear this preached from a pulpit any time soon because if the truth were told
(or in some cases we might start with “known”), this would cause these false
kingdoms of men, even the entire clergy system, to begin to crumble. Let’s look at these ministries,
briefly, one by one and then we will re-examine this passage according to its
literal translation… The first gift he (Paul) mentions is
that of apostles. The word in the
Greek is “apostolos” – it means “one that is sent” and more specifically,
“one that is sent/commissioned/appointed BY CHRIST with the message of the
Gospel.” It is exactly synonymous with
the Greek verb (apostellō), which means “to send
out (as on a mission); to go to a place appointed”. Generally, in the New Testament, it is used
in past participle form but, on occasion, it is used in present participle
form (e.g. Matthew 10:16 – “I send you out…”). It is the same as to say, “a ‘sent one’ is one who is ‘sent out’.” They are both, essentially, the exact same
word in the Greek but only one is the noun form of the word and one is the
verb form of that same word (e.g. as “worker” is to “working” or
“worked”). Look at the following verse
to gain a better comprehension of this word’s use as a verb – Notice how
Paul, in this passage, rather than simply saying, “I am an apostle,” he
rather describes the function of his calling – “being sent” (apostled, if you
will) to spread the Good News. 1
Corinthians It is really this simple in the
Greek. But religiously-minded men,
whose thinking has been corrupted by this world’s system (and the religious
traditions developed over the centuries), imply that it is far more complex
and it is they who insert the “officialdom” to these concepts. Scripture simply describes function. Anything else would incite to pride and be
opposed to the teaching of Christ concerning service in the body. Gerhardt Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of
the New Testament says the following concerning the Greek word “apostolos” to
illustrate how religious tradition throughout history began to reshape how
people conceptually viewed the gift of “apostling” and turned it into a title
and an office: "Originally it was an adjective
as shown by Plat. Ep. VII, 346a…The most that can be said is that the word denotes the quality of being
sent, unless we are to regard it as no more than a stereotyped term…Thus its later Christian usage [as a
title] was an innovation to Greek ears or those familiar with Greek.
This is shown by the fact that the
Latin did not translate it, but took it over as a lone word into
ecclesiastical Latin (apostolus)". Unfortunately, the concept of “apostle”
as a hierarchical term of official, even professional, leadership – as
biblically false as that concept is – has remained, due to the so-called
“wisdom” of the clergy and their made up traditions which have influenced so
many. It really is like the blind
leading the blind. Both are headed for
a ditch. God-willing, it is my prayer
that many will awake and come to a knowledge of the truth. NOTE: Also notice in the previous passage (1
Corinthians 1 Corinthians 2:2-5 (NASB) - For I determined to know nothing among
you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my
message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in
demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest
on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. Some may say, “but you did not continue
with the rest of the passage Dave… Paul continued to say there was a time to
preach with wisdom.” Yes, with wisdom,
but not wisdom as man regards.
Observe: 1 Corinthians 2:6-7 (MSG) - We, of course, have plenty of wisdom to
pass on to you once you get your feet on firm spiritual ground, but it's not
popular wisdom, the fashionable wisdom of high-priced experts that will be
out-of-date in a year or so. God's wisdom
is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You
don't find it lying around on the surface. It's not the latest message, but
more like the oldest--what God determined as the way to bring out his best in
us, long before we ever arrived on the scene. So, getting back to our subject, we can
see, according to the actual language of Scripture, that this is not a
reference to someone who has been through 8 years of Galatians
1:15-19 (NASB) - But when God, who had set me apart even from my
mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son
in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult
with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles
before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to
Damascus. Then three years later I
went up to Take some time and examine every
reference to Paul or any one of the apostles in the New Testament. It may impress you to find that there is not
one place where a servant of God is referenced by a title preceding their
name. Paul, for example, NEVER
identified himself as “the Apostle Paul.”
Peter was never called “Pastor Peter.”
And no man, in all of Scripture, is ever called “Reverend” (only God
alone bears this title – Psalm 111:9)!
