The priesthood of Christ is the beginning and essence of all salvation knowledge. By fulfilling the duties of His priesthood, Christ became our Redeemer. The first saving view we have of Christ is His priesthood. By His priesthood we have the complete forgiveness of sins. By His priesthood we have free, unhindered access into the presence of God for worship. Apart from the priesthood of Christ all acceptable fellowship with and worship of God is completely cut off. By His priesthood we are entitled to the whole inheritance of grace and glory. Because He has fulfilled His priestly duties, He is at the right hand of God, making intercession for us, ruling over all things, and we can be assured we will be glorified and reign with Him.

God's glory in salvation and the salvation of His sheep are founded upon the accomplishment of Christ's priestly duties (John 17:1-4). Salvation was conditioned on Him as our High Priest. He fulfilled all righteousness for us as our High Priest. He is our "great High Priest" because of His deity and the power of His redemptive work. Our entrance and continuance in God's kingdom are dependent on our High Priest. As we consider Him as our High Priest, we learn again how we are to hold fast our confidence in Christ and make use of all means of grace, and by our words and deeds show forth the praise and glory of Christ our High Priest.

I. CHRIST'S APPOINTMENT TO BE OUR HIGH PRIEST - This is revealed in the purposes and decrees of God as agreed upon in the everlasting covenant of grace. God chose a people out of Adam's fallen race, and He appointed Christ to be their High Priest. He conditioned all of salvation upon Christ. He was appointed and invested with this office by the Father. We will see how the Old Covenant priesthood typified and prefigured the priesthood of Christ. In the Old Covenant, or Mosaic Law, the earthly priests were appointed by God (Heb. 5:4-5).

Christ was appointed and equipped by the Father. This reveals the subjection of the Son to the Father in the covenant of redemption. God the Son, equal with the Father, became subject to the Father to be our High Priest to save us from our sins, to be a propitiation for our sins, to make atonement and satisfaction for sin (Rom. 3:25). Redemption by His blood was "foreordained before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:18-20). His sufferings and death as our High Priest were all according to the "determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23).

The types and prophecies of the Old Testament show the appointment of the Messiah to be a Priest (Ps. 40:6-7; 110:4; Zech. 6:12-13; Isa. 53:10-12). There were several types of Christ as priest. The main one was Melchizedek, King of Salem and priest of the most high God (Heb. 7:1-3,17). Melchizedek was a type of Christ in his person as there was no recorded genealogy of Melchizedek. Christ our High Priest is the Son of God, with no beginning and no end. Melchizedek was a king and a priest. Christ is both King and Priest. Melchizedek means "king of righteousness," and Christ is the Lord our Righteousness. King of Salem means peace, and Christ our Priest is the prince of peace who established the only ground of peace between God and sinners.

Aaron the high priest of Israel under the Mosaic Law and his descendants typified Christ. His was called the Aaronic priesthood, or the Levitical priesthood, being made up of the tribe of Levi. Under the Mosaic Law the high priest was appointed of God to represent Israel before God, to offer sacrifices in the tabernacle upon the altar, and to enter into the holy place with blood for ceremonial and temporal atonement for the sins of the people. Christ was appointed of God to represent spiritual Israel, the elect of God, to offer the sacrifice of Himself, His humanity upon the altar of His deity, and enter into the presence of God eternally for all whom He represents. Christ supercedes and excels all the types. His priesthood is eternal, and His sacrifice is sufficient to atone for all the sins of all of God's elect eternally.

II. CHRIST'S QUALIFICATIONS AS OUR HIGH PRIEST (Hebrews 5) - The Mosaic Covenant revealed the requirements of a priest and taught the duties of that office. It typified and pictured the Person, offices and mediatorial accomplishments of Christ, the Captain of eternal salvation. That whole economy was a schoolmaster to lead them to Christ that they might be justified by Him (Gal. 3:24).

A. His humanity qualified Him (Heb. 5:1) - We have already seen how He was appointed by the Father to this office. - "ordained" to it. In that He was appointed He was qualified, but His humanity also qualified Him in that "every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men." As our High Priest He had to be our Representative and Substitute. God ordained the priest to stand in the place of sinners to represent sinners before God, and to substitute himself in their place for their benefit. The priest offered sacrifices to God to make atonement for the sins of those whom he represented. This means the priest was to do everything necessary to make the persons and duties of all whom he represented acceptable to God.

