2006-04-30 - Prophet, Priest, King: 2

John 14:26, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."

This is the second installment of four on the offices of Christ as a prophet, priest, and a king. Today we will handle Christ as a prophet from the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Question 24: How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet? Answer: Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in revealing to us, by his word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.

Some verses that back this answer up are: 1 John 1:18, 1 Peter 1:10-12, John 14:26, 15:15, 20:31, 2 Corinthians 5:19,

One of the ways that Christ functions as a prophet is in teaching us to live in the present world, in light of the future judgment of God. To warn of God's coming judgment was one of the roles of a prophet that we see in the Old Testament. In many respects, we can see all the aspects of being a prophet in Christ. He has the passion that Isaiah had, the sullenness of Hosea, the meekness of Jeremiah, joy of Amos, wisdom of the Proverbs, and the intense feeling of the Psalmists. These are all manifested in Christ as a prophet.

The phrase, "by revealing to us, by his word and Spirit," is a loaded one. Here we see that Christ takes the word (Scripture) which is addressed to the whole person, and like the Urim and Thummin of the Old Testament, makes it clear to us. However, this is done through the ministry of the Holy Spirit whom Christ has sent to be our guide in interpreting the word. The two, word and spirit, are coextensive with each other. They work together to guide and inform us, as the will of God for our salvation is revealed through Christ as our prophet. It is the Spirit that takes the word and makes it light unto us, and reveals to us what it says. The use of this to us is clear. Christ did not come to teach us about Geography, or Physics, or lawn care, but rather he came as a prophet to reveal to us, both by His word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation. In many respects, the revealing of God's will for our salvation is done outwardly (through the word) and inwardly (through the Spirit). Following the teachings of the word and the workings of the Spirit lead to both our salvation and our comfort.

It is important that the word and Spirit work together in our hearts, not only for revealing the will of God for our salvation, but also in revealing His will for our lives. It is the inward confirmation by the Spirit of the things that we learn from the word of God, that help us to know God's will. His will in respect to Christ's office as a prophet respects our salvation, but beyond that, we trust in the Spirit to take the word and apply it to us. The two go together and must go together. Our responsibility is to study the word and pray that the Spirit would make our dark, unbelieving hearts, enlightened, and transformed to God's will for us, and to both work and pray to that end. May the Lord make it so with us.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

tim@cfdevotionals.org
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