How people choose a church

David Lamb said:

Why mention priesthood? Paul and Timothy were not priests, except in the sense that Peter says all Christians are priests

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Paul and Timothy had grace of priesthood in the special sense. This grace of the priesthood was transmitted precisely through the lifting up of hands. Laymen had no such gift.

This special grace was also described by the Apostolic Fathers who lived in the first centuries of Christianity. Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (a disciple of Polycarp of Smyrna, who was himself a disciple of the Apostle John the Theologian) writes in his work Against Heresies:

“It is necessary to obey those presbyters who… have received succession from the apostles and, together with the succession of the episcopate, have received the sure gift of truth according to the good pleasure of the Father. But others, who depart from the original succession and gather wherever they may, ought to be suspected either as heretics and false teachers, or as schismatics, proud and self-pleasing, or as hypocrites acting for the sake of gain and vainglory. All these have fallen away from the truth.”

And this is what Saint Ignatius the God-Bearer (the boy, whom Jesus took on hands Mf.18:2-5) says:

“Do nothing without the bishop in matters pertaining to the Church. Only that Eucharist is to be considered valid which is celebrated by the bishop or by one to whom he himself has entrusted it. … Where the bishop is, there let the people be; just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”

Thus, the status of the priesthood is an essential criterion of the true Church.

ChubbyCherub said:

Despite all of that, I feel overwhelmed by all of these terms and feel like I'll never get to Heaven because I did not study the bible in university.

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You can reason your way out of anything if you aren’t careful. Pay no heed to it and look at the examples in scripture. Who does the Lord prefer? Look at their qualities and disposition. Look at their heart and actions. Paul was the most learned for a reason. He was laying the foundation for the gentiles. But who does the Lord call a man after His own heart? David.

Pay attention to the things He says about His servants. They reveal the characteristics the Lord esteems that we should nurture within ourselves. You don’t have to be a scholar to follow Christ and don’t assume they’re arriving wearing a crown. Because knowledge puffs up and many lean on their intellect and that’s the driver not the spirit.

If you want to increase your knowledge of scripture you can do it through memorization and praying the divine office. There’s catholic and protestant versions you can reference. I started praying that way at the synagogue and we covered a lot of scripture which helps your recollection. I continued the practice and wrote my own prayers or what I received from the Holy Spirit.

From what I’ve seen of your posts you might enjoy Precepts bible studies too. They have groups that meet online and locally. The Precept Upon Precept books are more involved for group study. But The New Inductive Series can be worked through alone. It has daily assignments. I have both and the latter is my favorite. When you meet in a group you’ll see the video that accompanies the lesson but you can purchase it as well and get trained if you want to teach a class. Which could be beneficial.

~bella

David Lamb said:

Why mention priesthood? Paul and Timothy were not priests, except in the sense that Peter says all Christians are priests:

“But you [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;” (1Pe 2:9 NKJV)

1 Timothy 4:14 mentions the spiritual gift that was in Timothy, but not mention of him being a priest.

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I'm confused, David.
Were persons not to receive the gift of holy spirit through the laying of hands, unlike when it was poured out by Jesus on the day of Pentecost of 33 C.E?
Priesthood and apostleship are not the same as receiving of holy spirit. Is that not so?

Perhaps there is some confusion, or misunderstanding on what the laying of the hands on individuals involves.
It requires reading just a few passages of scripture - Acts 6:5, 6; Acts 8:14-19; Acts 9:17; Acts 13:2, 3; Acts 19:1-7, to see that the laying of hands had a variety of purposes, but none of which involved apostleship.

Regarding the priesthood, all spirit born, or spirit anointed individuals serve as priests.... not on earth, but in heaven, with Jesus the high priest. 1 Peter 2:4-10; Revelation 5:10; Revelation 20:6
Again, we see that Jesus is first and foremost, both apostle, and priest.

ChubbyCherub said:

I find all of this so interesting but also overwhelming. I don't know what sacraments, apostolic succession, liturgy, creeds and everything else means!

Here is maybe a not so interesting fact: My IQ is 140, for whatever that is worth. I'm university educated. I'm in a white collar, legalistic, professional job.

Despite all of that, I feel overwhelmed by all of these terms and feel like I'll never get to Heaven because I did not study the bible in university.

That's my tantrum done!

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Don’t feel disheartened. I was a nurse who worked in a large research hospital in NYC for years, surrounded by the smartest people alive, but it holds no candle to being in a relationship with Christ. I also was a member of a Christian cult that rejected many mainstream Christian beliefs and had to maneuver through the different religions and beliefs to find one that I believe sticks closely to God’s word. It took a while, and a couple really good friends who could help me interpret scripture so I knew how certain beliefs were or weren’t Biblical. I pray you have some spiritual guidance along the way.