A Priest Forever

(Hebrews 7:23-28 – A Priest Forever)

Jesus Christ holds many different titles. He is the Son of God, the Son of Man, the Lamb, Teacher, Lord of lords, King of kings. In these scriptures today, we also find that He was appointed a priest forever. He is the High priest of our faith.

This is important to know and understand. There are many different religions and they all have different priesthoods. It is the priesthood who maintain and teach the different aspects of each religion. In the case of Christianity, Jesus is the high priest and He stands in the presence of God to exercise the duties of high priest.

But we find that unlike every other priesthood, Jesus is the only high priest. And so the teachings never alter. There is never any change in the teachings of Christianity because Jesus established it and remains a priest forever.

Issues where a religion cannot have a priest forever

To begin we will look at what these verses have to say.

26 For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself. 28 Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever. (Hebrews 7:23-28)

Every priest of every other religion was unable to continue in that role because they eventually died. Because of that problem, often the religions changed over the course of time as each new high priest would interpret the teachings of their religion differently.

We see in some religions that these teachings were collected. Today we can find the religious interpretations of Judaism in the Talmud and other rabbinical writings. Likewise, there are many books attributed to the Islamic Imams that are teachings extending the traditions of that faith. The books of Shia and Hadith and the Quranic Hafsir’s are some examples.

But in all of these we often see the theology and practice of the religion change. Each new priest of the religion had different ideas and taught those changes to those who practiced that specific religion.

The advantage of Jesus as a priest forever

In Christianity the teachings of our religion never changes. Jesus is the only high priest of our religion. His word is constant and eternal because He lives forever. We see this eternal principle and the fact that there is no change in several places in the scriptures.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)

And;

Every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. (James 1:17)

There is no change in the doctrine and teachings of Christianity. Jesus never changes. The words and teaching He brought to the earth two thousand years ago have not changed. The teachings are as powerful and effective today as they were then.

It is often taught in some churches that many of the things that were done in Jesus’ time are no longer necessary. A good example is receiving the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues.

Some churches teach that speaking in tongues was only needed in the early church to spread the gospel into the known world. But that is utter rubbish.

The known world at the time of Jesus and the apostles was under Roman rule. They had two languages that were spoken, apart from local dialects. The academics and upper classes spoke Latin, and everyone spoke Greek. Greek was used to facilitate trade and communication between the many peoples under Roman rule. It was the language of the people.

Knowing this, it is clear why all of the letters in the New Testament were originally written in Greek. It was the language of communication. It is clear that the Ephesians, Galatians, Cappadocians, Lycao’nians, and all of the other places visited by Paul and others spoke their own language as well. But they also spoke Greek. This is why Paul wrote his various letters in Greek.

There is a purpose for speaking in tongues and it has nothing to do with spreading the gospel. It is actually needed to be effective in being able to walk in the Spirit, to gain victory over the flesh, and to defeat the attacks of the devil. If you wish to know more about these things, you can do so by looking at the free Spiritual Warfare Training program link in the menu of this website.

The challenge of changing the doctrine

As Christians, we have the same High Priest today as those early Christians also had. But the church suffers from the interpretations of ministers in the religion, as other religions do. These interpretations and introduced doctrines have changed the fundamental messages of Christianity as delivered by Christ Himself.

In effect, Christian churches have stopped listening to Jesus Christ as a priest forever, and turned to false doctrines as defined by men. They do not seek to understand the truth and have wandered into error. Paul wrote about this exact issue in one of his letters to Timothy.

3 As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to occupy themselves with myths and endless genealogies which promote speculations rather than the divine training that is in faith; 5 whereas the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith. 6 Certain persons by swerving from these have wandered away into vain discussion, 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make assertions. (1 Timothy 1:3-7)

Another example that is particularly relevant today among those who preach a prosperity gospel, which has no place in Christianity.

10 For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. 11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:10-11)

Christ Jesus, A Priest Forever

Christ Jesus being a priest forever did not teach many of the doctrines in the church today. In the example above, it is evident that the prosperity gospel is not and should not be part of Christianity. Christ Jesus showed also that it is harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. (See Matthew 19:23-24).

If we are to truly follow the teachings of Christianity, we must first seek the truth. We need to listen to the teachings of our High Priest, who is Christ Jesus, and learn what He had to say.

His teachings have not changed. They are still written down for us to learn by reading and studying the Bible.

Furthermore, He has given us a teacher to guide our understanding: the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to teach, guide and transform our lives according to the teachings of Jesus, our high priest forever. When we are led by the Spirit we are able to learn the truth of the word of God, and receive His blessings.

You cannot follow two priesthoods

One of the biggest challenges in the church today, is it is trying to operate under two different priesthoods. This is apart from the problems of false teachings introduced into the church that have no place in either priesthood (e.g., prosperity gospel).

Most of the church today is attempting to live under Jesus as a priest forever in the priesthood of Melchizedek. But they are also attempting to live under the priesthood of Aaron, who were the priests of the laws given to Moses.

These are two separate and different priesthoods, and they were never meant to operate together. In fact to try to live under these two priesthoods together and at the same time was described by Paul as a form of spiritual adultery. Note these words.

1 Do you not know, brethren–for I am speaking to those who know the law–that the law is binding on a person only during his life? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brethren, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:1-4)

Paul is writing here about freedom from the laws of Moses that we receive under the priesthood of Jesus Christ.

The married woman is bound under the laws of marriage to her husband. We too were bound under the law before coming to Christ.

But when the husband dies, the law of marriage ceases to bind the woman and she is able to remarry anyone she chooses. There is no sin because she is no longer under the law of marriage.

In the same way, God has allowed us to die to the laws of Moses through taking on the death of Christ as our own. He died to set us free from the law so that we could belong to Christ. In Christ we are no longer bound under the Mosaic laws but are set free from them.

Now, if we are set free from the law, we are also released from the priesthood of the law, which is the priesthood of Aaron. We no longer serve God under the priesthood of Aaron under the law. We now serve God under the priesthood of Jesus Christ which is founded on grace and not the law.

But when we look back at the scripture above, we see that if the husband did not die and the woman went and lived with another man while still married to her husband, she was committing adultery. She was unable to live with another man while her husband was alive. It was the sin of adultery to do so, and under the law was severely punished.

Likewise, if we attempt to live under the priesthood of the law (Aaron) while trying to live under the priesthood of grace in Jesus Christ, it is akin to spiritual adultery. You cannot live under the law and under Christ at the same time. Paul made this very clear in his letter to the Galatians.

3 I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:3-4)

Jesus is a priest forever

The truth has never changed since it was first delivered by Jesus. He is our high priest forever.

So, if we are to truly worship under Jesus, we need to hold fast to the truth as He taught it. We ought not follow any teachings that are not justified and validated in the scriptures. We need to listen to Him and His words, testing everything that we hear by the truth of the gospel. And we need to not try to live under two (or more) priesthoods at the same time.

There is only one God and one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is a high priest forever. Let us remember and follow His sound words and so find the truth.

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