Read Hebrews 2:16-17 -

• (16) For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. (17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

It behoved Him -- He was obligated by the covenant of promise "in all things"--all human experience. God the Son became incarnate to carry out His duties as High Priest. He became incarnate because the High Priest must be taken from among men. He must represent the people before God. He must offer a suitable sacrifice to God on behalf of the children He represents. It was according to His covenant obligations to glorify the Father in the salvation of the elect, according to God's promise. He had to come in our name and in our nature to properly represent us before God. He had to take into union with Himself a sinless humanity, body and soul, so that He could be a suitable Substitute and have our sins imputed to Him. Remember, the high priest had to come with an offering of blood. Christ, our High Priest, offered Himself, shedding His own blood and dying on the cross to satisfy law and justice for us. God cannot suffer, bleed, and die, but this Person, our High Priest, who is God did suffer, bleed and die.

God the Son was "made like unto His brethren" in all things yet without sin. This set Him apart from earthly priests, sinful men who themselves needed a substitute who could atone for their sins. Christ did no sin and knew no sin. As our High Priest, the sins of God's elect were imputed to Him (Heb. 7:25-27). His humanity enabled Him to sympathize with us as it was required of a high priest that He have compassion for the people (Heb. 4:15). He suffered all infirmities of the flesh, yet without sin.

B. His Deity qualified Him - Christ could not have been our Priest unless He is God. As our Savior He had to take away the sins of all for whom He is Priest. Mere man, not even perfect man, could not save the whole election of grace, because no man could produce an everlasting righteousness of infinite value to be applied to a multitude of sinners. Only God could provide a righteousness of infinite value to save the whole election of grace, so Christ had to be more than man. (Heb. 5:2b-3) - Christ is superior to Aaron. Aaron himself was a sinner who needed pardon. All imperfections belonging to the Aaronical priesthood were not to be found in Christ. Read Hebrews 7:22-24 --

• (22) By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. (23) And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: (24) But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.

III. CHRIST'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS OUR HIGH PRIEST (Heb. 5:9-10) -

This means that due to His qualifications, due to His infinite power and love for the glory of His Father and the souls of His sheep, Christ was qualified to accomplish all that was required to save His sheep and bring them to final glory. HE IS THE ETERNAL CURE! He fulfilled all conditions for our salvation. He was "made perfect," not as to His Person, but with respect to the fulfillment of His Priestly office as the Substitute for sinners (cp. Heb. 2:10). Christ's sacrifice of Himself perfected or fulfilled His priestly office and glorified God in the salvation of sinners. This is its foremost design. Having satisfied all the conditions of salvation on behalf of all the "many sons," "He became the Author of eternal salvation." He is both the Procurer and Bestower of all the blessedness He has merited by His work of mediation, according to the will of His Father. He has done everything necessary to make the salvation of His sheep consistent with the perfections of God's character.

The word eternal is in contrast to the temporary priesthood and sacrifices of Aaron. The blood of animals was not appointed to remove moral guilt (Heb. 10:1-4; 9:6-14). The earthly priesthood and animal sacrifices could not secure eternal salvation. But this Priest, by His one sacrifice, became the Author of eternal salvation "unto all them that obey Him"--who believe God's testimony concerning Him and submit to be saved by Him in the way of God's appointment. We obey Him when we truly believe God is glorified in salvation conditioned on Christ alone! "All" is qualified by "obey Him," all who believe God's Gospel. No sinner who hears the Gospel is excluded from eternal salvation except by unbelief! This speaks not of all without exception but all who believe God's Gospel and repent from dead works. The only hope of salvation for ANY is the blood of Christ! Consider the following questions:

1. Who is the sacrificer? Under the Mosaic Law, the sacrificer was an earthly priest, a sinful man. Our High Priest is God the Son incarnate, the sinless Substitute. Christ is our altar, sacrifice, and priest. In order to accomplish propitiation (satisfaction to God's law and justice on our behalf), we need:

• a. A PROPER PRIEST - He must be one called of God to represent the people of God's choice, and be equipped by God to fulfill His appointed duties. Christ was called from the beginning, in the everlasting covenant, to take the responsibility to save His people. He was equipped when He became incarnate and was filled with the Spirit without measure.

• b. A PROPER SACRIFICE - Law and justice demand payment for sin. Without shedding of blood (death) there can be no remission of sins. Christ's human nature, without personal sin, was a proper sacrifice, having the sins of God's elect imputed to Him.

