#484 – Consecration of the Priests – Part 2: Both the Inner Man and the Outer Man
We started this paper in the last study but the study was too long for one paper so this will be the
second part of the Consecration Offering of the Priests, themselves. Since the Kingdom is a
Kingdom of Priests it is clear that everybody who participates in the Kingdom Government of
God will be Consecrated Priests. Since the Pure Gold Lampstand is in the Holy Place it is clear
that just to be in the Church He is Building we must be Consecrated Priests. It is for that reason
that every believer who is going on to fulfill God’s Purpose and who will live to complete what
God purposed for Himself in the creation MUST be fully consecrated. Therefore, preaching
verses or principles or facts and information to a lukewarm, casual people is a big waste of time.
In the Tabernacle of Moses study we combined all these different sacrifices and offerings in
order to simplify the study so we could bring the study to an audience in about 1 hour and twenty
minutes. In that study we focused upon the personal consecration of our body to do the whole
will of God.
Heb 10:5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, “SACRIFICE AND OFFERING
THOU HAST NOT DESIRED, BUT A BODY THOU HAST PREPARED FOR ME; 6 IN
WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN THOU HAST TAKEN NO
PLEASURE. 7 “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME (IN THE ROLL OF THE
BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME) TO DO THY WILL, O GOD.’” 8 After saying above,
“SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR
SIN THOU HAST NOT DESIRED, NOR HAST THOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which
are offered according to the Law), 9 then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO THY
WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
These four sacrifices combined speak of doing the whole will of God. Of course each sacrifice
speaks of several other things dealing with the consecration as well. This focus was upon “but a
body hast thou prepared me” to thy will, Oh God! The consecration of the body of the Outer
Man is very important but involves MORE than our body and more than doing His will. It
involves the removing of the dominion of the body to control the function of the Priesthood
ministry, first to God and then, in His will, FOR God. Why? So the New Covenant Man, New
Inner Man, the New Creation Man that is both Image and Likeness can perceive and do the will
of God. How does the New Inner Man do the will of God? Through the consecration of the body,
the Outer Man. The dominion of the body and the control of the natural attributes of the Adam
man is the greatest hindrance to the new inner man completing the will of God.
We should repeat often that there is just ONE BIBLE but there are TWO COVENANTS
involved in the Priesthood. The Old Covenant was designed for the old man, the outward man,
the body man, the Adam man, the natural man, the carnal man, the dirt man. The New Covenant
is designed for the new creation man, the new inner man, the man created in the Last Adam, the
new man which once again becomes both image and likeness. This New Covenant demands a
NEW SPECIES OF MAN that lives and moves on a completely different basis than the old
Adam man. The New Covenant can only be effective when it is applied to the New Species of
Man. However, the Consecration of the Priests under the Old Covenant are patterns for us of the
Consecration of the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. Therefore, we will examine the
consecration of the priests after the Order of Aaron. From this Conseration Offering we will see
the pattern for our own Consecration and what that means in modern society. We should also see
how this differs from the modern church system of assembling believers to hear a “message.”
Aaron and his sons brought their body to the doorway of the Tent of Meeting and consecrated it
to do the will of God by fulfilling the demands of the earthly priesthood. We also bring our body
to the doorway of the tent of Meeting to consecrate it to do the whole will of God by fulfilling
the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. However, our consecration demands that we
fulfill the Priesthood in the New Covenant way.
The New Covenant is designed for the New Creation Inner Man to do the ministry rather than
the natural Adam man. Removing the dominion of the natural man is one of the purposes of the
Consecration Offering. For that reason, because the outer man and the body have controlled our
lives and ministry for so long, they become a stumbling block for the New Covenant Ministry of
the New Inner Man. This is the reason the Consecration of the body is essential but for a much
more profound purpose. This body of “flesh” must NOT control the ministry and is designed
within the New Covenant provision to to be transformed by becoming a tent in which we live.
