Tyler Vela

Systematic Theology II

The Offices of Christ

Introduction

When the Scriptures speak of the office of Mediator and Redeemer, in general, and

of the Christ (that is, “the anointed one”) in specific, there are actually three offices being

addressed, which are called the Munus Triplex. It is proper to see these in germinal from the

very beginning with the First Man Adam, that they take root in the nation of Israel, and that

they find their fullest expression in the Second Man, Jesus. These three offices are that of

prophet, priest, and king. It is in these three offices that Christ discharges his role as

mediator and redeemer. This paper will attempt to address these offices of our Lord from a

redemptive-historical perspective, in which all three offices are eternally held by the Son,

but first established in the garden and then find a more concrete and formal expression in the

governance of Israel. Yet in both cases these offices are not merely for the benefit of the

community, but rather are indicators pointing forward to their future realization in Christ.

It should be noted before too much is said that there is some level of debate among

theologians on several aspects of how Christ discharges these three offices. There are varied

views on just how Christ acted in these offices before his incarnation as well as after his

incarnation, such as Bellarmine and Petavius who claimed that Christ could not have been

mediator prior to his incarnation.1 Others doubt whether or not he held the office of prophet,

or merely acted in the manner of one. There has also been some debate on if a certain office

can be rightly subsumed under another, such as in the case of the Socinians who believed

1
Bavinck. Reformed Dogmatics. p364.

1
that the priestly work of Christ was actually a facet of his kingly office.2 Finally, the office

of king itself seems to have the most diverse views due to its incontrovertible link to

eschatology. Some, such as Chafer, even purposefully limit their discussion of this office

within the segment on the Munus Triplex and handle it more completely in their later

segment on eschatology and the millennial kingdom, in which, it is believed, that Christ will

reign as king on the reconstituted throne of David.3

For this paper, the majority reformed position will be taken, that is, that Christ is, in

his eternal person, both prophet, priest, and king and thus executes the Munus Triplex

eternally before his incarnation as well as eternally after his glorification. We also know that

the fact that they were established on earth ought to lead us to the conclusion that they are

patterned after Christ to lead us to him, rather than that he was merely the final link in their

successive chain. As Bavinck states,

He does not just perform prophetic, priestly, and kingly activities but is
himself, in his whole person, prophet, priest, and king…he bears all three
offices at the same time and consistently exercises all three at once both
before and after his incarnation, in both the state of humiliation and that of
exaltation.4

We will then explore the manner in which Christ discharges each office in a loose

chronological order. We will first survey how he holds them in his pre-incarnate state, then

during his earthly incarnation, and finally after his glorification and for all eternity. In this

manner the entirety of Christ‟s ministry in these offices will be addressed.

Christ the Prophet

All too often it is thought that the office of prophet is merely a foretelling ministry

of predicting future events, either in the near future or quite far off. While it is accurate that

2
Berkhof. Systematic Theology. p356.
3
Chafer. Systematic Theology, vol. III. p30.
4
Bavinck. Reformed Dogmatics. p367.

2
this is one function of the office of prophet, it would be an incomplete view of this office to

hold that this is all that it consists of. In addition to the act of foretelling future events, the

prophet also forthtells the words and will of God to the people of God. A proper, though

general understanding of this office, may include the idea that the prophet stands between

God and man and faces man-ward. It is with this understanding that we will approach this

office.

The Hebrew word primarily translated as prophet is ‫( נְבִיא‬navi) and actually means

“to boil up, to boil forth, as a fountain,” and then came to later mean “to pour forth words

like one that is divinely inspired,” and is frequently used in the passive tense verb,

presumably due to the fact that the Hebrews saw the prophet as one who was acted upon and

moved by God.5 This view is still clearly held up to the time of the Apostles when Peter

declares, “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God

as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,” (2 Peter 1:21, emphasis added).

We see the very first instance of the office of prophet in its seed form in the

ministry of Adam in the garden. Like all three offices, Adam fulfills this office in a basic

manner and should not be expected to meet all the requirements of the office that will

blossom throughout redemptive history, such as faithful predictions (Deut. 18:22). Yet we

should recognize that just as the tabernacle and the temple were foreshadowed in the garden,

the gospel of Christ was pre-announced in the fall, so too the offices of Christ are present in

the person and work of Adam.

