Is the Priesthood Biblical?

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call.  Here is this week’s question:Dear Mr. Hunt and Mr. McMahon, What is the biblical basis for the priesthood which we find today in the Roman Catholic Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Episcopal and other traditions?

Dave:

Well Tom, are you going to start off or do I?

Tom:

Yes, well—

Dave:

There is no biblical basis.

Tom:

That’s short and sweet.

Dave:

That’s right.

Tom:

And true, but Dave, I’ve often wondered how all of this got started.I remember reading a book which I thought had a pretty good insight and it began with, according to this author, it began with the mystifying of the ordinances.You know the ordinances that we believe in as biblical Christians, baptism and celebration of the Lord’s Supper.The memorial—remembering what Christ did.Now that was for everybody and Christians gathered together.It didn’t take a white collar to baptize somebody or to dispense the elements.But then that began.All of a sudden the ordinances such as the Last Supper became sort of mystical—the presence of Christ there and now you have the elders, or it was only the elders or the bishops that could do that and the same thing with these other ordinances.That developed over the years until what we have is a priesthood that only these individuals can, whether it be transubstantiation in the Catholic Church or consubstantiation in the LutheranChurch and so on.This became now a product of a certain class of people.

Dave:

The Bible does not allow that.It’s quite simple, the great commission, Matthew 28, Christ said, “Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.Now if the disciples were to make disciples—that’s what the Bible says.Mark 16 says “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”It’s the same thing.We are preaching the gospel by believing the gospel.People are born again of the Spirit of God into the family of God and they become children of God, they become Christians.Then the disciples who had made these disciples were to teach them to do everything that Christ had commanded them to do.That would include making disciples.That would include baptizing.That would include everything that the first disciples were empowered and commanded to do.Their disciples were commanded also to do and were empowered to do by the Holy Spirit.That does away with a special clergy class among Protestants.That does away with a special priesthood class where they call it that.It’s much the same although Protestants don’t generally go quite as far.

Tom:

Well Dave, I’ve been in the High Anglican Church, I’ve been in High Lutheran, and you couldn’t tell the difference.

Dave:

Right and John Calvin said that only the clergy would be allowed to administer these ordinances and that ways why in his institute he said the one sure way to know you are one of the elect is if you were baptized as a baby even by an ungodly homosexual or fornicating Catholic priest and you have faith in that baptism—because the Catholic priest is one of the clergy class and they alone can administer these.Nobody else can administer them.You can’t find a scripture to support that and I’ve given a scripture that undermines this totally.If we are to make the disciples—look Tom, I’m a disciple of a disciple of a disciple of a disciple all the way back to Christ who gave the first disciples the command, but you’re not making disciples

Tom:

But you’re not talking apostolic succession here.

Dave:

No, no, because apostolic succession says that only the bishops, as you know, the Catholic Church is the successors of the apostles.No, no every person who becomes a Christian is a successor of the apostles.Because he is a disciple who is commanded to observe everything that Christ commanded the first disciples to observe.

Tom:

Dave, there are two other things.I’ve listened to debates on this issue and those who support the idea of a clergy class talk about the Greek term presbuteros.For example in Titus:1:5For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
See All... he says, “For this case I left thee in Crete that thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting and ordain elders in every city as I had appointed thee.”Elders being in the Greek, presbuteros.Now there’s another word in the Greek for priest.This doesn’t mean priest, it just means minister.And it doesn’t mean minister in terms of a clergy class because in 1 Timothy:5:2The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
See All... it talks about the elder women and the word elder is presbuteros.So you’ve got a problem.The Catholic Church can’t have it both ways.They can’t say this is the priestly class, presbuteros, or they’d have to start ordaining women.

Dave:

Tom the Catholic Church has two types of succession.The pope supposedly the successor of Peter and it goes down.That’s apostolic succession.But wait a minute.We had popes who were voted in by mobs, who were thrown out by mobs, they fought one another.Some were put in the by the Emperor, they bought their way in, there was corruption.You can’t possibly say this was succession.Furthermore, Peter is not given any pre-eminence.When Christ said I give you the keys to the kingdom, he also says that to all of the apostles.And having said that to all of the original disciples, he says make disciples and you teach them to observe everything that I’ve commanded you.So every disciple has the authority and the power of the Holy Spirit to do exactly what the original disciples did.There is no place for bishops, no place for popes and so forth.And we are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Tom:

Dave one last thing here.We are out of time here, but the Nicolaitanes—some have said, well the term means rule over the laity and Christ speaking against them said he hated both the doctrines and the deeds of the Nicolaitanes.Do you think this refers to a clergy class?

Dave:

Tom, I couldn’t be certain of that and the scripture does say, “Obey them that have the rule over you.There is an order in the church.There are elders, there are those who are gifted to teach and to take the oversight.The scripture says that.Peter says take the oversight as an example to the flock.So we’re not saying everybody just does his own thing.On the other hand, as far as authority and power of the Holy Spirit there is no difference between any of the believers.