The offices of Christ

The Threefold Office of Christ

The threefold office of Christ means that Jesus is at once our Prophet, our Priest, and our King, and that these three roles together tell us the whole of who he is and what he does. As Prophet he reveals God to us; as Priest he reconciles us to God; as King he rules and keeps us for God. This classic Christian framework, held across the traditions, gathers the many titles of Jesus into one clear picture: of God he is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:1 Corinthians 1:30 (KJV)

A framework for understanding who Jesus is

The name Christ means the Anointed One, and in the Old Testament three kinds of people were anointed with oil and set apart for God: prophets, priests, and kings. When the church confesses Jesus as the Christ, it is saying that all three of these offices meet and are fulfilled in him. He is the Anointed One in whom every anointed office comes to its goal.

Teachers across the Christian traditions have long used this threefold pattern to explain the work of Jesus, because it holds together truths that can otherwise drift apart. It is not a modern invention or the property of one church; it is a shared inheritance, a simple and faithful way to read the Scriptures. Prophet, Priest, and King answer the three great needs of every human being: we are ignorant of God and need to be taught, we are guilty before God and need to be reconciled, and we are weak and lost and need to be ruled and kept.

Each office alone would leave us wanting. A prophet who told us the truth about God but could not deal with our sin would only deepen our despair. A priest who forgave us but could not teach or keep us would leave us in the dark and unguarded. A king who ruled us but had not revealed God or removed our guilt would reign over rebels who neither knew nor loved him. We need all three, and in Jesus we have all three in one person.

How prophet, priest, and king were divided of old

In Israel these three offices were kept largely separate, and for good reason. They were held by different people, from different tribes and callings. Prophets like Elijah and Isaiah spoke God's word. Priests from the line of Aaron and the tribe of Levi offered the sacrifices. Kings from the line of David sat on the throne. No one was to gather all three into his own hands.

When a king reached for the priest's work, judgment followed. King Uzziah, proud in his strength, went into the temple to burn incense, a task belonging to the priests alone, and was struck with leprosy for it. The offices were guarded from one another because no sinful man could rightly bear them all. Each was a partial ministry carried by a mortal servant, and each pointed beyond itself.

Yet the Scriptures also held out the hope of one who would unite them. Melchizedek was king and priest at once. Zechariah saw a coming Branch who would be a priest upon his throne, joining the two offices in one figure. Moses, the greatest prophet, also led and shepherded the people like a king. These were signs that the God who divided the offices among many would one day gather them in a single, sinless Servant, and that when he came, prophet, priest, and king would be one.

How the three offices unite in Jesus

In Jesus the three streams become one river. As Prophet he reveals the Father, for no man hath seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son hath declared him. As Priest he offers himself for our sins and ever lives to intercede for us, our great High Priest passed into the heavens. As King he reigns over all, the Son of David whose kingdom shall have no end. What was scattered across many servants over many centuries is complete in one Lord.

These offices are not three separate jobs he does at different times but three facets of one saving work. At the cross, all three shine at once: there the Prophet declares the Father's love in the clearest word ever spoken, the Priest offers the one sacrifice for sin, and the King wins the victory over every enemy. Paul gathers it all into a single verse: Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. His wisdom is his prophetic teaching, his righteousness and redemption are his priestly work, and his sanctifying rule is his kingship over us.

This is why the many titles of Jesus fit together and never contradict. Savior, Mediator, Shepherd, the Last Adam: each unfolds some part of the threefold office. The Mediator is Prophet and Priest and King standing between God and man. The Shepherd feeds his flock with truth, gives his life for them, and rules and guards them. To see Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King is to see him whole.

The framework also guards us from a shrunken Christ. Some are drawn only to his teaching and want a Prophet without a Priest, a wise man to admire but no Savior to trust. Some want forgiveness without lordship, a Priest without a King, grace to cover them but no throne to obey. Some want power and glory without the cross, a King without a Priest. But Jesus will not be divided into the parts we prefer. He comes as Prophet, Priest, and King together, and to receive him truly is to receive the whole Christ, teaching us, cleansing us, and reigning over us all at once.

What the threefold office means for us

Because Jesus holds all three offices, he meets us at every point of our need, and we lack nothing in him. We do not need to go to one place for truth, another for forgiveness, and another for security. The same Lord who teaches us also cleanses us, and the same Lord who cleanses us also keeps us. Everything necessary for our salvation is found in him alone.

This shapes how we come to Christ. We receive him as Prophet by believing his word and letting him teach us. We receive him as Priest by trusting his sacrifice and drawing near to God through him. We receive him as King by bowing to his rule and following him as Lord. To hold one office and refuse another, to want his forgiveness but not his rule, or his teaching but not his cross, is to divide the Christ who cannot be divided. He gives himself whole, and asks to be received whole.

And so the threefold office is not only doctrine but comfort. Whatever our need this day, Jesus is enough for it. Are we confused and in the dark? He is our Prophet, the light of the world. Are we guilty and afraid? He is our Priest, ever living to plead for us. Are we weak and beset? He is our King, and no enemy can pluck us from his hand. Prophet, Priest, and King, he is all we need, and he is ours.

This is why the church has treasured the threefold office for so long. It is not a cold diagram but a way of resting in Christ at every turn of life. In the morning of faith it teaches us who he is; in the hour of guilt it points us to his priesthood; in the day of trouble it reminds us of his reign. Wherever we are and whatever we face, we are never beyond the care of the one Lord who teaches, cleanses, and keeps us. To know Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King is to have, in one Savior, everything the soul was ever made to need.

A note for all traditions: the threefold office of Christ, Prophet, Priest, and King, is a historic and non-denominational way of understanding Jesus, shared across the Christian church. Every verse above is quoted from the King James Version and can be read in its own context. In every tradition there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, and the invitation of this page is simply to know him.

Related: Christ Our Prophet · Christ Our Priest · Christ Our King · The offices of Christ