Adam, in his state of rectitude was capable of knowing the truths about God and

stood in the very presence of the Almighty, listening to his words, literally receiving

5
Hoeksema. Reformed Dogmatics. p366.

3
revelation night and day.6 Adam was the first to have revelation granted to him and it was

his duty to relay this message to the people that God had created, which at that time was

only Eve. Whether or not Adam adequately functioned in this office based on Eve‟s

response to the serpent in which she had altered the previous words of God are futile this

side of heaven. It is possible that Adam had added the precaution to not touch the fruit, or

that Eve had simply added it herself when speaking to the serpent. Regardless of this, we see

that Adam is the first human to be given the duty of forthtelling. Yet the fall corrupted his

sinless state and broke his ability to perfectly know and receive the revelation of God

because he was no longer in the presence of God, and his mind was marred by the effects of

sin.

We then come to the office of prophet in early Israel. The very first official prophet

to Israel was Moses who was responsible for speaking the word and will of God to the

Israelites while in their bondage in Egypt, and then further during their time in the desert. In

Deuteronomy 18:15-22, Moses gives the basic modes by which this office will function for

the nation as well as giving explicit prophecy to the coming of a future prophet like himself.

The manner in which Jesus is the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18:15, 17 will be discussed in

the section on the office after the incarnation, but for now it is beneficial to simply note that

he is mentioned here in the first passage which lays out the two functions of a true prophet

of God, and that while he is the culminative prophet, the prophets before him were to be

patterned after him.

This passage tells us that a true prophet was appointed by God himself, (v18) and

that if someone attempted to carryout this office without this appointment, God would

demand from him his life (v20). As Robertson states, “The person of the prophet substitutes
6
Ibid. pp366-367.

4
for the presence of almighty God himself. The small single voice replaces all the fearsome

signs that accompanied the theophany at Sinai.”7 Next we are told that the prophet‟s first

duty was to speak to the people on behalf of God: “I will put my words in his mouth, and he

shall speak to them all that I command him,” (v18). It was the role of the prophet to deliver

the revelation of God. This was to be carried out with the utmost reverence and care, for the

very life of the prophet hung in the balance of whether he performed this duty faithfully.

Finally, we are told that the other work of a prophet was to foretell events. This was not

explicit but rather was implied by God‟s response to the question of how the people may

know if it was indeed the word of God that was spoken. God replied that, “if the word does

not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has

spoken presumptuously,” (v22). We can see that some of the pronouncements of a prophet

are to “come to pass” or “come true” and thus must be a foretelling of what God has

revealed about the near future.

While the sensationalist in all of us focuses in on the foretelling ministry of the

prophets, Chafer reminds us that the ministry of the prophets in the Old Testament was

primarily “that of reformer and patriot. He sought the restoration to covenant blessings of

the people who were under the covenants.”8 Thus it was the first duty of the prophet, to

forthtell, that is the primary function of the prophet. Robertson also points this fact out to us

when he reminds us that it was not Moses‟ main role at Sinai to predict the future of Israel,

but rather “to declare God‟s will as it was revealed to him.”9 Thus, even when a prophet was

foretelling future events, this was merely a specific application of his ministry of

forthtelling, in which he was proclaiming a revelation that God had granted to him. Like all

7
Robertson. The Christ of the Prophets. p26.
8
Chafer. Systematic Theology, vol III. p17.
9
Robertson. The Christ of the Prophets. p26.

5
later prophets, not only did Moses reveal the will of God for the moral purity of the people,

but also proclaimed many of the blessings that God was promising to his people. Berkhof

reminds us that “it is also evident from Scripture that the true prophets of Israel typified the

great coming prophet of the future…and that He was already functioning through them in

the days of the Old Testament.”10 The Westminster Larger Catechism, in Q. 43, answers that

“Christ executeth the office of prophet, in His revealing to the church, in all ages… the

whole will of God, in all things concerning their edification and salvation.”11 (emphasis

added)

However, we now may ask the question, how does Christ execute the office of

prophet before his incarnation? According to 1 Peter 1:11, it was “the Spirit of Christ” that

was in the prophets giving them revelation, specifically revelation concerning himself.