The process of changing the body of flesh into a tent, in the New Covenant, is called the
Consecration of the body. Paul called this tent an earthen vessel. That means a vessel that has no
opinion, no argument, no agenda and no spiritual ministry. The “vessel” is just the means of
transportation and a tent in which the New Man dwells.
2Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the
power may be of God and not from ourselves;
One “compartment” or “component” of the consecration offering is designed to remove the
dominion of the body over the Inner Man so it will NOT restrict the New Covenant Ministry.
Therefore, in the Consecration of the Priests we should see both aspects of the Consecration
Offering which includes both the Outer Man, the body and the Consecration of the New Inner
Man who is designed for the New Covenant Priesthood. How? Through the power and revelation
of the Living and the Abiding Word of God!
In this study we will be focusing upon the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek as the
fulfillment of the priesthood after the order of Aaron. Since the Priesthood after the Order of
Melchizedek is an eternal priesthood that is directly related to the Kingdom of Priests, we will
break the study down into more compartments or components so we can see what is involved.
First we will start with the Old Covenant priesthood of Aaron and his sons. This is a pattern for
the New Covenant Priesthood of Christ Jesus and His mature sons. Of course the ONLY
priesthood available today is after the Order of Melchizedek.
Lev 8:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the
garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering, and the two rams and the basket
of unleavened bread; 3 and assemble all the congregation at the doorway of the tent of meeting.”
4 So Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. When the congregation was assembled at the
doorway of the tent of meeting, 5 Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing which the
LORD has commanded to do.”
Lev 8:6 Then Moses had Aaron and his sons come near, and washed them with water. 7 And he
put the tunic on him and girded him with the sash, and clothed him with the robe, and put the
ephod on him; and he girded him with the artistic band of the ephod, with which he tied it to
him. 8 He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the
Thummim. 9 He also placed the turban on his head, and on the turban, at its front, he placed the
golden plate, the holy crown, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 10 Moses then took the
anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.
Lev 8:11 And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and anointed the altar and all its
utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them. 12 Then he poured some of the
anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him, to consecrate him.
Lev 8:13 Next Moses had Aaron’s sons come near and clothed them with tunics, and girded
them with sashes, and bound caps on them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 14 Then
he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of
the bull of the sin offering. 15 Next Moses slaughtered it and took the blood and with his finger
put some of it around on the horns of the altar, and purified the altar. Then he poured out the rest
of the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it, to make atonement for it.
Lev 8:16 He also took all the fat that was on the entrails and the lobe of the liver, and the two
kidneys and their fat; and Moses offered it up in smoke on the altar. 17 But the bull and its hide
and its flesh and its refuse, he burned in the fire outside the camp, just as the LORD had
commanded Moses.
Lev 8:18 Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their
hands on the head of the ram. 19 And Moses slaughtered it and sprinkled the blood around on
the altar. 20 When he had cut the ram into its pieces, Moses offered up the head and the pieces
and the suet in smoke. 21 After he had washed the entrails and the legs with water, Moses
offered up the whole ram in smoke on the altar. It was a burnt offering for a soothing aroma; it
was an offering by fire to the LORD, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:22 Then he presented the second ram, the ram of ordination; and Aaron and his sons laid
their hands on the head of the ram. 23 And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and
put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of
his right foot.
Lev 8:24 He also had Aaron’s sons come near; and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of
their right ear, and on the thumb of their right hand, and on the big toe of their right foot. Moses
then sprinkled the rest of the blood around on the altar.
Lev 8:25 And he took the fat, and the fat tail, and all the fat that was on the entrails, and the lobe
of the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right thigh. 26 And from the basket of
unleavened bread that was before the LORD, he took one unleavened cake and one cake of bread
mixed with oil and one wafer, and placed them on the portions of fat and on the right thigh. 27
He then put all these on the hands of Aaron and on the hands of his sons, and presented them
as a wave offering before the LORD. 28 Then Moses took them from their hands and offered
them up in smoke on the altar with the burnt offering. They were an ordination offering for a
soothing aroma; it was an offering by fire to the LORD.
