It is my desire over the course of three Sunday mornings to consider with you the truth presented in L.D. 12, according to the threefold office of Christ Jesus our Lord. I have not before preached this subject in that way. In past treatment of this L.D., we have considered both questions and answers in one week, and we have considered each separately. But we have not considered separately in connection with our Catechism each aspect of the threefold office of Christ. This morning I want to consider with you the truth set forth in the first part of Q & A 31, namely, that Christ "is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Spirit, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, who has fully revealed to us the secret counsel and will of God concerning our redemption."
Secondly, the prophetic office Christ holds as ordained of God the Father, is an office we also receive as members of Christ by faith. So I want to consider with you the implications of that truth as they concern us. Specifically those implications are expressed this way by the instructors in the first part of the 32nd answer: I am a member of Christ by faith, and thus am partaker of his anointing; that so I may confess his name.
Before we turn to the specific texts in which light we shall consider Christ our Prophet, I call your attention momentarily to the way the Catechism leads us. We are considering the confession of our faith, and its necessary components. That confession is expressed in its most basic form in the Apostles Creed. But we are not content with that expression alone. The many heresies that have risen in the church throughout the centuries and the attacks upon particular truths expressed in that confession, have made it necessary to search the Scriptures for a more complete interpretation of the various articles of that confession called the Apostles Creed. As we consider the threefold office of Christ, we do so by setting forth what Scripture teaches concerning that very simple confession, "I believe in Jesus Christ," or, more simply yet, "I believe in Christ." How blessed is that confession! And how glorious is God Who gives us that confession! It is my prayer that you may see that even more clearly by the time we are finished considering the threefold office of Him Who is our Savior. We direct our attention this morning, then, to:
CHRIST OUR PROPHET
I. WHO HE IS
II. HIS PROPHETIC OFFICE
III. THE SIGNIFICANCE FOR US
I. MY FIRST POINT THIS MORNING IS NECESSARILY APPLICATORY TO ALL THREE ASPECTS OF CHRIST'S OFFICE--PROPHET, PRIEST AND KING.
BEFORE WE ENTER ANY OF THESE OFFICES WE MUST BEGIN BY CONSIDERING HIM WHO HOLDS THE OFFICE.
His name is Jesus, Jehovah-salvation, as we considered last Sunday morning. He is the One in Whom alone is salvation, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, to use the Hebrew and therefore Jewish name for Christ. That is Scripture. To those who have been given by the Spirit of God the spiritual eyes to see, all Scripture teaches that Jesus is the Christ. That is what Peter testifies in Acts 3. He points his audience all the way back to the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15ff. There Moses said, "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. And the LORD said unto me,...I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." Those words of Moses, those words of the one whom the Jews considered a prophet to whom no one could compare, Peter expounds under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit with direct application to Jesus Christ. He applies those words to convince these incredulous Jews, that the One in whose name the lame man had been healed, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, is the only and true Messiah, the great Prophet of the Church, whose doctrine it is highly dangerous to hold in contempt.
And so there is only one Christ in all the world, through all history. He is the Messiah, the Anointed of God. Exactly because of that fact, all other christs, so-called, are false christs and antichrists. Of them there are many, as we read in I John 2:18: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." There is only one Christ. All others who would usurp His place, His authority, His office, are antichrists, culminating in the AntiChrist. That is the testimony of God's Word.
So Jesus put His disciples to the test, when He asked them, as we read in Matthew 16, "Whom say ye that I am?" There were all kinds of opinions expressed about Jesus. People wanted to link him with the prophets of old. They knew that somehow this Jesus fit into their religious scheme of things. But they would not search the Old Testament Scriptures, the law and the prophets. So they would not link Him to the Messiah which had been promised. Some said that He was John the Baptist; others going farther back said that He was Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or another of the prophets. So Jesus put His disciples to the test, "But whom say ye that I am?" And with conviction of soul Peter answers as spokesman for the 12, when he says (vs 16): "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." "Thou art the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God." "And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven."
