Priesthood Of All Believers Theology Religion Essay

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

Luthers greatest contribution to Protestant ecclesiology was his doctrine of priesthood of all believers. It was a central teaching of Luther in the formation of Christian communities. Eric W. Gritsch has claimed, "Luther's doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, developed particularly in his treatises of 1520, is one of the most revolutionary doctrines in the history of Christianity." [1] It is the clear biblical idea that we could see from the Genesis to Revelation. The doctrine of the priesthood of all believers opposes the unbiblical doctrine of sacerdotalism [2] and the existence of a Brahman-like [3] priestly class within the church. When Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517, he was declaring war against the idea that salvation comes through the priesthood via the sacraments. His theses were anti-sacerdotalistic and he spoke against the theology that ex opere operato [4] supernatural life could be created through baptism, brought to growth by confirmation, nourished by the Mass, and healed of all diseases by penance and extreme unction. Luther vehemently rejected the idea that through sacraments a priest could control an individual's life both here and hereafter.

Luther claimed that everyone who does have faith in Jesus Christ is a priest. He wrote that his hope was for a day when "we shall recover that joyful liberty in which we shall understand that we are all equal in every right, and shall shake off the yoke of tyranny, and know that he who is a Christian has Christ, and he who has Christ has all things that are Christ's, and can do all things." [5] The concept that all who believe in Christ are priests came into mind to Luther after he became convinced that Scripture was the only authority for a Christian. Believers are called to be the salt and the light (Matthew 5:13), this is only possible when the believers understands Christ's priestly ministry and its own priestly role. This also has serious eschatological implications, as Christ comes to be united with his bride, the Church. Will He find a fragmented body or a united family of believers? Hence this paper mainly examines that where from the concept of "priesthood of all believers" begins in the Bible and for what purpose; what is the context that steered Luther to raise this idea of 'priesthood of all believers'; the coherence between Luther's idea and the biblical idea of 'priesthood of all believers; and its implication to the present church of India.

I. THE ORIGIN OF THE CONCEPT OF "PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS" IN THE BIBLE

A priest is one who performs the sacrifices, makes the rituals and doing the work of mediator between God and man. He is the one responsible for offering the divinely appointed sacrifices to God, for executing ceremonies relating to the worship of God. In other sense, he is the representative between man and God. Scripture says, "For every high priest, being taken from among men, is appointed for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins." [6] The priestly office came first in time, when our first parents sinned and fell from the high estate into which they had been created. God Himself performed the priestly office when He slew animals and provided a covering for Adam and Eve. [7] 

A. PRIESTHOOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

There were three orders of men in the Old Testament times such as the kingly, the prophetical and the priestly orders. They were set apart by anointing with holy oil for a particular vocation. A king in the Old Testament was one who ruled men for God. A prophet was one who spoke for God to men. And a priest was one who spoke for men to God. Among all these three orders, even from the very beginning of the human race, the believers have performed priestly works. In the particular period, the head of the family was doing the priestly office. He would build an altar and offer a sacrifice for the help from God. Scripture gives enough evidence for that.

1. Priesthood in the Patriarchal Age

In the Bible history, the first period is commonly known as Patriarchal Age. The word "patriarch" comes from two root words meaning "father rule." It encompasses the period between the creation events, and the time when Israel was separated as a special nation at Sinai for the preparation of the coming Messiah. In Genesis 4:3-5 both Cain and Abel functioned in the capacity of priest in that each was responsible for his own offering to God. We could see that when Noah disembarked the ark following the great flood, he offered sacrifices on behalf of his family. [8] Abram, after a long march from Ur, came into Canaan and built an altar at Shechem. [9] Again and again, Abraham offered sacrifices to God, as did his sons and grandsons. Thus, originally in man's relations with God, every individual functioned as his own priest before God with no particular location established for sacrificing and with no intermediary between him and God. [10] When He gave the Law at Mount Sinai, the people of Israel had been given an opportunity to become a kingdom of priests.

"Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." [11] 

Here God makes a covenant with all the people of Israel. Based on the above text, the people of Israel become God's possession and are chosen for the privilege of service. God instituted the priesthood of Israel as a congregated unit for the purpose of service to the world. This is the vocation of the "people of God" of which each member stands under God's call, and each is accountable for his or her response to it.

