Audio only:
Most Christians refer to their ministers as priests. Even some in the Protestant community do so.
But some Protestants harshly denounce this and say that all Christians are priests. This is known as the “priesthood of all believers,” and they have verses in the New Testament to back it up!
Do these verses really show that all Christians are priests and there are not meant to be any ministers known as priests? In this episode, Jimmy Akin provides a dramatic reversal and shows you the surprising truth about what these verses actually mean . . . what they indicate about the priesthood in both the Old and the New Testament . . . and how famous Protestant scholar N. T. Wright is actually correct on this subject.
Coming Up
SPEAKER 1: Hello, my brothers and sisters in Christ. This is Brother Frank again, and today I would like to talk to you about priesthood and the Catholic church.
SPEAKER 2: We don’t need any priest on this earth. I don’t need a priest. In fact, there are no ordained priest of God on this earth.
SPEAKER 3: Our first controversy is that meatiest of all theologies the priesthood of all believers.
Let’s get into it!
* * *
Howdy, folks!
If you like this content, you can help me out by liking, commenting, writing a review, sharing the podcast, and subscribing
If you’re watching on YouTube, be sure and hit the bell notification so that you always get notified when I have a new video
You can also help me keep making this podcast—and you can get early access to new episodes—by going to Patreon.com/JimmyAkinPodcast
Christian Priests?
SPEAKER 1: Do you truly believe that a man today should be calling himself a priest and people looking up to him as he’s the leader? God’s word completely talks against that.
A large majority of the Christians in the world refer to many of their ministers as priests. This is true in historic branches of Christianity, such as the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and the Oriental Orthodox churches.
It’s also true in some branches of Protestantism. Many Anglican ministers are known as priests, and even some Lutheran ministers—particularly in Europe—are also called priests.
This usage is part of a three-fold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons, which is very ancient in the Church and goes back into the first century.
We discussed some of how we know it goes back that far in Episode 23 of The Jimmy Akin Podcast, so you can check out that episode if you’d like more information on that.
However, there is a minority position found in the Protestant community that opposes the idea of Christians having priests.
This minority position is found among Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, and many non-denominational Protestant churches.
Instead of referring to their ministers as priests, they may refer to them simply as ministers or as elders, pastors, preachers, and so forth.
“The Priesthood of All Believers”?
On what basis do these groups oppose the idea of a Christian priesthood? Basically, it’s a doctrine known as “the priesthood of all believers.”
The essential idea—as the name would suggest—is that all believers in Christ are priests, and it’s inferred from this that there aren’t supposed to be any priests who have a special, ministerial role.
SPEAKER 4: The priesthood of all believers is a beautiful doctrine that’s been revived by the reformers. Basically, it says that Christ is our priest and that all believers in Christ are priests in some sense like Christ. Not just certain special class of people in the church, but all believers share in this priesthood as we share in Christ, as we participate with Christ in spiritual union. That’s the doctrine.
SPEAKER 5: Jesus is our high priest who connects us with God, and all believers are called to be priests looking to introduce the world to Jesus.
Okay, so the idea is that Jesus Christ is our high priest, and all Christians are ordinary priests. Advocates of this view are thus proposing a 2-stage model of the priesthood, with Jesus Christ having the first rank as the high priest and regular Christians having the second rank as ordinary priests, which they call the priesthood of all believers.
They view this model as being in contrast with the one used by most Christians, including Catholics.
SPEAKER 6: If anybody calls himself a priest, he is not ordained of God. He’s ordained only of men, and God does not accept it. Why? We are a priesthood of believers.
SPEAKER 5: There’s no one person who has a special connection to God. We all have the same connection through our priest Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER 3: This teaching was one of the major arguments within the Reformation. Our brothers and sisters in the Roman Catholic Church have a very high view of priesthood, which separate the priesthood from normal members of society. Priests can only be men. They must be celibates. They have to be approved by the church. They wear different clothes from the rest of society and have special spiritual abilities not granted to the laity. Theologians like Martin Luther and John Calvin directly contradicted this idea by stating that all believers were now part of a royal priesthood As a member of God’s royal priesthood, that means that all believers have a role in Christian ministry and ways of serving God.
So these Protestants see their model as being in conflict with the one used by most Christians—including Catholics—which would acknowledge Jesus at the top as the high priest and then putting a special class of priests under him that not everyone gets to belong to, but only certain men.
The Origin of the Model
Now, where did these models of the priesthood come from, and how can we figure out who’s correct?
