"Yet you shall be called priests of Yahweh; Ministers of our Elohim, it will be said of you: The estate of nations you shall eat, And in their glory you shall vaunt; so the Lord will cause righteousness to spring forth before all nations.” Isaiah 61:6,11 concordant
"But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord:men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves; so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all nations." Isaiah 61:6,11 KJV
The inspired prophet summed up some bold statements of what it means to be made a real priest of God. These priests are recognized as those having a more excellent ministry, coming in marvelous significance in His word and causing righteousness to spring forth. All who are made priests of God MUST UNDERGO A CHANGE OF INNER CHARACTER. ALL are to be sealed with a heavenly title, having a registered portion, a measure of God’s Name.
God’s Kingdom extends and bestows upon the priests’ common rank to reign over earth’s conditions, just like the King. God has placed His Word within these members so that His truth will spring out through them. Mature Christians have spiritual minds that can grasp spiritual thoughts as facts of God (or lies of the serpent), to be imbued with wisdom by an inner oneness with God.
Jesus is still teaching His disciples these words:
“You hear that it was declared An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Yet I am saying to you not to withstand a wicked person, but anyone who slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also. And he who wants to sue you and obtain your tunic, leave him your cloak also. And anyone who conscripts you one mile, go with him two. To him who requests you, give and from him who wants to borrow from you, you may not turn. You hear that it was declared, You shall be loving your associate and you shall be hating your enemy. Yet I am saying to you,
Love your enemies, and pray for those who are persecuting you, so that you may become sons of your Father Who is in the heavens, for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and makes it rain on the just and the unjust. For if ever you should love those who are loving you, what wages have you? Are not the tribute collectors also doing the same? And if ever you should greet your brothers only, what are you doing that is excessive? Are not those of the nations also doing the same? You, then, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:38-48 concordant
In other words, giving injury to people who injure you is exactly wrong. Human nature desires revenge if someone gives us a black eye, or when our honor is blackened by lying tongues. Humans retaliate in kind for any unjust treatment. Sadly, men and women married many, many years can hold long-standing grudges in their hearts.
Disciples of Christ are those who proclaim to be kind and gracious, to seek to requite the care and kindness of others. But when they strike us with a curse even once, we need to be hearing Jesus’ question that is asking us to explain:
“For if you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the publicans (merchants) the same?” Matthew 5:46
Ah, what makes for a perfect reward? It is for Christ to rise within us to lead us to victory in the issues of our personal life. When we are no longer contrary to God in nature, having His Name written upon our inner person, then we are able to extend from our heart blessing to all men, even those who have mistreated us, even those who know us, with forgiveness in our hearts as evidence of being possessed of godliness in our inner man.
We are no longer under law or compulsion, but have resolved to abide in love and forgiveness and blessing within our inner spiritual being. Our nature has been changed because we have gotten beyond elementary doctrines about Christ to grow into a deeper spiritual understanding of the divine nature. Again, Jesus taught us:
“Yet I am saying to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who are persecuting you, so that you may become sons of your Father Who is in the heavens, for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and makes it rain on the just and the unjust. You, then, shall be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:44, 48 concordant
God is not a respecter of persons. He is gracious and kind to ALL to be perfected eventually, even in the hostile and belligerent. He is coming now to the gentle priests who are obedient to the heavenly calling. The nature of OUR FATHER is being shared with them. He shares His nature—His name—sharing what He thinks, so we think clearly and act rightly as those who are called, chosen, and faithful to apply His instructions.
Let us take note in the Authorized version of Matthew 5:45: “that ye may be the CHILDREN of your Father in heaven,” but the Greek word here is HUIOS, most often translated “SON”—MATURE SONS, NOT LITTLE CHILDREN. Mature sons are enabled to love even enemies, to be perfectly NATURED OF THE FATHER, centered in mercy, lovingly truthful as He chooses. We can be NAMED of God now, as it is written upon our inner spiritual man. As priests, we too have something to offer.
The character of a person is more than the letters that make up the words of his name. Name in scriptural language means “nature.” It is the NATURE of Jesus Christ that is highly exalted. He has been given a LOVE that is SAVING in NATURE, above every other nature in heaven and on earth. Every other living creature possesses a less perfect nature than His.
The dog barks and the cat meows because of their nature. There is a nature in the elephants, there is a nature of lions, horses have a nature. There are natures in mighty angels and pernicious devils, as in the nature of Adam within fallen mankind. But the man Christ Jesus has been highly exalted into a nature that is grander and more glorious and far superior to any other life form throughout the vastness of creation, seen and unseen. It is the most divine of natures!
Our Father is actively reaching forth to impart perfection to His sons, to all of us who follow Jesus Christ. In Jesus is granted the divine SAVING NATURE of God our Father. God enthroned the man Christ Jesus to give Him the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In this enthronement rests the hope of all creation, for it is God’s divine nature delivered to us, a release from all our fears.