Lev 8:29 Moses also took the breast and presented it for a wave offering before the LORD; it
was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Lev 8:30 So Moses took some of the anointing oil and some of the blood which was on the altar,
and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, on his sons, and on the garments of his sons with
him; and he consecrated Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons
with him.
Lev 8:31 Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons, “Boil the flesh at the doorway of the tent of
meeting, and eat it there together with the bread which is in the basket of the ordination
offering, just as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’ 32 “And the remainder
of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn in the fire.
Lev 8:33 “And you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days,
until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through
seven days.
Lev 8:34 “The LORD has commanded to do as has been done this day, to make atonement on
your behalf. 35 “At the doorway of the tent of meeting, moreover, you shall remain day and
night for seven days, and keep the charge of the LORD, that you may not die, for so I have
been commanded.” 36 Thus Aaron and his sons did all the things which the LORD had
commanded through Moses.
It should be easy to see there are several compartments or components to the Consecration
Offering. We loosely divided them by paragraph. We also bolded the terms “Aaron and his sons”
to show the Consecration Offering is NOT just for the high priest but for his sons with him.
There are various offerings and sacrifices connected to the Consecration of the Priests so when
we speak of the Consecration Offering we are speaking of all the sacrifices and offerings as one
complete offering. The corporate Consecration is for a singular Priesthood. That “they” may
minister as a Priest to Me! In other words, just completing one sacrifice does not qualify as
Consecration. Of course in the New Covenant this applies to our High Priest, Christ Jesus, AND
His mature sonsn as the corporate Priesthood.
Also in Exodus 28 we see the garments that were required BEFORE the Consecration could be
offered. Exodus 29 then shows us the details of the sacrifices and how some parts of the sacrifice
are related to the Garments. We don’t want to complicate this study by all the multiple details in
those other chapters. Nevertheless, these chapters cannot be ignored because they add many
important details to our total surrender to God of BOTH the New Inner Man and the outward
man in order for each of us to enter into the New Covenant Priesthood, experientially, and fulfill
the demands of the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. Why? Because this is one of the
things that God purposed for HIMSELF, both before and in the creation.
To become part of the Eternal Kingdom / Priesthood realm of the Government of God is NOT a
small matter that can be taken lightly. Those redeemed persons who approach these things out of
a casual attitude will certainly be rejected from the Priesthood by our High Priest. Why?
Because, our part of this Priesthood is as mature sons of the High Priest. Most of the things in
Leviticus 8 that apply to the High Priest also applies to His Sons.
Even though this study may be more involved in different issues from just the Consecration
Offering itself, it is extremely important to fully understand the real problems that exist in
Christian service. This term Christian service is used universally to mean working for or in the
church. It may just be picking up paper in the parking lot but that is counted as Christian service.
It is not that this service is not needed but that we need to redefine Christian Service when it is
applied to the Priesthood ministry.
When we apply the abstract term “Christian Service” to the Holy Place Life and Ministry we
suddenly realize there are “two kinds of service” that are acceptable to man but one of them is
rejected by God. Those who are in the flesh can never please God. However, too much Christian
Service is NOT about pleasing God but is all about pleasing man or to meet a need that man has.
What I want to share in this study is related to the many years I wasted trying to meet the
desperate needs of people but in my own cleverness, faithfulness and dedication to serving
others. Already I can hear readers say “But that is NOT wasted time because we are all called to
serve our breathern.”