In every case, if there is any direct mention made of their gift at
all, it is ALWAYS descriptive of function – NOT OFFICE. Isn’t this curious? You would think the example of titles of
ministry were plastered all over the pages of the New Testament when you
consider how the modern day church system thrives on them. But Jesus never told Peter, “If you love
Me, be ordained as a pastor.” No,
rather He said, “if you love Me, feed (pastor) My sheep.” You see?
Function. Service. Love.
Paul, as I mentioned earlier never called himself “The Apostle Paul”
but he sometimes referred to himself as simply “Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ” (in other words “a commissioned messenger of the Lord”) – 2
Corinthians 1:1 for example. Again –
ALWAYS FUNCTIONAL SERVING THROUGH LOVE AND OBEDIENCE TO CHRIST. Another example is the opening statement in
his letter to the Romans: Romans 1:1 (GW) - From Paul, a
servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle and appointed to spread the
Good News of God. Furthermore, we might also want to
consider the fact that Paul’s commission was rejected by the religious
leaders of his day. They did not
recognize him as being sufficiently “authorized” to declare the message of God
and they were so infuriated that he dared to preach and claim he was called
by God to share God’s message that they actually plotted to kill him (Acts
9:23)! The
whole notion of “special ordination” by some church or denomination or
whatever, is simply COMPLETELY foreign to God’s Word! Continuing on, let’s look at some of
the other “gifts” mentioned in the Ephesians 4 passage… Vs. 11 – “…some as
prophets…” The Greek word is
prophētēs and is also an
action word. Again it is NOT a title
or office – and it’s certainly not a religious profession. This word simply identifies one who speaks
by divine inspiration and “declares to men what he has received by
inspiration, especially concerning future events, and in particular such as
relate to the cause and Again, this is not a
word describing “office” and there is NO MENTION of any ordination
requirement for such who operate this gift of God. BECAUSE IT IS A GIFT OF GOD! Furthermore, it is not a gift excluded to
an elite few, but given to each one according to God’s choosing. 1
Corinthians 12:7 (MSG) - Each person is given something to do that shows who God
is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed
out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! 1 Corinthians 12:11
(MSG)
- All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the
one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. According to 1
Corinthians 14, a prophet is simply anyone who prophesies! Read the chapter. Examine the context. See if this is not absolutely true. 1 Corinthians 14:31 - For you can all
prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. Next, Ephesians 4, Vs. 11 – “…some as evangelists…” This Greek term,
euaggelistēs, simply refers to “one who brings
good tidings”. In other words it is
one that God has called to declare (or “preach”) the joyful news of the
Gospel to others. Not the “Word of
Faith” teaching, not the “doctrine of tithing”, not “how to be a good person
and get blessings from God”, not “how to grow your church in 15 easy steps”,
BUT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST! Again,
it is a term that represents function and action. It is not an exclusive ministry occupied by
only an elite few who have been formally ordained by special, “qualified”
religious leaders. Just like the
others, this is a GIFT OF GOD, that GOD HIMSELF places in the heart of WHOEVER
HE WILLS! It does not require the
commissioning or approval of men to actuate. Paul, as a matter of
fact, was also an “evangelist” as much as he was an “apostle” (or put more
correctly – Paul “evangelized” just as sure as he was “sent by Christ” to
bring God’s glad tidings to the Gentiles).
Observe the following verse: Galatians 1:16a (NLT) - Then he revealed
his Son to me so that I could proclaim
the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles… The word “proclaim”
(euaggelizō - “to bring good tidings”) is EXACTLY
synonymous in the Greek with the word for “evangelist” (euaggelistēs – “one who brings good tidings”). Finally, still verse 11, we have “…some as pastors and teachers…” These two (in my studied opinion)
should actually be recognized as one connected ministry gift. The word “and” is not an adequate
translation of the Greek term in use here.
At best, these two words ought to be hyphenated as “pastor-teachers”. The word pastor, “poimen”, describes
“one who tenderly, though diligently, watches out for the others”. The Greek concept of a shepherd is one who
“guides” sheep, not who drives them.