Always the question among the people of Jesus' day was whether Jesus was indeed the Christ, the promised Messiah. And the gospel proclaimed by the Son of Man Himself, and by all the Apostles, as they unfolded the prophecies of the Old Testament which so clearly demonstrated the truth of their preaching—that gospel was this: Jesus is the Christ. For you and for me that is the gospel today. The question is not merely whether we believe the man Jesus lived on this earth almost 2000 years ago, and that he was born in Bethlehem, lived in Nazareth, was a masterful teacher and great reformer, even a miracle worker, and that he died on the cross. The question is not even whether we believe that Jesus died, arose again the third day and after 40 days arose to heaven. That is important; but we need to go further. The question is whether that Jesus is the Christ, the Christ of God. That is salvation for us who believe.
THAT NAME CHRIST MEANS ANOINTED, AND SPECIFICALLY THE ANOINTED OF GOD.
Anointing was practiced in the Old Testament as a symbolic and ceremonial act. It was an act that was associated only with the offices in the kingdom of God. Anointing took place upon the entry into office of those whom God had appointed to serve as prophets, priests, or kings in the Old Testament. And that act of anointing, which consisted of pouring over the head the oil of ordination, meant two things. In the first place it meant that the one anointed to the office had been given by God the authority of that office. God had bestowed upon the one anointed specific authority to function in the particular office for which he was anointed, whether prophet, priest or king. The authority of the office is the central idea of anointing. Secondly, since God does not appoint anyone to office without qualifying him, that anointing also symbolized the outpouring of the Holy Spirit giving all qualifications necessary for the office to the one being anointed. As you probably remember, and as is perhaps most clearly revealed in Zechariah, chapter 4, oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Therefore the one so ordained and anointed, received authority from God to function in that office and was also given the Holy Spirit in order to carry out his calling in that office.
But that anointing which took place in the Old Testament was another element of the Old that pointed to the New and to the fulfillment in the Messiah. All those who were anointed in the Old Testament were only shadows of the real Anointed One Who is Jesus the Christ. When you think about it in the light of Scripture, that becomes quite clear. How beautiful is the promise given by God in Genesis 3:15, the promise of a Savior for Adam and Eve and all their elect generations! It is only because of that promise that there could be any prophets. Of course! There was nothing to prophecy were it not for the promise. Only in the light of God's unchangeable promise could there be any priests. For only in the light of the promise and God's clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins by the shedding of blood could there be the expectation of a sacrifice. All the priests of the Old Testament could be anointed only because of the promise of Christ's coming. That same held true with the kings of Israel. Only in the light of that promise could there be a king anointed of God to have the victory for Israel. For that reason, all the prophets, all the priests, all the kings anointed of God in the Old Testament were shadows of the Anointed One, the Messiah, Who was to come. And how blessed were God's people when that truth was continually made more and more clear throughout the Old Testament. In Genesis 49:10, e.g., the kingship of the coming Messiah was revealed: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
And again, as we are reminded in the passage from which we read this morning, "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." And that means that when we confess, as we must, that Jesus is the Anointed One, that Jesus is the Christ, we mean that He is the One officially appointed by God from before the foundation of the world, and officially anointed in time to be our Savior. There can be no other Savior, than the One Whom God Himself has ordained and sent, with the divine qualifications of the Holy Spirit.
II. THAT CHRIST OF GOD IS OUR PROPHET.
HE IS ORDAINED OF GOD THE FATHER, AND ANOINTED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO BE OUR CHIEF PROPHET.
A prophet, according to the meaning of the term, is one who speaks in the name of someone else or for someone else. There are several aspects to a prophet's calling. The chief factor in the office of a prophet is that the prophet must know God. All else follows from that knowledge of the One Whom he serves. (As a parenthetical statement of application, that same holds true for you and me. If we are to serve God in the office of believer as prophet, as all Christians are called to do, and do, then we must know Him with the personal and experiential knowledge of faith.) A prophet is not necessarily one who predicts the future. That is only a specific and I would almost say minor aspect of prophecy. A prophet is one who knows God and who then speaks in God's name. From that knowledge comes the calling to confess the name of God and to declare the will of God. That in its essence is the calling of a prophet.
Now Peter declared, Jesus is the fulfillment of the One prophecied by Moses, "A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up." He is, in Acts 3, described by His type. Moses pictured the Christ. Now, it is said of Moses in Deuteronomy 34:10, that "there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face." Indeed, of mere men there never again arose so great a prophet. That is true not only from the viewpoint of Moses' familiarity with God, and his peculiar friendship with Jehovah; but also from the viewpoint of the multitude of miracles which Moses wrought in the power of God. The Jews, of course, recognized that, which is why Peter calls attention to Moses here and emphasizes Christ as the fulfillment of the prophetic announcement Moses spoke.
Moses himself was but a distant star in comparison to this brilliant Sun Who is Jesus, the Christ of God. For when it comes to knowing God, none stands with such intimate knowledge as does Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son. Moreover, though Moses was a man, with a man's weaknesses and failures, Jesus Christ was man yet without sin. Moses was a faithful prophet, precise and diligent in the office to which God called him. But Christ excelled also in faithfulness. For we read in Hebrews 3:5,6: "And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; But Christ as a Son over his own house." And though God called Moses to his prophetic office, by speaking to him out of the burning bush; God called Jesus to that prophetic office ordained for Him in eternity, sealing Him also with His Spirit, when He said by His own voice from the most excellent glory, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
(Now, you understand that when I speak of his prophetic office, trying to avoid being abstract, and when I speak of Christ specifically as our prophet, I necessarily am going to intrude somewhat into my third point.)
BUT TO SEE THIS JESUS IN THE PROPHETIC FUNCTION OF HIS OFFICE AS THE CHRIST OF GOD AND AS OUR PROPHET, WE MUST REMEMBER THAT WE ALSO WERE CREATED PROPHETS.
That is evident already from the very first chapter of the Bible. Man was created after the image of God. That means, with respect to the subject at hand, that Adam was created a reflection of God, to do the will of God as God's servant. And so Adam in paradise was first of all a prophet. He was created with the knowledge of God, in fellowship with God, to converse with God, and to glorify God by his speech. He was also created a priest and king under God; but we are limited ourselves to the prophetic function of the office this morning. Adam knew God. He knew God in all the earthly creation. He proclaimed the name of God, and glorified Him. Adam and Eve sang beautifully together in the garden, in praise to God. We don't read that, of course, in Genesis; but it stands to reason. Because the Bible speaks of singing as a beautiful gift of God. And it speaks of the song sung in heaven by the angels and by the church, (Rev. 5) "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Heaven's singing is only the perfect fulfillment of that work God began in the first paradise. So Adam confessed the name of God as his God.
But sin messed up the entire relationship in which Adam stood as prophet of God. His knowledge of God became darkness. The prophet became a liar. That is what we are today, by nature, beloved. We are all liars. Not in the sense that we corrupt the truth concerning various relationships between creatures. We don't say, e.g., that 2 X 2 = 7. Men know many truths about the elements of the creation, and from those truths develop many inventions and conveniences for society. But spiritually we are liars. We don't want God. We know Him enough that we are left without excuse. We know that He is, that He is God, and that we must glorify Him as God. But we deny even that truth in our own minds. When we walk in sin, we lie to ourselves by saying, God doesn't mind, or God doesn't see, or God will forgive without demanding anything from us. We deny our own depravity and darkness. We see the wrath of God directed against us in all creation. We see the punishment of death He has exacted from sinners. He kills us. That is what we know of God. We don't want to talk about God. We don't want to speak His praises and glory. Nor do we want to. Because we don't know God as Savior. That is how we stand in Adam.
That is why we must have Christ, beloved. You must have Christ. He came. He came as the Prophet sent from heaven, God's Christ. He knew the will of His heavenly Father. He knew it from eternity. But not only did He know; He spoke. Christ says in Psalm 40, "I come to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." And what did Christ do as our Prophet? He stood in the place of His people to glorify the Father. Yes, there is a close connection here between His work as Prophet and that of Priest. But also as Prophet Christ stands in the place of His people, glorifying His Father.
While we were yet enemies, lying in our sin and shame and death, Christ stood in our place, for us, for all His elect, as Prophet. He has done so from eternity, in the counsel of God, standing as Head of His Church glorifying God. He did that as Prophet for us by all His appearance, for His 33 years sojourning through this world in our flesh. He instructed us in the knowledge of God the Father. That was His purpose. That was His purpose in the Old Testament as He spoke through the mouths of His prophet-servants. The whole Old Testament is the teaching of Christ as our Prophet. But when Christ came in the likeness of our sinful flesh, and walked among men, then especially He instructed His people in the knowledge of the Father. "If you know me," He said, "you know my Father." In all His works He revealed the Father. So He testified when the Jews took up the stones to kill him, according to John 10:32: "Jesus answered them (as the Prophet sent from God), Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?" His whole life from Bethlehem to His ascension into heaven is the revelation of the Father, the God of our salvation.
