In our last posts, I went over why there was so much disunity within Israel at the time Christ arrived on the scene. Because of this disunity, Jesus came on the scene as a prophet.

Jesus fulfilled the role of a prophet because the religious and ruling forces were not focused upon what God wanted them focused on. His teachings appeared so radical because they had drifted so far from the original intent of the Law that God had given to Moses. It is likely Moses himself would not have thought Jesus to be so radical because Moses understood God wanted a relationship with his people (Dt 7:6-8) and the laws given were for that purpose and not just something to be followed for the sake of following them.

Many compromises had been made by the Jewish leaders to make the Jewish religion more convenient for them to live in their world. It went from a religion about relationships to one of keeping rules and traditions which redefined their definition of righteousness. To them, obeying the rules and traditions of the Law is what imputed righteousness to them rather than seeing their shortcomings (Mt 23:23) and inability to follow all the laws and therefore needed their Messiah to come to impute his righteousness to them.

The Jews’ physical oppression led them to ignore all else Scripture said about the Messiah’s coming, and they believed he would rescue them from their Roman oppression. Yet Christ focused on something more foundational: their unity with him.

Unity is the key upon what Christ focused. While he said he came to create division (Lk 12:51), he was talking about the division between the falsehood being taught and the truth of Scripture. Yet, in him and through him he desired unity for all. Jesus said, My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me (Jn 17:20-23).

In almost every one of Paul’s epistles, especially Ephesians and Colossians, he also focused on unity because unity focuses on relationship; religion focuses on mankind’s obedience which Satan can weaponize.

Church history shows us that the church has taken the same route as did Israel. With power came corruption. The relationship between God and his church was turned into a religion which Satan was able to weaponize by creating disunity which caused God’s people to turn on each other. The church became more secular with less reliance on the Holy Spirit and thus a decline in gifts of the Holy Spirit, or even what they were and how to use them correctly. Differences became new denominations which created further disunity and created animosity even between Christians themselves. Christians have also become oppressed – some places more so than others. We, too, are looking for a rescue, but perhaps Christ wants us to focus on something more foundational as well: our unity with him.

Tune in next time as we explore this idea further and how God may restore his unity within his church.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In previous posts we have talked about how God’s unity is tied to the roles of king, priest, and prophet. Under the leadership of Moses, he transferred these roles to certain individuals within Israel. Let’s see how God expected them to operate on his behalf.

God sets earthly kings up as being his agents to the people. God gave kings a divine mandate (Dt 17:5-20). Israeli kings were to be chosen by God (Dt 17:15), were not to be a foreigner (Dt 17:15), were not to amass horses or wives or silver and gold (Dt 17: 15-17), should write a copy of the law and read it all his days (Dt 1:18-19), was to ensure covenant observance by the people (Dt 17:20), was to rule with justice and righteousness (Is 32:1), and have military leadership (1Sa 23:2).

Let’s look back at the mandate requiring a king to write a copy of the law and read it all his days. As king, he should know the law as well as, or even better than, the priests as he was to have it read daily and consistently. He can’t lead as God would expect unless his own words were like those God himself would speak. He was representing God to his people and needed to have the mind of God to do that. Reading and studying God’s words was the only way for him to accomplish that. A corollary to this is what Paul tells us in 1st Corinthians: we are to have the mind of Christ (1Co 2:16).

Priests were seen as ministers of God. They were to guard God’s covenant by carrying out the duties of the tabernacle/temple required by the law (Dt 33:8-11), make atonement for Israel as God commanded (1Ch 6:29), and were to teach the difference between the holy and common and show how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean (Ek 44:23).

Prophets were seen as God’s enforcers to ensure and maintain alignment between kingly leadership and religious observances and teachings. They were to be messengers of God tasked with conveying his words to the people, were to remind Israel of their covenant with God, advocate for social justice often condemning the exploitation and oppression of the poor and vulnerable, foretold future events, both immediate and distant, acted as intercessors between God and the people, and were to be instruments of God’s miraculous power, performing signs and wonders to validate their message and mission.

While this was set up for Israel to follow God so they could have and maintain a relationship with him, God has done the same for us. Yet, our relationship with him is even more intimate because of Jesus Christ coming and fulfilling what the law required. He speaks to us in several different ways. There are many examples in Scripture about this. How he has communicated before, he can do so again. This is what we’ll be exploring next time. Pease join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In our last post, we discussed how our perception of God is likely influenced by us living in a different dimension than where God resides. He also has unity between his three components of unity, and they can be represented by our human understanding of the positions of prophet, priest, and king. Let’s explore this topic further.

A king is someone who has ultimate authority. This is akin to God the Father who has ultimate authority over all. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:6 – One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. There is no one higher than God the Father and all things work according to his plan which no one can thwart.

A priest has spiritual authority. This is akin to God the Son who enacts God’s plan of reconciliation and will become the ultimate judge of mankind because everyone will be judged according to one’s response to Jesus Christ and his work of redemption and reconciliation. John tells us, in John 5:27 – And he [the Father] has given him [the Son] authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

The term “Son of Man” had a more profound meaning to the Jewish leaders than did the term “Son of God.” Jeus is referred to as “Son of God” 46 times in the New Testament and as “Son of Man” 81 times. The term “Son of God” was applied to angels, pious men, and the kings of Israel. Yet, the term “Son of Man” became symbolic of the coming Jewish Messiah. Well known to Jews, and especially to the Jewish leaders, was this term used by the prophet Daniel: In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence (Dn 7:13).

The prophet Ezekiel was called “son of man” because he typified as a type of the coming Messiah, acted as a divine messenger and mediator between God and humanity, offered hope to the exiled nation of Israel, served as a watchman calling Israel to repentance, acted as a shepherd providing guidance, and as a priest interceding for their reconciliation with God.

This term “Son of Man” became known to refer to their coming Messiah who they believed would bring about an everlasting kingdom where righteousness and justice would reign. The term wasn’t only a title for the Messiah but represented him being both human and divine identifying and sympathizing with the human condition yet possessing the power and authority of God (Title Son of Man). This is why the Jewish leaders got to upset when Jesus referred to himself as Son of Man because he was stating he was both human and divine. They could not accept this because Jesus did not fit the mold for which they had envisioned for their Messiah.

A prophet helps to ensure alignment between the king and the priest so they both give a consistent message to the people about God. This is the working of God the Holy Spirit. Jesus stated in John 15:26 – When the Advocate (i.e., Holy Spirit] comes, whom I [i.e., Christ] will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me (i.e, Christ, the Son of God].

These ways in which God works is for the purpose of creating Unity: both within himself and between himself and mankind.

These roles were not always distinct within the Godhead or within human presentation. Sometimes an individual fulfilled, or tried to fulfill, more than one role. Next time, we’ll go further into this topic. Please join me.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Christ came with the purpose of fulfilling three roles that are laid out for him in the Old Testament: Prophet, Priest, and King. Each must be fulfilled in a successive manner because each subsequent role was built upon the fulfillment of the previous role.

Moses stated, “The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him” (Dt 18:15). Jesus Christ came as a prophet like Moses. How like Moses? He cared deeply for his people, he was patient with them and taught them, he was also harsh at times with the Jewish leaders because they distorted the true intent of Torah; some people adored him, and others ridiculed and despised him. This role of Christ was necessary for him to come and pay the price for the sin of rebellion that Adam placed upon the world and its inhabitants and to fulfill all requirements of the Mosaic Law. Christ could not fulfill the other duties until this one was complete. He came not just for the Jews, but for the entire world.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess” (Hb 4:14). Christ fulfilling his role as prophet set him up for this next role as our high priest to make intercession for us, cleanse us as we sin, and as we are sanctified and carry out his plan of building his Church, his bride, until his return. His Holy Spirit then provides the unity in his bride so she will be pure and without blemish at his return.

Once Christ’s role as our high priest and intercessor is fulfilled, he will come as King of kings and set up his earthly rule. The book of Revelation tells us, “On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords” (Rv 19:16). This is what the Jewish leaders were expecting from Jesus when he first came because the Scriptures prescribed these actions to their coming Messiah. Yet, these duties had to be performed in a certain order to accomplish God’s plan for the entire world.

So, at Christ’s first coming, he fulfilled the eight sacrifices we have been discussing over the last several posts. Join me next time and I’ll summarize this, how Jesus Christ fulfilled the Mosaic Law, and how he set up the way for his New Covenant with us.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens