In worship we are all priests. That which could not be true under law is now the privilege of every true believer. “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5). “To Him who loves us, and has washed us from our sins in His blood, and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father” (Rev. 1:5-6 JND). The epistle to the Hebrews exhorts all true Christians to approach God within the veil. There is no intermediary, apart from Christ, between the believer and God. “There is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Despite this remarkable liberty, for much of Christendom’s history the Church has kept the saints at a distance from God. A priestly order of a select few has been imposed between them and God. Moreover, Christians have shrunk from exercising their priesthood. They would rather perform works, or exercise their gifts, or do nothing at all but listen to another; in so doing they make themselves Levites and not priests.
How much do we know of drawing near, of entering within the veil? We understand what it means to: “Come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). But when it comes to that “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way” (Heb. 10:19-20)—when it’s no longer about my need—how far we fall short. It is good to be exercised as to this for it represents (whether we admit it or not) a low, not necessarily a poor, state of soul. It can result from deficient teaching, circumstances, or a worldliness that has pushed aside the enjoyment of Christ—anything which sets my focus on me and not on Christ.
Although all are priests, that priesthood is not exercised by all in the same way. A typical assembly will include men, women, and children—I speak specifically of those who are truly saved. God, in His wisdom, has granted each different spheres of responsibility within His house. Women are not to take a public role in the assembly (1 Cor. 14:34). They are to have their heads covered as an outward sign of their dependent position. “Therefore ought the woman to have authority on her head, on account of the angels” (1 Cor. 11:10 JND). Women are not, however, relegated to a secondary place; they join in the worship, they offer up their sacrifice of praise, and likewise, they partake in the Lord’s supper. One should not associate dependence and subjection with inferiority; the Lord Jesus was the most perfect example of both. I recognize that these verses are unpopular, and many find ways to circumvent them. Nevertheless, God has established an order that goes back to creation. To violate the natural order of things is both dishonoring to the person involved and to God (Rom. 1:26; 1 Cor. 11:3-15; 1 Tim. 2:12-13).
There may also be things which disqualify one from the exercise of their priesthood. The sons of Aaron were consecrated as priests, but if they acted with uncleanness upon them, they were to be cut off from the presence of the Lord (Lev. 22:1-3). In the days of Ezra there were priests who could not establish their genealogy. These, too, had to be put away from the priesthood as polluted (Ezra 2:62). None of these principles have lost their value in the present day. It may be necessary for an assembly to address sin in the life of a believer, and they may have to be put away as unclean (1 Cor. 5:9-13). Likewise, if one cannot give a clear confession of their spiritual genealogy, not now according to natural birth but, rather, according to new birth, then their salvation is in question. They are not qualified to exercise their priesthood.
Although priesthood is neither gift nor service, that doesn’t mean there aren’t responsibilities connected with it. In writing to the Corinthians Paul says: “I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say” (1 Cor. 10:15). This responsibility is both individual and collective. Individual responsibility is expressed in the verse: “Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body” (1 Cor. 11:28-29). It is perhaps less well known, and certainly little acknowledged, that the assembly also has a responsibility. “Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” (1 Cor. 5:6). To suggest that the assembly is defiled through association is not popular (1 Cor. 10:18-20). “Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men's sins: keep thyself pure” (1 Tim. 5:22). With some, their character is immediately evident—whether good or bad. With others, it takes time to know them. “Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after. Likewise, also the good works of some are manifest beforehand; and they that are otherwise cannot be hid” (1 Tim. 5:24-25). In identifying with a person, we become a partaker in their works—whether good or bad. These principles are seen throughout the Word of God. In Nehemiah’s day, “the doorkeepers and the singers and the Levites were appointed” (Neh. 7:1 JnD). I do not believe that the order is arbitrary. Worship (singing) preceded service (Levites), but all this was overseen by those who watched over the city. We have parallels in Christianity: “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account” (Heb. 13:17). One who is at the Lord’s table is accountable to those who have an administrative responsibility in the assembly.
Just as there is growth in natural things, so should there be in the spiritual realm. We do not grow without food—not physically and not spiritually. It is necessary and proper for a child to sit as a learner (Prov. 2:1-9). The boy Jesus was not marked by immodesty nor conduct unbefitting a child. We find Jesus, as a twelve-year-old boy, “in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers and hearing them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers” (Luke 2:46). He heard them and asked questions; the teachers in turn put questions to Him and were surprised at His answers—all is beautifully fitting. A child who unnaturally reaches beyond his or her age is called precocious. It is not natural for a child to take a lead. “Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and thy princes eat in the morning!” (Eccl. 10:16). Age should bring discernment. “Strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:14). A prince, when a child, is subject to those who have his care. “A child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; but is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father” (Gal. 4:1-2). It is only when they reach a full age do they take up the responsibilities connected with their position. “The child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli” (1 Sam. 3:1). Samuel served the Lord, but in subjection to Eli. A child’s position in the assembly is, likewise, one of subjection. It is not their time or place to have a public role. Children are to be nurtured; the assembly is to be a place of growth. To put demands on a child beyond their years (or to allow them to enter such a place on their own volition) is to seethe a kid in its mother’s milk. “Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk” (Exod. 23:19, see also 34:26 and Deut. 14:21). To put a child in a position of responsibility, when they are not ready for it, will invariably result in their destruction.
Contrariwise, it is out of character for one who is of a full age to behave as a child. The Apostle Paul found it necessary to tell the Corinthians saints: “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong” (1 Cor. 16:13). They were behaving like immature children. To the Hebrew saints he wrote: “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat” (Heb. 5:12). There were many things the Jewish believers clung to—a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things (Heb. 10:1)—and like children they were reluctant to let them go. The Gentiles were not immune to this behavior, and they, too, gravitated towards those showy things which appeal to the natural man and the child within. “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Cor. 13:11). One who refuses to accept responsibility because they do not want accountability is behaving in self-will.