The Priesthood of God

There are a few topics concerning how the laws of Leviticus relate to the New Covenant that I'd like to write about, and I've been mulling over exactly how to get started. I finally realized that some background information was needed about the priesthood in the New Covenant in order for it to really be effective. Moreover, I found this topic to be worthy of its own discussion anyway!

If I asked you whether there was a priesthood in the New Covenant, hopefully you would know that the answer is yes. But could you answer if I asked you why there is a priesthood in the New Covenant? Moreover, why did God command a priesthood for the Old Covenant? That first question has an definite and clear scriptural answer, which I'll review. The latter two questions, however, require some thinking on our part!

The Holy Spirit, our... Midwife?

 The life of a Christian can be put into a rough correspondence with the events of the Exodus, and this imagery is especially helpful for us during the Passover season. I've written previously about the similarities between Pharaoh and the "old man" written of by Paul (Romans 6:6, Ephesians 4:22), and this post is along the same lines. The "old man" is the person that we were before repentance and baptism. As much as we would like to be a 100% new person who doesn't sin anymore after baptism, it just doesn't work that way! We are still physical beings, and we have to struggle against the flesh and bring it into subjection to God. Occasionally, the Old Man gets the upper hand, and our spiritual lives wane - in effect, we go back to bondage in spiritual Egypt.

God allowed Israel, His people, to suffer slavery in Egypt for over 400 years. Even while they were slaves, God watched over them and allowed their population to grow larger and larger, working to fulfill a promise made to Abraham. Eventually, the Pharaoh came to see Israel's increasing numbers as a threat, and so he devised a plan to keep their population under control. 

Exodus 1:9-11
And [Pharaoh] said to his people, "Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we; come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and it happen, in the event of war, that they also join our enemies and fight against us, and so go up out of the land." Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them.

Is Circumcision Merely Part of the Old Covenant?

In the early history of the New Testament Church, a controversy arose over whether Gentiles in the Church needed to be circumcised. The controversy is formally settled in Acts 15, although there are indications that certain Jews continued teaching this heresy. Most people wrongly conclude that the entire system of Old Covenant law was abolished as a result of the decision of the Acts 15 conference regarding circumcision. As an introduction to the topic of circumcision in the New Covenant, I'd like to examine the origin of circumcision and establish its significance as more than just a part of the Old Covenant law.

What Do You Owe God?

In a previous post, I examined what God requires of us in comparison to what He required of Israel. The conclusion was that God requires the same things from us that He required from Israel - that we fear God, love God, walk in all God's ways, serve God with all our heart and soul, and keep God's commandments (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Israel continually fell short on every one of these points because they didn't have the law of God written in their minds and on their hearts, so that even when they tried to please God they could not because they lacked the help of the Holy Spirit. Put another way, God gives us His Spirit so that we can do what Israel couldn't - if we walk by the Spirit, then we walk according to God's law, which is the same law that He gave to Israel.

Today, I'd like to make another comparison between the New Covenant and the Old - let's consider what we owe God in comparison to what Israel owed God under the Old Covenant.

Whose Law is it Anyway?

In the previous article, I wrote about what God requires from us as compared to Israel, concluding that the two were the same, insofar as we should love and fear God and obey His commandments (Deuteronomy 10:12-13). Most people would agree with that statement on the surface, but begin to disagree when I specify that God's commandments are the same for us today as they were for Israel. Today, I want to give an illustrative example of why I hold this view.

What Does God Require of You?

What does God require of you? This is a subject of much contention among those who read the bible. For ancient Israel, God made it extremely clear what He expected from them under the Old Covenant:

Deuteronomy 10:12
And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the LORD and His statutes which I commanded you today for your good?

God gave them an elaborate and detailed list of laws that they were to keep, and many people think that these laws are not what God intends for us under the New Covenant. If God doesn't expect us to keep His law, then what does He require of us?

Arguments Against Tithing Debunked - Part 2 - Was Tithing Disannulled in Hebrews 7?

I would like to first answer the question as stated in the title of this article and then generalize the question to "is tithing disannulled anywhere in the New Covenant?" The reason for starting with this very specific argument about Hebrews 7 is that this is one place that anti-tithers harp on make an argument against tithing. Indeed, most of Christianity today uses Hebrews 7 as a "proof" that the "Old Covenant" law of God is no longer required - of course, they then pick and choose for themselves what they consider to be Old Covenant law! After a careful analysis of this chapter, I'll show in a broader sense that neither tithing nor any other part of the law of God has ever been "disannulled" in the sense that it is no longer in effect, as so many today want you to think.

For starters, let's review the anti-tithing argument in question. It goes as follows:

Hebrews 7 is the only place in the bible after Christ's death that tithing appears, and it refers to tithe as a commandment and law in verse 5. Then Hebrews 7:12 says that the law has changed because the priesthood has changed, and verse 18 says that the commandment is disannulled. Therefore, the commandment and law that are "disannulled" in Hebrews 7 are the laws of tithing, and Christians are no longer required to tithe like people did in the Old Covenant.

This is the argument that I'm going to now refute by examining Hebrews 7. Let's read through the chapter now to try to understand, from an objective standpoint, the context and purpose of the scriptures:

Hebrews 7:1-7
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all... remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 

The Old Covenant established the Levites as a tribe of priests and appointed them to receive the tithes from the rest of those under the covenant - the other 11 tribes of Israel. Is tithing the central issue here? No. Tithing is being used as a device to show that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. Therefore, since Abraham is greater than Levi, Melchizedek is greater than Levi:

Hebrews 7:8-10
Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. 

The sole purpose of mentioning tithes is to demonstrate that Melchizedek is greater than Levi since tithes are given from the lesser to the greater. Why is this relevant? What point is the author of Hebrews making? Keep reading for the answer.