2. A Shift on Priesthood

But Israel disobeyed and God removed the opportunity for becoming a kingdom of priests. When Moses went up to the mountain to receive a list of rules and regulations for the newly freed nation, God also gave him instructions to form a "professional priesthood." Now each layman would no longer be his own priest, the individual could no longer take his sacrifices directly to God. [12] Here God selected Aaron and his family and the tribe of Levi to be His priests. They were set apart that when Israelites entered the Promised Land, the priests and Levites received no inheritance of land as the other eleven tribes. They had been set apart for the service of God and were to be supported by the tithes and offerings of the peoples' sacrifices. The sons of Aaron and the tribe of Levi had at least three distinctive as priests.

1. They had direct access to God. At appointed times they went into the Holy Place and even the Holy of Holies to communicate with God.

2. The priests represented God to the people of Israel. They were mediators who communicated the Word of God to the people since they were considered holy.

3. The people represented the people of Israel to God. The people could not approach a holy God directly because of their sin. The priests were mediators for the people as they brought sacrifices before the altar. The high priest entered the Holy of Holies yearly once on the Day of Atonement to offer an atoning substitute of a bull or lamb offering. One of the most important features of the priestly system was to emphasize the absolutely holy nature of Almighty God. This is a concept repeatedly affirmed in the Scriptures. [13] 

B. PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIVERS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

This was the situation continued Jesus Christ was crucified. At the same moment of Jesus' death, the veil of the Temple was ripped from top to bottom. [14] From then on there has been no need for select group of priests. At that point in time and ever since then believers became priests, a part of God's "royal" or "kingly" priesthood. The elimination of the office of priests as a select group of people is based, then, upon the physical sacrifice of Jesus, the ultimate High Priest. Jesus completed and fulfilled the role of priest in His substitutionary death.

". . . but He became a priest with an oath when God said to Him: 'The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever.' Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant . . . because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to savecompletely . . . Such a high priest meets our need-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. . . . Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priest men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever." [15] 

The priest, then, is the person who himself has access to God and whose task it is to bring others to Him. While in the ancient world this access to God was the privilege of the professional priests, and in particular of the High Priest who alone could enter into the Holy of Holies. But now through Jesus Christ, the new and living way, access to God becomes the privilege of every Christian.

The word "priest" comes from the Latin presbyter and the Greek presbyteros which simply means "elder." This word was later used to describe the leader of a community. In modern usage the term "priest" seems to be derived more from the actual Greek word for priest hiereus. [16] In the New Testament this word is never used to describe a class or caste of people separate from the people of God. Instead, it is used in the sense all God's people are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood" [17] The New Testament believers constitute the succession to the priesthood in old Israel, having been given the right of direct access to God through Christ. Furthermore, the ministry in the church has replaced the ancient priesthood. Hence, all the believers in Christ are priests in the New Testament.

Put into historical perspective, the priesthood concept would look like this: for the first several thousand years mankind's history as recorded in the Bible, each man was responsible for functioning as a priest before God. Then, for approximately 1500 years, the time between Moses and when Christ appeared on earth, the priesthood of the professional existed. From the death of Christ until He returns again, we have reverted to the pre-Sinai days of the priesthood of the believer. [18] 

II. THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MARTIN LUTHER'S REFORMATIVE THOUGHT

It is better to look back the history of the church to understand that how the New Testament idea of "priesthood of all believers" was perverted into the Roman Catholic Idea of Institutionalism.

A. PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS IN THE EARLY CHURCH HISTORY

The doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is found throughout the Scriptures and was practiced in the early church. As Dr. R. Laird Harris writes, "First century Christianity had no priests. The New Testament nowhere uses the word to describe a leader in Christian service." [19] But this glorious doctrine was gradually replaced by 'sacerdotalism' beginning in the third century, especially by Cyprian (c. 258) Bishop of Carthage. Cyprian treated "all the passages in the Old Testament that refer to the privileges, the sanctions, the duties, and the responsibilities of the Aaronic Priesthood, as applying to the officers of the Christian Church." [20] He completely failed to grasp the central thesis of the Epistle to the Hebrews. He was blind to the fact that "the only High Priest under the Gospel recognized by the apostolic writings is our Lord Himself" [21] and not a solitary pope or bishop or priest of the church. So from the third century onwards the priesthood of all believers was not visible in theological thinking.

But the Roman Catholic theologians justified 'sacerdotalism' by saying that Jesus gave the keys of the kingdom to Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus would build his church. Further they says that Peter was the first pope of Rome, and so the pope of Rome by succession has the power of the keys of the kingdom to bind and loose, and even to save. Salvation is deposited in the Roman priesthood and dispensed through the sacraments. The sacraments are effectual ex opere operato, meaning the subjective condition of the priest or the recipient does not matter. The Roman Catholic Church teaches that there is no salvation outside of the priesthood's mediatorial function, and no person by grace alone through faith in Jesus Christ may approach the Father with confidence!

B. PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS IN THE MEDIVAL PERIOD

By the successive centuries, the Roman Catholic hierarchy and other religious groups make a sharp distinction between the laity and the clergy. Such distinction was foreign to the early church where the ultimate authority in ministry traces back to the risen Lord. Along with the structural hierarchy is the sacrament of ordination. The church in Rome imposes the sacrament of ordination that results in the marked separation between the clergy and the laity. [22] Christianity had been plagued with it ever since. More and more the church began to structure itself on the basis of the former Levitical order, rather than on the purely New Testament idea of "each man is a priest" perspective. The change was slow and evolutionary, but pastors gradually came to be called "priests" and the believers "laity." The communion table became an altar and the elements a sacrifice.

At the dawn of the Reformation Era, the institutionalized church already would have two major distinguished bodies within the community of believers: the clergy and laity. The status lay people, both in principle and in practice, would not only subordinate to the priests, but also widens the gap between clergy and laity. The gap became synonymous with the sacred and the profane. [23] 

But godly men such as Peter Waldo, John Wyclif and John Hus saw the distinct difference and distance between the clergy and laity. They didn't like it, for it was in opposition to the teachings of the New Testament. Until the dramatic impact of the Protestant Reformation, these smaller movements had little pervasive influence. [24] 

C. PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS IN THE REFORMATION ERA

During the Reformation era the concept of the priesthood of all believers became very contentious within the structures of the Institutional church. The Reformation era provides a framework in tracing the concept of the priesthood of all believers. An elucidation on how Martin Luther formulated the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers will be dealt with in the pages to follow.

The concept that all who believe in Christ are priests occurred to Luther after he became convinced that Scripture was the only authority for a Christian. As he studied the Bible, especially Paul's Epistle to the Romans, he discovered that in and through Jesus Christ a believer possessed the righteousness of God, and therefore, immediate access to God without the mediation of an arrogant priesthood. Thus, the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is a sequel to the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone. Those who are clothed in the perfect righteousness of God are welcome in the presence of God. No Christian needs a pontiff, meaning a bridge builder, because Jesus Christ alone is the way to the Father.

There were other efforts at reforming the Catholic Church, seeking to bring it back to a more biblical posture, but they all fell short of their goal. It was not until such "reforming" seeds germinated in a favorable political climate that fruit would be born. The date was October 31, 1517. The place was Wittenberg, Germany. An obscure priest named Martin Luther nailed his grievances to the church door, the Reformation was born. A number of changes were called for by this bold, imaginative priest, but at the very core of the Reformation was the conviction that all believers are priests of the living God. He felt that all believers had the right and responsibility to study God's Word, involve themselves in the ministry, make confession to God on their own, and even administer the sacraments. [25] 

What had started in 1517 as a protest against indulgences by an unknown monk, developed in 1520 into an irreconcilable conflict dividing the Western Church. The three treatises of "To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation," "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church," and "The Freedom of a Christian" are the heart of Luther's protest against the church of his day. The first was written in August, the second in October, and third in November. In great part, Luther's tract is a catalog of the deplorable state of Christendom. The pope exalts himself over secular rulers as well as over the church, and lives in unconscionable luxury. Rome is a moral cesspool where licenses to live in open debauchery can be bought and sold. The Church has become a machine for making money, and the pope's henchmen, having bled Italy dry, have now turned their attention to Germany. Because of their inability to live up to the arbitrary rule of celibacy, many pious priests keep wives, yet do so secretly and with a bad conscience. The universities ignore the Bible and lecture on commentaries, and on commentaries on commentaries. The common people are ignorant even of basic Christianity. [26] In such a situation, Luther did write his treatises. Primarily, his first treatise of "To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation" occupied the central theme of the "priesthood of all believers." Here it is better to examine the background that led Martin Luther to raise the concept of "priesthood of all believers."