He leads not merely by speech but with the example of a life submitted
to Christ and which models the character of Christ. He may watch over, but he
doesn’t rule over. His service is
under the Great Shepherd and he does not call the sheep his own. The word teacher, “didaskalos”,
describes the gifting to “teach others in the way of the truth” The teacher
is one whose teaching is coupled by a life that models what he guides others
in. The Pharisees loved to be called
“Rabbi” (which means “my honored Teacher”) by their followers, but Jesus did
not tell others to follow everything they do just because they regarded
themselves as authorities and ones who loved to be praised by men and to be
called Teachers. Rather Jesus said to
the Jewish crowds and to His disciples (my paraphrase of Matthew 23:2-4),
“these men like to think they are qualified teachers concerning Moses’ Law…
so, do what they teach as it remains in accord with the truth, but don’t do
as they do because they don’t put into practice what they teach. Instead, they re-package God’s Word in a
bundle of laws and legalisms to place on you as a heavy burden… a burden that
they exempt themselves from.” What might Ephesians 4:10-13 look like,
in a modern paraphrase, if we honestly translated it according to the proper
context of Scripture and put it into terms conveying the actual thought of
things? Ephesians
4:10-13 (paraphrase) – The same Lord, Jesus Christ, who came down from heaven
to this earth, is the same One who ascended higher than all the heavens, so
that He might fulfill all things and, being Lord of all, fill both heaven and
earth with His gifts. It is He who
gave some in the body to go as His ambassadors and envoys; to serve Him as
ones who are called by Him, commissioned and sent with the message of the
Gospel. He gave some to speak forth by
the inspiration of His Spirit to declare such things as relate to the cause
and This is my paraphrase (intending to
convey the thought which describes each function)… I trust you get the
general idea. Paul means to convey the
rich gift of Christ to see His body built up together in HIM. Jesus did not come so that men could set up
their own kingdoms and make themselves to be heads over His people. Only Christ is the Head of His Church and
only He holds the place of preeminence over His people! (or at least – only
He should) Colossians
1:18 (GNB) - He is the Head of His body, the Church; He is the source of
the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in
order that He alone might have the first place in all things. It would likely take another lengthy
article or book to thoroughly examine the full range of the subject
concerning “financing the ministry”.
While I considered delving deeper into the subject here (for there is
much I could share), I felt the Lord prompting me to share only what I
have. I realize that some may have a
lot of questions concerning this issue that are only briefly covered in this
writing. I will say that there are a
number of excellent resources that have already been written on this topic by
others. Rather than attempt to
duplicate what many of them have already so eloquently presented, I will
instead recommend their work and encourage the reader to examine this topic
fully for themselves. One of the best
is a book by a good friend of mine, Russell Earl Kelly, called “Should The
Church Teach Tithing.” It examines,
not only tithing, but the vast subject of giving as taught in the
Scriptures. This is a theologian’s
textbook! Highly recommended
reading. It is available through my
website: www.truthforfree.com CONCLUDING THOUGHTS We need to recognize that when Paul
talked about ministry giftings (EVERY TIME), he was describing all of them in
the context of family function. NEVER
at any time did Paul, or for that matter Christ or the other apostles, teach
some formula of hierarchically-led organized religion. The word “office” does not even appear
ANYWHERE in the New Testament with respect to serving God or His people (and
to show how far we have fallen today, consider how even the Old Testament
Prophets did not identify themselves with titles – rather they were humble
servants of God, utterly despised by the world and sometimes even by those
claiming to be God’s people because they did not love the truth but had itching
ears; desiring to hear what they wanted to hear). In the New Testament there is no
mention of titles, offices, or professional ministry paradigms. There is to be no such division in the body
of Christ represented in some false system of a clergy caste who presides
over laity. Jesus said, “among you is
must NOT be so!” (Matthew 20:26) Jesus said, “you are all on the same level
as brothers and sisters!” (Matthew 23:8) All of these fallacies, these
concepts of religious hierarchy, entered into Christian practice literally
hundreds of years after The confrontation of this bold
conclusion will, no doubt, cause some to say, “this cannot be a good thing,
for if there is not leadership in the body of Christ, then there will be
disorder and chaos and heresy!” While
I, myself, have identified with this concern in the past (because it was the
same concern I first voiced when the Lord began to open up my understanding
and exposure to these things), I remind such people who are concerned about
this; don’t let the enemy and tradition distract you from what God’s Word
compels us to embrace... Remember that
I have not once, NOT EVER, said that there is no leadership in Christ’s
body. Neither would I dare say that
the Word of God presents a leaderless Church.
