1. Are All Believers Equal In Every Way ?

2. Objection 1 “There is neither Jew, nor Greek, slave nor free, male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” Gal. 3:28 “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” Matt. 20:25-28

3. The reply to objection 1 (1) All believers are equal in being children of God and temples of the Holy Spirit and they all have equal moral responsibility and there is no distinction between one group and another on the basis of sex, race or color. Nevertheless, this does not in any way mean that they are equal in having a special task to perform, or that they are all equally entitled to consider themselves part of the priesthood

4. The reply to objection 1 (2) The first verse quoted from Galatians 3:28 was speaking about the results of faith and baptism, in so far as we are children of God. Yet beside this equality in being children of God and enjoying equal advantages, there is still differentiation. There is no difference between male and female, even so, the Bible says : “The head of the woman is man” 1Cor.11:3

5. The reply to objection 1 (3) Despite the equality between slave and free, in being children of God, nevertheless there is a difference when the Lord said “no servant is greater than his master” John 13:16 And the apostle said “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ… Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord” Eph.6:5,7

6. The reply to objection 1 (4) In reality there is no difference between Jew and Greek, when it comes to being children of God, nevertheless the apostle speaking of his kinsmen said: “Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ” Rom. 9:4-5

7. The reply to objection 1 (5) So what St. Paul said in Galatians 3:28, is not for us to take as an absolute, but should be seen to apply within the context to which he was referring. Beyond those limits, differences exist as mentioned. Regarding what was quoted from Matthew 20, the Lord Christ was speaking about humility, not about the priesthood. He did not want His apostles to have a dominating spirit or an arrogant attitude

8. The reply to objection 1 (6) He drew an example from Himself when He said: “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve”. But though Jesus behaved with this humility, did that mean that He was equal to His disciples? These words of the Lord to His disciples meant that humility should characterize the activities of the priesthood, which He had entrusted to them.

9. Objection 2 “ And afterwards, I will pour out My spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days” Joel 2 : 28 - 29

10. The reply to objection 2 (1) There is difference between the gifts and the priesthood. Gifts can, on occasions, be given to all believers, though not all people are equally gifted, while the priesthood is not bestowed upon everyone. St. Paul explains the various gifts of the Spirit in 1 Cor. 12. He finally asks “Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret” 1 Cor. 12:29 – 30

12. 1. He gave His chosen ones the authority to teach and baptize He told them “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” Matt. 28:19-20 He also said to them “ He who listens to you listens to Me” Lk. 10:16. This was not said to all the believers.

13. 2.He gave them the authority to loose and bind “I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” Matt. 18:18 “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” John 20:22-23

14. 3. And the authority to perform the sacrament of the Eucharist (1) The Lord Christ said to His disciples (and not to all the believers): “This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me” Luke 22:19 St. Paul speaks of this matter poses the question: “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?” 1 Cor. 10:15

15. 3. And the authority to perform the sacrament of the Eucharist (2) Notice how he said “we give thanks” and “we break”, not “you”, since performing this sacrament is not a job for every believer to do.

16. 4. They had the power to lay on hands and appoint ministers (1) During the consecration of the seven deacons, the apostle said to the believers: “Choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them…” and “They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them” Acts 6:3-6

17. 4. They had the power to lay on hands and appoint ministers (2) Paul said to his disciple Timothy: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands” 2 Tim 1:6 And he also said to Timothy, who was a bishop: “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others” 1 Tim 5:22

18. 4. They had the power to lay on hands and appoint ministers (3) St. Paul also instructed his disciple Titus, who was the bishop of Crete “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.” Titus 1:5

19. 5. To Them He gave the authority to give the Holy Spirit (1) In the story of the faith of the people of Samaria, the Bible says “When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit” Acts 8: 14 - 17

20. 5. To Them He gave the authority to give the Holy Spirit (2) We see the same situation in the bestowing of the Holy Spirit to the people of Ephesus. The people there knew nothing about the Holy Spirit, but “When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them” Acts 19:6 Thus the apostles used to bestow the Holy Spirit, whether it was to the ranks of the priesthood or to the people, in what was later known as the sacrament of “anointing” 1 John 2 :20,27

21. 5. To Them He gave the authority to give the Holy Spirit (3) The Bible teaches us that the anointing was not a function performed by the ordinary believers. Even Simon the Sorcerer noticed this and wanted to be able to do it himself, but he was mistaken in thinking he could buy this gift. The Bible says “When Simon saw that the spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles hands, he offered them money…” Acts 8:18

22. 6. Theirs is the task of guiding and directing “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you” Heb.13:7 “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account.” Heb 13:17 “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work” 1 Thess. 5:12-13