The doctrine of the high priesthood of Jesus Christ

1. There are three different priesthoods in the scripture. When the word “priest” is mentioned you must remember a priest is a man representing man before God. Each of the three priesthoods mentioned in the scripture corresponds to a dispensation in the past or current. For example, the first dispensation in history was the Age of the Gentiles, and in that age there was a bona fide priesthood. The family priesthood was made up of the head of every family. For example, anyone who was the head of a family was the priest, anyone who was the firstborn became the priest upon the death of his father. Foe example, Abraham was a priest, Job was a priest, Melchizedek was a priest. (Melchizedek was not Jesus Christ, he was a member of the human race. In fact he was a king and a priest and illustrates the priesthood of Christ) In the dispensation of Israel we have the Levitical priesthood. The family of Aaron in the tribe of Levi was appointed. The elder surviving son was commissioned as a high priest, and the priesthood was commissioned by the Mosaic law. The objective was to communicate written doctrine and to explain the ritual and the shadows under which Israel worshipped and respected the Lord Jesus Christ. There is a special reason why Levi became the priestly tribe. The firstborn was Reuben. He had three things going for him as the firstborn. He was the family ruler, he was the family priest, he was also the family heir and therefore had the double portion. Reuben, because of reversionism, lost all three. The rulership went to the tribe of Judah; the priesthood went to the tribe of Levi; the double portion went to the tribe of Joseph — Joseph has two tribes, Ephraim and Mannaseh. So we have the tribe of Levi and the specialised priesthood of the previous dispensation. A specialised priesthood calls for a specialised modus operandi. That is why we have so much ritual in the Age of Israel. That is why they had a tabernacle and that is why they had a temple: so the priests could function and teach and communicate. That is why they had animal sacrifices. That is why they had special holy days like the Passover, the unleavened bread, the firstfruits, Pentecost. These special holy days called for a certain type of ritual. This ritual taught the celebrityship of Jesus Christ before Christ went to the cross. It was a specialised priesthood to communicate information with regard to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now we have the dispensation of the Church. In the dispensation of the Church Jesus Christ is now out high priest and we are a kingdom of priests. That means that every believer in this dispensation is a priest — 1 Peter 2:5, 9.

2. As the high priest Jesus Christ is the minister of spiritual things — Hebrews 5:1. Jesus Christ has left us a legacy of spiritual things in the Word of God. The completed canon of scripture is the legacy through which he ministers.

3. Christ is appointed high priest by God the Father — Hebrews 5:4-10; 6:20.

4. Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for the priesthood — Hebrews 9:26, 27. The first function of Jesus Christ as the high priest was to solve the problem of the old sin nature. When Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross the sins of the world were poured out upon Jesus Christ and all human good was rejected. He paid in full, this is the first function of the high priest. The high priest offered sacrifices in the Old Testament. On the day of atonement he offered sacrifices out in front of the tabernacle, and later on the temple. Then he took the blood of those sacrifices into the holy of holies twice: once for himself and once for the people. Now Jesus Christ has fulfilled that on the cross by taking our place and bearing our sins.

5. Christ has an eternal and untransmissable priesthood — Hebrews 7:20,21,24. This priesthood will never be changed, never be superseded, and we are a part of it. This is another reminder of the doctrine of eternal security. When we believe in Jesus Christ we are entered at that moment into union with Christ. Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, we enter into union with Him, His priesthood becomes our priesthood, and His priesthood cannot be superseded or transferred.

6. Because of positional sanctification, union with Christ, every believer is to function as a priest in this life — 1 Peter 2:5,9; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6. That function is to reach the supergrace life, to come to the place where God pours out His blessings upon you without measure, to share the very happiness which He has provided and to share these blessings which He has stored up for you from eternity past.

7. Christ as high priest performs a ministry of intercession for the believer on earth — Hebrews 7:25. The high priesthood of Christ in the field of intercession is a reminder of the fact that you and I can never be adequate in prayer. We are commanded to pray, we are to utilise prayer, but no matter how good a prayer warrior you are you will never be good enough. There are things that you are not aware of, areas of ignorance that cannot be overcome, and therefore the Lord Jesus Christ as your celebrity, your high priest also makes intercession for you. That is why all prayer offered to God must come through Jesus Christ, that is the channel, that is the authority.

