or according to the manner of Melchizedek. Hebrews, Chapter 7. He was unique; he was in a special class designated as such by God. God had given it to him in a particular manner, in a manner that was inexplicable to other people. This matter of Melchizedek, who was king of righteousness and king of peace and priest of the Most High God, is one of the most marvelous and most blessed things that is found in the Scriptures. As a matter of fact, Melchizedek was just as unique as Christ is unique. There was something special about him. God did something out of the ordinary so that there would be a pattern of the work of Christ, a pattern of Christ’s “appointment” as priest. Christ arose according to the order of Melchizedek. All other priests were appointed according to the order of Aaron, i.e., according to the law of a fleshly commandment. They had to be from the tribe of Levi, and their genealogy and all their “documents” had to be in order. They were appointed according to the documents that proved who they were. However, Melchizedek arose suddenly without genealogy and without documents as evidence of his birth and who he was; he proved that he was greater than Abraham who had the promises, by blessing Abraham. For without contradiction, the lesser is blessed by the greater, and not the other way around. So also with Christ. He arose outside the ranks of the priesthood. He arose from the tribe of Judah; yet all priests were to be of the tribe of Levi. It was not possible for Jesus to be a priest according to the law of a fleshly commandment. Nevertheless, it was evident that He was a priest in spirit and in truth according to the power of an endless life. All appointments of priests, evangelists, shepherds, apostles, leaders, elder brethren, etc., from men or through man, in a human way, according to human abilities and ideas, are according to the order of Aaron. But hear what Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:1: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God . . . .” And in Galatians 1:1: “Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man . . . .)” A brother who came to a meeting of some believers was asked who had sent him. They meant to find out which faction or which mission society had sent him. He answered that they would discover that through his testimony. What he meant was that they would notice that it was God who had blessed him and sent him. Christ is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek, and we are all priests according to the order of Melchizedek. Who and what are we? We are exactly what God has made us, according to the power of an endless life—precisely what we prove we are in reality. If anyone, without any further explanation, performs the ministry of a shepherd to an astounding degree, or instructs in God’s Word and commandments so that God-fearing and truth-loving souls really receive light, it is evident that that person is a shepherd or a teacher in the church according to the order of Melchizedek! No further explanation is needed. On the contrary! Each member of the body of Christ is what he is, just as Melchizedek was what he was, and just as Jesus Christ was what He was. It is evident—especially on the day of trial—what each person is. Everything and everyone in the church of the living God is to be, and is, according to the order of Melchizedek! Everything else is fleshly and human; it is the work of man. All denominations and priests, appointments, general elections, membership lists, membership cards, salaries for speaking God’s word, tithing, and human commandments and all human undertakings are, at best, according to the order of Aaron. When it is written, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty,” this liberty is according to the order of Melchizedek! And when it says, “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification,” then this is according to the order of Melchizedek in truth! Let everyone serve with what he has received from God, according to what God has made him, without any human interference or addition. What a blessed priesthood this is! What a blessed ministry! What a blessed life! What a blessed way of doing it!!!Elias Aslaksen

“So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” Luke 17:10. If this is the case, one might ask, “How can I possibly become a profitable servant?” You become a profitable servant by doing more than it is your duty to do. People who only do what they are supposed to do are hard to deal with. They can be compared to those who have the law written on tablets of stone. They have to be shown, told, and pushed to do everything. They have become sufficiently influenced to be servants, and things go well whenever they have someone to watch over them. But if there is no one to watch over them, it goes poorly with them just as it did with King Joash. When he no longer had Jehoiada to watch over him, he began to serve idols. 2 Chron. 24:17-18. This is how it goes with many people who come to a meeting where God’s light and will are proclaimed; they feel it as a burden that is imposed on them. They realize that it is necessary to do God’s will, and they do it because they feel duty-bound to do it. Thus they come to a nice life and appear to be pious, but they have no joy in the midst of all their worship service. The new covenant is that God writes His laws on our hearts and in our minds. Then it will not have the effect as if the laws were written on tablets of stone—an external pressure—but rather it will be an inward desire to do God’s will. Then I have received a mind to do it. Neh. 4:6. It is easy to deal with such people. You don’t have to tell them everything, for they have received a different spirit within them that tells them what to do. When such people come to the meeting, they don’t just come as those who feels duty-bound to do God’s will, but they also come as those who have done it. Whereas others sit there and feel that one thing after another is imposed on them, the profitable servants sit there and rejoice because they have already done it, and even more can be added to it. This is what we read in James when he writes that he who has looked into the perfect law of liberty is blessed in what he does. The perfect law of liberty is the law that God writes on our hearts and in our minds after we are finished with the law that is written on tablets of stone. This means that as long as there is something in my life that is not cleared up, or if I commit works of the flesh, I am judged by the law that is written on tablets of stone. I know that I am duty-bound to do something, but it is not being done. I think that it is heavy and difficult, yet I will have neither joy nor peace until it is done. But when I have done it, I feel lighter, yet I am still just an unprofitable servant. I have only done what I was required to do. However, now that I am finished with the law that is written on tablets of stone, I can look into the perfect law of liberty. Even though I know nothing against myself, yet I am not thereby justified. 1 Cor. 4:4. I could take it easy, but that is not the intention. Now God wants to write His laws on my heart and in my mind, which is His hidden wisdom. Now I enter into areas where no man can judge me; even I myself don’t know what I should judge, but God alone can give me light. Now we come to the treasures of wisdom and knowledge that are hidden in Christ. This agrees with what Paul writes: “We speak wisdom [of God] among those who are mature.” 2 Cor. 2:6-8. And then we will experience what John writes: “And His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3. I have become blessed in all that I do. Only then am I a profitable servant—someone who doesn’t need to be watched over, but rather someone who can be relied on; someone who doesn’t have to be asked to do all kinds of things, but who instead realizes on his own what he has to do and does it even before you have had time to ask him to do it.Sigurd Bratlie