Hodge states that “consequently as Mediatorial Prophet [he] is that original fountain of

revelation of which all other prophets are the streams. He is the Prophet of all prophets, the

Teacher of all teachers.”12 We can further see this in such passages as Isaiah 49:1-7 and

50:5-9 that the prophet Isaiah clearly spoke from the identity of Christ. Hoeksema even

reminds us that the words of the Redeemer in Isaiah 61:1-3 are explicitly attributed to the

words and ministry of Christ in the New Testament, (cf. Luke 4:18) and we cannot say that

these words are fulfilled in any way by Isaiah himself. We know that David in Psalm 22

likewise spoke from the identity of Christ on the cross.

We may even grant that in passages which speak of “the Angel of Lord” that we are

witnessing the act of direct revelation being given by Christ to his people, such as the

burning bush and Moses in Exodus 3:2, and the revelation to Hagar concerning the future of

10
Berkhof. Systematic Theology. p358.
11
Beeke & Ferguson. Reformed Confessions Harmonized. p69. (emphasis added)
12
Hodge. The Confession of Faith. p135.

6
Ishmael in Genesis 16:1-14, as well as many others. It seems clear that Jesus was acting as a

prophet to his people long before the incarnation. In fact, when John tells us in his opening

chapter to his gospel that Jesus had come into the world, Jesus was already functioning prior

to that as “the Word.” He says “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,” (Jn. 1:14,

emphasis added). He then adds in 1:18 that “no one has ever seen God, the only God, who is

at the Father‟s side, he has made him known.” From this Chafer correctly comments,

“Whenever truth about the Person of God or His message is to be disclosed… the Second

Person as Logos is the One who reveals.”13

We then come to the discharge of this office during the incarnation of Jesus on

earth. We must first recognize that the prophet who was to come and was to be like Moses

as promised in Deuteronomy 18:15-17, was not merely a New Testament invention

reinterpreting the words of Moses. The people of Jesus‟ day were acutely aware of this

coming prophet and seemingly were constantly on the look out. They recognized that the

Christ was to be the Prophet. Even the Samaritan woman said, “I know that the Messiah is

coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things,” (Jn. 4:25,

emphasis added). Just two chapters later in John 6:14 when the Jews wanted to make Jesus

king by force, which also indicates that Messiah was seen not only as prophet but as king,

they announced, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

In fact, Jesus himself declared this truth when he had resurrected and “beginning

with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted them to them in all the Scriptures the things

concerning himself,” (Lk. 24:27). Christ even called himself a prophet explicitly when he

stated that “a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own

household,” in Matthew 13:57. We also know from Acts 3:22-23 and then again in
13
Chafer. Systematic Theology, vol. III. p21.

7
Stephen‟s testimony before the Jewish council, that the Deuteronomy 18:15-17 promise of a

Prophet like Moses was specifically applied to Christ.

Yet how is it that Christ functions as Prophet during his incarnation. That is, how is

his ministry that of revelation from God to man. First, Christ himself asserts that his

message is given to him by the Father and it is by the Father‟s authority that he speaks.

While such passages as John 7:16; 8:28; 12:49-50 and many others have been used as

platforms to question how the Son could be God and still submit to the authority of the

Father and yet remain God, it is clear that the intent of these passages is not to speak to the

make-up of the Trinity, but rather to the fact that Christ is the “prophet par excellence,”14

who forthtells the words and will of God to his people. It was a common occurrence that

people took note of the teaching of Jesus because, unlike the other Rabbis, he spoke with

authority, (Mt. 7:29; Mk. 1:27). While he spoke the message the Father had given him, he

frequently began his statements with, “Truly, truly I say to you.” By hearing these words,

