PASTOR BOLA BELLO
[biblegateway passage=”Luke 1:6-8″ display=”Luke 1:6-8″]; [biblegateway passage=”John 1:12″ display=”John 1:12″]
By the virtue of the blood of Jesus that was shed on Calvary, and our acceptance of salvation offer, we all qualified to be called the sons and daughters of God.
Technically, when anyone believes the gospel, he/she is referred to as a son of God. But there is still an end we are still going to and it is full Son-ship. Son-ship is the profound entry point to the New Testament priesthood. In the Old Testament, we see a similar pattern where a person from the family of Aaron cannot become a priest until he is an adult. And also we see that not all Levites were priests, since only the family of Aaron could be Priests.
Galatians 4:1-3
There is no difference between an heir that is a child and a servant in the house. The servant could possibly even order the child around and he would not be able to refuse because he is ignorant of his identity. Just like in the analogy, it is God that proclaims a man to be his son in the sense of spiritual maturity and not in the sense of identity. Maturity is essential in handling spiritual responsibilities.
[biblegateway passage=”1 Timothy 3:1-7″ display=”1 Timothy 3:1-7″]
A New Testament priest requires some level of maturity to effectively function and as such must not be a novice in spiritual responsibilities. Priesthood is a calling of God, no one takes the honor of priesthood upon himself. Again, priesthood is a good work and a Kingdom work and it is the King of the Kingdom that rewards.
[biblegateway passage=”John 8:35″ display=”John 8:35″]
Unlike slaves, sons are the dwellers of the house. So, a lot of responsibilities can be entrusted into their hands. Priesthood is not just about ministering the word, it is also about submitting under a King and doing his Will.
[biblegateway passage=”Ephesians 4:7″ display=”Ephesians 4:7″]; [biblegateway passage=”John 1:15-16″ display=”John 1:15-16″].
Unto every one of us has been given grace in the measure of the gift of Christ. There is a certain grace that the Lord gave to every one of us and it is an elastic grace that ushers us into more grace.
[biblegateway passage=”Ephesians 4:11″ display=”Ephesians 4:11″]; [biblegateway passage=”1 Corinthians 12:4-7″ display=”1 Corinthians 12:4-7″]; [biblegateway passage=”2 Corinthians 10:8-13″ display=”2 Corinthians 10:8-13″]
Each of us is a ministry gift at different levels having being given the ability to operate with the gifts of the Spirit, but diligence is expected from any man who has been given this trust. The measure of grace given to us by the Lord is such that we would operate with it and enter into more dimensions of it.