1. To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation

a) Priesthood of All Believers As Social Implication

In his first treatise of 'To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation' the concept of priesthood of all believers has social, ecclesiastical and spiritual implications. At the dawn of the Reformation era, the institutionalized church already would have two major distinguished bodies within the community of believers such as clergy and laity. Socially, he accepted the context of western Christianity, where temporal rulers belong to the body of Christendom. Within the Christian social order, the rulers are ordained of God to punish evildoers and protect those who do good. When pressed by the temporal power the Romanists have made decrees and declared that the temporal power had no jurisdiction over them, but that, on the contrary, the spiritual power is above the temporal. [27] 

Luther argues against the medieval division between the temporal and the church authorities and their separate jurisdictions in all matters. First of all, he attacked the social distinction that emphasized by the Romanists,

"It is pure invention that pope, bishop, priests, and monks are called the spiritual estate while princes, lords, artisans, and farmers are called the temporal estate. This is indeed a piece of deceit and hypocrisy. Yet no one need be intimidated by it, and for this reason: all Christians are truly of the spiritual estate, and there is no difference among them except that of office." [28] 

He maintains that all Christians are equally Christian so that none is superior to any other as far possessing what is essential to the church,

"because we all have one baptism, one gospel, one faith, are all Christians alike; for baptism, gospel, and faith alone make us spiritual and a Christian people." [29] 

Relying upon 1Corinthians 12:12-13, which describes the Church as the body of Christ and each member a part of that body, Luther acknowledges differences between Christians, not as questions of status, however, but as occasions for service to others. All are not the same in what God has given them to do, but they are all the same in what God has given them to be in the Church, viz., His very own people. All Christians, therefore, have the same status. By quoting 1Peter 2:9 and Rev. 5:9-10, Luther describes that status as "priest" and ascribes it to every Christian, "As far as that goes, we are all consecrated priests through baptism." [30] So what differentiates Christians is simply the work that God has given them to do:

"There is no true, basic difference between laymen and priests, prices and bishops, between religious and secular, except for the sake of office and work, but not for the same of status. They are all of the spiritual estate, al are truly priests, bishops, and popes [31] 

As part of the divine economy, God has given to each Christian a particular calling in this life whereby he serves others,

"Everyone must benefit and serve every other by means of his own work or office so that in this way many kinds of work may be done for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community, just as all the members of the body serve one another (1Cor.12:14-26)." [32] 

As examples of such vocations in the body of Christ, Luther mentions cobblers, smiths, peasants, and temporal authorities besides the clergy. But what is noteworthy about the last, those who have as their vocation "the administration of the Word of God and Sacraments," [33] is that they are exercising an authority that belongs in the first instance to every Christian. For besides designating one's status before God, Luther's concept of the priesthood of believers also includes spiritual power in the church.

b) Priesthood of All Believers as Ecclesiastical Implication

Luther rejects ecclesiastically, the clergy's monopoly on interpreting Scripture. He attacks the second wall of Romanists that only the pope may interpret the Scripture, determining correct doctrine, forgiving sins, and exercising discipline. There is no Scriptural warrant at all for the claim that only the pope may interpret the Bible. Here Luther clarifies the illusion that some of the Romanists claim of the power that was given to St. Peter.

"Although they allege that this power was given to St. Peter when the keys were given him, it is clear enough that the key were not given to Peter alone but to the whole community. Further, the keys were not ordained for doctrine or government, but only for the binding or loosing of sin." [34] 

As handlers of Scripture the Romanists are manifestly incompetent, and this makes their claim to hold a monopoly on biblical interpretation absurd. The Romanists must admit that there are among us good Christians who have the true faith, spirit, understanding, word, and mind of Christ. Luther's main point is that the Pope isn't the only person able to read the scriptures. He writes, "Has not the Pope often erred?" Here Luther implies that the Pope isn't God, and that he makes mistakes. [35] The Pope, therefore, can misinterpret the Bible. Luther shows that the Pope is like everyone else, so therefore others can interpret the scriptures as well. Luther then uses the Bible as a way to prove the second wall wrong. Luther quotes Christ's words, "And they shall be all taught of God"(St. John vi. 45). Everyone should be able to interpret the scriptures and be taught of God, without the Pope's help. Furthermore he questions,

"Besides, if we are all priests, as was said above, and all have one faith, one gospel, one sacrament, why should we not also have the power to test and judge what is right or wrong in matters of faith? What becomes of Paul's words in 1Corinthians 2:15, "A spiritual man judges all things, yet he is judged by no one"? And 2Corinthians 4:13, "We all have one spirit of faith"? Why, then, should not we perceive what is consistent with faith and what is not, just as well as an unbelieving pope does"? [36] 

Even more, Luther attacks the third wall of Romanists. He argues that there is no basis either in the nature of a Christian society or in Scripture for the Romanists' refusal to call a council. Luther brings up that St. Peter wasn't the only person to call a council: "Thus we read in Acts 15 that the council of the Apostles was not called by St. Peter, but by all the Apostles and the elders." [37] Also, nowhere in the scriptures does it say that the Pope is allowed to call a council by himself. Therefore their threats can be safely ignored, and a council should be called without delay to deal with a long list of abuses in the Church. Ordinary people and temporal authorities have the right and duty to do this, not only by virtue of their status as kings and priests before God, but because the crisis in the Church demands it.