“God‟s people hear the words of God, for he is in himself the originator of the divine

word.”15

We know, as per the Deuteronomy 18:22 requirement, that the mighty works of

Christ served to validate the message of Christ. There was nothing that Christ has spoken

that was not from God and did not come to pass, save those things that are reserved for the

last days. This should bolster our hope in these yet unfulfilled promises as well, that because

Christ is the true prophet whose words must come to bear, all that he has promises has

already been assured. It is with little doubt that Jesus was called a prophet so frequently

14
Hoeksema. Reformed Dogmatics. p372.
15
Robertson. The Christ of the Prophets. p55.

8
during his earthly ministry, (Mt. 21:11, 46; Lk. 7:16; 24:19, Jn. 3:2; 4:19; 6:14; 7:40;

9:17).16

We now move on to how Christ functions as our prophet following his ascension

and glorification. Chafer points out that in Acts 1:1 Jesus only “began” to teach, implying

that there was more to his teaching and revealing than what he had only started here on

earth.17 This reinforces the idea that Christ continues to function as prophet in and through

his messengers. In John 16:13 we are told that it is only after Christ leaves that we will

receive the Spirit who is to guide us into all truth, and that the Spirit does not speak by his

own authority, but will speak only what he hears. Owen states that Christ continues as our

Prophet “first, internally and effectually, by His Spirit, writing his law in our hearts;

secondly, outwardly and instrumentally, by the Word preached.”18

It is vital to our understanding of the power behind the proclamation of the word

and the illumination of the Scriptures that we understand the continued execution of the

office of prophet by Christ. Bavinck concludes his section on the office of prophet by

stating, “To teach, to reconcile, and to lead; to instruct, to acquire, and to apply salvation;

wisdom, righteousness, and redemption; truth, love, and God-to-humanity relation, he is

prophet.”19

Christ the Priest

Christ was not only acting from God toward man, but also had a ministry from man

toward God. It is this office of Priest that Christians seemingly know the most about, for it is

this office which deals with Jesus‟ sacrificial death and his continual intercession to the

16
Berkhof. Systematic Theology. p359.
17
Chafer. Systematic Theology, vol. III. p26.
18
Goold. The Works of John Owen, vol I. p483.
19
Bavinck. Reformed Dogmatics. pp367-368.

9
Father. One fascinating correlation of this office to the previous office of prophet, is found

in Exodus 7:1 where Aaron, who would be the founder of the Levitical priesthood, is called

by God to be the prophet for Moses to Pharaoh. While the offices are often regarded as

mutually exclusive in the governance of Old Testament Israel, it is clear that from the

earliest of times, God had planned that these two offices would function under one person,

namely, Jesus Christ. As with the other offices, the Priesthood was not formed first, and then

worked its way to Christ, but rather it was typologically fashioned after Christ to point to

him alone.

Our first glimpse at a Biblical priest is, as before, found in the garden in the person

of Adam. Adam was given charge to work and keep the garden, the first “temple” where

God took up his dwelling among His creation. He was told to ‫„( ָע ְב ָד‬vd) and to ‫( ָש ְמ ָר‬šmr) the

garden in which God had placed him it. While these terms have been traditionally translated

“to work” and “to keep,” these same two verbs were used in conjunction to describe the

priestly duties in the tabernacle: “They shall keep guard (ָ‫)ש ְמר‬
ָ over him…before the tent of

meeting, as they minister (ָ‫ ) ָע ְבד‬at the tabernacle,” (Num. 3:7; cf. 4:23-24, 26).20 Fesko adds

that, “read within the larger context of Scripture, Adam‟s responsibilities in the garden are

primarily priestly rather than agricultural.21

One final topic of interest that ought to be noted before moving on from the

priesthood found in Adam, is the vestments that God had made for Adam and Eve before

casting them from the garden. We see Pharaoh clothes Joseph when he commissions him in

Genesis 41:42, Aaron receiving holy garments in Exodus 40:13 and Leviticus 8:13, and

finally Saul clothed David in armor in 1 Samuel 17:38. It is clear that in the Ancient Near

20
Fesko. Last Things First. p71.
21
Ibid. p71.

10
East, those who are commissioned for service where given garments as a sign of their

installment into office.22 Even further, the priests were not allowed to enter the temple with

their genitals exposed (Ex. 20:26; 28:42), most likely a command dating back to Adam and

Eve no longer being allowed to appear naked in God‟s presence.23 Yet in all these, the

message of the gospel of Christ was being planted. These vestments foreshadowed the

covering that God would provide for his people in the righteousness of Christ.