Please hear this and please listen to these words carefully. I believe God desires that there be no
confusion concerning this matter in our hearts, but there is a core motive
that needs to be exposed and that many of us need to repent of and come to a
full realization of the truth. I do
not exempt myself from the need to repent of motives that have, at times, steered
me away from total submission to the truth God has revealed. That is to say that when God opens our
understanding to things it can be wonderful, but it can also be very
uncomfortable and even painful because it means we must then lay the axe to
our preconceived religious misperceptions.
Many of the concepts that we have learned over the years (through some
of our religious traditions), thrive on our deep insecurities, the evil
desires of our flesh, the wisdom of the world that has influenced us and
which appeals to our old nature, and the enemy as well that has lied to us
and captivated our attentions away from the truth. Some of these things are hard to
confront. Mostly because they remove
us from the ability to control one another and to put God into a religious
box. But if we don’t yield to His
truth we will be devastated in our error and miss the intimacy and strength
that comes from truly knowing Jesus as Lord. I will continue to reiterate that Christ
is the ONLY Head of His Church (1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 1:10, 22;
Ephesians 4:15; Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18; Colossians 2:10, 19; etc.),
the very core and center (1 Corinthians 3:7; 2 Corinthians 1:12; Colossians
2:2; Revelation 1:13; Revelation 5:6; Revelation 7:17; etc.), the Lord (John
13:13; Acts 10:36; Acts 17:24; Romans 14:9; Philippians 2:11; etc.), the
Great Shepherd (Hebrews 13:20) of His flock (the Senior Pastor if you
will). What “leadership” is failing
here? Christ promised that His Spirit would
lead His followers into ALL truth (John 16:13-15). And He vowed that no one would be able to
snatch them from His hand (John 10:27-30).
To insure that Christ’s Lordship would not be usurped by false
leaders, He gave gifts to build up His body, to keep her growing and strong,
to keep her safe from wolves and religious vipers that would try to get in
the middle of their relationship with Christ and manipulate them and draw
them after themselves (Acts 20:30). Yes, absolutely, there is leadership in
the Lord’s Church, His body, but it looks absolutely NOTHING like what
wholesale religion has sold most people today! Scripture confirms this so boldly! Those who are afraid of potential chaos and
heresy among God’s people (if they are not “submitted” under the “covering”
of some denomination) are more than likely operating in fear and lack of
faith in God’s promise and ability to protect, lead and nourish His people! I have often wondered (aside from the
obvious Scriptural ignorance that exists) how it is so many Christians today
speak of “the five fold ministry” when no such phrase is ever used at
any time in Scripture. Not only that,
but it is not a consistent picture of Paul’s instruction concerning gifts of
service (or “ministry”). There is
nothing to indicate that the five (or “four” depending on how you read the
original Greek) ministry gifts mentioned in Ephesians 4 are exclusive. For example, there is another passage in
1Corinthians 12:28, which mentions, not five… not four… but EIGHT!!! 1
Corinthians It seems rather obvious that Paul is
not saying in either passage that “there are only five important ministries”
or that “there are eight”. It seems
clear he’s not describing titles or offices or religious leadership
pyramids. He is describing that there
are gifts of functional ministry in God’s family. But men take the function and the family
out of things and replace it with their worldly concepts of hierarchy and
business organization and they end up programming the life right out of the
gathering of the saints. The kill the
body for the sake of building a machine… an idol that reflects their
image. A brother I correspond with by
the name of Andy shared an article he wrote on the “five fold” gifts and the
following are some excerpts from that writing: “Paul begins by
stating that each one of us is given grace. Note that he includes himself in
this, “us” referring to the measure (metron) Christ had given him. It is an
interesting study to search out in Paul's epistles how many times he
referrers to the grace given to him as it related to what he said and did,
"according to the grace given unto me" (see Romans 12:3, 12:6, 1
Corinthians 3:10, Ephesians 3:7, 4:7, etc.). However outstanding as Paul's
service may have been, he made no distinction between the grace given to him