"Would it not be unnatural if a fire broke out in a city and everybody were to stand by and let it burn on and on and consume everything that could burn because nobody had the authority of the mayor, or because, perhaps, the fire broke out in the mayor's house? …How much more should this be done in the spiritual city of Christ if a fire of offense breaks out, whether in the papal government, or anywhere else?" [38] 

Therefore, Luther concludes that it is the duty of every Christian in the Church as having the responsibility of priesthood of all believers; he has to espouse the cause of the faith, to understand and defend it, and to denounce every error.

c) Priesthood of All Believers as Spiritual Implication

Luther declares that since we have one baptism, one gospel one faith, and are all Christians alike; for baptism, gospel, and faith alone make us spiritual and a Christian people. He quotes 1Peter 2:9,

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

Yet all are alike consecrated priests, everyone must benefit and serve every other by means of his own work or office so that in this way many kinds of work may be done for the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community, just as all the members of the body serve one another. Mainly all should share the three priestly functions such as prayer - intercede with God on behalf of others, proclamation - speak the gospel sharing it with the neighbor, and sacrifice - living a cross-centered and servant oriented life. Since the Church is in a state of crisis and someone has to act. The temporal authorities and ordinary lay people can and should do so because there are no inherently "unspiritual" vocations, because all Christians in all vocations are kings and priests, and because the deplorable state of the Church is the concern of every Christian.

2. The Babylonian Captivity of the Church

Nevertheless, the second treatise of Luther, "The Babylonian Captivity of the Church" also has the influence of the idea of priesthood of all believers. In this treatise, he discusses and dismantles the medieval sacramental system. In a measured but powerful way, Luther subjects each of the seven medieval sacraments such as baptism, Eucharist, penance, confirmation, marriage, ordination, and extreme unction to the critique of God's Word and concludes that "there are, strictly speaking, but two sacraments in the church of God - baptism and the bread ( Eucharist). For only in these two do we find both the divinely instituted sign and the promise of forgiveness of sins" [39] 

Not surprisingly, in his discussion of each rite, Luther's evangelical perspective is basic, and this is true also in his treatment of ordination. It is particularly noteworthy to hear Luther express himself this way regarding ordination: "Of this sacrament the church of Christ knows nothing; it is an invention of the church of the pope." [40] Of course, Luther's entire discussion is directed against the medieval, papal form of ordination. Nevertheless, it is also important to recognize that Luther's argument amounts to a rejection of any rite of ordination as a sacrament, i.e., an outward sign to which God has attached a promise of forgiveness. Luther writes, "Not only is there nowhere any promise of grace attached to it, but there is not a single word said about it in the whole New Testament. Now it is ridiculous to put forth as a sacrament of God something that cannot be proved to have been instituted by God." [41] In this connection, Luther rejects the notion that the Church can create her own sacraments, i.e., "new divine promises of grace…since the church is under the guidance of the Holy Spirit." Luther dismisses such thinking by arguing that the promises make the Church and not the other way around, "The Word of God is incomparably superior to the church, and in this Word the church, being a creature, has nothing to decree, ordain, or make, but only to be decreed, ordained, and made." [42] It is impossible therefore to take a rite of the Church like ordination and turn it into a means of grace.

Luther is quite willing to recognize ordination as "a certain rite by which the church chooses its preachers" [43] but not as a sacrament. "I do not hold that this rite, which has been observed for so many centuries, should be condemned; but in sacred things I am opposed to the invention of human fictions. And it is not right to give out as divinely instituted what was not divinely instituted." [44] Besides his rejection of ordination as anything more than an ecclesiastical ceremony, in this section of the Babylonian Captivity, Luther also addresses once again the nature of the office of the ministry. For one thing, he charges the Roman church with transforming ordination into a sacrament in order to exalt the clergy over the laity:

"Trusting the external anointing by which their hands are consecrated, in the tonsure and investments, they not only exalt themselves above the rest of the lay Christians, who are only anointed with the Holy Spirit, but regard them almost as dogs and unworthy to be included with themselves in the church. Hence they are bold to demand, to exact, to threaten, to urge, to oppress, as much as they please. In short, the sacrament of ordination has been and still is an admirable device for establishing all the horrible things that have been done hitherto in the church, and are yet to be done. Here Christian brotherhood has perished, here shepherds have been turned into wolves, servants into tyrants, churchmen into worse than worldlings." [45] 