Hebrews 7:11
Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron?

Now it should become clear: the author of Hebrews is showing the insufficiency of the Levitical priesthood and the need for a greater priesthood. Now that we are in the proper mindset, we have come to the infamous verse 12, the verse that anti-tithers say "changes" the law of tithing:

Hebrews 7:12-17
For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood. 

We have now come to the heart of the matter: Christ is a priest, but He did not come from the tribe of Levi - He was from the tribe of Judah. The law only allowed Levites to be priests. Therefore, what change of the law is being discussed? The law which states that only Levites can be priests! There is absolutely NO indication from the context that a change in tithing is being discussed! But we still have one more verse to go: the infamous "disanullment" in verse 18. Let's see what we make of that statement now that we understand the point that is being made:

Hebrews 7:15-18
And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. For He testifies: "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek." For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

Notice that the "former commandment" was annulled "because of its weakness and unprofitableness," because Christ came as a priest "according to the power of an endless life" rather than "according to the power of a fleshly commandment." The fleshly commandment is, again, the one that states that only the sons of Aaron could be priests.

Now that we understand what Hebrews 7 is saying, let's answer the argument that I posed in the beginning. The only law or commandment that is specifically addressed for the purpose of being changed or annulled is the commandment that states that priests had to be from the tribe of Levi. It cannot in any way be construed as indictment of tithing in particular! The more general argument, which I also promised to address, is that of mainstream Christianity as a whole, which says that Hebrews 7:18 refers to an annulment of the entire Old Covenant law. Again, that is not what we have found - and I'll tell you precisely why.

First of all, consider the nature of the "change of the law" that is being made and the "annulment" that is taking place. The law states that only Levites could be priests. Christ was not a Levite, but, being a priest "according to the order of Melchizedek" and "according to the power of an endless life," He is a greater priest than any Levite. Therefore, the only "change" of the law is to allow for a greater priesthood - a priesthood that already existed before the Levitical priesthood commanded through Moses, since Melchizedek was identified as the "priest of the Most High God" hundreds of years before Levi was even born.

So what manner of "change" and "annulment" is this? Answer: it's a change that invalidates priesthood according to flesh and replaces it with priesthood according to the power of God. Has the law become weaker or stronger as a result? Stronger! Hebrews 7:18 itself says that this causes "the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." Because the priesthood is now laid on a better foundation (its original foundation, in fact), we now have a better hope and are able to draw near to God in a way that was not possible before.

The conclusion of the first point is that the "change of the law" serves only to allow for a greater priesthood to take the place of the Levitical priesthood. My second point is that this is typical of the entire New Covenant. A true "annulment" of the law of the priesthood would state that there is no longer a priesthood - but this is totally false! Christ is a priest! He's the High Priest, actually, of a better priesthood. More generally, none of God's law has been "annulled" without being superseded by a better law that more fully captures God's spiritual intent of the law! For proof of this fact, one need look no further than the words of Christ:

Matthew 5:17-19
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Heaven and earth have not passed away - and neither has one word of God's law. Any "changes" are, as I stated, changes that uphold the spiritual intent of the law. Christ gave examples of these types of "changes" in the Sermon on the Mount: it's not sufficient to abstain from murder; rather, you can't even hate your brother in your heart. It's not sufficient to abstain from adultery; rather, you can't even look at a woman with lust. As a matter of fact, prophecy indicates that EXALTING the law was one of the purposes of the Messiah!

Isaiah 41:21
The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will exalt the law and make it honorable.

In the King James, the word "exalt" is translated as "magnify." The Hebrew word, according to Strong's, means "to make great, to cause to grow, to magnify." Not only has God's law not been abolished, annulled, abrogated, or whatever fancy language you want to use to say that it is "done away" - the fact is, Christ came to reveal the true spirit of the law, which is even greater and more honorable than the letter of the law.

In conclusion, as I stated from the beginning: God's commandment to tithe is NOT specifically targeted in Hebrews 7. Furthermore, NONE of God's requirements have been weakened; rather, they have been magnified and made better, so that we might receive a better reward than in the Old Covenant. 

In view of this fact, regarding tithing in particular, it is easily seen that there is no way to get off the hook as far as tithing goes. God's law is magnified in the New Covenant, and that includes the laws of tithing! If you're still reading this, then you already know that I've said too much for one post - so perhaps I'll save the topic of how the laws of tithing are magnified for a future article.

My next post on debunking anti-tithing arguments will bring us to the next logical point, as I laid out in the Introduction: now that I've shown that tithing is still required by Christians, I will refute the notion that ministers in God's church are not qualified to receive tithes since they are not Levites.

Additionally, I think that at some point I would like to take a detour to explain what is meant by the "weakness and unprofitableness" of the Old Covenant. If it was so weak and unprofitable, why did God make the Israelites agree to it in the first place?

The Sanctifying Work of the Spirit

The opening statements in many of the letters of the New Testament always sound the same to me. As I was reading a few days ago, I came to the beginning of 1 Peter and noticed just how dense it is:

1 Peter 1:1-2

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect… who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with His blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

As my title may suggest, I'm going to focus on what this says about the Spirit, but first I want to cut through the syntax of these verses and highlight the important points:

Rejoice in Suffering

The New Testament takes quite a stand on the attitude that we should have towards trials. There is a familiar scripture in James that says:

James 1:2-4

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

We are supposed to rejoice whenever bad things happen to us because it helps us develop perseverance. Furthermore, this verse indicates that by persevering, we are made “mature and complete, not lacking anything.” But how does perseverance make us complete? Paul’s letter to the church of God in Rome describes this process in more detail: