Question 44. How does Christ execute the office of a priest?

 

Question 44. How does Christ execute the office of a priest?

Answer. Christ executes the office of a priest by offering himself once for all as a perfect sacrifice to God, to be a propitiation for the sins of his people, and to make continual intercession for them.


Hebrews 8:1-5 Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We have such a high priest, who has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle which the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is set up to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is necessary that he also have something to offer. For if Jesus were on earth, he would not be a priest, for there are priests who offer gifts according to the law, who serve to be a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Jesus' role as a priest is not to be a priest on this earth, but to perform the priestly duties in the kingdom of God. "Regarding righteousness" means that Jesus goes to God, and in the Old Testament, righteousness meant not breaking even one law. However, the Holy Spirit says that this does not achieve righteousness. Jesus Christ died on the cross and took all the sins of the world with him and went before the throne of God.

In the Old Testament, because the people of Israel could not keep all the laws, they had to offer sacrifices to fulfill God's righteousness. And the high priest had to go to the Most Holy Place with the blood of the killed animal, and just as God forgave the sins of the people of Israel, Jesus shed His blood on the cross, took upon Himself all the sins of those who repent, and went to the throne of God as the high priest. Hebrews 9:25 "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."

Since Jesus fulfills his final role as the high priest, those who are in Jesus Christ become the righteousness of God. After Jesus Christ fulfilled his role as the high priest, he sat down at the right hand of God's throne. And the saints who are in Jesus Christ also sit with him. Although they are not physically with Jesus Christ, being in Jesus Christ becomes righteousness.

John 16:7-11 “But I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away. If I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict you of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they do not believe in me; of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”

As the high priest, Jesus went to God with the sins of all mankind, so all those who are in Christ have their sins forgiven. Hebrews 7:27 “He does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the people’s, since this he did once for all when he offered up himself.” Now, the saints are free from sin and begin to live a life guided by the Holy Spirit.

However, there are believers who do not believe in the work that Jesus, the high priest, has accomplished. The fact is that there are many people in today's church community who believe that "only past sins are forgiven, but present and future sins must be forgiven again through the blood of Jesus."

Romans 8:1-2 "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Jesus said this, but if you do not believe these words and do not believe in your own thoughts about sin, you are committing the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

“It is about sin, because they (sinners) do not believe in me (Jesus).” Before Jesus died on the cross, the sin that the Jews spoke of was breaking the law. However, Jesus came to the world, died on the cross, and took all the sins of the world on himself who repented, and not believing this fact is sin. This sin means blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. However, if you think that you can just go to church and believe in Jesus, you are in trouble. If you simply think this way, you do not know the rebuke of the Holy Spirit.

People in church communities do not know much about sin. Most pastors say that in the Old Testament, sin was leaving God, but in the New Testament, they say that not believing in Jesus' words was sin. However, for ordinary people, not believing in God is still a sin. And for believers, saying that they believe in God but not believing in the words of Jesus is a sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit).

 

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