The Five Foundations: Priesthood Lesson One

PRIESTHOOD and PRIESTS

After bringing the Hebrews out of the bondage of Egypt GOD gives Moses five fundamental doctrines to be taught to the children of Israel. These doctrines are the five foundations that will bring greater clarity to all scripture. The five foundations in the order GOD gave them to Moses are: The Law, The Tabernacle (later the temple) and its services, The Priesthood, The Five Sacrifices, and the Feasts of the LORD. Join us in our first lesson concerning the priesthood and the priests.

It is a foundational concept of Protestantism. While Martin Luther did not use the exact phrase “priesthood of all believers”, he adduces a general priesthood in Christendom in his 1520 To the Christian Nobility of the German Nation in order to dismiss the medieval view that Christians in the present life were to be divided into two classes: “spiritual” and “secular“. He put forward the doctrine that all baptized Christians are “priests” and “spiritual” in the sight of God:

The Bible passage considered to be the basis of this belief is the First Epistle of Peter, 2:9:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.