The origin of the priesthood of all believers model involves a parallel with the Old Testament and how the priesthood worked in it.
SPEAKER 3: Throughout the Bible, we are given this idea that you are a priest.
So, throughout the Bible we’re taught that you—like everybody—are a priest. So that’s throughout the Bible, both Old and New Testament.
SPEAKER 3: In a Jewish context. The idea of being a priest was something that was reserved for a very small section of society. Only men of the tribe of Levi were permitted to serve as priests. Jewish teaching in that day held that all people were precious, but not all people were fundamentally equal. Not everyone had the rights or the capacity or the ordination from God to be able to serve in the role of priest.
Oh, wait. So it isn’t the case that we find the idea that you’re a priest throughout the Bible. Now we’re hearing that in the Old Testament only men from the tribe of Levi were able to serve as priests. Well, okay then.
SPEAKER 1: The priesthood came from the tribe of Levi, which was one of the 12 tribes of Israel, and Aaron and his sons were the only priest that, the only men that should be called priests or should be in the priest’s office in the Bible that God spoke of.
Okay, so the only people in the Old Testament who were priests were Aaron and his sons in the tribe of Levi. There were no other people who were authorized to be priests of God at all.
SPEAKER 1: “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.”
Oh, wait. There was also Melchizedek, who wasn’t a member of the tribe of Levi at all. In fact, he wasn’t even an Israelite. He was a Jebusite.
Actually, it turns out that the gentlemen we’ve been hearing from have been oversimplifying the Old Testament priesthoods in various ways. For example, it was not always the case that one had to be from the tribe of Levi—even after the tribe of Levi became a thing.
For example, in its article on priests the Jewish Encyclopedia notes:
Even where there was a sanctuary with a priesthood, as at Shiloh, any layman might slaughter and offer his sacrifices without priestly aid (comp. 1 Sam. 2:13–16). As access to the altar was not yet guarded in accordance with later Levitical ordinances, so the priesthood was not yet confined to one family, or even to one tribe. The Ephraimite Samuel became priest of the sanctuary at Shiloh, wearing the priestly linen coat and the pallium (1 Sam. 2:18 et seq., 3:1). The kings of Israel ordained as priest whomever they chose (1 Kings 12:31); David, too, invested his own sons, as well as the Jairite Ira, of the tribe of Manasseh, with the priestly office (2 Sam. 8:18, 20:26) (Jewish Encyclopedia, s.v. “Priest”).
So the situation is a bit more complicated than many people represent it, but the basic argument is that
SPEAKER 5: Now in the Old Testament, only some of the people were priests, but through Jesus, all believers are connected to God, and so now we’re all priests. We all have the responsibility to represent God to each other and to the world.
The idea is thus that the Jewish people had a high priest at the top, who was always a descendant of Moses’ brother Aaron, and then other priests below him, who were also descendants of Aaron.
A Biblical Basis for the Model?
The argument that supporters of the priesthood of all believers make is that when we came to the Christian age, Catholics and most Christians got the idea of the priesthood wrong. They correctly understood that Jesus is our high priest, but they mistakenly carried over the idea that only some people should be regular priests.
Instead, they state, it ought to be everybody.
SPEAKER 3: Everyone who believes in the name of Jesus is given the special title of a priest in its day. This was a radical departure from all accepted wisdom. The ancient view was that a priest was a set apart role who was specially authorized to perform ritualistic and religious duties.
Okay, so why would they think that? Well, there’s a passage that they appeal to, and this passage is 1 Peter 2:9, where Peter tells his readers:
SPEAKER 3: But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
So there you have it. Peter doesn’t tell just some of his readers that they are a royal priesthood. He makes this statement without qualification. Therefore, all Christians are priests, and thus in the Christian age we have a priesthood of all believers.
SPEAKER 4: And even earlier in the Old Testament, Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests, Exodus 19, and Peter picks up on the same truth in one Peter chapter 2.
Wait. What?
SPEAKER 4: And even earlier in the Old Testament, Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests, Exodus 19, and Peter picks up on the same truth in one Peter chapter 2.
So . . . you mean that when Peter called his readers a royal priesthood—implying that they were all priests—he was actually quoting from something the Old Testament said about Israel?
Really! How interesting! That’s worth a closer look.
Exodus 19
In Exodus 19, we read:
Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God.
The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation’” (Exodus 19:2-6).
And then Peter picks this up in his first letter, and we read:
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9).
So Peter is just quoting to the Church something that was earlier said to the people of Israel. It turns out they, too, were “a kingdom of priests” or “a royal priesthood” to God among all the different peoples on Earth.