Christ within us breaks every yoke to the corruption of death. Every thought connecting us to yokes of fear needs be put off, as DEATH is broken off those of us who believe. This is accomplished by the saving nature of God’s Spirit flowing forth to touch the spirit of His sons. To the overcomer, it is promised:
“To him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem: and I will write upon him my new name.” Revelation 3:12
“If ever anyone should be hearing My voice and opening the door, I will also be coming in to him and dining with him, and he with Me. The one who is conquering to him will I be granting to be seated with Me on my throne as I, also, conquer, and am seated with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:20-21 concordant
The key to be seated with Jesus is receiving His new name, having the Father’s divine ability to conquer, to recognize what needs to be overcome, along with conquering the soulish worship conditions in candlestick church settings. Overcoming as a CONQUEROR starts with trusting the spiritual understanding taught of His spirit. He leads us to green pastures where all kinds of inner conquering begins. Once He leads us into the desert, the little things, the little foxes that spoil our vine have been killed.
Wisdom slays her beast. We must kill our lions and bears before boasting about defeating the last enemy. We must WAIT ON THE LORD before starting to slay the giants in our land. David slayed a bear and killed a lion before taking on Goliath. Christ conquers our disposition first within the little things, releasing us from those little quirks and idiosyncrasies of our personality. He exposes those selfish and vain thoughts, questions those unkind words spoken in haste, resists those selfish attitudes we harbor from time to time, which explode with tense expressions that stem from temperamental self- righteousness.
God wants to change us to what He is. He doesn't change, while we will ALL be changed. Mature Christians have learned how to take guidance from His spirit. They can hear what the spirit says, becoming one spirit, receiving an appropriate faith for a whole new nature that is absolutely contrary to human nature.
I am talking about receiving God’s spirit and consequently putting on a new nature that releases us from all inner dispositions that are unlike God. Death must retreat and lose its hold on man’s soulish darkness. All sorrow, and pain, yes, and all carnal thinking is death. Death is contrary to God’s nature within our spiritual lives.
HE must increase, WE must decrease — and it must be in that order! By accentuating the positive we eliminate the negative. By turning on the light we drive away the darkness. By the infusion of life, God abolishes death. Truth destroys error. Reality negates vain fantasy. That spirit of the law of life in Christ Jesus conforms us perfectly to the image of the firstborn of MANY brethren. He will fill our mind and life with His Word and Spirit until we are flooded with HIS LOVING NAME and NATURE:
“Living am I, the Lord is saying, For to Me shall bow every knee, And every tongue shall be acclaiming God.” Romans 14:11 concordant
The “name” denotes the “nature.” All are to partake of the nature of Jesus when every knee within them remains bowed before His nature and every message voiced from above. We confess that voice as Jesus Christ our LORD to the glory of God the Father, and love not our own life unto the death.
Brethren, we can talk about manifested sonship all we please. We can confess it, name it and claim it, teach it and preach it. We can pride ourselves in our superior calling — but NOT UNTIL THE NATURE OF JESUS RULES WITHIN OUR SPIRIT are we much beyond the religious ranks of the church heavens. Every enemy within us can only be uprooted and cast out by the power of His Spirit.
Christ is seated within us in loving care, revealing a glorious nature to our inner spiritual man. Do we want His merciful powers to cast off and heal our disease? He has been testing us for remaining darkness, to prove that we too can turn the other cheek when wronged. He knows when we pray for our enemies rather than build bigger bombs than theirs. He abounds in love, even to love those who wrongfully use Him for gain.
He tests our love of the brethren, especially when they reject us, when they curse us with their judgment. These tests are really at near completion for being sealed as perfect sons of our perfect Father and that ends the matter. You say, “I don’t have any darkness in me.” That may be true for some — but it is nothing short of amazing when the right circumstances come along testing us!
In that time of trial and temptation, inner problems and pressures come out of us in so many negative earthly ways, in care for this life. What worries can be raised up out of our mouth! Sometimes it takes very little, yet working even more greatly at the same time. The name, the divine nature of God is working within us to cause our every knee to bow and to make our every confession a tongue which pleases Him, in line with His ability to make us complete:
"Yet these things are written that you should be believing that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that, believing, you may have life eonian in His name." John 20 :31 concordant
"These things I write to you that you who are believing in the name of the Son of God may be perceiving that you have life eonian. And this is the boldness which we have toward Him, that if we should be requesting anything according to His will, He is hearing us. And if ever we are aware that He is hearing us, whatever we may be requesting, we are aware that we have the requests which we have requested from Him." I John 5:15 concordant
“Believe on the name of the Son of God,” some Bible versions say, but the Greek is a little more definitive. “Believe INTO the name of the Son of God” is closer to the Greek. This means more than believing Jesus lived two thousand years ago. It speaks of BELIEVING INTO HIS NATURE now so deeply that we are united with God’s divine nature. His name is written upon us by oneness of spirit. We kept putting on Christ, putting on the spirit of truth.
Our Lord now is sending a seven-fold spirit to our own spirit. We are being transformed — changed into a completed image, having righteous judgment springing up from within that guides us to be united to God as our Father.
We are to know that which is hallowed, so we can exalt HIS, now OUR nature of love and peace. We enjoy our Father with deep conviction within our spirit that the Lamb is worthy, who makes us to be priests of God, having the glory of a divine nature. Yes, to be named the Priests of God!