"We are priests. In two different sections of scripture God calls every believer a priest." - Floyd McElveen (Author and Lifetime Evangelist)
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Mr. McElveen is here claiming that the doctrine of "priesthood of all believers" is Biblical. This Biblical interpretation holds that there is no special priesthood authority, but that the authority to act in God's name is given to all faithful Christians.
Mr. McElveen wishes to prove that the LDS claim to a restored priesthood authority is unnecessary.
However, the Bible paints a quite different picture.
- In Old Testament times, the authority to act in a religious capacity did not belong to everyone. Even kings could not act as priests of the Lord without authority. (1 Samuel 13꞉11-14, 2 Chronicles 26꞉18)
- Critics may claim that this changed in New Testament times, but Hebrews teaches that the same principle applies:
- FOR every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 2 Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. 3 And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. 4 And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.(Hebrews 5꞉1-4)
How was Aaron chosen? By direct revelation from God to a prophet:
- And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.(Exodus 28꞉1).
Jesus also called apostles, set them apart, and made certain it was clear who had authority (see Mark 13꞉34, Matthew 16꞉18). Following Judas' suicide, the remaining apostles met and sought God's will regarding a replacement, demonstrating that this authority was meant to persist, and needed to be conferred upon someone, not just assumed to exist because they believed (Acts 1꞉21-25).
The apostles called others to assist them, and gave them authority by laying on hands (see Acts 6꞉1-6). Paul and Barnabas were called and given authority in the same way (Acts 13꞉2-3). Bestowing the Holy Ghost was viewed as requiring the laying on of hands, and not something that every believer could accomplish—those with authority had to come and do so (Acts 8꞉18-23, Acts 19꞉1-6).
Jesus insisted that others did not choose to wield His authority—He chose them, and made it clear who was chosen by ordination:
- Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.(John 15꞉16)
Clearly, the conferral and proper transfer of authority is of key importance within the Old and New Testaments. One must accept one of two positions: either this authority continued, unbroken, through the Church of the Middle Ages down to the present day, or the authority was lost and a restoration was necessary.
Since Mr. McElveen's denomination is of recent origin, it is not surprising that he would want to dispense with the idea of an ordained line of priesthood authority. But, the Bible clearly teaches another view.
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Claim: "Yes it has been said that the Mormon Church does believe that there is a special priesthood that is separate from other individuals in the Church and it’s interesting that Peter goes on to tell us, now Peter was the one who was given the keys to the kingdom of heaven; he wasn’t the first Pope or anything but, he was given the gospel, he could tell people how to get into heaven..." - Scott Gallatin, Pastor, Calvary Chapel
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While one could debate whether Peter was the first Pope (an issue that Rev. Gallatin should take up with the Catholic Church), it seems that he’s quick to denigrate Peter’s importance as one of the first Twelve Apostles. We need only look at Matthew 16:15-19 to see that Jesus Christ put him into a very important role indeed:
- He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
- And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
- And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
- And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
- And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16꞉15-19)
These verses indicate that Peter clearly could do much more than “tell people how to get into heaven.” They declare that Jesus Christ will “give unto (Peter) the keys to the kingdom of heaven.” To the membership of the LDS Church, not to mention the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Churches, the “keys” in question are representative of the authority necessary to act in the name of God. Indeed, once Peter received the promised keys, he could, and did, do far more than “tell people how to get into heaven.
The priesthood keys in the early church were in turn given by Peter and the other apostles to those who were called and ordained (John 15꞉16; Acts 1꞉22; Acts 15꞉4, Acts 15꞉6, Acts 15꞉22-23; Acts 15꞉32; Ephesians 2꞉20; Ephesians 4꞉11-12; 1 Timothy 3꞉1-13; 1 Timothy 5꞉17; 2 Timothy 1꞉9; 2 Timothy 4꞉5; Titus 1꞉5) by the laying on of hands (Acts 6꞉1-6; Acts 13꞉1-3). These priesthood holders, referred to as elders (Acts 15꞉2, Acts 15꞉4, Acts 15꞉6, Acts 15꞉22, Acts 15꞉23; Acts 16꞉4; Acts 20꞉17, etc.), bishops (1 Timothy 3꞉1-2; Titus 1꞉7; 1 Peter 2꞉20), deacons (1 Timothy 3꞉8, 1 Timothy 3꞉10, 1 Timothy 3꞉12, 1 Timothy 3꞉13; Philippians 1꞉1), the presbytery (1 Timothy 4꞉14), and other titles, accomplished healings (James 5꞉14-15) and other miracles (Mark 16꞉17-18) and led the church (Acts 15꞉2-6).
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Claim: [Peter] "didn’t write it to one particular individual or an individual that is better than another person..." - Scott Gallatin, Pastor, Calvary Chapel
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The Latter-day Saints do not believe that holding the priesthood makes anyone "better than another person." Priesthood is a call to service from God; it is not an office to which one aspires because of perks or social prestige. More?
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Claim: "...[Peter] wrote it to all of us in the Church because we have been given the responsibility as priests—all of us in the body of Christ to represent Christ—and that’s really what a priest, or a pastor, should do. And so, Peter wrote to everybody in the body of Christ to be a good representative of Christ as a royal priest." - Scott Gallatin, Pastor, Calvary Chapel
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Peter opens his first Epistle General with the words:
- PETER, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
- Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1꞉1-2)
Since both of Peter’s Epistles are Epistles General, it is quite accurate to say that he was not writing to one particular individual, as Peter was speaking to the body of the early Church in the aforementioned provinces of the Roman Empire. He is not, however, writing to non-Christians, so in fact his audience is a select one.
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