and the grace given to the rest of the believers. This verse alone refutes
the idea that a few are exceptional. He goes on to tell how these
cooperate—on what basis these graces are given and on what basis they are
received. One Bible teacher (Derek Prince) used to say, "When you see
the word ‘therefore’ in the Bible you need to look and see what it's there
for." Here the word “therefore” implies that the following words are an
extension and development of the previous thought. In this case it attaches
the statement to the explanation of how every one of us is given grace,
"he ascended up on high . . . and gave gifts unto men." We see then
that the gifts given by the ascended Christ are not given to a special few
but are distributed among all.” “Simply put, “all”
means every one of us! The God and Father of every one of us, is above and
upon every one of us, working through every one of us and in every one of us.
Nothing could be clearer. Not all are apostles or sent-ones, but all are given
grace. These graces or divine empowerments are distributed among all
believers to accomplish specific tasks. They are not given to exalt anyone
person above the rest. Jesus did not ascend on high and bestow entitlements
to rule. He bestowed power to serve.” “We have a choice to
make. Will we continue on in our comfortable padded pews Sunday after Sunday
and abdicate our high callings in Christ's body to the few, or will we move
on into the glory of God? We have all been given our measure of Christ that
enables us all to do the work of the ministry and equip each other to do the
same in the fullest way possible.” But some will still grab their tried
and true King James Bible and say, “no Dave, Paul clearly is describing order
and position, because he says that apostles are first, etc.” Well, in 1 Corinthians 4:9 he (Paul) says
they (those who function as apostles) are last, not first. What about that? Obviously, people who fail to see the
humility of Paul’s intent and his description of simple functional service
among ALL the brothers and sisters in Christ, are reading their religious
bias into the text and not comprehending anything God intended. In case some are still not convinced, let’s
continue to examine the broader context of Scripture, for Paul spoke again
about functional ministry in his letter to the Romans. How many clergy men are counting the
ministries listed in this passage? Listen what Paul said to the Romans. Romans
12:6-13 (NLT) - God has given each of us the ability to do certain things
well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out when you
have faith that God is speaking through you.
If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well. If you are a
teacher, do a good job of teaching. If
your gift is to encourage others, do it! If you have money, share it
generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility
seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it
gladly. Don't just pretend that you
love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the
good. Love each other with genuine
affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy in your work, but serve the
Lord enthusiastically. Be glad for all
God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful. When God's children are in need, be the one
to help them out. And get into the habit of inviting guests home for dinner
or, if they need lodging, for the night. Isn’t it interesting that Paul never says,
“if your ability is to teach, then make sure you get formally ordained as a
Teacher by an official appointing of a church organization and expect others
to honor you by this title and make sure it is etched on the door of your
church office and on your ministry resume.”
No! A thousand times no! Paul simply says, “if you’ve got the gift,
then give it!” (We might also note, in
comparison with the other passages speaking about ministry gifts, again, Paul
is does not limit his mention to a mere “five-fold” – or “eight” as we
examined in 1 Corinthians 12:28 – but here he mentions “seven”… So, which is it all you “five-folders” out
there?) I hope it is becoming clearer
to us all what these passages mean to represent to us as members of one body. The ministry of the Church, is just
that – The loving service of the family of God. The Lord’s Church is not represented by a
building or a program (not any place in the New Testament)! Just as “ministry” in the Scripture is not
a profession. It is functional service
in the family of Christ. I hope that I have helped to clearly
illustrate why the concept of a modern day clergy system is problematic at
best in light of God’s Word? I hope
the contradiction has become more evident?