Well! Who knew! That’s something you don’t hear every day from advocates of the priesthood of all believers!
Many of them don’t even seem to have heard of this Old Testament passage—or at least to have realized its significance—though a few of the more scholarly ones may mention it from time to time.
Revising the Models
What you see even fewer of these advocates do is draw out the implications of this—and it has implications. We thus have to revise our model of how the priesthood was understood in the Old Testament.
There was definitely a high priest at the top, who was a descendant of Aaron. Then there were the other priests who ministered at the temple in Jerusalem—who also had to be sons of Aaron. Since they ministered at the temple, we can call them “ministerial priests.”
And then—at the bottom—there was the common priesthood that all Israelites had.
So they didn’t have a 2-fold priesthood in the Old Testament but a 3-fold one, with the high priest at the top, the ministerial priests in the middle, and the common priesthood at the bottom.
And, you know what? That’s exactly the same model used by Catholics and the majority of Christians! We also have a 3-fold model of the priesthood, with Jesus Christ as our high priest at the top, ministerial priests who serve in individual congregations around the world in the middle, and then the common priesthood of all believers at the bottom.
It’s then those who reject the idea of ministerial priests that are left with only a 2-fold model of the priesthood, with Jesus as high priest at the top and the priesthood of all believers at the bottom.
Catholic Teaching on the Priesthood
Now, you might not believe me when I mention that Catholics also acknowledge the common priesthood of all believers. You might say, “I’ve never heard Catholics talking about that! I’ve only ever heard them talking about the ordained priests who minister in their churches!”
In which case, it’s clear that you haven’t really studied this issue, because what I’m saying is not a secret. For example, in the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium we read:
Christ the Lord, high priest taken from among men, made the new people a kingdom and priests to God the Father. The baptized, by regeneration and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, are consecrated as a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, in order that through all those works which are those of the Christian man they may offer spiritual sacrifices and proclaim the power of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvelous light. Therefore all the disciples of Christ, persevering in prayer and praising God, should present themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. Everywhere on earth they must bear witness to Christ and give an answer to those who seek an account of that hope of eternal life which is in them.
Though they differ from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated: each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ. The ministerial priest, by the sacred power he enjoys, teaches and rules the priestly people; acting in the person of Christ, he makes present the Eucharistic sacrifice, and offers it to God in the name of all the people. But the faithful, in virtue of their royal priesthood, join in the offering of the Eucharist. They likewise exercise that priesthood in receiving the sacraments, in prayer and thanksgiving, in the witness of a holy life, and by self-denial and active charity (Lumen Gentium 10).
And this is not a new teaching, but something that goes back centuries. So if someone is not aware of it, they simply have not been studying Catholic teaching on this question.
Which Model Is Correct?
We thus have three models of the priesthood on the table—the 3-fold version that was used in the Old Testament, the 3-fold version that is used by Catholics and most Christians, and the 2-fold version that is used by others in the Protestant community. The question is: Which one should we prefer?
For Christians, the answer will be one of the two Christian models, but which?
A 3-fold model was used in the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant is the fulfillment of the Old, so that gives us reason to suppose that the New Covenant will also use a 3-fold model. At least, that would be our starting assumption.
If the Old Testament has a high priest, and that’s fulfilled by the high priesthood of Jesus, and if the Old Testament has a common priesthood of all Israelites and that’s fulfilled by the common priesthood of all Christians, then since there is a ministerial priesthood in the Old Testament, we would expect there to be a Christian fulfillment of that as well.
Adding to this is the fact that most Christians have—in fact—adopted this model, which adds additional weight to the case for the 3-fold model.
However, you could overcome these considerations if you found verses in the New Testament that stated that there will be no Christian fulfillment of the ministerial priesthood—that it has simply been abolished.
There aren’t any such verses, but that’s the kind of thing that would overcome the presumption we’ve established.
On the other hand, perhaps there are verses that indicate an ongoing presence for the ministerial priesthood in the Christian age, and here we are in luck, because there are such verses.
Verses Supporting the Ministerial Priesthood
For example, in Isaiah 66—the last chapter of the book of Isaiah—the prophet is predicting the coming messianic age in which God will do great things, and he says:
The time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, and I will set a sign among them. . . . And they shall declare my glory among the nations. . . . And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the Lord (Isaiah 66:18-21).
So Isaiah prophesied that—in the age of the Messiah, or the Christian age—God would take some of the gentiles and have them serve as priests, so there is to be a presence of a ministerial priesthood in the Christian age.
The same thing is reinforced by another prophecy that is found in Malachi 1, where we read:
When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? . . .
Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts (Malachi 1:8, 10-11).
Here the prophet expresses God’s wish that someone would shut the doors of the temple in Jerusalem since God will not accept offerings made by the Jewish people there. Instead, God begins receiving pure offerings given “in every place” by the gentiles, for among them God’s name is great.
From the first century onward, Christians saw this pair of prophecies as being fulfilled in their day. The temple was shut down in A.D. 70 when it was destroyed by the Romans—just as Jesus had said it would be—and then Christians everywhere, including many gentiles, began offering God the pure offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
We thus again see an ongoing presence for the ministerial priesthood in the Christian age.
Both of these passages are found in the Old Testament, but we also see an ongoing presence in the New Testament. In Romans 15, where St. Paul says:
On some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:15-16).
The word here translated “priestly service” is hierourgeó, and if you check standard Greek dictionaries like Bauer, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, you’ll see that it means to “perform holy service” or to “act as a priest.”
The Lexham English Bible—which is a recent and literal Protestant translation—thus renders the passage:
I have written to you more boldly on some points, so as to remind you again because of the grace that has been given to me by God, with the result that I am a servant of Christ Jesus to the gentiles, serving the gospel of God as a priest, in order that the offering of the gentiles may become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:15-16, LEB).
So Paul indicates that he serves the gospel of God as a priest—which shows that the Christian gospel includes a role for ministerial priests, since Paul understands his own ministry to be different than that of an ordinary Christian. He was called in a special way to the service of the gospel, and he here views himself as offering the gentiles to God as a New Testament priest.
N.T. Wright Weighs In
Before we close today, I’d like to bring one more voice into our discussion. As I mentioned, some in the Protestant community are scholarly enough to acknowledge that Peter is quoting from what the book of Exodus says about Israelites when he describes Christians as a royal priesthood or kingdom of priests.
For example, here is the famous British scholar N.T. Wright addressing the subject.
- T WRIGHT: The idea of the priesthood of all believers would be anchored for many people in the line in one Peter 2 verse 9, “You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people,” et cetera, but people don’t always realize that that is a direct reference back to Exodus chapter 19 verse 6, and also to Isaiah 61:6, where God says to all Israel on bringing them out of Egypt, “You are to be for me a royal priesthood, a holy nation,” and that means that all God’s people are in that sense, priests. But the shock for the Protestant is that that didn’t mean that then they didn’t have people who were priests—the Aaronide priesthood and the Levites. The Aaronic priesthood were priests to the nation of priests, and that kind of blows our mind.
But Wright goes further and acknowledges the implications that this has. He acknowledges that some Protestants have gone too far.
- T WRIGHT: It reacts too far if it gets to the point of saying, therefore, there should be no such thing as ministerial priesthood within the church.
It’s therefore a mistake to pit the ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood against each other. Those who do this often make it sound like the ministerial priesthood is some kind of barrier between us and God, but it’s always been true that every individual follower of God—whether he’s Israelite or Christian—has a direct relationship with God.
And yet it’s also true that some believers—in both the Jewish and Christian communities—have a special role to minister to their fellow believers. The ministerial priesthood is not a barrier between us and God but a service that God provides for us.
- T WRIGHT: Insofar as this means every single Christian has instant right of access to God the Father through Jesus in the power of the Spirit. That’s Romans 5:1. We’re justified by faith. We have access to God the Father through Jesus. And then Paul goes on to talk about the spirit. In so far as that slogan has been used as a way of saying, therefore, we don’t need ministers in church who have a special responsibility and role to sum up the praises of the congregation and also to minister to the congregation in teaching and leading, then I think that’s gone too far. I think it’s quite clear in the New Testament that we do have such roles.
And St. Paul saw himself as fulfilling such a role when he described himself as serving the gospel of God as a priest.
Now, there’s more to say about all this—in particular, about how terms like priest changed and developed over time. However, Scripture makes it clear that the ministerial priesthood—as well as the common priesthood of all believers—is present in the Christian era.
* * *
If you like this content, you can help me out by liking, commenting, writing a review, sharing the podcast, and subscribing
If you’re watching on YouTube, be sure and hit the bell notification so that you always get notified when I have a new video
And you can also help me keep making this podcast—and you can get early access to new episodes—by going to Patreon.com/JimmyAkinPodcast
Thank you, and I’ll see you next time
God bless you always!
VIDEO SOURCES: