Pastor Dele Olubi
[biblegateway passage=”Hebrews 5:1-3″ display=”Hebrews 5:1-3″]
In the Levitical Priesthood, we would see that there are various kinds of offerings administered by the priests: peace offerings, sins offerings, wave offerings etc. However, a major part of their operations was geared towards the sacrifices of sins.
At the fulness of time, the Priesthood of Christ appeared unto us. To what essence is this? Is this Priesthood all about the sacrifices for sins? NO! It would even be wrong for us to limit the operation of Jesus’ Priesthood to the issues of sins only. In fact, scriptures attest that this His Priesthood was prepared before man sinned. It predated the sin of Adam.
On the other hand, sin predated the old Levitical Priesthood. In fact, it was even prepared mainly for the remission of sins. Every year, the high priest goes into the holiest of all to offer sacrifice for the sins of all.
[biblegateway passage=”John 9:1″ display=”John 9:1″]
Considering the man that was blind from birth. Hitherto, I believed that God created this man blind, and that He did it so that His glory could be made manifested. But, we would see that, it is not consistent with scriptures. Scripture attests that everything that God created is good. God never created imperfection.
The disciples of Jesus asked if the man’s blindness was because of his sins or his parent’s sins. Jesus then responded and said that the man’s blindness was not even because of the his sins or his parent’s sins, that it was actually a consequence of the sin of Adam through which death reigned through all men. What Jesus just did afterwards was to exercise his authority over the consequence of sin, he simply healed him. No wonder why the scriptures says that “the son of man was made manifest so as to destroy the works of the Devil”.
[biblegateway passage=”Luke 5:17″ display=”Luke 5:17″]
Before Jesus went up to the cross, forgiveness of sins was already available through Jesus. The pharisees even witnessed Jesus forgiving sins before his death and resurrection. Even John the Baptist, had a ministry that had a valid means for remission of sins.
Therefore, the main reason Jesus went up to the cross was not mainly for the forgiveness of sins of people, rather his main objective was to remove the nature of sin that came through what Adam did in the garden.
[biblegateway passage=”Hebrews 9:26″ display=”Hebrews 9:26″]
“For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”
End time did not start some thousand years after Jesus died. It actually started at the appearing of Jesus on the earth, when he came to put away sin once and for all by the sacrifice of himself.
[biblegateway passage=”Hebrews 7:1, 16″ display=”Hebrews 7:1, 16″]
The Melchizedek’s priesthood predated the new Testament. The priesthood of Christ alike had even been prepared before the foundations of the world. Jesus only came to the world to bring life and immortality into light. It only appeared and became relevant to us when that happened.
For us to enter Christ’s priesthood, He needed to pave the way. Thus, the essence of His birth, death, burial and resurrection.
1 Peter 1:20; Ephesians 1:4; John 17:24
These are some scriptures that talks about from the foundations of the world
Hebrews 9:26; John 8:44
Scriptures described Satan as a murderer from the beginning, but not before the beginning. Satan did not fall immediately after he was created, before the beginning. There was even a certain time, scriptures described him as one of the Cherub that covereth.
[biblegateway passage=”Matthew 13:35″ display=”Matthew 13:35″]; [biblegateway passage=”Matthew 25:34″ display=”Matthew 25:34″]; [biblegateway passage=”Luke 11:50″ display=”Luke 11:50″]; [biblegateway passage=”Revelation 13:8″ display=”Revelation 13:8″]; [biblegateway passage=”Revelation 14:8″ display=”Revelation 14:8″]
A common misconception was that Jesus was slain before the foundation. Not so, scriptures expressly says otherwise. Jesus was actually slain from the foundation of the world instead. This was after Satan fell and sin came into the world, and Adam was susceptible to sin.
God did not create hell for man. It was created for the Devil and the angels. The book of Life even came into place from the foundation of the world, not before the foundation of the world.
[biblegateway passage=”Ephesians 1:4″ display=”Ephesians 1:4″]
We have been chosen in God before the foundations of the world, holy and acceptable before him love.
In due time, the Word proceedeth from the Father and became flesh. Apostle John made us even know that the Word had been with the Father in the beginning. When the Word accomplished His purpose and came back to heaven, He needed not to go in back to the Father where he came from. Why? This is because, He had become a representation for man in heaven, so God sat him down at His right hand.
Sin is not on the top most priority of Christ’s priesthood. If the death of Jesus reconciled us back to God, how much more his resurrection that brought unto us more abundant life.
The only reason why the Priesthood of Christ is relevant to us today is because someone was taken from amongst men to represent men. That was why Jesus had to come in the likeness of flesh.
[biblegateway passage=”Romans 6:1-12″ display=”Romans 6:1-12″]
We might still make errors and serve sin on our way to growth, but Jesus made it possible through his resurrection we would no longer serve sin. At new birth, we have gotten the nature of God.
For the sake of the argument of the supremacy of the priesthood of Christ over the Aaronic priesthood. The writer of Hebrews showed that the priesthood of Melchisedek is even more superior than it. However, the Melchisedek’s priesthood is not an exact description of the priesthood of Crhrist.