Thethreefold office (Latin:munus triplex) ofJesusChrist is aChristian doctrine based upon the teachings of the Old Testament of whichChristians hold different views. It was described byEusebius and more fully developed byJohn Calvin.
The doctrine states that Jesus Christ performed three functions (or "offices") in his earthly ministry: those ofprophet,[1]priest,[2] andking.[3]
In the Old Testament, the appointment of someone to any of these three positions could be sanctioned by anointing him by pouring oil over his head. Thus the termmessiah, meaning "anointed one", is associated with the concept of the threefold office. While the office of king is that most closely associated with the Messiah, the role of Jesus as priest, which involves intercession before God, is also prominent in the New Testament, being most fully explained in chapters 7 to 10 of theBook of Hebrews.
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Eusebius worked out this threefold classification and wrote: "And we have been told also that certain of the prophets themselves became, by the act of anointing, Christs in type, so that all these have reference to the true Christ, the divinely inspired and heavenly Word, who is the only high priest of all, and the only King of every creature, and the Father’s only supreme prophet of prophets."[4] During the Reformation this concept played a substantial role inscholastic Lutheran Christology and in the christology of Reformed theologians such asJohn Calvin[5] as well as that ofJohn Wesley.[6]
The entry in theEvangelical Dictionary of Theology claims thatChristian theologians view all the other roles of Christ as falling under one of these three distinctions.[7]
Christ is the mouthpiece of God as the Prophet by speaking and teaching the Word of God,[8] infinitely greater than all prophets, who spoke for God and interpreted the will of God.[9] The Old Testament prophet brought God's message to the people. Christ, as the Word, theLogos, is the source of revelation.[10] Accordingly, Jesus Christ never used the messenger formula, which linked the prophet's words to God in the prophetic phraseThus says the Lord.[11]
TheBible refers to the prophetic nature of Christ in the following verses, among others:
There are several instances in the Bible that suggest that Jesus' contemporaries regarded him as a prophet:
Christ, whom believers draw near to in confidence, offered Himself as the sacrifice for humanity asHigh Priest.[19] Old Testament priests declared the will of God, gave the covenant of blessing, and directed the processing of sacrifices.[20] The priest represented humankind before God. While humankind took the office of priesthood in their weakness, Jesus holds the position with an indestructible power that overcomes the weakness of humanity as described throughout the book of Hebrews.[21]Theatoning death of Christ is at the heart of his work as High Priest. Metaphors are used to describe his death on the cross, such as, "Christ, the Lamb of God, shed his blood on the cross as the sin offering for humankind." Christ made one sin offering as High Priest in contrast to the Old Testament priests, who continually offered sacrifices on behalf of humanity. Because of the work of Christ on the cross, humanity has the opportunity to have a living relationship with God. Conversely, the individuals that deny the work of God are described as dead in sin, without God and without hope. In traditional Christianity (theRoman Catholic,Eastern Orthodox,Anglican Church,Oriental Orthodox, andAssyrian Churches), it is believed that apriest, having received theSacrament of Holy Orders through thelaying on of hands, shares the one priesthood of Christ, and thus it is only priests (and their superiors in Holy Orders, thebishops) who can offer theEucharistic Sacrifice.
In John 21 we see Him revealing His authority over circumstances as King. The disciples are fishing the whole night and cannot catch fish, they are living the curse out mentioned in Genesis 3. Jesus tells them to cast their net on the right hand side and they immediately catch 153 fish. Jesus is King. The place they do this in is also topical, its named Tiberius, the emperor of the day, the king of the day, this is where Jesus reveals Himself as King.
Christ, exalted High Priest, mediates the sin that estranges humankind from the fellowship of God. In turn, he has full rights to reign over the church and world as King. Christsits at theright hand of God, crowned in glory as "King of kings and Lord of lords".[22] "God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in theheavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in theage to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church."[23] So priest, prophet and king are the threefolds.
TheHeidelberg Catechism interprets the title "Christ" in terms of the threefold office, in Lord's Day 12, Question and Answer 31:
Q. Why is he called "Christ," meaning "anointed"?
A. Because he has been ordained by God the Father
TheWestminster Shorter Catechism explains the role of Christ as redeemer in terms of the threefold office:
Q. 23: What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?
Q. 24: How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
Q. 25: How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
Q.26: How doth Christ execute the office of a king?
(a) The prophetical office (munus, orofficium propheticum) includes teaching and the miracles of Christ.
(b) The priestly office (munus sacerdotale) consists of the satisfaction made for the sins of the world by the death on the cross, and in the continued intercession of the exalted Savior for his people (redemptio et intercessio sacerdotalis).
(c) The kingly office (munus regium), whereby Christ founded his kingdom, defends his church against all enemies, and rules all things in heaven and on earth. The old divines distinguish between the reign of nature (regnum naturae sive potentiae), which embraces all things; the reign of grace (regnum gratiae), which relates to thechurch militant on earth; and the reign of glory (regnum gloriae), which belongs to thechurch triumphant in heaven.
The theologians who followedMartin Luther andPhilip Melanchthon down to the mid-17th century treat Christ's saving work under the two heads of king and priest.John Calvin, in the first edition of hisInstitutes of the Christian Religion (1536), did the same, and it was not until the third edition (1559) and the Genevan Catechism that he fully presented the three offices. The convenient threefold division of the office of Christ was used by the theologians of both confessions during the 17th century.Johann August Ernesti opposed it, butFriedrich Schleiermacher restored it.[citation needed]
TheCatechism of the Catholic Church states: "Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet, and king."[24]
In his 5th-century book ongospel harmonyHarmony of the Gospels, SaintAugustine viewed the variations in the Gospel accounts in terms of the different focuses of the authors on Jesus: Matthew on royalty, Mark on humanity, Luke on priesthood and John on divinity.[25]
In 1830,Josph Smith founded a Church and published "The Book of Mormon", a biblical-style text which he claimed was a translation of ancient plates found near him home in Palmyra. By 1840, Smith and his followers had founded a city, Nauvoo, in a Illinois. Smith taughtthat humans can become Gods, and on April 11, 1844, the church'sCouncil of Fifty voted to sustain Smith as "our Prophet, Priest & King".[26]
