The doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers is tied to how we learn and confirm truth. United by God’s Spirit in One Body, we are gifted in ways that allow God to both lead us toward Truth and lead us toward one another in the context of Loving relationship. The Priesthood of all Believers is a doctrine which highlights our dependence upon Christ as our High Priest, and our corporate existence as a Body of Christ as we become Light and Salt to the world around us. How much can we trust “me” when we are searching for Truth? There is a recent movement within our churches for people to believe them selves to be the dispenser of Truth, functioning as God’s spokesperson, even when what they hear God saying contradicts very clear Scripture to the contrary. We do this with such regularity that we seldom stop to question this tendency, often assuming this is the normal pattern for a Christian to decide God’s will. Often we end up trusting emotion over our brothers and sisters, circumstances over revelation, and gut instinct over Biblical confirmation. In The book of Ephesians Paul makes it clear that within the church we are called to “submit ourselves one to another out of reverence for Christ”. This call is not a conditional call, for it is very clear that the early church people did not always see eye to eye, nor did they always exist within the framework of perfect relationships. Submission was a command within the context of real life, loving relationships, not within the context of easy relationships. There are times in the church where we convince ourselves that “”I” am the only one who knows the right answer, God’s will for ourselves and for others, and “I” am God’s designated spokesperson. During these times we not only elevate ourselves to place in the Body we do not occupy, but we become very impatient, and often unkind, toward those who do not agree. I know I have done this, and I suspect many of you have done this as well.
The church is not a collection of cowboys doing their own thing at another’s expense, but rather a place of mutual commitment and submission as we seek to treat other people the way Jesus in fact treats us. Just as he bends to wash our feet in submissive love, we are called to figure out how to do the same. Jesus very clearly teaches that the Spirit Led Leader is marked by servant hood, not by an exercise of power and control, or the desire to have it. “It is the least among you who will be the greatest”, Jesus said. To grow disillusioned with our churches because things are not going as we want them to go, because people do not see things exactly the way we see things, or because we are not allowed to assert our authority in cases when we think our opinion matters the most, is simply not a spirit of servant hood. We all have a tendency to get our feelings hurt at times when people disagree with us, especially when we are passionate about the things we believe. Problems arise when the person we disagree with is passionate as well. At these times we expect people to hear our opinions and in some way adjust, without stopping to realize they expect the same thing of us – A chance to voice their opinion and draw a response from you. This is the very definition of conflict, when two people do not see the issue the same way and are very passionate about their belief. The question then becomes, how can two people who do not see a thing the same way figure out how to love each other in spite of the conflict. Most times we can. Other times we cannot, but each time we are expected to try, as Paul writes to the church in
In the real world there is absolutely no way to avoid conflict. But we have options as members of the Body of Christ which preclude leaving our churches or giving up on our brothers and sisters. We can turn these times of conflict into times of growth, stretching ourselves to love and embrace those people who God calls us to love and honor in spite of our differences. This call is never removed when it comes to life in the church. The pages of the New Testament are full of occasions where people strive to find ways to work through differences in a way that honors the Spirit of God and His will for our lives. How often we deny this call and God’s ability to deliver what we need, opting instead for rejection or avoidance, leading to the human tendency to make choices out of our hurt and frustration. Lord, please forgive us that we so easily discount your transforming power in our churches. What would happen in these cases if we chose to act out of a spirit of humility and other oriented concern? How incredibly frustrated God must grow with us at times. Peace/Out.
Written on Tuesday, 12 April 2011 15:34 by Rick Farmer
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