Christ Our Prophet, Priest, and King
(Message delivered by Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the True Life Church 10.30 am Service, Jul 2, 06)
Text: Heb 1:1-5
Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt 16:16). “Jesus” means “Saviour.” But what does “Christ” mean? The word “Christ” from Christos, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Mashiach, means “the Anointed One.” Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed Prophet, Priest, and King.
In the Westminster Confession of Faith, this is said of Christ our Mediator, “It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, to be the Mediator between God and man, the Prophet, Priest, and King, the Head and Saviour of His Church, the Heir of all things, and Judge of the world” (VIII:I).
So, Christ is our Prophet, Priest, and King. What do these three offices of Christ mean for us in practical terms? It must be emphasised that Jesus Christ is no ordinary prophet, priest, and king; He is none other than God Himself. Hebrews 1:3 tells us in no uncertain terms that Christ possesses the attributes of deity. He is the “brightness of his glory” and the “express image of his person” (Heb 1:3). The glory here is the glory that God alone has. It is not human but divine glory. John describes it as “the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Jesus is also exactly the same as God the Father in terms of His omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Jesus told Philip, “he that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus as the Son of God is God Himself, the same in divine essence with His Father. God became man so that He could be our All-Complete and Perfect Saviour, our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Christ Our Prophet
Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15 predicted the coming of the Messianic Prophet, “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken” (Deut 18:15). Jesus Christ is the greater Moses who fulfilled this prophecy (Acts 3:22, 7:37). The prophetic Word is God’s Word, and the prophetic Word is powerful and effective. That is why the author of Hebrews describes Christ as “upholding all things by the word of his power” (Heb 1:3). In other words, Christ not only created this world by the Word of His mouth—“for he commanded, and they were created,” He also kept and preserved this world by the very same Word—“He hath also stablished them for ever and ever: he hath made a decree which shall not pass” (Ps 148:5-6).
When Jesus was on earth, His Word was indeed powerful. The same powerful Word that created this world was the same word which healed the sick, cast out the demons, and calmed the sea. Satan’s words and man’s words bring death, but Jesus’ words bring life. Where can we find a person who came down from heaven to tell us how to get to heaven? No one but Christ! That was why Peter declared that no one but Christ had the words of eternal life: “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), the only living and true Way to God and heaven.
If you want to know the future, do not go to the fortune teller, the medium, the horoscopes or the fengshui master. Go to Christ the Prophet who knows all things. The Lord has given us the Bible which is “a more sure word of prophecy” (2 Pet 1:19). One quarter of the Bible is prophetic. Study about the future from the Bible with the help of pastor’s commentaries on Daniel (Visions of the Princely Prophet) and Revelation (Coming World Events Unveiled), both available at the FEBC Bookroom, and I am sure your eyes will be opened and your faith will be built up. The words of Scripture will purify us as we read and study them. We are sanctified by His Truth, His Word is Truth (John 17:17).
Christ Our Priest
Christ is not only our Prophet speaking to us from the Scriptures through His forever perfect and powerful words. He is also our Great High Priest “when he had by himself purged our sins” (Heb 1:3). Jesus was no ordinary high priest like Aaron. He was High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. That Jesus would come as a High Priest after the order of Melchizedek was prophesied in Psalm 110:4, “The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.” Jesus is our Priest forever unlike Aaron who must be replaced.
Jesus our Priest was our Perfect Sacrifice. In the Old Testament, the priests had to offer sacrifices for their own sins before they can offer sacrifices for the sins of the people. But Jesus the perfect and sinless High Priest from heaven was also the spotless and blameless Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29, 1 Pet 1:19).
What did Christ use to purge us of our sins? It was none other than His precious blood—the blood of the Christ who was both God and man. In Acts 20:28, Paul told the Ephesian elders to take good care of God’s sheep precisely because the sheep have been bought with a great price which is the precious blood of the God-Man: “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” As the hymn writer says, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”
As our Perfect Sacrifice and our Perfect Priest, Jesus is our only Mediator—there is no one else who can save us from our sins: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). Christ as our Great High Priest can forgive us of our sins, and bring us to God and heaven. If we want salvation we need not confess our sins to anyone but to Christ. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Are your sins forgiven? Are you saved? Just cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13) and He will forgive you of your sins and save you.
Who is the best person to help us if we have problems in life? None but Christ our Great High Priest: “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:14-16). Never say, Jesus does not understand and He does not care. He knows how we feel, and He empathises with us because He was subjected to like trials and temptations, and overcame all of them without sin at all. Having experienced the hardships of life in this sin-cursed world, Jesus knows how to comfort and strengthen us when we cry out to Him for help.
Christ Our King
Christ is not only our Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek. He is also our Most Righteous King. The name “Melchizedek” means “King of righteousness” (Heb 7:2). Christ is our righteousness for He kept the Ten Commandments perfectly for us, and then paid the penalty of our sins by dying for us on the cross, shedding His precious blood. “Therefore being justified (ie, declared righteous) by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1). Our suffering Saviour became our triumphant King. His Cross led to His Crown. He is now seated “on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1:3). The “right hand” seat is the seat of honour, power, and authority. Christ is “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev 19:16). All must worship Him and kowtow to Him. Christ is not only our Saviour but also our Lord and King. As Lord and King, He demands our absolute allegiance and unquestioning obedience.
Is Christ the Lord of our lives? Some would like to separate the Saviourhood of Christ from His Lordship: “I want Christ as my Saviour but I do not want Him as my Lord. I desire the bliss of heaven, but at the same time I love the sins of earth. Jesus can save my soul, but let me do what I want with my flesh. I want to rule my own life and enjoy the carnal pleasures of this world—wine, women, and song.” With such a spirit, it is no wonder that many in this world who claim to be “Christian” are only professors but not possessors of Christ!
Gnosticism as promoted by The Da Vinci Code and The Judas Gospel teaches that a Christian needs only Jesus as Saviour but not as Lord. The Gnostic heretics believe that they can sin all they want in the flesh because the flesh cannot contaminate the spirit which remains pure and safe. The Libertines in the days of Calvin also had this immoral idea that believing in Christ gave one the licence to sin. Calvin rebuked them severely and rightly refused them the Lord’s Supper. The Charismatic antinomians today say they live by the Spirit and not by the Law. They say they are freed from obeying the Ten Commandments and can do whatever they please. The Prosperity—Gong Xi Fa Cai—Gospel says, “Jesus, you can keep your commandments, just let me have your health and your wealth.” It is like children telling their parents, “I love your money, but I do not love you.” Can these be true children? Jesus says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
Have we believed in the Biblical Jesus or another Jesus? The Biblical Jesus is both Lord and Saviour. Those who wish to be saved from sin must confess Jesus not only as Saviour but also as Lord. Romans 10:9 makes clear, “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” In other words, “Jesus my Saviour, please save me from my sins, and as my Lord, take full control of my life.” We cannot separate Jesus from His Lordship or Kingship over our lives.
As born again and true believers of Jesus Christ, let us worship Him as our Prophet, our Priest and our King. As our Prophet, we believe in all the words He has fully inspired and fully preserved in the Holy Scriptures. As our Priest, we depend on Him for all our spiritual needs to overcome the trials and temptations of this life. As our King, we surrender every part of our life to Him, to rule, control, and change so that we might become more and more like Him to the glory of His Name. Amen.
**********