The priesthood of the New Covenant is intimately and completely tied
to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If
there can be another order of priests (i.e. the modern clergy system) who
exist beyond what we have been plainly taught in Scripture, then we are left
with a most difficult choice to consider; Either God has not told us what is
true in His Word (that there is only One Mediator between God and Man, One
High Priest, and one single priesthood which includes every believer in
Christ before God), or else one must believe that sometime (hundreds of years
after the apostles had all died) God changed His mind and introduced “new
revelation” that actually was so powerful it had the authority to cancel out
the former written word of God. In
fact, not only would it have to make the writings of the New Testament
inferior, but it would mean that there is another “new covenant” and the New
Covenant of Scripture is now obsolete.
Either way, it would mean that Scripture no longer holds any
application for the believer in Christ – for it stands in total opposition to
the entire foundation which holds up the modern clergy system. The New Testament teaches a priesthood that
is only mediated by Christ, who dwells in the hearts of His people. They (not a building) are His Temple and
they (all of them) are His priests. No
other intermediary clergy is mentioned and we must therefore conclude that
such is entirely false. This leaves us with a most sobering
discernment we must engage: Any time, I repeat – ANYTIME, a man steps
in-between this holy, divine order (where Christ presides over His priesthood
– a priesthood he purchased and “covered” with His precious blood), and this
man enacts some intermediary function between Christ and the believer – dare
I say even positioning himself “over” that believer as an authority, who
claims to speak for God and order their obedience (as the modern clergy
system essentially does), he is in gross error and proves by his visible
position, his title, his words and his actions that he, apparently, does not
know or practice the truth in these things. This is not to say that he necessarily
has evil intent or even that he does not have some desire to serve God. It simply says (one of three possibilities)
that he is either ignorant himself, deceived, or deliberately deceiving
others. Either way, no matter how much
good he intends, his position stands in opposition to the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and distorts the truth for those following, causing them to stumble
and fall into a ditch; widening the wedge of separation between the
believer’s relationship with His Lord, and causing them to place their
dependence more upon man than God. The end result is a mass of believers
who lack for knowing who they fully are in Christ and how they are intended
to function in the body with one another.
They grow weaker and weaker the longer their priesthood is denied and
ignored and the voice of the Holy Spirit becomes harder and harder to
hear. Haven’t you ever wondered why it
is that so many church folks run to their pastors, apostles and prophets to
inquire what God wants them to do? It
is for the very same reason that many precious brothers (and sisters) in
Christ who have taken on themselves the title of a clergyman (or clergywoman)
have become weary and burned out in their profession. Because of the error that both have
embraced, both are being spiritually shortchanged and the enemy laughs as
they stumble around as if in the dark.
They have traded their priesthood and replaced it with a counterfeit!
O, dear Christian reading this (whether “clergyman” or “layperson”), I pray
that God by His wonderful Spirit would set you free in this revelation; that
you would no longer be deprived of knowing Christ in the fullness of who He
is – Lord, Head, Master Teacher, and Great High Priest. I pray that you would know with such bold
confidence, the truth that there is ONE MEDIATOR between you and the Father
and it is not any man whatsoever. It
is essential that you know Him as He is. Concepts like those prevalent in the
clergy-laity distinction present a severe problem of division in the body of
Christ. Many sincere men and women of
God throughout the centuries (yes even among the clergy profession)
encountered this revelation through God’s Word and were moved by it. Some literally gave their lives, shedding
their own blood, for the liberty of the Gospel – because their message was
not often well received. It bucked
hard against the established system.
