The Reformation and the Priesthood of All Believers

Christian Education and Publications The Reformation and the Priesthood of All Believers

n Ephesians 4:16 the Apostle Paul The missionary and ecumenical states, “From whom (Christ) the theologian Hendrik Kraemer writes Iwhole body, joined, and held to- that while the Reformation empha- gether by every joint with which sized the doctrine of the priesthood it is equipped, when each part is working of all believers, it failed to give the properly, makes the body grow so that it concept an ongoing practical expression. builds itself up in love” (ESV). John Cal- We see today’s Church suffering from that vin wrote in The Institutes of the Christian same mistake. Religion, Book Four that God has commit- The Reformers did rightly empha- ted the ministry of the Gospel to His Church. size that every Christian had the right to Each believer has a study the Scriptures, functional place in to come before God, the body. The Reformers did and to help govern The Protestant rightly emphasize the Church’s ministry. Reformers of the 16th Where the Roman and 17th centuries that every Christian Catholic church had often stressed the had the right to study developed a strong concept of the dichotomy between the “priesthood of all the Scriptures, to clergy and laity, the believers.” Placed in come before God, and Reformers said “no.” its historic context, The Romanists prior to the Refor- to help govern the taught that the mation, the Roman priests were spiritual, Catholic church had Church’s ministry. in a unique way developed an orga- unlike the average nizational structure that created an order church member. The priests were the of priests who “lorded over” the Church. rulers and the teachers while the They actually taught that man’s access people were the ruled and the taught. to God was through this man-made Authority was vested in that man-made priesthood system; however, when priesthood system. What they said, had Martin Luther, John Calvin, and other in effect, become the law of the land over Reformers read the Scriptures, they the centuries. found a different instruction, namely that One of the great fruits of the every believer in Christ Jesus was a priest. Protestant Reformation, which returned They called for the church to reinstate the Scripture to its rightful place of the doctrine called “the universal priest- authority in the Church as over against hood of all believers.” That biblical po- the authority of the Church of Rome sition had been lost in the context of a itself, was their emphasis on and their hierarchical ecclesiology. insistence that the Church implement Sample the universal priesthood of all believers. the extraordinary offices both of which R. B. Kuiper called this doctrine “a dis- are built on the prophet, priest, and king tinctly Protestant doctrine.” We observe concept. He underscores that each that since the days of the Protestant believer is part of the universal office Reformation the Church has, too often, of prophet, priest, and king. He further neglected the implementation of this says this is one of the most significant truth. We continue to see the tendency doctrines restored by the Protestant to make a strong di- Reformation. chotomy between the In one sense clergy and the laity. Every Christian is we could say that Unless the church enlisted in carrying out one of the fruits practices this great of the Protestant biblical doctrine, it the mission and ministry Reformation was will never be able of the Church. to get the Church to function in the into its rightful manner in which God intended. We place within the kingdom in order to believe that both clergy and laity share carry out its God given assignment to the blame for this neglect. Often the make kingdom disciples who in turn clerics feel more secure if they are would do their part in making kingdom in control, plus many are not equipped disciples. As we have said in other places, to implement this doctrine. However, the effectiveness of the kingdom of God the laity is also at fault because they have is generally determined by the energy and been unwilling to become that involved focus of the Church. That is the proce- in the church’s ministry. It is generally dure for how God’s truth and the good easier to hire clergy (professionals) and news of the kingdom make a difference other staff to do the work of ministry. in the world. In many churches the involvement of “The Reformation leaders went back the laity is much less than the Scripture to the Apostolic Church, as described indicates it should be. in the New Testament, to find there the The thesis found in Ephesians 4:16 spirit and practice of the Church as they is that each believer has both a position believed it should operate and closely and a function in the Church’s ministry. related to this aspect of reform was the The challenge is always how to create an stress on the priesthood of all believers,” environment in the church where “each writes B. K. Kuiper. What fell through the part does its work.” Every Christian is cracks with the twofold thrust of that enlisted in carrying out the mission and doctrine was the second part of “each ministry of the Church. That is integral to part working properly.” their call to Christian discipleship and Therefore, the Reformation principle of kingdom living. the priesthood of all believers is needed R. B. Kuiper, in his classic, The Glorious within the community of believers in Body of Christ, emphasizes this “Priest- order for the Church to fulfill its assign- hood of All Believers” doctrine. He refers ment from Jesus, the King and Head of to it as the universal office in contrast to the Church.