Jesus was both a priest and a kingMark 1:35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him.37 When they found Him, they said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You."38 But He said to them, "Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth."39 And He was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons.
When Jesus prayed to the Father, he worshipped Him and made intercession on behalf of himself and his disciples---this was his role as priest. (Of course, his greatest priestly act was offering himself as a sin offering for us on the cross.) In contrast, he exercised his authority and office as king when he cast out demons and healed the sick by speaking forth commands. From the above Scriptures, the two functions are clearly separate and distinguishable. Jesus did not do both at the same time, but at different times.
Hebrews 4:14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
Hebrews 7:25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Revelation 19:16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Disciples of Christ are also kings and priestsRevelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)
Like Christ, we also minister in both contrasting ways---as priests, we offer sacrifices of praise and good works, and we intercede before the Father. As kings, we exercise our authority in part by healing the sick and casting out demons for the sake of the gospel.
Kings command with authority, while priests offer sacrifices and intercede between God and man. In his ministry Jesus spoke with authority to diseases and demons and at other times he interceded humbly before his Father. These were separate and distinguishable offices. Let us not confuse these two functions in our ministry. When pray to the Lord as priests, we go humbly into His presence like a helpless lamb to ask for His grace in time of need. But when we minister healing to the sick and oppressed during the preaching of the gospel, we go forth as kings with authority from our Commander-in-Chief. Like a lion we speak forth with authority to destroy the works of the enemy. The sick are healed and sinners accept Christ as Savior.
We should not attempt to perform both functions simultaneously. On earth one cannot be a lamb and a lion at the same time; there is no such creature. Praying and ministering healing/deliverance are mutually exclusive activities. Attempting to pray to the Lord when ministering healing or casting out demons simply decreases our authority over these things, and the results will be less than satisfactory.
When ministering healing, believers often say, "Father, in the name of Jesus, I command this disease (or demon) to leave." This is unscriptural and is an example of mixing together our ministries of priest and king. Nowhere does Jesus or Scripture teach us to tell the Father what we want disease or demons to do. Rather, we ourselves are commanded to heal the sick and cast out demons directly in Jesus' name.
Mark 16:15 He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons…18…they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."
When ministering healing to the sick, if when desire to pray first, do so. But after prayer, open your eyes and with authority command healing to the disease in the name of Jesus. First you are a priest, then you can speak as a king in the name of Jesus.
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