The Short Take
Every time you step into Sunday School Class, meet another believer for lunch,attend a committee meeting or have other interaction with believers you are hanging out among the Priesthood. Each of you are saved by grace with Christ dwelling in you (Gal 2:20). You are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Jn 14:16f). You are adopted by God and are part of the family of God (Ep 1:5). You are gifted by God so that you can help to build the Kingdom (1 Cor 12). You have a personal intercessor in Jesus Christ sitting at the right hand of God. Your destiny is in Heaven where a place is prepared for you (1 Pt 1:3f). This Priesthood establishes a basic fundamental dynamic of equality and belonging among Christians. To be sure, gifts vary, commitment varies, but spiritual growth and insights are available to all. Therefore, leaders must be careful to listen intently, to beware of prideful superiority, to avoid condescension, and be prepared to learn from the old and the young, from the cantankerous and the sweet, from the educated and the ill-spoken. All are saints in the Priesthood of Believers. Reborn into unity with one another, not by earthly invitation, but rather by an Act of God.
Jim Suttle-Jan 2001
Musings on Religion, Politics and Following Christ 