LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 231

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II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
the covenant in all its parts by His humble obedience to
all the Law’s demands (Rom. 5:19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 4:4–5; 1

John 3:5), atoning for the sins of all the people, entering

alone into the Holy Place. He fulfills, but also supersedes
the old in His New Testament priesthood. He is not as
of old from Levi’s line. He is without sin, obedient even
to “death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8), and His atoning sacrifice
is not merely for Israel’s sins against the covenant, but
for the sins of the world. It is not offered at Jerusalem’s
temple and it is not a sacrifice from the flocks or fields of
Israel. This Priest offers Himself! He is both the sinless
Lamb and the holy Priest so that He bears “our sins in
his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24), where He accepts
the Law’s curse of disobedience as He hangs in sacrifice
(Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:12–13). And now, risen from the dead
and exalted to God’s right hand, He intercedes as our
eternal High Priest (Ps. 110; Heb. 7:23–25).

With Christ, the great High Priest, the temple and its
priesthood has finished its task. Jesus alludes to this in
speaking with the Samaritan woman in John 4:21–24:
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is
coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship
what you do not know; we worship what we know,
for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is
coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for
the Father is seeking such people to worship him.
God is spirit, and those who worship him must
worship in spirit and truth.”
All priesthood is made clear only in Christ Jesus, the
great High Priest, and His work.25 His radical mercy is
the cornerstone for the new age, but it became a stumbling block for many (Rom. 9:32–33; 1 Cor. 1:23; 1 Peter 2:8)
when “he came to his own and his own people did not
receive him” (John 1:11). They preferred the shadow
of the Old Testament’s sinful, weak priests and all the
old rhythms and rituals over the sinless Servant-Priest
whose deep sympathy for sinners results in complete and
eternal redemption (Heb. 4:15; 9:12). The failure of many
in Israel to see and embrace the Messiah was tied to their
misunderstanding of their own election. Their election
had been as priestly mediators, for intercession, for
service, and to show forth the promise of God’s love and
mercy in their own lives to others. Their election pointed
to the very Servant King and Priest that they rejected.
25
Norman Nagel emphasizes this theme in Luther’s writing on the royal
priesthood. See “Luther and the Priesthood of All Believers,” Concordia
Theological Quarterly 61, no. 4 (October 1997): 277–98.

THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD

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But those from Israel who did not believe betrayed Israel’s identity as a kingdom of priests when they refused
this new revelation of God speaking in the person of His
Son (Heb. 1:1–2). They deluded themselves into thinking
that they were the end of what God was about instead of
a tool through which He worked for all the world, enslaving themselves in pride. “We are Abraham’s children
and have never been enslaved to anyone,” they protested
when Jesus promised Himself and His freedom (John 8).
They were held fast by their own mistaken notions that
old promises would do just fine, while they ignored the
Promise Incarnate, whose present promises were what
fulfilled God’s saving intent for all the world. In denying
their own Savior they could not share His gracious presence with the nations — could not be the priests they
were called to be.
Like the priests of old, the great High Priest is called
by God who alone calls priests. Our High Priest comes,
not by usurpation, but by the Father’s anointing (Heb. 1:9;
5:4). In Psalm 2:7, the king speaks at the anointing: “The
Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten
you.’” And in Psalm 110 Yahweh declares David’s Lord to
be the eternal royal Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
The New Testament rightly applies all this to Christ, the
Son of God, the Seed of Adam, of Abraham and of David
(Matt. 1; Rom. 1:1–5), who was appointed for this priestly
service from the very beginning (Gen. 3:15; 1 Peter 1:18–20;
Eph. 1:3–4). He is the only-begotten Son of the Father,
now humble no more but higher than the angels because
He has been raised from the dead and exalted to God’s
right hand (Acts 13:33; Col. 3:1; Heb. 1:13).
His identity and work are not seized in some coup,
but bestowed by the Father. He alone has been named by
God to be Priest forever after “the order of Melchizedek
(Heb. 5:6). And like the Priest of Psalm 110, He is also a
king, but with a kingdom not of this world, yet far greater than any of this world (John 18:36). He comes as obedient king in all humility and lays rightful claim to His title
and reign as the Servant King of Isaiah’s and Zechariah’s
prophecies (Is. 49:5–7; 52:13–53:12; Zech. 9:9; John 12:12–16).