I am not saying we should not serve our brethren but I want to focus upon how we can serve God
and out of that Priesthood Ministry to discover how God has designed for us to serve the
brethren. It is this aspect of the Consecration Offering that I want to emphasize in this study and
what we have seen and experienced over the last 41 years of “Christian service.” The real reason
we fell into this trap of outward service is that this “Inward” aspect of the Consecration Offering
was not understood. Why? Because we only related it to doing the will of God without being
able to define what the total will of God was. I want to say before I begin to explain this failure
that I am not bitter or discouraged with the people I have tried to serve. However, I am now
ashamed of not really understanding Christian Service from the viewpoint of the Kingdom of
God.
My wife and I began “serving” 41 years ago but without any understanding of our hidden
motives, secret personal ambitions, self-will or undisciplined lives! We started “our work” by
responding to human needs, out of human compassion, but without a direct call or spiritual
preparation and without any vision of how God equips His ministers. Of course everybody who
is saved is also called according to His purpose in the general sense. We responded to a “human
call” to meet “human needs” in a dying world!
After about 30 years of “doing” it became more and more clear that our concept of “Christian
Service” was built upon not just a wrong foundation but upon an unstable foundation of sand.
My Wife and I made “the consecration offering” over 40 years ago on December 27 to 29, 1970.
However, we had no one to personaly help us know God’s method of consecration and from His
viewpoint. For that reason we consecrated ourselves from a human viewpoint. That is from “A
BODY THAT HAS PREPARED FOR ME TO DO YOUR WILL, OH, GOD.” Now, at last, it
has become clear that “consecration” is not primarily about “doing” but about “being.” In other
words “consecration” is a process in which our total person must be transformed into a
Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. How did I discover this?
Lev 8:33 “And you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until
the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven
days.
The ordination that is the result of Consecration is a process that is continuous over our lifetime
in this earth dimension. In the early years of the Charismatic Movement we saw young people
leaving good jobs to “go into all the world” and we saw the disaster that followed. Why? Simply
because they “went” but were not “sent.” They “went out”from a basic Outer Court zeal to serve
people! Many went out to an people who were not interested in changing or fulfilling what God
purposed FOR HIMSELF in the creation. Some “went out” to a training center to be equipped to
serve people. Many “went out” but they were unequipped to survive in a hostile world. Why did
they do that? They were moved by an obvious compassion and by seeing the human need but
with a human vision and the challenge of a “gospel” message that had not yet become Spirit and
Life in their new inner man.
They went out to fill a human need! Some even enlisted others to join them in this pursuit of
serving God by serving people. Of course it required a certain dedication to “forsake all” and go
out. It was soon obvious that they were seeking a personal satisfaction in their dedication. Their
purpose seemed to be to “achieve success” in ministry. Then what is the difference between that
and God’s plan? I am taking this partly from Acts the 13th chapter.
God’s plan begins with a divine revelation and calling. The sending out is for a real spiritual
need but we “go out” in the full understanding of our human inadequacy. Therefore, we will wait
for His enablement and preparation and the certainty that this is the time to go. The purpose of
“going” is for the Father’s satisfaction. Certainly God sends out but this is the dispensation of the
Holy Spirit and He is absolutely sovereign over the reason, the place and the people He has
selected. This is NOT about human need but about being led by the Holy Spirit and by the
Kingdom method of serving God.
The confusing thing about this “system” is that we discovered that IF it is really God’s call He
will develop and equip us many times AS WE GO. If we go by revelation this system works
well. Failure is certain when we attempt to meet a human need in our own physical strength and
by our human by abilities and oput of our human resources. It may seem like a small difference
when we see a need and accept the challenge to meet that need and from waiting for a revelation
and God’s equipping to respond to a genuine need by the inspiration of God. Some who sent
themselves out because of human compassion and then were met by a total indifference or even
persecution conclude that they are suffering with Christ. Most never recognized the mistake was
their own human zeal!
When I go out to minister it is very easy to encounter other needs in other places and there is
generally an invitation to go there. The temptation is to think these people really need this word
that I have so let me go. When we follow this path it is so easy to get involved in a whirlwind of
activity that may meet a human need but had nothing to do with serving God. This was just more
activity directed toward serving people. People always ask “But is that wrong because the people
had a great need?” It is so easy to confuse the “work” with the “fruit that remains.” Too much
“work” that we involve ourselves in will bear NO “eternal fruit that will remain” but because
someone is helped we measure that as “fruit.”