8. The believer priest in phase two possesses a number of sacrifices or functions different or related to the Levitical code by way of illustration. We have, for example, the sacrifice of the believer’s body — Romans 12:1. This is tantamount to the rebound technique, the principle of 1 John 1:9, the first function of the priesthood. The second sacrifice is the sacrifice of praise — Hebrew 13:15. The sacrifice of praise is not standing and saying, “Praise the Lord”, or “hallelujah”. Instead, it is reaching the supergrace life. We can only glorify God as supergrace believers. At that point Jesus Christ becomes our only celebrity and we love Him as He first loved us. The third sacrifice was actually twofold: the production of divine good and giving — Hebrews 13:16. The final one is obedience to the authority of the local church — Hebrews 13:17. This is the sacrifice of the priesthood, this is the way you learn Bible doctrine.

The high priesthood of Jesus Christ is a reminder that every believer is a priest in this dispensation, and that every believer therefore is in full time Christian service. You do not dedicate yourself to full time Christian service, you are as of the moment of salvation. Our purpose is to be prepared for the possible victory of the angelic conflict and to be prepared for great blessing as we take in the Word of God. The primary function of the priesthood is the intake of God’s Word that we might reach the supergrace status.

In verse 24 the translation “having therefore a great high priest, having passed through the heavens”, not “that is passed into.” The perfect active participle of dierxomai indicates that part of the strategic victory of the angelic conflict. The perfect tense indicates something that happened in the past with results that continue forever. This is a consummative perfect emphasising the results of the completed action. The active voice indicates that Jesus Christ has accomplished this in the resurrection body and that this is a part of the strategical victory. The whole issue in the angelic conflict after the fall of man is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. First, on the cross bearing our sins and taking our place. Our sins were poured out on Him and judged. Then having born our sins, having accomplished eternal salvation, He said, “Finished.” That is in the perfect tense too, another consummative perfect indicating the results of Christ bearing our sins and Christ being judged for our sins. Then Jesus Christ died physically. Having dismissed His spirit, His spirit went into the presence of the Father, His soul went to Paradise which is a part of Hades or Sheol, and His body went into the grave. Three days later His soul came from Paradise, His spirit came from the presence of the Father, rejoined His body in resurrection, and He was resurrected. Then for forty days after His resurrection He was on the earth, making some seventeen appearances, and then He ascended into the presence of the Father where He was seated at the right hand of the Father. When the Father said, Sit down at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool, that is the ultimate in strategic victory. That is the point at which Jesus Christ in a resurrection body in His humanity is infinitely superior to all fallen angels. That is the point, therefore, when the Lord Jesus Christ gained the victory over Satan. As Colossians 2:14 indicates, He broke the back of Satan at that time. This is also the subject of Hebrews 2:14,15. So this is the strategical victory.

The strategical victory having been accomplished, the Jewish Age is interrupted ten days later for the Church Age. We live in the dispensation of the Church. Once the Jewish Age is interrupted, then with the high priest at the right hand of the Father, having gained for us a strategical victory, we now live in the intensified stage of the angelic conflict. For up until the ascension of Christ He was the major target for Satan’s activities. But with Jesus Christ glorified at the right hand of the Father the major target in now His representation on earth. Therefore we live in the intensified stage of the angelic conflict. We therefore live in a time when the life of each one of us has great meaning and purpose and definition. As never before in history the emphasis is now on the individual believer, the emphasis is on you as a believer priest. As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you are a priest, you are an ambassador, and very important. You are therefore in full time Christian service and therefore the weapon for tactical victory in the angelic conflict. The tactical victory. however, depends upon your attitude toward Bible doctrine. If you are positive toward doctrine and GAP it consistently you will eventually get into supergrace with occupation with the person of Christ, our high priest, with supergrace capacity. Supergrace capacity is that amount of Bible doctrine in the soul that gives you a cup. The supergrace blessing. God pours into that cup. God has for you, billions of years ago, prepared wonderful and fantastic blessings, everything you have ever associated as happiness is yours plus the capacity to enjoy it. This is the time you receive God’s happiness, this is the time when all of these blessings become yours. This is the objective. And when God pours, since God is the host and does the pouring, he is glorified. This is the tactical victory. God is glorified by the completion of His plan with Christ at the right hand of the Father. God is glorified by pouring for you. When God can give you great wealth, promotion, success, prosperity, when God can pour these things for you then He is glorified and you are blessed. The only way a believer can glorify God in the Church Age is through the constant intake of doctrine until he reaches the supergrace life. This is the objective, and whether you like it or not you were born again to be happy, to be blessed, to have great prosperity.