The Tradition of the Laity

 

Clergy and Laity

“It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business; but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word,” (Acts 6:2-4). Have you ever noticed that today’s church is split up into two categories, the clergy and the laity or those who “minister in the word” and those who “serve tables.” Have you ever wondered if this is the what God intended?

Paul, a converted Pharisee, established with the men he discipled a tradition of appointing “bishops” or “elders” and “deacons” to assist in the reproduction of their ministries. But these men were not appointed to "serve tables" while Paul ministered it he word. Rather, if we examine 1Timothy 3 and Titus 1, we find that they were men “able to teach,” and “able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.” In other words, Paul, like Jesus, trained believers to make disciples, not serve tables.

The truth is that our system today is based on the tradition of man and not the command of God.

Priests and Levites

How did this tradition of distinguishing the clergy from the laity begin? When Moses was called by God, he complained that he didn't have the ability to speak confidently. So God told Moses, “Aaron, the Levite… You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth… it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him” (Ex 4:15,16). So began the Levitical priesthood with Moses speaking as God to Aaron and his brother as a priest to the people. From Aaron’s loins came a lineage of men who represented the people to God by teaching them His word and offering their sacrifices for the remission of their sins. In other words, Aaron's offspring were devoted to ministering in the word.

The Levites, Aaron's tribe but not his direct offspring, were “present[ed] to Aaron the priest to assist him [and] perform duties for him and for the whole community… by doing the work of the tabernacle… all the furnishings [and] fulfilling the [spiritual] obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle” (Num 3:5-8). In other words, the Levites were devoted to serving tables.

But whose idea was it to draw a distinction between priests, Levites, and the laity? Remember when God spoke to the Israelites with "thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking" as He provided the Ten Commandments? The people "were afraid... and said to Moses, 'You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.'" You see it was man who asked for priests and not God who commanded it.

Ministers All

God told Moses before He set forth the ten commandments that He wanted all His people to know that they were "my treasured possession... and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19.6). Unfortunately, the people decided they'd rather hear from men like Moses than from the mouth of God. Hundreds of years later after the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter reminds us of this exact same passage when he writes: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light" (1Pet 2.9). In other words, we can't dish our responsibility for being priests off on Moses any longer.

So who are the priests today? We know that Jesus is the High Priest, like how Aaron's offspring were the priest to the Israelites, and we now that we too are called a kingdom of priests, much like the Levites who served in the temple. So if Jesus is the High Priest and we are the priests, then who or what is the laity?

There have been several occasions so far where I or those I am familiar with have asked their local congregational leadership for the opportunity to serve in the “ministering of the word” but have been told that this is the duty of the pastor and that we are recommended to participate in such “serving table” ministries as youth ministry, music ministry, head counting ministry and of course, tithing ministry. Are these the kind of ministries Jesus was considering when He commissioned us?

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” is either meant for us all or we who “serve tables” are exempt from obeying the "teaching" part of the command. So even as we support our local pastors and serve the congregation through lay tasks, let us remember that we are all priests called to make disciples and not just serve them.