People, Priests and Presence

In the Old Testament we see expressed the above 3 primary dimensions. The people of God, in general, the priestly groups and the symbolic dimension of the temple of God where God's presence dwelt. In general, the people try to live Godly obedient lives, the Priests are to both minister to God and the people and bridge the gap between God and people then there is the presence of God himself, which carries also his power which is represented by the Temple and more specifically the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of holies.

Why is this relevant? Well, as much of the Old Testament actually points us to things about Jesus, about God's plans and purposes for humanity it would surely be true that something like these basic dimensions of Old Testament life exist within the New Testament/covenant as well?

In brief, what we see in the Old Testament is actually a reflection or shadow of the New Testament church-The People, the Priests and the Presence are all part of the church only in a slightly different form. In fact, we see all of these aspects modelled in the life of Christ- so let's start there.

Jesus came as a man to be one of the people and was called to live a perfect Godly life in obedience to Father God. Jesus also acted as a Priest in that he bridged the gap between the people and God and offered himself (priests offer sacrifices) as a sacrifice for sin. The other thing is that Jesus was also the presence of God in the world, the true temple. He did what the Father told him, walked in his power and authority and where he went darkness fled. He was a true Kingdom walker: where he walked, the Kingdom came in power.

Therefore the people, Priests and presence of God that were specific dimensions in the Old Testament have been merged into one-Jesus Christ. What does this mean for us?

Now here it gets even more interesting, as followers of Jesus, being his body, we essentially become the same-we are meant to be disciples of Christ, followers of him in our day to day lives. We are also meant to be priests, in fact, scripture uses the phrase 'royal priests'. We are now serving as a bridge between people and God and are also meant to show the people of God his ways, keep them on the right path through things like teaching and intercession. Even more importantly, we are carriers of the presence of God. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are promised his Holy Spirit which is the same Holy Spirit Jesus was walking around being filled with. Where we walk and minister, the presence of God in our lives can help us bring the Kingdom in power.

Now, obviously, Jesus did all that perfectly, we don't. But it is an important aspect to remember when reading the Old Testament. When you read about priests, in some way, scripture is telling you something about you and your role and function. When scripture tells us something about the presence of God and the temple of God, it is saying something about you as well. You see, this is why Paul writes such a positive view of scripture in it being God breathed and useful.

You are a child of God, you are called to live an obedient loving life with him as your Lord and saviour, being part of the people of God. You are a priest of God, you are meant to minister to God and the people around you, we are ministers to each other, pray for them, guide them (and them to you), teach them, care for their spiritual needs and lift them up to God regularly, you are meant to sacrificially worship God with all of your being. You are are the temple of God which basically means that you carry the presence of God with you (the same presence of God that existed only in the Holy of Holies), that same presence that tore the temple curtain in two so that you, like a high priest, can live in his presence and carry it with you wherever you go.

I hope this encourages you, not only to engage with the Old Testament more but so that you can grow confident in who you are and who God is calling you to be. As a follower of Christ, we learnt from the Old Testament that you are one of the people of God, you are meant to serve as a priest of God and you carry the presence of God with you wherever you go-whether you feel like you do or not.