Word of Salvation – Vol.45 No.28 – July 2000
Like Christ, Christians Are Also Prophets, Priests & Kings
Sermon by Rev. M. P. Geluk on Lord’s Day 12B (Heidelberg Catechism)
Scripture Reading: John 15:1-17
Suggested Hymns: BoW 27:1-4; 337; 488; 72: 5-6
Beloved in the Lord.
The first half of Lord’s Day 12 is about Christ being anointed by the Holy Spirit to be our chief prophet, our only high priest and our eternal king. Anointed means being set apart and equipped for a special task. And in the three roles of prophet, priest and king we have a clear picture of Christ, the Saviour, bringing about our complete salvation.
All sinners must hear the gospel. And Christ as prophet brings us God’s plan of salvation. He teaches and explains, and you have it all in the gospels. But Christ did not only speak from God to the people during His time on earth. Whenever in Old Testament and New Testament times the prophets spoke, Christ was speaking through them. “Thus says the Lord”, they said.
However, only hearing the message of salvation saves no one. Our sins remain even when we know how to be saved. Knowledge alone will not satisfy God’s justice. But there is also the love of God for sinners. He punishes His own Son instead and Christ died the death we deserve. And thus we have Christ the priest who offered Himself as the sacrifice. What the Old Testament has to say about the work of a priest helps us to see Christ as priest.
Yet, knowing the way of salvation as well as having Christ as priest sacrificing Himself for our sins is still incomplete. We also need God to watch over us so that we remain the saved children of God. Hence Christ is also our King. Again, the Old Testament kings over God’s people were types of Christ, or least they were meant to be. Christ as King rules over us through His Word and Spirit and so keeps us as the people of God.
And so these three roles of Christ present Him as the complete and perfect Saviour. He is prophet, priest and king. And now in the second half of Lord’s Day 12, we see how LIKE CHRIST, CHRISTIANS ARE ALSO PROPHETS, PRIESTS AND KINGS.
- Why are you called a Christian?
Before we look at ourselves as prophets, priests and kings, we need to be clear on why we are called Christians in the first place. Now the reason why we need to be clear about this is because we so easily get it wrong. You see, the New Testament describes Christians sometimes as prophets, who confess Christ with their mouths; sometimes as priests, who are living sacrifices for God; and sometimes as kings, who wage spiritual war against sin and the devil. The second half of Lord’s Day 12 has summed it all up very neatly.
But what often happens is this. We look at these roles of prophet, priest and king, and conclude that when you do what these roles require, then you are a Christian. We observe how some people witness for Christ as prophets; we see how they serve in a sacrificial manner as priests; and we note how they watch over their lives as kings, not giving in to sin and evil. And if they do all these things well, then we say they are good Christians. If they don’t do them so well we say that they are weak Christians. And if there is no evidence of prophetic witness, or priestly service, or kingly endeavours, then we conclude they’re not Christian. We possibly draw such conclusions about ourselves. We rate ourselves as being good Christians, weak Christians, or perhaps non-Christian by these things that prophets, priests and kings do.
Now there is of course some truth in all this. Jesus Himself said that you know a Christian by the works he does. Just like you know what tree it is from the kind of fruit it produces. But if I understand God’s Word correctly on this point then the godly works of a person do not make him a Christian. The works are the result, the consequence, of being a Christian.
John 15 speaks about a grapevine. The grapes don’t make the grapevine. The grapes are the result of the vine bearing fruit. It remains a grapevine even if there are no grapes. The vine might need pruning in order for it to start producing grapes. The Lord Jesus used the illustration of a grapevine to point out that a Christian should produce deeds, that is, Christian works of service. He even threatened to cut off Christians who were not behaving as Christians. So although it is true to say that you can possibly tell that someone is a Christian from what they do, it is also true to say that the good things someone does do not by themselves make a Christian. It is God who makes a person a Christian.
It’s the same with Christ. His heavenly Father anointed, set Him apart, as the Christ. He said to His Son – you are the Christ and as Christ you must do this wonderful work of being a prophet, priest and king. But the roles of prophet, priest and king did not make Jesus the Christ. He is Christ because the Father ordained Him to be such.
And it’s the same with the offices of minister, elder and deacon. Someone does not become any of these simply by doing the work that is normally associated with minister, elder or deacon. It’s Christ through His church who calls someone to be an office bearer, and then the church ordains such a person. And it then remains to be seen if they will do the works that goes with their office.
So why are you called a Christian, then? Well, not because you do Christian works. There are many non-Christians doing almost identical things Christians do but the mere doing of them do not make them Christians. The wonderful answer is that you are called a Christian because you are a member of Christ by faith. Christ makes a person a Christian by becoming His Saviour and Lord.
Are you really a Christian? That depends on you believing who Christ is and what He does. It’s not your faith that makes you a Christian. Christ makes sinners, Christians. But Christ will not be of any benefit to you until you believe Him.
The biblical reference on this whole matter, given in the first footnote under Lord’s Day 12b, is 1Corinthians 12:12 ff. What God’s Word teaches here is quite relevant. It makes the point that the human body has many parts and each part belongs to the body as much as all the other parts. But a leg or an arm do not become part of the body just because they are body parts. They function as a leg or as an arm as a result of belonging to the body.
It’s the same with Christ’s body, the church. How does one become part of the church? Not by works but by Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, baptises each sinner into His body. The passage also says who Christ made members of His body – Jews, Greeks, slaves and free people. You could not get a more diverse lot of people than that. The fact is, of course, that Christ makes all kinds of people Christians, and then the next marvellous fact is that our Lord is able to have them serve alongside each other in the one body.
For example, in the human body the eye cannot say to the ear, “you don’t belong”. The hand cannot say to the foot, “you’re not needed”. The human body is such that all the parts belong, and all have a vital function. It’s the same with Christians. No matter whether they were Jews, Greeks, slave or free, when Christ made them Christians, then they belong to Him. So those whom Christ saves can come from all kinds of backgrounds. And each gets a task, a job to do. What that is can be summed up in three main roles – prophet, priest and king. Just like Christ was made to be a prophet, priest and king.
- You can be a wonderful Christian by being a prophet, priest and king
Yes, I can safely say it like that now – the Christian can be a wonderful and great person. Because from the moment the Christian belongs to Christ, He gets the Christian to do wonderful and great things. It’s Christ working in Christians.
With the human body we marvel at how the eye sees, how the ear hears, how the foot and the hand function. It’s not that we look at each part and say how great they are by themselves. Cut off the blood supply and the nerve connections, a single part will soon shrivel and become lifeless, and therefore useless. We know that each part belongs to the body. It’s a wonderful eye, ear, foot and hand because it’s a wonderful body. And the body is wonderful because God the mighty Creator has made it. Now, so also can each Christian be a wonderful and great person because Christ is a wonderful Saviour.
So how can you glorify Christ as a Christian prophet? Moses prayed that all of God’s people might be prophets. It does not mean that you are now able to reveal God’s thoughts and intentions not previously known and not otherwise knowable. As Christian prophets we are not to add to what God has already revealed. To think that we could is already ludicrous. If we add anything to His Word then it becomes a word from us and not from Christ. And if anyone claims to reveal what God has chosen not to reveal, like the exact time of Jesus’ second coming, or what will happen tomorrow, or what will happen exactly to peoples and nations, then it’s nothing more than that person’s guesswork and imagination.
We are now in the time after the Scriptures have been completed and the apostles and New Testament prophets have said all that Christ inspired them to say. So we, as Christian prophets, are not required to revive that first-century gift of prophecy and think that we now have a communication from God to pass on to others which He has not included in the Scriptures.
No, since the New Testament was completed, our role as Christian prophets remains the same as what it has always been for all other Christians, namely, to teach and spell out biblical truth. And to apply that truth to whatever situation or circumstance that is relevant. That can take the form of Christian encouragement and admonition. It may be anticipating what the Bible says will happen in these last years before Christ’s coming again. It is to point people to Christ, to expose their sins, and to invite them into God’s fellowship and comfort them with the gospel.
Our role as Christian prophets is also to make sure that the church keeps on preaching the Word and not let the preaching be pushed out by activities that become substitutes for the Word. Christians aware of their prophetic role will also want to join in with the singing of the psalms, hymns and spiritual songs in the worship service. You want to know what you are singing and have the words come not only from your mouth but also from your heart. It is to come to the Lord’s Table and proclaim His death until He comes again. It is to publicly profess one’s faith and thereby openly declare that you belong to Christ and to His church at this address where you worship.