As Prophet He is and proclaims the gospel. Not even in Moses, but in Christ Jesus alone is the original light and knowledge of the glory of God. He brought His doctrine from the very bosom of the Father. And He continues to teach you as the chief Prophet. Do you hear His voice? So speaks the Apostle in II Corinthians 4:6: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Whoever would serve as God's prophets, must first be taught by Christ.
III. AND WHEN WE UNDERSTAND AND CONFESS THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD, THEN WE ALSO SEE WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF CHRIST'S PROPHETIC OFFICE FOR US.
AS CHIEF PROPHET, CHRIST'S VOICE IS POWERFUL IN A WAY THAT MOSES' VOICE COULD NOT BE.
For as Prophet Christ works His salvation in us. That is the truth set forth in Q & A 32. By faith I am a member of Christ, and thus partaker of His anointing, so that as prophet I may confess His name. So Peter preached, "Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people." You and I confess to be members of Christ's sheepfold. "And the sheep follow Him" according to His own words, "for they hear His voice." And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd," says Jesus in John 10:16. Until Christ arise upon our souls as our Prophet, you and I sit in the shadow of death. He was anointed to preach. In fulfillment of that prophetic announcement of Him in Isaiah 61, Jesus Christ was anointed to preach good tidings to the meek, and sent to bind up the broken-hearted. You and I need this Chief Prophet, beloved. You may have all confidence in your own know ledge. You may have a rather high place among men. But the simple fact is, "no man knoweth the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him" (Matt 11:27).
The words of this chief Prophet are not merely words of comfort, however. He speaks the truth powerfully, as one having authority, and not as the Pharisees. While those whom we might refer to as preachers of the false church were cold preachers, Christ spoke with power. There was heat as well as light in His doctrine! And there is still, by the power of His Spirit, though His doctrine now comes through the mouths of weak, contemptible men, who are called to serve as His ministers. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:4,5). "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb 4:12).
He speaks. The mighty Prophet speaks from the splendor of His holiness, calling you and me to repent of our sins. There is a holy seriousness and majesty in all His doctrine, commanding our reverence. He leaves nothing uncovered in our lives that are permeated with sin. He makes the hearts of sinners tremble. Hasn't it been so with you, beloved? But with His powerful voice, this mighty Prophet brings us down; He speaks the truth concerning our own sin, in order to reveal to us the glory of His heavenly Father as the God of our salvation.
AND THE FRUIT OF CHRIST'S WORK AS OUR PROPHET IS THAT WE ALSO BECOME PROPHETS OF THE LIVING GOD, CONFESSING HIS NAME.
You will remember that I said earlier, all the officebearers of the Old Testament were only shadows of the Messiah Who was to come. That is no longer true of us, beloved. We, the saints in Christ of the New Testament, are not shadows. We are prophets, as well as priests and kings. We are not shadows any longer but reflections, reflections of the glorified and exalted Christ Who lives within us by His Holy Spirit. He Who is the Christ has come and has realized His threefold office. He has realized it for us, and now realizes it in us by His Word and Spirit. By the preaching of His Word the light of God's glory shines upon us in the face of Jesus Christ. Some times more than others does it make deep impressions upon us; but when the Spirit works by that Word, we cannot escape the piercing brilliance of that light.
Christ prophesies in such a way that He not only gives us understanding of the truth of the Bible, but He lays it upon our hearts, compelling us to speak and to sing the praises of our God. So it must be. Jesus says in Matthew 10:32,33: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven." He Who gives unto us the Words of eternal life, shall we not speak His praise? Confess His name, beloved.
Yes, I know, there is still much sin in us. There are many devils to fight. But Christ has spoken the powerful Word of salvation. Let us confess Him, shall we? Let us confess the name of our God, with our speech and by our actions. Then we shall have peace. Then, and then only, shall we receive the testimony in our hearts that we are indeed prophets in Christ Jesus Who saved us.
Amen.
Preached:1) Randolph PRC 11/3/96 (am)
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