Janet Smith © 1-22-16 edited 11-13-19 gardenministries.org
The 4 Living Creatures are representative of the government of God which consists of 3 branches and manifests in a 3-in-1 relationship. The face of the lion represents the branch of the King. The face of the flying eagle represents the branch of the Prophet and the face of the ox represents the branch of the Priesthood. All three of these branches are manifested in the face of the man, who is fully represented in Jesus Christ and His body.
This same governmental setup is what served as the backdrop for the setup of the American government: Prophet (Judicial Branch), Priest (Legislative Branch), and King (Executive Branch); representing the people (Man).
God has prophetically promised to restore the “Prophets, Priests, and Kings” governmental structure in the earth. This article focuses on the Priesthood component of that structure.
In the government of God, the priesthood’s main function and purpose is to minister to the Lord of Glory in response to His initiation, leading, and Lordship as our Great High Priest. The church-age ministry of the priesthood comes to us through Jesus Christ Who is from the Hebrews 7 priestly order of Melchizedek. This priesthood is ethnically non-exclusive within the human race (Hebrews 7:3 “without genealogy,” meaning without genetic and ethnic exclusivity such as the Hebrew Aaronic-Levite priesthood).
1 Peter 2:9 describes this priesthood as a holy nation set apart unto God as His own possession with a specific function; to declare His praises: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
The submissive and responsive priestly heart requires sensitivity to discern the will of God and to instantly obey the Holy Spirit in all things and in all His ways. Interaction between the priestly nation and their God is one of union and ministerial pleasure.
Psalm 133 eloquently describes the priestly blessing upon the body of believers: “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! 2 It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. 3 It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the LORD bestows his blessing, even life forevermore.”
This glorious union and interaction between God and His priestly temple in the earth is the manifestation of heaven-on-earth, glory-come-down dwelling and habitation of God! (Exodus 25:8, John 1:14, Revelation 21:3, Zechariah 2:10, Psalm 132:13-14, Ephesians 2:19-22)
The vigorous and oftentimes grueling process of becoming fully yielded to Jesus will continue until His priestly bride is fully surrendered and mature. Once she has made herself ready to marry Him, she can be filled with His fullness and walk in His glory.
We are created for Jesus, not the other way around. He first chose us. We did not choose Him. He first loved us and asks us to respond and make Him our First Love. This idea that we are, on any level, in charge of ourselves more than God is in charge of us must go undergo the complete work of the cross. He’s in charge. And His ways are not our ways. Humility is the complete realization and deep appreciation of this truth.
Hebrews 12:1-14 connects Father God’s discipline with love and holiness. The first 13 verses tell us to appreciate God’s discipline and then verse 14 follows with the connection between discipline, peace, and holiness.
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
The Father’s loving discipline is what works His humility into us. Humility is the highest virtue by which God’s holiness gets into us, whereby His glory can then rest within us. By trusting and receiving God’s love through His discipline, we receive His humility, which opens the door to His holiness, and that is where His glory enters us. Humility, holiness, love, and the glory—they all go together. Without holiness and humility, we cannot see God, receive His transformative love, and be transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The key to sustaining His Presence understands the importance of the initiation and response protocols of heaven:
He invites us to come.
We come.
He asks us to wait.
We wait.
He reveals.
We receive.
He asks us to obey.
We obey.
He helps and blesses those who obey.
We release praise and thanksgiving back to Him.
He releases loving discipline and trains us.
We respond and say yes to His leadership—He’s in charge!
The Veil lifts. He reveals Himself.
We become more like Him.
As a Romans 12:1 living sacrifice, the priesthood chooses to daily yield and respond to God’s invitations to come and minister to His heart. We sacrifice our rights and compulsions to do our own thing and set apart time and energy to give to Jesus. We come. We wait. We receive. We obey. We release our worship and praise. The veil lifts. We see more of Jesus. We are changed to be more like Him.
Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Gentleness is at the heart of our High Priest and King Jesus. He is able to deal gently with those who respond and come to Him.
Hebrews 5:1-4 “Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. 3 This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.”