Shortly after this in the book of Genesis, we encounter a man named Melchizedek,

the Priest-King from Salem. Much can be said about his connection to Christ‟s priesthood

that is of great import. While tomes can and have been written about the priesthood of

Melchizedek, this paper will touch only on major themes relevant for our discussion here.

The priesthood of Melchizedek preceded the Levitical priesthood that does not

become established until the time of Moses and Aaron. Due to the fact that Christ is “of the

order of Melchizedek,” (Ps. 110:4) it is clear that Christ‟s priesthood predates that of the

priesthood in Israel. More discussion will follow on the exact manner in which Christ belong

to this order, as well as met the requirements for the Levitical order, when we address the

specific manner in which Christ exercises this office further on. For now, let us simply be

content with understanding the predecessory nature of this priesthood over the Levitical one.

Yet Melchizedek is not the only foreshadow of the ministry of Christ. In fact, the

most beloved truths of this office derive their nature from that of the Levites . The Hebrew

term used almost entirely for “priest” is ‫( ּכהן‬kohen). While its original meaning is uncertain,

22
Ibid. p72.
23
Ibid. p73.

11
Berkhof tells us that the word certainly always referred to someone who was serving in an

official ecclesiastical function.24

While the office of prophet had previously faced toward man from God, the

primary function of the priest was the exact reverse; it faced God from man. The prophet‟s

major role was that of the religious teacher who revealed the will and words of God to the

people. The chief duty of the priest, however, was to be man‟s representative before God

and the very nature of this mediatorial role should be a strong indicator to the ministry of the

Son.

While many passage in the Old Testament may be called upon to map out the

duties of the priest in specific detail, it is in Hebrews 5:1 that we obtain the most basic of

definitions. The author writes, “For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed

to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.” We see not

only that the priest must be commissioned by God, but that the primary duty is to act as

mediator between men and God in regards to ritual observances and sin. Yet we also know

that in order to carry out this basic duty, the priest not only offered sacrifices, but he would

also intercede on their behalf (Heb. 7:25), and would bless them in the name of the Lord,

(Lev. 9:22). It is these sacrifices and intercessions in which we rightly say that Christ was

both the High Priest, as well as the sacrifice for sin; the unblemished Lamb.

We may now ask how Christ functioned as priest prior to his incarnation. We will

quite easily see this office being carried out in his incarnation and glorified state, but it is

usually difficult to understand the manner in which Christ executed the office of priest prior

to his humiliation.

24
Berkhof. Systematic Theology. p361.

12
 We can solidly establish this truth as fact without elucidating how he actually

discharged this office prior to his incarnation. We see in Hebrews 7:3 that while Christ may

be “in the order of Melchizedek,” it is actually Melchizedek who is made “resembling the

Son of God,” (ESV) or “made like the Son of God,” (NASB). Melchizedek, back in the time

of Abraham, was fashioned after the Son of God to be priest. Clearly Christ must have

already been functioning in this fashion in order for this to take place, as we have also

established previously that Christ discharges these not just in action, but in his very person.

We can observe that Melchezidek is a “God-designed type of Christ‟s priesthood” in the fact

that he is “a king of peace, without record of father or mother, and without recorded

beginning or ending of days.”25 While the actual manner in which Christ executed this office

is rather obscure before his incarnation, we can see that this office was decreed by the Father

long before that time. (Ps. 110:4)

We now arrive at the earthly ministry of Jesus and how he fulfilled the office of

priest during his death on the cross, although we should not limit it to merely his death.