• c. A PROPER ALTAR - The altar in the Old Testament set the sacrifice apart. The divine nature of Christ was His altar. It set the sacrifice of His humanity apart and gave it infinite value whereby to secure the salvation and final glory of the whole election of grace. Christ offered the sinless sacrifice of His humanity, having sin imputed to Him, upon the altar of His infinite Deity. This gave His righteousness, all the merit of His whole work of redemption, infinite value to demand the justification, eternal life, and final glory of all whom He represented.

2. What did He offer? Under the Mosaic Law the priest offered animal blood. Christ offered Himself, His human nature upon the altar of His divine nature. This was a sacrifice infinitely more valuable than all the rivers of animal blood shed for over 1500 years.

3. To whom was the sacrifice offered? Under the Mosaic Law the sacrifice of animal blood was offered to one true and living God. Christ's blood was also offered to God whose law and justice demanded satisfaction.

4. For whom was the sacrifice offered? Under the Mosaic Law the priest offered the blood for His own sins and the sins of the people of the nation Israel. The names of the twelve tribes of Israel were engraved on his breastplate. He did not offer the blood for the Gentiles but only for Israel. It was a particular atonement. Christ offered His own blood, but not for Himself. He was sinless in Himself. He offered Himself for the elect, His church, His sheep, His children, spiritual Israel. His sacrifice was a vicarious sacrifice. He was a substitute and surety. The sins of His people were imputed (legally charged) (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18)to Him and He offered Himself for them.

5. What was the nature of the sacrifice? Under the Mosaic Law animal blood was offered as a symbol or a token of God's providential, temporal goodness and mercy to the nation Israel. It was to remind them that God had redeemed, delivered, protected, and provided for them temporally as a nation, not because of their goodness and power but because of His own unconditional goodness towards them as a nation. The animal blood did accomplish ceremonial, temporal cleansing, and temporary relief from civil guilt (Heb. 9:13). It was a type and picture of eternal salvation by the blood of Christ, but it could not accomplish spiritual, eternal cleansing and salvation. The blood of Christ was a full and sufficient sacrifice which resulted in an everlasting righteousness that enabled the Father to justify all whom Christ represented. It demands their salvation. It was a single offering that accomplished spiritual, eternal cleansing (Heb. 9:14; 10:14).

6. What were and are the results of this sacrifice? It is important to understand, as stated, that under the Mosaic Law the blood of animals did accomplish temporal, ceremonial cleansing, not spiritual and eternal (compare Heb. 9:13 with 10:4). But the blood of Christ, our Great High Priest, did accomplish the complete spiritual and eternal redemption of the whole election of grace (again, Heb. 9:14; 10:14). Christ accomplished full spiritual and eternal satisfaction to God's law and justice, and secured the full spiritual and eternal pardon of all sin, full acceptance into God's eternal favor, and full entitlement to the whole inheritance of grace. The blood of Christ, our Great High Priest, resulted in a righteousness that demands the eternal salvation and final glory of every sinner for whom it was offered.

Christ did not become incarnate, suffer and die in order to make salvation possible for those who could meet a certain condition. He came to save a people, and when He established this righteousness, reconciliation was made for their sins. HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS DEMANDS THEIR JUSTIFICATION AND ETERNAL LIFE! This is an actual atonement and redemption, not a general amnesty whereby sinners could use Christ as a mere pedestal upon which to boast of their faith and free will. Salvation is by the will of God and based upon the imputed righteousness of Christ alone! To say that any for whom He stood as Priest and offered His blood could finally perish is to deny the accomplishment of His priestly office and to deny the sufficiency of His sacrifice.

Our Great High Priest and all whom He represents are eternally accepted before God based on the satisfaction made by Him as our Substitute. We are comforted by His greatness and power along with His goodness and love. He performs all of the duties of His priesthood on our behalf. If someone were to claim that Christ's love and compassion for us might turn to anger because of the greatness or frequency of our sins, let us look at the alternative. What could we do to pacify His anger and obtain His favor? All our righteousnesses are as "filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). At our best state we are all unprofitable servants. Future reformation will not pay for past sins. God has excluded all atonement for sin except the precious blood of Christ (Heb. 10:18), and that legal way of thinking can only lead to a mercenary spirit of religious pride and self-righteousness.