“Priests in Plain Clothes” (Ch. 30); “Priests Descend & Ascend” (Ch. 31)

Created to Draw Near: Our Life as God’s Royal Priests

by Edward Welch

 

Part 3: Almost Truly Human

 

“Priests in Plain Clothes” (Chapter 30)

“Today’s priests wear ordinary clothes, work in ordinary jobs, and are hard to single out. They are subject to the same losses and hardships as the rest of the world.” - Edward Welch

Priests Are Needy.

Psalm 40:17 NIV

¹⁷But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.

• NT believers were (and are) needy people.
  • Sick, sinful, outcasts of society, persecuted, and poor.
• Our neediness and weakness draw us near to God.

Priests Believe.

• We are consecrated to God by faith in Jesus.
• Our eyes are opened to believe in a Messiah that was rejected by most of his people.
  • He came in weakness, not strength.
  • He came in humility, not wealth or nobility.
  • He came to serve, not to be served.

“Jesus might not be what we expected, but he is what we hoped for... His humility and gentleness attract children, misfits, the unwashed, and those with immoral pasts. ...abundant life follows in his path—sins are forgiven, sicknesses are healed. Death is pushed back.” - Edward Welch

• Our eyes are opened to believe in a humble, poor, rejected Messiah when we see our own need and unworthiness and trust that only he can rescue us.

The Democratization of the Priesthood

• The priesthood was entrusted to Israel, and only a select family within Israel.
• Now, in Christ, the priesthood has been “democratized and redistributed to us all.”
• Our daily lives as God’s priests might seem rather ordinary, but we are in union with Christ the Risen Lord and are indwelt by the eternal Holy Spirit. God has drawn near to us.

“Priests Descend & Ascend” (Chapter 31)

 

Jesus in Heaven, The Spirit in Us

• How can we draw near to Jesus when he is in heaven, and we are on earth?
• The answer is the indwelling Holy Spirit, whom Jesus gave to be with us and in us.

“Because of Jesus we have the Spirit, and because of the Spirit we have Jesus. To have one is to have the other.” - Edward Welch

Romans 5:5 NIV

⁵And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

“The Spirit brings us into God in such a way that we participate in his plans. Everything we have is in Christ and through the Spirit who dwells in us.” - Edward Welch

Not a Stopgap Measure

• Having the indwelling Spirit instead of the physical presence of Christ is not a stopgap measure or a downgrade.
• Jesus’ whole ministry was accomplished in harmony with his anointing with the Holy Spirit.

“Jesus himself experienced unity with the Father by the Spirit. His miracles were by the Spirit. His resurrection was by the Spirit.” - Edward Welch

• The Spirit’s presence will continue with us into heaven and eternity.
• The Spirit is the one who brings us into the Father and the Son.
• By the Spirit, Jesus binds himself to us, including in his death.

Galatians 2:20 NIV

²⁰I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

“In this death you have been freed from all claims that were rightly against you. The demands of justice in the heavenly court have been fully met, and sin, death, and Satan have lost their power.” - Edward Welch

New Life in the Spirit

• Freedom from guilt and condemnation
• Freedom from the power of sin and death
• Victory over death through resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:55 NIV

⁵⁵“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Romans 6:5 NIV

⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Romans 6:4 NIV

⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

• A new life of fellowship with Jesus by the Spirit
• The Spirit has made us his dwelling while Jesus prepares a dwelling for us (John 14:2).

Descending with Jesus in the Spirit

• Following Jesus’ lead, we descend in humility and service to others through the strength of the Spirit.

“This descent is hard, but when we know that it follows Jesus’s lead and is done with him, and that his Spirit is with us to give more life and power, then we can find comfort and even fuller life in it.” - Edward Welch

• Weakness is the way to draw near to God.
  • Our weakness magnifies God’s strength.
  • Our weakness reveals our dependence.
  • Our weakness draws us near to God.
  • Like Christ, our weakness will one day give way to exaltation.

2 Corinthians 13:4 NIV

⁴For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.

“Strength in weakness. Dependence on God in weakness. This...was life close to Jesus Christ.” - Edward Welch

Philippians 3:8 NIV

⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ

Philippians 3:10–11 NIV

¹⁰I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

“The life of God’s priests on earth is full of reminders that we are expatriates who live at the bottom of the ladder but are citizens of heaven. So life is full of daily hardships and death’s leftovers, yet it is also marked by life and love—love from God, love for God, and love toward God’s people. And where there is love, expect joy.” - Edward Welch