The Problem
At some point in the church’s history the Greek philosophers infected the thinking of many followers of Christ. The Gnostics introduced ideas such as: the physical world is inherently bad and the spiritual world is inherently good, therefore live it up while you’re alive and go to heaven when you die – because you “believe” in Jesus. We see Paul writing in response to the carnal and fleshly ways the congregants at Corinth were living due to this misleading thought process, and dare I say teaching. But this is not the Gnostic thought we would like to address today, though we could argue that this way of life is alive and well in the modern church. Another equally important and destructive teaching, originating from Eusebius, is the idea of the Sacred – Secular Divide. This idea states that there are certain individuals “called” to clergy offices and to live a “sacred” life while other individuals are just meant to live “secular” lives and be fed spiritually by those of the sacred vocation. I would never argue against the Word of God, that “He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds, and teachers…” to the Body. But I would challenge us to read that entire passage in Ephesians 4:11-12; He gave these “…to equip the saints for the work of ministry…”
A Royal Priesthood
Have you ever stopped to consider what it means to be a saint? Paul explained that all who “confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, will be saved.” (Rm 10:9). All who have been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ are saints, or “holy ones.” Therefore if you are in a relationship with the Lord Jesus, you are a holy one with the Holy Spirit living in you! Referring back to our Ephesians 4 Scripture, we are equipped for the work of ministry, which in the Greek means simply to serve. Peter tells us in his first epistle that we are “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that [we] may proclaim the praises of the One who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once [we] were not a people, but now [we] are God’s people…” (v 9-10a). To conclude this line of thinking: we are chosen by God for His possession and therefore we are saints and priests whom have been set apart for ministry work… all of us. The apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers equip us for ministry and all of the saints DO the ministry.
What Actions are Sacred?
I heard a man say once that his church had adopted a saying in attempt to break through this sacred-secular mindset: “If it’s not sin, it’s sacred.” Each time we make a decision in our lives we need to consider this phrase. “I am filling up my car with gas, this is sacred” or “I am ordering food at this restaurant, this is sacred.” When we begin to work this thought into our daily routine we see opportunities all around us to love others and, in doing so, bring glory to God! We are saints, royal priests, and all that we do should be done for the Lord. In Christ, our lives are no longer our own. We are ministers to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords and all of our lives should be lived out in a way that is worthy of the title “Priest” or “Saint.”
Grace and Peace,
Aquila and Priscilla
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