3. Priesthood in the New Covenant
The coming together of all these roles and works is
magnificent, all tied up in Christ. Old Israel had been a
nation of priests, called to point to what God would do.
The true Israel, the Messiah Jesus, is priest and mediator,
restoring all things to the Father, and giving the benefits
of His sacrifice, His service, to the new Israel, His new

II. “PRIEST ” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

for David, for the prophets and Israel and for those at the
time of Christ.
That is still true in the new covenant. The rituals and
sacrifices tied to the old priesthood are set aside. Now
only the new promises matter, the promises from the High
Priest heard still today. “I am the way, and the truth, and
the life” (John 14:6). “I am the resurrection and the life”
(John 11:25). “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2). “I
am with you always” (Matt. 28:20). “Whoever believes and
is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16; see also Acts 2:38–
39). “Baptism ... now saves you” (1 Peter 3:21). “This is my
body which is given for you” (Luke 22:19). “This cup that
is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood”
(Luke 22:20). What saves is not “yesterday’s news” but
today’s reality, today’s promises and faith in those promises. This cross is yours. This empty tomb is yours. This
Baptism is your entrance into the kingdom, a washing that
makes you a king and priest. This bread and wine is body
and blood for your forgiveness and life eternal.
Along with the radical coming of the Messiah and the
new reality of His promises, there also came a reworking of the criteria for those who would be priests. First
Peter 2:9 makes this clear. In the old covenant, those
who served in a formal way were to come from the
tribe of Levi, while the wider group — the descendants
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel — were a nation of
priests by virtue of their God-given ancestry. But Israel
was sadly mistaken when they looked to their bloodline
as the guarantee of being at one with God in the covenant, acting as if God’s idea was to keep others out while
commending them by virtue of mere lineage. Israel had
forgotten that God’s promises of salvation had always
been for all people. However, under the old covenant, the
promises were received when those not of Israel became,
in effect, honorary Israelites.28 Few did so, but the door
was always open. This, of course, is the very point Paul
makes in Galatians 3:5–9:
Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works
miracles among you do so by works of the law, or
by hearing with faith — just as Abraham “believed
God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?
Know then that it is those of faith who are the
sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing
that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
28
To this point one may cite the many sojourners and aliens whose frequent mention in the Law implies not only protection under the laws
of Israel, but also the possibility of inclusion within the people (see Ex.
12:48–49; Num. 15:13–16). Specific examples of Gentile believers include,
among others, Melchizedek; Jethro and his daughter, the wife of Moses;
Rahab; Jael; Ruth; Uriah and Bathsheba; and the Ninevites.

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Revelation 1:5–6 refers to the sacrifice of the great
High Priest, the “firstborn from the dead,” the one who
“freed us from our sins by his blood and made us to be
kings and priests to God” as the result of His sacrifice.
Then, a few verses later in Revelation 5:9–10, comes this
song of praise: “For you were slain, and by your blood
you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them
the kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign
on the earth.” The promise to Abraham is fulfilled!
The royal priesthood is rooted in Christ, not in the
Law, and in Him the flow is reversed, broadened out to
embrace all people without qualifications. Faith in God’s
promises — trust in what Christ had done for all is what
saves. Nothing more. The new priesthood is universal
because it is for the world. The Church is truly catholic
— one saving faith for the whole of humanity. Christ has
broken down the wall between Jew and Gentile and has
“made us both one” (Eph. 2:14). This saving message and its
washing of rebirth, renewal, and sonship is for all, Jew and
Gentile, slave and free, male and female (Gal. 3:27–28).
That the door to salvation was open also to the nations
and not only to Abraham’s physical descendants is a clear
reminder that it was always a gift of God’s grace through
faith — that is, it came as the Holy Spirit worked faith in
God’s promise. Thus the emphasis on physical lineage
ends in the New Testament when the High Priest shows
Himself to be the open Door and the Way of salvation for
all people and all nations (Matt. 28:19; John 10:9; 14:6). First
Peter is a catholic epistle, that is, a general letter that was
written to all who believe. Addressing the “exiles dispersed
abroad” (1:1),29 Peter is writing to Christians whose common bond is neither geography nor ethnicity, but the new
covenant promises of the new Israel. There is no need to
become part of the nation of Israel (let alone members of
Levi’s tribe) for this new priesthood. There is no need for
circumcision, the covenant sign of Israel’s royal priesthood.30 The doors are thrown open to all the nations.
CSB 2017. ESV reads “exiles of the dispersion.”

