There are three offices associated with Christ: the priestly, the prophetic, and the kingly. These offices are clearly anticipated in the OT. For example, Moses foretells the prophetic office (Dt 18:15) and the joint offices of king and priest are foretold by Zechariah (Zec 6:13). Charles Hodge writes, “Nothing, therefore, can be plainer than that as the Old Testament prophets predicted that the Messiah should be a prophet, priest, and king.”[i]
In the OT, prophet is a translation of nbiy’ah (נְבִיאָה), which means an inspired spokesman for God. Christ perfectly fulfilled the prophetic role in directly communicating God’s message during His ministry. This must be so since He is the Logos, the literal Word of God (Jn 1:1; Rv 19:13). Christ’s teachings included personal instruction, discourses, parables, and teachings about the Law and prophetic writings. He also provided prophetic communication as to Himself, His purpose on earth, the Kingdom of Heaven, and the will of God for our salvation. Christ also claimed authority to clarify and expand OT teachings in saying “You have heard that …” followed by “But I say to you …” (Mt 5:21-48). These prophetic teachings are the basis for the entire NT and therefore the entire foundation of the Church today. The prophetic office of Christ is clear from the words of Christ himself. “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me” (Jn 7:16). The prophetic office can be thought of as the work of Christ in His incarnate life.
The Hebrew word for priest is kôhên (כֹּהֵן). In the OT, this word referred to people who performed the function of mediators between God and His people. The book of Hebrews also emphasizes the role of priests in the offering of gifts and sacrifices to God, explaining that Christ sacrificed Himself to “put away sin” (Heb 9:26). In His priestly office, Christ therefore undertakes two related aspects of His work. First, He died for our sins and His death allows for sinners to be reconciled with God. Second, he serves a mediator, allowing sinful man to approach the Holy Father through this reconciliation. That Christ needed to die for our sins is the work of His priestly office but in the context of His atoning work. Therefore, this aspect of Christ is further discussed in the section of the Atonement below. This said, the priestly office can be thought of as the work of Christ in His death.
People, even saved people, are sinful whereas the Father is perfectly Holy. Christ as mediator is the only way to bridge this gap. This is taught by both Jesus (Mt 11:27) and by Paul: “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). The role of Christ as mediator is therefore of the highest theological importance. The puritan preacher Jeremiah Burroughs writes, “The most supernatural truth revealed in all the book of God [is that] God communicates His mercy through a mediator, through his Son.”[ii] The mediation of Christ is how the broken relationship with God is mended. Since there are OT examples of people in a right relationship with God, this means that Christ must have eternally been the Mediator. This is necessarily true due to (1) the identity of Christ and His Works, and (2) the immutability of God. John Calvin writes, “The name of Mediator applies to Christ not only because he took on flesh or because he took on the office of reconciling the human race with God. But already from the beginning of creation he was truly Mediator because he was always the Head of the Church.”[iii]
Christ is the King of his Kingdom, meaning He rules and has absolute authority over all believers. Christ assumed the office of King after His resurrection when he was seated at the right hand of the Father. “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1:3; see also Mk 16:19, Ep 1:20-21; Rom 8:34; 1 Pt 3:22). In his kingly office Christ specifically does the following: (1) calls people to His kingdom; (2) establishes the rules of governing His kingdom; (3) supports members of His kingdom in temptation and suffering; (4) acts against His kingdom’s enemies; (5) orders members to act according to His glory; and (6) eventually exacts justice on the unrepentant. Christ has absolute authority over all of creation, but has the additional unique position of being the head of the Church. “And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and made Him head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Eph 1:22-23).
The kingdom over which Christ rules is a spiritual kingdom–the Kingdom of Heaven. Christ makes this clear, “My kingdom is not of this world … My kingdom is not of this realm” (Jn 18:36). As a spiritual kingdom, it has no power over the earthly lives of its members in terms of liberty or property. Charles Hodge writes, “Its prerogative is simply to declare the truth of God as revealed in this Word and to require that the truth should be professed and obeyed by all under its jurisdiction.”[iv] Believers who still live in the earthly realm must remember that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20). The book of Revelation writes, “And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: ‘King of Kings, and Lord of Lords’” (Rv 19:16). Therefore, the kingly office can be thought of as the work of Christ in His resurrection.
[i] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 1871/2013: 460.
[ii] Jim Davison, “Jeremiah Burroughs on the Excellency of Christ the Mediator,” Puritan Reformed Journal, 6 no. 1, Jan. 2014: 155.
[iii] Colin Gunton, “One Mediator … the Man Jesus Christ: Reconciliation, Mediation and Life in Community,” Pro Ecclesia, 11 no. 2 Spring 2002: 153 (citing Calvin).
[iv] Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 2 Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, 1872/2013: 604.
Leave a Reply