BEING A KING AND PRIEST - PT. 1
Navigating Two Domains Simultaneously
Mark W. Pfeifer
Jesus said to, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” in Matthew 22:21
This statement defines two domains in which Christians have simultaneous responsibilities. There is Caesar’s domain which is the civil domain and there is God’s domain which is a sacred domain.
I’m not always comfortable dividing the civil from the sacred as this can lead to a dualistic view of life where we undervalue or even ignore one responsibility over the other.
But I cannot deny that here, Jesus defines two individual spheres.
He acknowledges the existence of both domains and affirms that Christians have a unique set of obligations to Caesar and a similar yet different set of obligations to God.
Individualizing both spaces creates a template that helps us understand our divine mandate. We stand in the overlap of two very different domains with duties to operate in both.
The word Jesus uses for "render" in the text is, apodidómi. It is translated in many newer versions as, “give back.” So, Jesus acknowledges there are certain things we have received in a civil space which we are obliged to give back and other things in a sacred space that we are obliged to give back.
Jesus is describing reciprocity within a closed economic system. This means that there is one economic system nested within Caesar’s domain and another economic system in God’s domain.
Jesus specifically talks about money here. He says that we should participate in Caesar’s domain using the currency of that system. And we should participate in God’s domain using the currency of that system, which is more than coins.
The revulsion of Caesar’s image on the coinage was not lost to other Jews of Christ’s day, however. Those pieces of currency would have been changed into Jewish currency before one could “render unto God” their offering. Any graven image, even on a coin, that was carried into the temple would have been an abomination to the Jews.
Jesus is saying there is a certain currency that works in Caesar’s domain and another kind of currency that works in God’s domain. This is because there are two completely different economic systems at play in a believer’s life. Knowing how to effectively navigate both systems is required.
Jesus taught His followers this truth in places like Matthew 25:14-30 in the Parable of the Talents and in Luke 16:11 when He said, “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
Competence is expected in both economic systems. This is not saying that being rich is a sign of God’s approval or that wealth equals spirituality. This is simply saying that Christians have an obligation of being good citizens in God’s Kingdom while at the same time being good citizens of their individual nations.
But what is money? What does it represent?
Money represents more than valuable metals and paper fiat. It represents an investment of a person’s time, talent and treasure. We invest these three items in exchange for money nearly every day. People go to work and invest their time and talents for a certain amount of treasure, which can then be invested to make even more treasure. All of this happens within these two reciprocal economic systems described by Jesus.
So, we might apply what Jesus is saying this way: Know how to properly invest your time, talent and treasure in Caesar’s kingdom while simultaneously knowing how to properly invest your time, talent and treasure in God’s Kingdom.
As Christians, we should learn to navigate both spaces proficiently, understanding how both systems work.
As leaders, we should train people how to operate efficiently in both worlds!
Knowing how to navigate Caesar’s domain while being ignorant of God’s domain results in Christians being neutralized by the world’s system and becoming of little value to the Kingdom of God.
But to be proficient in God’s domain without simultaneously being competent in Caesar’s world creates believers who are out of touch with reality and ignorant of their Kingdom assignment in this world.
This is why I prefer not calling some Christians “Kings” and other Christians “Priests.” This assumes that some Christians are called to one domain but not the other. Jesus said we must operate proficiently in both.
The Bible refers to believers as King AND Priests – not Kings OR Priests.
Jesus was a King/Priest in the order of Melchizedek who is described in Hebrews 7:1 as "King of Salem and Priest of the Most High." If we are in Christ, then we too are King/Priests.
This reality was reflected by John's description of the saints in heaven when they sang around Christ’s throne saying, “And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth (Revelation 5:10).”
The challenge facing many leaders in the church today is how to raise up believers who can navigate both spaces successfully in a way that is balanced and purposeful while keeping Jesus enthroned in their hearts. We must be priestly in our rendering to God what is due Him as a priority while being kingly in our rendering to Caesar what is due him.
But isn’t all the earth God’s domain?
Yes! To deny that would question God’s sovereignty. Yet God has sovereignly chosen to delegate the affairs of Caesar’s domain to human beings. Which, by virtue of the Fall of Man, has been delivered to Satan.
This is why Paul calls Satan the “god of this age” and “prince of the power of the air” in II Corinthians 4:4 and Ephesians 2:2 respectively. He goes on to explain to the Ephesians that this is “the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.”
Three times in John’s gospel Jesus calls Satan the “ruler of this world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11).” John later writes that “…the whole world is under the control of the evil one” in I John 5:19.
This means that Christians take the time, talents and treasure that God has given them into Caesar’s domain. They enter enemy territory and render their abilities in that sphere for the purpose of bringing back spoils into God’s domain.
These two spheres are in opposition to one another and Christians live in the overlap. We must navigate wisely and competency in both domains.
However, the primary purpose of rendering proficiency in Caesar’s domain is to change it. The primary purpose of rendering proficiency in God’s domain is to change us.
Our goal as the church is to extend the domain of God further and further into Caesar’s domain until it confirms into the image of God’s domain. This is what the early church pulled off over the first 350 years of its existence. They conquered Caesar’s domain.
The church will continue this procedure until John’s vision in Revelation comes to pass: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever (Revelation 11:15)!’”
We are called to invest in God’s domain to make us a better person. We are called to invest in Caesar’s domain and make it a better place.
We are called into God’s domain to destroy the works of our flesh. We are called into Caesar’s domain to destroy the works of the devil.
We are called into God’s domain to be changed with love and truth. We are called into Caesar’s domain to change the world with love and truth.
The separation of these two domains conceptually has its place. Jesus seemed to think so. It helps us see our mission more clearly. It defines both spaces in which we navigate.
In Summary, Christians stand in two realms simultaneously – Caesar’s Domain and God’s Domain. We must learn to navigate both spaces competently yet differently. We must first engage in God’s domain to be conformed by it so we can adequately enter Caesar’s domain to conform it. By this we are known as King/Priests in Christ who came in the Order of Melchizedek. This is a process that will continue until the return of Christ when all things are set in order on earth as it is in heaven.
WATCH PART 2 OF THIS ARTICLE IN THIS VIDEO: https://youtu.be/qrtr1pnsIt8