Another trap is to get inticed away from serving God by following a good cause. Maybe even a
good “religious cause” like abortion or drugs or alcohol addiction. We wasted so many hours
trying to cast demons out of people when the demons were their friends and not enemies. It was
clear there was a great human need for deliverance but at least some preferred to keep the
perversion than surrender to God and do His will.
I also got caught up in a “work” and lost my spiritual life. I spent so many hours rebuilding a old
building for a church that I just had to share old studies that had no life or spirit. Soon the
believers began to sense the difference.
Another deception is spending so much time “in the ministry” but just trying to build a little
kingdom of man’s own design and for himself. We may find a scripture about the Kingdom and
assume it is my responsibility to build it. That personal kingdom is built around ourselves and
we create a position in ministry where we become indispensable to the endurance of that little
dirt kingdom. People get attached to the “ministry” but NOT attached to the Lord.
Our concept of “Ministry” was based upon a human faithfulness and endurance and always
being available to meet human needs. The people we fellowshipped with had this same
understanding of “ministry.” We assumed this was the path to overcoming and an eternal
position in the world yet to come. We never realized that none of this is within the main stream
of how God has designed the Kingdom to function. What is the real difference? God has to be
absolutely Sovereign over His Kingdom and how and with what it is built. We may assume that
somewhere in this great and infinite Kingdom of God He will have a specific place to receive
our work in wood, hay and straw. However, He has limited His acceptable building material to
just Silver, Gold and Precious Stones and will certainly reject anything else. If you think you can
pray and fast until God accepts your work you will find you wasted your time.
It is for these few reasons and many others that the Consecration of the Priests must be more that
a consecration of the body to do the will of God. When we read Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we
realize that Jesus is demanding a higher repentance of the members of the Lampstand Churches.
This is not related to repentance from dead works or a repentance from sin or a repentance
because of our rebellion against God. What He is calling for is a higher degree of repentance that
is related to the Holy Place life and ministry. Repentance for ignoring the Kingdom of God as an
internal Government that establishes the Laws by which we live. Repentance because we have
surrendered to man’s laws within a church system that is functioning in oppositition to the Laws
of the Kingdom of God. Repentance because we permit people to usurp the authority of Christ
Jesus in our lives. Repentance because we seek out human prophets rather than hearing what
God is saying to us personally. Repentance because our work today is just to meet human need
but by our own human methods!
We seem to have forgotten how we previously recognized our inability to do anything out
from ourselves and how we did the works at the beginning with fear and trembling. Before we
had experience, we were totally dependent upon God to teach us but when we had experience in
ministry and a reputation to be able to share the Word of God, we discovered we could do the
ministry by ourself because of our experience. We thought because we had an anointing that this
meant we were doing the will of God and had His approval. Maybe we were “ministering” but
not according to God’s ways or according to the pattern ministry by the Prototype Son.
However, after many years we learned that most of that “work” was not acceptable to God and
His Kingdomm Government. This was work done outside the Kingdom Government of God and
by our own design and to fulfill a need we had for recognition and success. Therefore, our plan is
to share the Consecration Offering of the Priests from a totally different perspective. We will
share not as another objective offering of a sacrifice but as a subjective transformation through
the total Consecration of the New Inner Man. Why? Because we believe that God’s design for
the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek is compatible only with the New Covenant
Provision and within the New Creation Man who has been restored to both Image and Likeness.
Why? Because this Priesthood MUST operate within the Divine Authority inherent within the
Kingdom Government of God. This eliminates the “ministry” of the natural outer man who
wants to function within his own abilities and methods. Since this eliminates most all Outer
Court ministry that we are aware of, this “message” will be rejected.