When John the Baptist saw Christ coming down to the Jordan, he cried out, “Behold, the

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29) We often think of Jesus

baptism as the inauguration of his ministry on earth, yet we should also see it as his

commissioning into the priesthood, for Jesus was also meeting the requirements of Numbers

4:3 in which priests were to be consecrated at the age of thirty, as well as Numbers 8:7

which describes the manner which this was to be performed. While Jesus was not a Levite, it

is not shocking that God accepted this commissioned priesthood and declared His approval.

It is also clear that Jesus offered up a priestly prayer on behalf of his disciples in the Gospel

25
Chafer. Systematic Theology, vol III. p29.

13
of John starting in chapter 17, and even interceded on behalf of those crucifying him in Luke

23:34.

Nevertheless, much of what we think of when we talk about the priesthood of

Christ occurs at his death on the cross. As before, the amount of discussion on this topic

alone could cover several volumes, so for our discussion here, let it suffice to state that it is

in the same manner as the atonements of the Old Testament sacrificial system that Christ

bears the burden of our sins. The Westminster Larger Catechism in Q. 44 says that he was “a

sacrifice without spot to God, to be a reconciliation for the sins of His people,” 26 and then

again in the Shorter Catechism in Q. 24 that “Christ executeth the office of a priest, in His

once offering up of Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God.”27

Repeatedly throughout the New Testament, Christ‟s death is pictured as a sacrifice on

behalf of the elect. We see in 1 Corinthians 5:7 that “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been

sacrificed.” Later in 2 Corinthians 5:21 we are told exactly why Christ was the lamb and

how his death was effectual when Paul states that “for our sake he made him to be sin who

knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God,” a verse which is

closely related to “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for

us,” in Galatians 3:13.

John Owen wrote that the death of Christ is effectual first, in that “it satisfied the

justice of God; secondly, it redeemed us from the power of sin, death, and hell; thirdly, it

ratified the new covenant of grace; fourthly; it procured for us grace here and glory

26
Beeke & Ferguson. Reformed Confessions Harmonized. p69.
27
Ibid. p71.

14
hereafter;-by all which means the peace and reconciliation between God and us is

wrought.”28

This sacrifice, however, was perfect and without need for repetition because of the

nature of Christ. Christ himself was without sin. The author to the Hebrews goes to great

lengths to show that former priests would have to first offer sacrifices for themselves and

then for the people, and this must be done each year, but that because Christ was the sinless

Son of God, the spotless lamb and the High Priest, that this was done once and for all,

without need for repetition, (cf. Heb. 9:7, 14). Here Christ is seen in the order of

Melchizedek, that is, that he is without beginning, end, or replacement. He is our eternal

High Priest and we are never in need of another.

Yet as with the other offices, Christ executes this office into eternity. This is not

only clear when the author to the Hebrews states that his is an eternal priesthood, but also in

that Christ continually brings us into the presence of the Father, and that Christ makes

persistent intercession on our behalf. The curtain in the temple has been torn and by Christ

we can come into the presence of God. Indeed, in a very real sense, we are the temple in

which God resides, and Paul says as much in 1 Corinthians 6:19 when he tells us that our

bodies are “temples of the Holy Spirit.” The author to the Hebrews again tells us that “we

have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus… and since we have a great

priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,”

(Heb. 10:19).

Not only does Christ grant us access to the presence of God, but he also ministers

in our behalf to God through intercession; through “his continual soliciting of God on our

behalf, begun here in fervent prayers, continued in heaven by appearing as our advocate at
28
Goold. The Works of John Owen, vol. I. p481.

15
the throne of grace.”29 Christ “always lives to make intercession for them,” (Heb. 7:25) and

Paul says that Christ is the only one who “intercedes for us,” (Rom. 8:34). The verb used in

both cases is ἐντυγχάνφ and means not only to ask of someone, but to approach them and

ask for it.30 In both cases, Christ makes intercessions based on his previous death and

sacrifice for our sins. Berkhof reminds us that we cannot divorce the ministry of intercession

from the ministry of atonement. He says, “They are but two aspects of the same redemptive

work of Christ… the essence of Intercession is Atonement; and the Atonement is essentially

an Intercession.”31 Because of this, that the atoning and intercessory work of Christ are so

interlinked, it is proper for Berkhof to add that “Christ intercedes for all those for whom he

has made atonement, and for those only.”32

Finally it is clear that Christ is the only one who is to be mediator between men and