They were branded as heretics, rebels and fools. Many were burned alive, tortured, imprisoned
and killed for their refusal to bow to a system that robbed them of their
priesthood in Christ. Sadly, however,
many others thought they could simply repair the problem and reform the
system rather than eliminate it altogether in favor of fully embracing
Scripture. Oddly enough, these men are
often considered heroes in the Christian Faith and we even title them “The
Reformers” because they sought to “re-form” the system itself. But even the reformer, Martin Luther,
towards the end of his life, recognized that his “reformation” of organized
religion did not (and could not) eliminate all the evils of Please understand, this article is not
intended to question the sincerity of those people who are currently part of
the clergy system. But it is to
question the validity of the clergy system itself. Some of my own heroes of the Faith include
men and women of God that were identified with the clergy system. What makes their story exciting to me is
that their eyes began to open to the Gospel and it radically transformed so
much of their thinking. Many of these
endured great personal risk to step out of the known territory they walked
blindly in for so many years. I love
reading about the Martin Luthers, the William Tyndales, and the John
Wycliffes. I sincerely thank God for
the many sincere soldiers of truth that have responded to the promptings of
the Holy Spirit and the revelation of Scripture and sought to obey the Lord
and see God’s people delivered from bondage (this was Luther’s heart and
passion, despite his failures); however, I have begun to realize myself that
one of the principle problems in most moves of God has been that men have
sought to “reform” a system of religion that did not purely originate with
God to begin with. Rather than
understanding fully that Christ is the One who builds His Church and who has
declared that the forces of hell even will not prevail against it, they busy
themselves with this other thing, which they also wrongly call “the Church”,
but that is a system whose every root can be traced back to the organizations
of men. History seems to continue to repeat
itself time and time again. You would
think by now we would recognize the patterns.
Man so often tries to box up the moving of the Spirit into a program
(turning revival into religion). But
God cannot be held inside a box just like the wind cannot blow in a sealed
chamber. The organization of religion
may accomplish some apparent good in the world in terms of the control it
exerts over the external actions of men, but it is powerless to effect real
change in the heart and it will always kill the life of the Spirit by
inadvertently replacing the voice of God with religious rules and
regulations. It’s really not that
different from what the apostles confronted in their day. We can see the same bold proclamation by
Paul in the following passage: Colossians 2:16-23 (MSG) - So don't put up with
anyone pressuring you in details of diet, worship services, or holy
days. All those things are mere
shadows cast before what was to come; the substance is Christ. Don't tolerate people who try to run your
life, ordering you to bow and scrape, insisting that you join their obsession
with angels and that you seek out visions. They're a lot of hot air, that's
all they are. They're completely out
of touch with the source of life, Christ, who puts us together in one piece,
whose very breath and blood flow through us. He is the Head and we are the
body. We can grow up healthy in God only as he nourishes us. So, then, if with Christ you've put all
that pretentious and infantile religion behind you, why do you let yourselves
be bullied by it? "Don't touch
this! Don't taste that! Don't go near this!" Do you think things that are here today and
gone tomorrow are worth that kind of attention? Such things sound impressive if said in a
deep enough voice. They even give the illusion of being pious and humble and
ascetic. But they're just another way of showing off, making yourselves look
important. It really is time we faced facts; that
the clergy system produces division and declines spiritual growth among
believers in Jesus. It distorts our
clear view of the Gospel. It
misrepresents the body of Christ. It
entangles believers in the law; robbing them of their liberty. It blinds them from the revelation of fully
knowing who they are in Christ and short changes them of their role as
priests before God. It diminishes
their joy and destroys their confidence.
It frustrates the grace of God.
It denies the truth. It numbs
the conscience and the ability to discern truth from error. It is a counterfeit that all true believers
must expel if they sincerely desire to live without compromise before the
Father. These titles, terminologies and
concepts the world gave us will simply not do. We are family – the very family of God –
and we are all brothers and sisters who sit at the feet of one Lord. As John
Wesley said so well: ”Would to God that all party names and
unscriptural phrases and forms which have divided the Christian world were forgot;
that we might all agree to sit down together as humble, loving disciples at
the feet of a common Master, to hear his word, to imbibe his Spirit, and to
transcribe his life into our own.” And the great reformer, Martin Luther: “ And finally, as it was stated in a
fantastic article I read once on servantsnews.com: “Let’s expose "rank" for what
it is: rank! And realize from where the "clergy versus
laity" mentality comes: The Adversary.” |
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