For Luther, therefore, a false view of ordination accompanies a false view of the ministry. Once again, in order to explain the nature of the true public ministry of the Church, Luther has recourse to his doctrine of the priesthood of all believers, from among whom some are chosen to exercise a special service in the church. After citing 1 Peter 2:9, again Luther says, "Therefore, we are all priests, as many of us as are Christians. But the priests, as we call them, are ministers chosen from among us. All that they do is done in our name; the priesthood is nothing but a ministry." [46] And what are the contents of this ministry? To preach and to teach the Word of God is - nothing more and nothing less. Once again, Luther is emphatic that this ministry belongs in the first instance to every believer,

"Let everyone…who knows himself to be a Christian, be assured of this, that we are all equally priests, that is to say, we have the same power in respect to the Word and the sacraments."But just as emphatically, Luther goes on to say that "no one may make use of this power except by the consent of the community or by the call of a superior. (For what is the common property of all, no individual may arrogate to himself, unless he is called.)." And therefore, "this 'sacrament' of ordination is nothing else than a certain rite whereby one is called to the ministry of the church". [47] 

Much of Luther's concern here is to correct Rome's notion of a special priesthood standing over God's people in order to recite the liturgy and to sacrifice the mass: Those who are ordained only to read the canonical hours and to offer masses are indeed papal priests, but not Christian priests, because they not only do not preach, but are not even called top reach….a priesthood of that sort is a different estate altogether from the office of preaching. Thus they are hour-reading and mass-saying priests - sort of living idols called priests - really such priests as Jeroboam ordained…taken from the lowest dregs of the people" (1 Kings 12:31). [48] 

Luther will have nothing to do with "indelible character," for he sees it as a principal means whereby the papacy has placed itself above the laity and continues to enslave them. Do away with such ideas and sacramental ordination generally, Luther argues, and the "papacy will scarcely survive," for then "we shall realize that we are all equal by every right. Having cast off the yoke of tyranny, we shall know that he who is a Christian has Christ; and that he who has Christ has all things that are Christ's, and can do all things". [49] As in the first work, To the Christian Nobility, so here in the second, the Babylonian Captivity, the controversy with Rome led Luther to affirm spiritual egalitarianism while reorienting the public ministry of the Church to the task of preaching the gospel.

3. Freedom of A Christian

However, Luther's third treatise has also been persuaded by the idea of priesthood of all believers. The Freedom of a Christian published in November 1520, was an open letter written by Martin Luther to Pope Leo X for the purpose of conciliation with Rome. It is a small treatise that contains a positive and unequivocal statement of Luther's Evangelical theology as applied to whole of Christian life. Even though the treatise breathed the spirit of late-medieval mysticism, it makes clear that a believing Christian is free from sin through faith in God, yet bound by love to serve his neighbor.

Even in the introductory part of dedication, it seems that Luther's language is filled with conflict and tension. He writes, "Admittedly it must be that Christ, set as a stumbling block and a sign that is spoken against, will be an offense and a cause for the fall and rising of many." Luther's theology continually gives opposites in tension bringing change, growth, and development. The following first two contradictory statements place the tension between freedom and responsibility:

1. A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none.

2. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.

Luther shows how these two statements are not really contradictory, but are based on Scripture (1 Cor. 9:19; Romans 13:8). Scripture speaks of this conflict in terms of freedom by faith and servitude by love. Luther assumes the human being as consisting of two natures such as inner that refers the spiritual nature or the soul and outer which is physical nature or the body. These two natures conflict with each other.

Luther clarifies his first statement that the inner person or the soul cannot be saved by our own efforts or works but only through the Word of God by faith. Luther brings the threefold power of the faith. a) Faith in the Word frees us from the Law. b) Faith honors God. c) Faith unites the soul with Christ. Faith alone brings our soul and Christ becomes one flesh in a true marriage. In this marriage, what is ours (sins) becomes Christ's and what is Christ's (righteousness) becomes ours. As Christ the lord over all, having twofold honor of priesthood and kingship, he imparts them to everyone who believes in him. First, with respect to kingship, every Christian is by faith so exalted above all things that, by virtue of a spiritual power, he is lord of all things without exception, so that nothing can do him any harm. As a matter of fact, all things are made subject to him and are compelled to serve him in obtaining salvation.

