Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus,
We’ve learned through The Word found in Revelation 1:5-6 that Christ Jesus made all those that believe on Him to be kings and priests in The Kingdom of God. This means you and me. We are kings and priests in God’s Kingdom.
Revelation 1:5-6
5 And from Jesus Christ, Who is The Faithful Witness, and The First Begotten of the Dead, and The Prince of The Kings of The Earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
What does it mean to be a king and a priest in The Kingdom of God? Each are different roles. In simplest terms, kings finance The Kingdom and priests preach The Kingdom. Under the Old Covenant, one could only be a king or a priest. No one could be both until Jesus fulfilled the three roles He was given, which are enumerated in Revelation 1:5: The Faithful Witness; The First Begotten of the Dead; and The Prince of The Kings of The Earth.
The Old Covenant gave us types and shadows of things to come in the New Covenant. For example, David was King of Israel, and Zadok was the High Priest during much of David’s reign. Zadok was a descendant of Aaron through Eleazar. Zadok could not be the king, and David could not be the high priest. The high priest communicated the vision and the Word of God to the king who was to go forth, conquer, and bring back spoils to the high priest and The House of God. Of interest, and for you to study further, is the fact the two roles of king and priest were found in Melchizedek in Genesis 14. This was 430 years before the law was given to man. Under the law, the two roles were divided between two different men in the earth.
Genesis 14:8
And Melchizedek King of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and He was The Priest of The Most High God.
Interesting isn’t it. I recommend you study Genesis 14 and Hebrews 5-8. One hint I’ll give you is the Melchizedek Abraham met in Genesis 14 was Jesus in preincarnate form. Before we have confusion, please understand the man that would eventually fulfill the role of Jesus The Christ appeared unto Abraham as Melchizedek. In John chapter 8, Jesus refers to the fact He had met with Abraham. Before Jesus was born, an angel instructed Joseph to name the baby, that would be born to Mary and him, as Jesus. Jesus in Hebrew is “Yeshua,” which means “salvation.” Christ is the Greek word for the Hebrew word “Messiah.” It means “Anointed One.” When Jesus came into the earth as “Jesus,” He came in the role of “Salvation by The Anointed One.” We can further define salvation to mean, “deliverance from eternal death and eternal separation from God.” Given all of this, The Name “Jesus” has the meaning for us of “Deliverance from Eternal Death and Eternal Separation from God by The Anointed One.”
Isaiah 10:27
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his [satan’s] burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his [satan’s] yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing [The Anointed One, Jesus].
Coming back to our roles in Christ Jesus as kings and priests in The Kingdom of God, kings are to finance The Kingdom of God in this earth. How do we, as Believers, finance The Kingdom? By our tithes and offerings. God has spelled out the tithe, clearly, and He will direct your offerings. As kings, we must learn to listen to and obey Him in our finances. If we’re willing and obedient (Isaiah 1:19), God can bless us more and more, and greater and greater, until our tithes and offerings are hundreds of thousands or millions a year. Can you imagine what can be done in The Kingdom of God on this earth with these types of finances? God must work through men and women, kings, in this earth. But the men and women, Believers, must be knowledgeable, willing, and obedient. And YOU are one of these kings. It doesn’t matter if we are young, middle aged, or on a fixed income as a retiree. The Spiritual Laws of The Seed, Sowing and Reaping, and Manifold Returns work no matter our age, our job, or our income provided we are willing and obedient to The Word of God.
As priests, we are to preach The Kingdom of God. You might say I haven’t been called to preach, teach, or evangelize. If you were to say this, you would be terribly wrong. You may not have been called into one or more of the five-fold ministry offices (Ephesians 4:11-14: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers), but you have been called individually into the ministry of reconciliation. The ministry of reconciliation is to preach, teach, and live the restoration of the broken relationship between God and humanity through Jesus Christ. We don’t have to be in specific five-fold ministry offices to communicate and live the ministry of reconciliation. We will, as Believers, answer to Jesus Christ, at the Beam Seat, as to how willing and obedient we were to embrace and fulfill the ministry of reconciliation. Our rewards will be based upon this.
II Corinthians 5:18
And all things are of God, Who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
In closing, I urge us to take seriously, in Christ, the roles we have been given by God The Father, through Jesus The King and The High Priest of the Kingdom of God, after the order of Melchizedek. What do we want to hear from our King Jesus at the Bema Seat? “Well done, thou good and faithful son or daughter: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”
Blessings in Christ Jesus,
Larry