of the M inistry
— flock, temple, vine — Christ is fused together with His people as a whole so that they corporately share in His ministry. This truth leads to the interesting conclusion that there is no clergy- laity distinction in any strict sense of these words Biblically. There is no minister-people befurcation in the church. The Creek word kleros meaning portion or lot from which clergy is derived refers to the en tire congregation (I Peter 5:3) as does laos meaning people. Thus as Cole concludes, "all clergy are lay- Page 55
16). Peter, expressing the function of the priesthood, states, "that you may proclaim the excellencies of H im ..." (I Peter 2:9). According to Kasemann, this language refers in the strictest sense to an official act of ministry, meaning that all believers now share this ministry (Ernest Kasemann, "Ministry and Community in the New Testa ment," Essays on New Testament Themes, Naperville, Illinois: Alec R. Allenson, Inc., 1964, pp. 80-81). Not only in the priesthood, but in the other metaphors of the church
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