Luther gives explanation for his second statement to those who are offended by the word 'faith,' asking why the works are then commanded, if faith alone is enough for righteousness. They claim that works can be eliminated altogether and we can contend with faith. But Luther replies that this could be true if we were only inner or spiritual persons. Since we live in the flesh, we are directed to work in order to please God, and to grow in faith. Luther extends the analogy of his first point as Christ has joined in a joyful exchange with us; we are to join in a joyful exchange with our neighbor. We must "become a Christ" to the neighbor, especially helping those in need. Through faith we are caught up beyond ourselves into God. Likewise, through the love that proceeds from faith, we descend beneath ourselves to serve our neighbors. This is our true spiritual freedom of a Christian to be above all and servant to all, through faith alone. Therefore, the Christian is at the same time a perfectly dutiful servant, subject to all. Here we could see the concept of the priesthood of all believers.

III. THE COHERENCE BETWEEN LUTHER AND THE SCRIPTURE

The concept of priesthood of all believer occurred to Luther, after he became convinced that Scripture was the only authority for a Christian. As he studied the Bible, especially Paul's Epistle to the Romans, he discovered that in and through Jesus Christ a believer possessed the righteousness of God, and therefore, immediate access to God. Thus, the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is a sequel to the doctrine of justification by grace alone through faith alone. Luther's view of priesthood of all believers built on the theology of the early church and the Middle Ages, about the sharing of all the baptized in priestly and kingly office of Jesus Christ, appealed especially to 1 Peter 2:9. According to Luther, sharing in Jesus Christ on the basis of baptism includes also sharing in his priesthood. [50] His entire understanding of the church as the community of saints can be described by the priesthood as the law of the church's life.

In our one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus, Christians come immediately and directly to God. They have no further need for any fallible human priest, whether Roman Catholic or evangelical. In Christ they are set free from all slavery and granted the dignity of a royal priesthood. As God's elect, believers have been given new birth into a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:3, 23). As living stones who trust in the living foundation stone, Jesus Christ, they are built into a new spiritual temple.

Believers are a holy priesthood who offer spiritual sacrifices as priests (1 Pet. 2:5). They are a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9) and sons of God (1 Pet. 1:3, 23; Gal. 3:26) through faith in Christ Jesus. They are all kings, priests, and prophets in Christ (1 Pet. 2:9). The sacrifice of Jesus the High Priest has resulted in the forgiveness of all our sins and in the imputation to us of God's perfect righteousness. Arrayed in the robe of Christ's righteousness, every believer-priest comes to God (Heb. 12:22,23) together with others to offer, not expiatory, literal, bloody sacrifices, but various spiritual sacrifices. So Luther's concept of priesthood of all believers has harmony with the Scripture.

IV. EVALUATION

The sixteenth century reformation of the church liberated the laity from the oppression of sacerdotalism and sacramentalism. Direct access to God through faith in Christ and through reading their own Bibles became a reality for many who were able to realize their responsibility before God to live as a holy priesthood, offering the sacrifices of lives devoted in service to Christ and humanity. Luther re-affirmed this biblical doctrine with enthusiasm and vigor. While he did not go much further in implementing it other than preach it, his preaching drew many to faith in a gracious God through Jesus Christ alone. The Anabaptists were eager to apply the priesthood of all believers in a way that made every member a 'minister'.

However, because of a lack of proper training among many of the lay missionaries' doctrines which diverged from those of the mainstream Reformation and excesses leading to the rebellion at Munster in 1534, there arose a strong reaction against the Anabaptist lay movement by mainstream Protestants. As a later reformer Calvin was representative of this reaction. He sought to minimize lay involvement in ministry to that of elders and deacons. The task of pasturing and preaching remained the duty of the ordained minister as the one who possessed the God given gifts and training for that function. So it was Calvin's strategy to train and send pastors and plant Protestant churches. Negatively, the effect of subduing the laity may have contributed to a complacency and a death of lay involvement in Protestant missions at least until the period of the "Great Awakening." K. S. Latourette, recording that later period of history wrote, "The lay element became prominent. This was to be expected from the Protestant understanding of the Priesthood of all Believers, but what had been held in theory now became more of a reality." [51] 

Grand claims by historians seem part of the parcel with studies on the priesthood of all believers, with Eastwood saying, "Apart from that doctrine it is impossible either to understand or appreciate the cause of the Reformation." [52] We will explore whether there is truth in this statement.

