Priesthood of Believers
In order to metaphorically describe what the nature of the church’s relationship to God resembles, we will be exploring the subject of the Priesthood of Believers. For us to accurately approach this teaching about the Priesthood of Believers, it is important to first have a basic understanding of what a priest is. William Vine explains that a priest in the Old Testament was “an authorized minister of deity who officiates at the altar and in other cultic rites. A priest performs sacrificial, ritualistic, and mediatorial duties; he represents the people before God” (Vines, 188), and God before the people. It was the priests’ duty to lead the people into the worship of YHWH. The first time we read about a priest of God in the Bible, is when Melchizedek the “Priest of God Most High,” comes to Abraham in order to bless him on behalf of God (Genesis 14:18-19), and also to bless God Himself (Genesis 14:20). This would have to be the overarching theme of the priesthood, to be a ...