30
The sign of circumcision, while a saving sign, was easily misunderstood on at least two levels. First, it seemingly ignored females and left
questions about the status of girls and women within the covenant people. Second, much as Baptism is also misunderstood (!), circumcision
was often viewed as a mark of the status an individual provides (I am a
true Israelite!) rather than a gracious gift from God — and is therefore
at the heart of New Testament debates over the teaching of salvation

II. “PRIEST ” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

This new covenant accomplishes what the old covenant could not do with its repeated sacrifices. Christ
Himself is the new covenant, both priest and final
sacrifice. From this point on, priesthood rests on the
blood of Christ and on His resurrection and exaltation to
the right hand of God where He intercedes for us. “The
gospel and all of Scripture present Christ as the high
priest, who alone and once for all by offering himself has
taken away the sins of all men and accomplished their
26
For example, Luther writes in The Freedom of a Christian (1520):
“The third incomparable benefit of faith is that it unites the soul with
Christ as a bride is united with her bridegroom. By this mystery, as the
Apostle teaches, Christ and the soul become one flesh [Eph. 5:31–32].
And if they are one flesh and there is between them a true marriage
— indeed the most perfect of all marriages, since human marriages
are but poor examples of this one true marriage — it follows that
everything they have they hold in common, the good as well as the
evil. Accordingly, the believing soul can boast of and glory in whatever
Christ has as though it were its own, and whatever the soul has Christ
claims as his own. Let us compare these and we shall see inestimable
benefits. Christ is full of grace, life, and salvation. The soul is full of sins,
death, and damnation. Now let faith come between them and sins, death,
and damnation will be Christ’s, while grace, life, and salvation will be the
soul’s; for if Christ is a bridegroom, he must take upon himself the things
which are his bride’s and bestow upon her the things that are his. If he
gives her his body and very self, how shall he not give her all that is his?
And if he takes the body of the bride, how shall he not take all that is
hers?” (AE 31:351, emphasis added). Also: “By this fortunate exchange
with us He took upon Himself our sinful person and granted us His innocent and victorious Person. Clothed and dressed in this, we are freed
from the curse of the Law, because Christ Himself voluntarily became a
curse for us” (Lectures on Galatians, AE 26:284).

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Thus God, and only God, makes priests and He does
it from among all the nations. Yet, He does it one at a
time, adding to His kingdom of priests in Holy Baptism.
They have been “born again” — Baptism language for
Peter — “born again to a living hope … that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:3–5). Here, in
Baptism, is the door to salvation for all as Peter teaches
the royal priesthood (1 Peter 3:21): “Baptism,” says Peter,
“now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body
but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” Baptism brings people
into a salvation relationship with God — a relationship
so special that even angels are astounded and long to
understand (1 Peter 1:12). How so? The angels, fixed in
their perfection, know Christ as Lord, but here they
behold poor sinners, once condemned but now alive for
Christ’s sake. Forgiven sinners know Christ as both Lord
and Redeemer and only we can say, “I believe that Jesus
Christ, true God … is my Lord, who has redeemed me.”31
In teaching Baptism’s saving promise, Peter adds that
the baptized person is joined to both the death of Christ
as well as the new life that is ours “through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at
the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to him” (1 Peter 3:21b–22). All
is sealed by the faith-giving Spirit — “by the Holy Spirit
sent from heaven” (1 Peter 1:12) — who is present and
given as promised, when water and the Word are used as
Christ commands.
This is salvation entirely by grace in sharpest relief
from all human merit. Baptism is the gracious work of
God, done without any thought of bringing good works
to the font. The baptismal covenant is forged entirely on
one side — thanks be to God! That Baptism into Christ
grants faith and new life in the kingdom is solely the act
of God, and the believer relies purely on the mercy of
God and the quickening presence of Christ’s Spirit. The
same is true in the new life that follows: There is no place
for works to keep the believer in faith. There is room
only for repentant trust in the continuing work of the
Holy Spirit, even as we confess: “I believe that I cannot
by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my
Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me
by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified
that is given solely by grace through faith (see Rom. 2–4; Galatians).
31
Luther’s Small Catechism (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House,
1986), 17. See also SC, “Creed,” 4, KW, 355.