God. Paul tells us in that “there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

who gave himself as a ransom for all,” (1 Tim. 2:5-6). Again, the mediatorial role of Christ

Jesus in intercession is based on the historical fact of the vicarious death of Christ on the

cross to atone for the sins of the elect. This again is vital for us to understand. Hoeksema

reminds us that it is “the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ, and that righteousness

absolutely alone, is the sure basis of our hope in God, our salvation, and our eternal

peace.”33

Christ the King

As before, the office of king is not without overlap of the previous offices.

Melchizedek was not merely a priest, but was a priest-king. Psalm 110, which speaks of the

29
Ibid. p483.
30
Verbrugge. New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. p189.
31
Berkhof. Systematic Theology. p402.
32
Ibid. p402.
33
Hoeksema. Reformed Dogmatics. p392.

16
Messiah being a priest in the order of Melchizedek, also states that he is to be “[sent] forth

from Zion, your mighty scepter,” (v2) he will “shatter kings,” (v5) and “execute judgment

among the nations,” (v6); and Zechariah says that “there shall be a priest on his throne,”

(Zech. 6:13). In Israel‟s governance the three offices were never to be held by one person,

yet in these passages we see them clearly foretelling that the Messiah will indeed embody all

three offices.34 Yet when we are talking about the kingship of Christ as mediator (regnum

oeconicum), we should not confuse his kingship that he possess with the Father and the

Spirit from all eternity (regnum essentiale).

As with the previous two offices, we again find the first establishment of the office

of king on earth in the garden. We see that Adam is given authority over all of creation, not

only in his subduing of it, and in his exercising of dominion, but also in that he was given

the role of naming the animals. Adam is the vice-regent of God within creation and is

appointed to rule over it.

Of all the offices, the kingship of Christ seems to have the most diversity of views

among theologians. While some deny that Jesus was king before his incarnation, others deny

that Jesus was king during his incarnation, and still others deny the kingship of Christ in

present day, while further still, others do not believe that Christ will have an earthly throne

this side of the final judgment. Per usual, to adequately answer these questions in this paper

would be a futile attempt, seeing as many books have been written on the subject. While we

will address these areas, they will be admittedly brief.

First, as with the other offices, we can say that Christ is king not as an exercise of

work, but based on his very nature. While we cannot say that Christ discharges the office of

king by his participation in the Trinity and its ultimate rule over creation, we can say that
34
Robertson. The Israel of God. p59.

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Christ was appointed king before creation. We see in Psalm 2:6 that God set up his Son as

king on Zion, his holy hill, long before the incarnation and the nations are commanded to

swear allegiance to him. We can even infer that when the Israelites demanded a king in 1

Samuel 12:12, and denied that God was their king, that they were denying the immediate

kingship of Christ. For this is not speaking of God‟s sovereign rule over all creation, but his

specific reign over his chosen people, the very aspect that designates the kingship of Christ.

At the birth of Christ it was announced that he was the “king of the Jews,” (Matt.

2:2), yet unlike the kings previously that ruled over Israel, Christ was now the true

Theocratic King, entirely faithful to the Lord, “subject to his will, and designed to direct all

things to God‟s honor.”35 It is undeniable that Christ was king while on earth. He claimed to

be king before Pilate in Matthew 27:11 and John 18:37; he died under the accusation of

attempting to be king in Matthew 27:37; and he was seen by the people as king and heir

apparent to the throne of David in John 12:13. Jesus taught on behalf of the kingdom to

bring people into citizenship in the kingdom. And when Christ returns he is called “King of

kings, and Lord of lords” is Revelation 19:16.

Martin Luther spoke of those who attempted to deny that Christ was king presently,

“imaging just as foolishly that Christ sits idly somewhere and waits for the Judgment Day,

when He will thunder against sinners,” that, “on the contrary, we must hold that he working.

