Glorious Mystery - Chapter 7

Christ in his offices of prohet, priest and king is enabled to save the church. The entire book of Hebrews tells us how this is so. And we will think about how it is so for a while...

The types of prophet, priest and king in the Old Testament, even if they were Moses, were not the saviour of the church. So being the saviour does not rest on having one of these titles or not but: "on the person of him who was given unto us: as is fully attested, Isa. 9:6-7" (p. 86)

Two things were required of Christ that his offices (p,p,k) might be effectual. 1. He needed a human nature which was not his in his divine nature: "God could not die, nor rise again, nor be exalted to be a prince and a saviour, in his divine nature." (p. 86) 2. He needed more than a human nature. Following this last point...

he could not have been the great and singular prophet if merely a man. A) because Christ is prophet not to one nation but to the entire church throughout all time. Ai) The Son of God has cared for the church from the beginning. Aii) The Son of God was sent for the church by God the Father - Jesus discharged this care of the church in 4 ways: 1. "By personal appearances in the likeness of human nature...as an indication of his future human nature...so he appeared to Abraham, to Jacob, to Moses, [and] to Joshua." (p. 89). 2. By the ministry of the angels. 3. By sending his Holy Spirit for the earthly prophets. 4. By the Holy men who penned the New Testament. - All 4 were discharged by Christ, this was not a work for him who was no more than a man. So Christ has always been and is noe, prophet - not just in his earthly manisfestation.

B) Because Christ must comprehend the mind and will of God fully in his role as prophet - Christ was able to do this as he was both on earth during his ministry and in heaven (John 3:13).

C) Because he needed the Spirit to dwell in him: "in all the fulness of his graces and gifts" (p. 93) And by that he brought light to our darkened minds, bringing us to truth.

3 things are necessary for the benefit and comfort of divine truth. 1. Fullness - else we may fear the hidden. 2. Infalliability - Christ's infinite goodness secures this. 3. Authority - We needed the Spirit to help us understand Christ's teaching, so Christ needed and had the authority to send the Spirit in his role as prophet.

The same is true of his role as king. He does not jst rule over the church and the officers in it, although he does do that. To say that it consists here and here alone os a denial of his divine nature. Here are two examples...

1. His power and rule is extensive - all power in heaven and on earth. This is insepearable from the properties of God: "And where are the properties of God, there is the nature of God" (p. 97). His rule is not just a moral right to reign but a powerful acting by Christ. "Deprive him [Jesus] of omnipresence and omniscience, with infinite, divine power and virtue, to e acted at his pleasure in and over the whole creation-and you rase the foundation of all Christian faith and hope to the ground." (p. 98).

2. His ruel is internal and spiritual - every time a believer does good it from from the heavenly hand of Jesus their king. Two things are required here: a) That Christ knows the thoughts and motivations of each Christian - else how can he rule their thoughts and motivations. (which is a property of God alone). b) That Christ influences man mind and will by his power.

The same may be said of his role as priest. He died as man but God bought the church with his own blood.

So all his offcies are effective because they are his [the divine Jesus'] offices