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sanctification for all eternity.”27 His sacrifice, given in
grace and love and received by faith, is representative,
perfect and universal. Those are three important adjectives. The sacrifice, first, is representative like those of
the old covenant because Christ stands in for me and
every sinner, the vicar or substitute whose life, death and
resurrection are mine. Second, unlike the old covenant
sacrifices, this sacrifice is perfect because He is the
sinless only-begotten Son whose death is full atonement
for sin. There are no more sacrifices to come. And third,
it is universal, that is, it is salvation won for all. Just as
Israel’s relationship with God was not exclusively theirs,
so the relationship of the new covenant is not the private
possession of some, but is open to all who receive in faith
what God bestows. The priesthood of the believers under
the new covenant is still one of faith and sacrifice, but the
orientation has radically changed, for the Messiah long
promised has come.
One aspect of the change in orientation is this: Based
on God’s past actions and promises, Israel of old looked
forward to this great day, and now the New Israel looks
back at what the True Israel, Christ, has accomplished.
Yet, because of what Christ has already accomplished,
the New Israel also looks forward in eager anticipation
for the fulfillment of His promised return as He raises
the dead, judges all people and establishes the new heaven and earth. Moreover, this different aspect could be
misunderstood to imply that God saved the Old Testament people in a different manner than He saves people
now. God always has worked to save people the same
way: by promise. The Word saves. The Word creates and
defines the identity of those who believe, who are saved.
The Word makes them what they are. Faith is trust in
God’s promises — it is always the same. Faith trusts the
promises of what Christ accomplishes for all people in
every age when He died — or would die — on the cross.
Already in the Old Testament God saw Jesus’ death and
resurrection as reality, so He has always saved by Christ’s
work. The promise began with Genesis 3:15 with more
promises accumulating along the way. Note, however,
that what counts is clinging in faith to the promises given
at the moment to the hearer at hand. So Adam and Eve
had a promise and were saved not potentially but in fact
then and there by holding fast to that promise in faith.
Noah had his own promise. He could not be content
to know Adam’s, but he had a word of God to him, a
promise then and there that, when grasped in faith, did
save him. The same held true for Abraham and Sarah,
27

Concerning the Ministry, AE 40:14.

II. “PRIEST ” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

4. The New Covenant of Holy Baptism

preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham,
saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So
then, those who are of faith are blessed along with
Abraham, the man of faith.

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people, the Church, His royal priesthood. As His new
people we “consider” our priesthood in light of “Jesus,
the apostle and high priest of our confession” through
whom we “share in a heavenly calling” (Heb. 3:1–2). Our
High Priest provides redemption in the new covenant He
made, sealed with His own sacrifice, coupled with His
promise: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new
covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). Covenants are agreements or pacts made between two parties, each putting
something into the relationship. But people cannot initiate a covenant with God, because they have nothing to
offer Him. This covenant is a sign of grace, yet one more
gift of God whose benefits can be had only by faith. Beggars can’t be choosers, but could one choose any better?
This covenant came at the highest price — the death
of Christ Himself — with the cost paid entirely by one
party. Yet there is a free exchange in the covenant. What
was ours — sin, death, and condemnation — becomes
Christ’s. And what is His — holiness, life, and a perfect,
eternal relationship with the Father — becomes ours. “For
all things are yours … and you are Christ’s, and Christ is
God’s” (1 Cor. 3:21, 23). This is a “happy exchange” — one
of Luther’s favorite descriptions of salvation.26

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and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls,
gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian
church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the
one true faith.”32
By the Holy Spirit the believer becomes part of the
total priesthood, the royal priesthood, of Christ’s church.
Being baptized “into his death” (Rom. 6:3) is to be linked
to Christ’s priestly act at the point of His own sacrifice.
Being buried, rising and then living in Him in Baptism,
the believer is thoroughly incorporated into the body
of Christ. As Christ the Head is the High Priest, every
member of His body is part of the royal priesthood. Baptism is not a superficial naming — a social christening
— but marks one who is new, reborn not of flesh, but the
Spirit (John 3:5–6; Titus 3:5).
God makes priests in Baptism. Whether infant or
adult, it is all the same, and all are priests. There is a forward-looking, future-oriented thrust in Christ’s work of
Baptism. The purpose is the creation and sanctification
of the whole Church. Paul points to this in Ephesians
5:26–27 when he writes, “That he might sanctify her,
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word, so that he might present the church to himself in
splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that
she might be holy and without blemish.”
To be baptized in Christ’s name is to have what comes
with His name: a claim to His death and resurrection to
life, to His right to stand before the Father. Priests bear
Christ’s name and have such a right and privilege. More,
in Baptism, the believer is “anointed by the Holy One”
(1 John 2:20). As the writer to the Hebrews says (3:1–2),
“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly
calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of
our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed
him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house.”
In Christ, “the high priest of our confession,” we “share
in a heavenly calling” with Him to the priesthood
conferred in Baptism.

5. The Priestly Calling of All Christians
It is crystal clear that Christians become priests not
because of what they do, by would-be works of righteousness, but by faith in all its fullness with all the
gifts Christ gives to those who believe. In baptismal
faith Christians die to the world, to themselves and to
their own works, and they live instead in Christ and for
32

Luther’s Small Catechism, 17.

II. “PRIEST ” IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

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2019 Convention Workbook