We must believe that he rules and fights, that he has a throne and scepter, preserving and

bestowing righteousness, and that he does all this daily and with great power in the

church.”36

35
Bavinck. Reformed Dogmatics. p365.
36
Pelikan. Luther‟s Works, vol. 12. p232.

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 We must see that Christ is ruling as king over his church presently. He has

purchased us already to be his people and we are called a “kingdom,” (Rev. 1:6) and a “holy

nation,” (1 Pet. 2:9). We are told that we are ruled over by Christ who is “far above all rule

and authority and power and dominion… in this age and in the age to come,” (Eph. 1:21)

and that he is “head over all things to the church,” (Eph. 1:22). This headship is not

synonymous with one who merely leads or guides, but rather this term follows hard on the

heels of the absolute authority given to Christ in 1:20-21 and shows that Christ is head over

the church by authority and rule, in a very judicial manner.37

We also observe that the kingdom rule of Christ was already present in the time of

Jesus and the Apostles, such as in Matthew 12:28 where Jesus announces the presence of the

kingdom as evidenced by his exorcism of demons, as well as in Luke 17:21 where Jesus

says, “behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Yet when we speak of the

kingship of Christ, we are also speaking in more tangible terms in which Christ rules over

his church specifically. Owen states that Christ‟s kingly office is of a two-fold power, “first,

his power of ruling in and over his church; secondly, his power of subduing his enemies.”38

Surely, Owen would agree with Hoeksema that when Paul speaks of Christ as the head of

the church, he means it in nearly a judicial and royal manner. Yet how do we see Christ

ruling in and over the church?

It should support our claims to perform tasks in the power and name of Christ,

when we understand that we carry them out as ambassadors to our King. When people are

converted, it is by the power of Christ who regenerates their will to be obedient. When we

37
Hoeksema. Reformed Dogmatics. p393.
38
Goold. The Works of John Owen, vol. I. p480.

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establish church government and authority, it is only by the authority given to us by Christ

as he reigns over us that these are accomplished.

The second part of Owen‟s definition, however, speaks to the kingship of Christ as

it is exercised at the Second Coming. While we will not here establish any millennial

schema, it is proper to state that there will be a day when the kingship of Christ will be

consummated. There will be a time when the rule of Christ will be total and absolute over all

of humanity, without exception. His kingdom will not end but be for all of eternity as

explicitly taught in Scripture, (Ps. 45:6; 72:17; Is. 9:7; Dan. 2:44; 2 Sam. 7:13, 16; 2 Pet.

2:5-11). Just as Christ is a prophet forever and a priest forever, so too is he a king forever.

As Luther said, “The kingdom of Christ, therefore, is really this, that he rules in this life and

after this life will fully confer righteousness and eternal life.”39

Conclusion

It has been seen that Christ‟s office of mediator between man and God functions in

the Munus Triplex of Christ. He exercises the offices of prophet, of priest, and of king, not

only from before the creation of the world and before his incarnation, but also during his

humiliation on earth and after his glorification into eternity. As Prophet, Christ is our sole

source for revelation of the mind and will of God; as Priest, he is our only hope for salvation

and intercession to God; and as King, he is our sole authority and will guard and protect us

from all our enemies. Bavinck ends his section on the offices with this statement,

Though a king, he rules not by the sword but by his Word and
spirit. He is a prophet, but his word is power and really happens. He is a
priest but lives by dying, conquers by suffering, and is all powerful by his
love. He is always all these things in conjunction, never the one without
the other: mighty in speech and action as a king and full of grace and truth
in his royal rule.40

39
Pelikan. Luther‟s Works, vol. 12. p232.
40
Bavinck. Reformed Dogmatics. p368.

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 It should be out aim to never lose sight of any office or place one as of more import

over the other as has been the habit of the church in the past. Each of the offices, Christ

performed before even our creation and should prompt us to glorify him because he was

proactively achieving for us our redemption long before man was even created for the fall.

In this, we know that God does all things and powerfully orders redemptive history for his

glory, and the Munus Triplex of Christ ought to cause us to stop and marvel at the mighty

sovereign works and wonders of our God.

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