Luther defined his own work, An Appeal to the Ruling Class, as "the amelioration of the condition of Christendom." [53] This is important to remember; he is not laying out a systematic exploration of the doctrine of priesthood of all believers, rather reacting on behalf of "All classes in Christendom, particularly Germany," [54] who are "oppressed by the popes." [55] He describes the subject of his writing as "very special and important matters" though continues to overtly flatter the writings' recipients as "most illustrious, Most Mighty and Imperial Majesty," [56] suggesting an element of flattery and exaggeration could be found in his description of the writings' importance.

We can overstate how strongly Luther believes in the priesthood of all believers and must remember that all his statements within An Appeal to the Ruling Class are not written to these new priests, the laity, but to secular rulers. Certainly Luther intends to "set free the Christian," [57] which include the instatement of the priesthood of all believers, but this primarily seems to be achieved by releasing the Christian from the pope. Even in Luther's longer writings, like The Pagan Servitude of the Church, he is primarily responding to a situation; in this case his own excommunication and the withholding of the cup in the mass from the laity. Thus it seems Luther is not as interested in the priesthood of all believers as he is in striking out against the pope. We should understand the historical backdrop of the derivation of the pope's authority, which is significantly conveyed in trenchant statements within Gregory VII's letters. These include "The Pope can be judged by no one"; "The Roman Church has never erred and never will err to the end of time." [58] Thus we see Luther's aggravation is with the abuses of the clergy, for which the priesthood of all believers is an important remedy.

V. IMPLICATIONS TO THE PRESENT CHURCH

There are a number of issues that the churches in India are still grappling with in the twenty first century. Pluralism is one of the challenges that have always been there, but it remains a challenge that is here to stay. There will always be diverse views, but we need to keep on reflecting on the meaning of this doctrine today. While some churches are still grappling with the involvement of laity in ministry others are debating issues like the ordination of women into the ministry. These are just a few contemporary issues that confront the church of the twenty first century. It is then hoped that as we explore the meaning of the priesthood of believers both historically and in contemporary ecclesiology we may learn some lessons from the past for both the present and the future. The evaluation of the impact will help to assess where we are in the midst of the debate within the Church ecclesiology.

The recent Archdiocesan Survey shows that 40.6% of the laity were comfortable in accepting the leadership of a layperson in Parish activities. While 23.4% accepted lay leadership only in the shortage of priests in the Parish, 20.6% accepted lay leadership for non- spiritual activities.   The Holy Spirit in His own way calls forth lay leaders to be of service in the Church. This can be seen in the history of the Church when persons, associations and new communities were launched as indispensable co-workers of the Bishop and Priests. [59] So it is essential to make the people to understand their role as they have responsibility to serve the church by understanding the meaning of priesthood of all believers.

The tenacious hold of-caste on the church in India appears still a reality. [60] If what is said is true, 60% of Indian Christians are in the main land India (mostly in South India), and a vast majority of them hail from old ancestral untouchable people groups. To them, their identity as liberated people has to provide a sense of mission to liberate themselves and their kind from continuing atrocities of caste dominance. The social, economic and political implications of the liberation in Christ has got to be thought out and systematized in terms of Dalit Theology and in turn it should develop its own missiology to spell out their continuing mission to the oppressed of the world.

Similarly, the tribal Christian (who form approximately 30% of the Indian Christian number) need a clear self understanding of their identity as redeemed and enlightened persons in Christ and should discover an ensuing sense of their mission to tribal peoples' uplift. A serious question faced by the tribal Christian in North East India is to interpret their own Indian identity in the context where there are underground movements disclaiming their belongingness to India. [61] 

Since half the Christian population anywhere is female, the concerns of the church in mission invariably has to deal with the question of women's liberation, equal rights, employment opportunities, ordination and employment in the church and the challenges of Christian gospel in a patriarchal setting. An increasing number of women have begun to study theology and to seek opportunities to serve in and through the church. Structures of the church in terms of its committees, its leadership, its employment, ordination and such are being studied with relevant openness as part of the emerging trend. A clarity is being sought on the meaning and implication of what is it to be an emancipated woman in Christ. From this should emerge the clarity of the role or mission of women. The mission to women as well as the mission of women (both to women and men; church and society) are part of what needs to be developed as the theology for women in India. Unless done with care to suit the Indian cultural ethos of family values, an overt westernization through the influences of western radical feminist ideology can hurt the women and their families. Centers have emerged to address these quests through the Women Studies Departments, Tribal Study Centers, Department of Dalit Studies at various colleges, churches centers of learning and associations to address these issues. [62] 

CONCLUSION

So the prime motto of this paper is, by understanding the reality of meaning of priesthood of all believers and to make the churches (ministers and congregation) to know and practice it in order to bring the whole India into the fold of Kingdom of God.