Many assume that because Christ is called our High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, the Church must therefore be under Israel’s New Covenant and its priesthood. This is a fundamental error. Hebrews does not teach that the Church is under the New Covenant made with Israel; it teaches that the Mosaic Law—with its Aaronic priesthood and sacrifices—has been set aside, replaced by Christ Himself as the unique Mediator of all covenants. Our position as the Church is not grounded in a covenant made with a nation, but in the Everlasting Covenant established between the Father and the Son before the world began.
God’s Decree: The End of the Mosaic Law
Hebrews 7 is explicit: God decreed in Psalm 110 that the Seed of David would be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. This is not a continuation or renewal of the Levitical system. In fact, since Christ is of the tribe of Judah—not Levi—a change in the law itself was required for Him to be priest at all. This is not a minor adjustment; it is the divine termination of the entire Mosaic economy:
“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” (Hebrews 7:12)
When God appointed Christ as High Priest, He did so by divine decree, not by Mosaic legislation. The old system, with its endless sacrifices and powerless priests, is finished. Christ’s priesthood is not a supplement to the Law; it is its replacement. This is a positive, liberating reality: the Law that could never perfect anyone has been set aside in favor of a Priest who saves to the uttermost.
The Foundation: Resurrection and Sonship, Not National Covenant
Hebrews does not ground Christ’s priesthood in Israel’s New Covenant. Instead, it appeals to the decrees of God the Father to the Son in Psalm 2 and Psalm 110—decrees that establish Christ’s eternal throne, His inheritance of the nations, and His priesthood forever. These are the terms of the Everlasting Covenant between the Father and the Son, referenced in Hebrews 13:20. Christ’s priesthood is rooted in His resurrection and declared Sonship—“the power of an incorruptible life” (Hebrews 7:16)—not in any covenant made with Israel.
This is not a technicality. To confuse the basis of Christ’s priesthood is to confuse the very foundation of our salvation and standing before God. If you place the Church under Israel’s New Covenant, you collapse the distinction between earthly and heavenly inheritance, and you undermine the finished work that secures our position as sons and heirs apart from law.
The Real Problem: Confusion and Its Consequences
The early Jewish believers struggled with this very confusion. The Temple still stood, sacrifices continued, and even the Jerusalem church met in the Temple courts. Leaders like James pressured Paul to demonstrate his loyalty to Moses by participating in ritual vows (Acts 21:21,24). This bred deep confusion about the status of the Law and the priesthood. Hebrews was written to cut through this fog, showing from the Jewish Scriptures themselves that the Law was always destined to be replaced. To remain attached to the old system is not a harmless tradition—it is a denial of the sufficiency of Christ’s priesthood and a retreat from the reality of justification by faith.
The Church’s Heavenly Position: A Mystery Revealed
The Church’s position is not an earthly inheritance under a national covenant, but a heavenly one, rooted in the Everlasting Covenant. We are united to Christ, seated with Him in the heavens, our life hidden with Him at God’s right hand. This was a mystery, unrevealed to the prophets: a people “in Christ,” destined not for the land, but for glorification in the heavens.
Israel’s hope is earthly, tied to the New Covenant and the land. The Church’s hope is heavenly, tied to Christ’s resurrection life and eternal priesthood. We are not waiting for an earthly plot of ground; we await the moment when we will be caught up, transformed in the twinkling of an eye, to share in His incorruptibility (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
What Is Lost If You Accept the Error?
If you accept the error that the Church is under Israel’s New Covenant priesthood, you forfeit the clarity of your justification, your sonship, and your heavenly inheritance. You place yourself back under a system that was never meant to perfect you, and you blur the distinction between law and grace, earth and heaven, shadow and substance. You rob Christ of the glory of His unique, eternal priesthood—a priesthood that stands not on your performance or national identity, but on the unbreakable bond between the Father and the Son.
Christ’s Priesthood: The Guarantee of Our Inheritance
It is on the basis of the Everlasting Covenant—the Father’s oath to the Son—that Christ is our High Priest, able to save to the uttermost and to make us kings and priests with Him (Hebrews 7:25; Revelation 5:10). Our destiny is not secured by our keeping of a covenant, but by His indestructible life and finished work. The Church’s heavenly position, resurrection, and glorification are not afterthoughts or mere upgrades to Israel’s promises. They are the direct result of Christ’s eternal priesthood and kingship, established before the world began.
This is not secondary doctrine. It is the heart of the gospel. To confuse it is to undermine the very ground of your assurance and inheritance. Stand with Christ outside the camp—apart from the old system, apart from the confusion—and rest in the finished work of your High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek, according to the Everlasting Covenant.