The Lord Jesus described our role as Christian prophet when He said, “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will also disown him before my Father in heaven” (Mat.10:32-33). That applies to speaking up for Christ’s cause amongst our family members at home, in the work place, amongst our friends – Christian or non-Christian – and in the market place.
It means also to come out into the open with your own personal faith when that is called for. The Lord Jesus said, “If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Rom 10:9-10). And in the Hebrew letter there is this statement, “…let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess his name.” (13:15).
To confess Christ’s name, then, is to praise and glorify Him everywhere. At school, in the union, at university, on the sports field, and in parliament. Christian workers, students, teachers, unionists, politicians and so on, can benefit their country enormously when they fulfil the role of Christian prophets. Fred Nile has supporters as well as opponents, but at least we do hear a Christian voice in politics, and that’s what counts.
So, be a witness then for Christ where you are. Lift up your voice. Let Christ speak through you to other people and in all situations, in season and out of season. When you confess Christ’s name then you will be a great and wonderful Christian prophet.
But then, not only our mouths, but our deeds also have to speak. The Scripture urges us, “…in view of God’s mercy, to offer yourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom 12:1). Christians are a royal priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1Pet 2:5). The Catechism says that this means to present ourselves to Christ as a living sacrifice of thanks. It’s our role as priests.
What does it mean to sacrifice something? Well, you give or offer it up, at a personal cost to you. In Old Testament times, a sacrifice was a sheep or goat from your flocks. You gave it up to God out of thankfulness to His mercy to you. The cost to you was one less animal to your possessions. Sometimes many animals were offered when the thankfulness was greater because the mercies of God were more. God doesn’t want us to offer animal sacrifices anymore because Christ was a final and complete sacrifice for our sins. But out of love and thankfulness to God for offering Himself, we now, as priests, stand ready with our deeds to serve Him. Our deeds are our sacrifices.
Our sacrifices don’t make us Christians, for Christ made us Christians. But as Christians it is most fitting for us to express our love to Christ by giving Him our time, our money, our labour, our worship, yes, our all and our very selves.
But what is the cost to us then? The cost is that we give up things that in various ways could mean profit or gain to ourselves. Tithing is a willing sacrifice of thanks. It used to be called a free-will offering. To tithe means to forego money for God that could otherwise be spent on yourself. Instead of sleeping in, which can be nice, the Christian priest gets up and goes to church in the morning to worship His Saviour. Instead of watching TV or be with the family, which can be relaxing and enjoyable, the Christian priest answers the call to worship God for the second time. Instead of going off to your own room after dinner to do your own thing which is pleasant, the Christian priest helps with clearing the table and giving a hand with the dishes. Instead of keeping to yourself and doing all the things you want to do, the Christian priest welcomes the stranger, visits the sick at home and in hospital, and looks up the lonely.
In all these sacrifices, there is a cost involved, sometimes small, sometimes great. But Christian priests don’t mind denying themselves whatever they have to give up or miss out on, because they are serving Christ out of thankfulness for His mercies. They are happy to express their love for God and their neighbour. It gives pleasure. It may be a duty but it is gladly given. One might have to go out of one’s way, but the Christian priest does not mind. He is serving Christ as a living sacrifice, and that’s what matters.
Christian priests, then, are not overmuch concerned with their own rights. They don’t worry much about their own honour. They are more concerned with the well-being of others, especially their fellow servants of Christ, and therefore the church, but their heart also goes out to whoever is needy, the orphans and widows, yes to the afflicted and oppressed.
Like Christ, Christian priests also pray for others. Before God’s throne they ask that the Lord pardon the sin of others, and when they ask that, then they also plead with the Lord that those for whom they pray might repent of their sin and seek God’s grace and forgiveness. The Christian priest is not quickly angered when others wrong him and he prays that barriers will be overcome. He even prays for his enemies, that they might be saved, too. He does not rejoice when his enemy suffers. Getting even is not his goal. Yes, when you present yourself to God as a living sacrifice then you will be a great and wonderful Christian priest.
Finally, there is the role of the Christian king. A king rules, governs and strives for justice. Christian kings strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil. This is how the apostle Paul describes it, “So I say, live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature” (Gal.5:16). And to Timothy, Paul said, “Fight the good fight of faith, holding on to a good conscience” (1Tim.1:18-19). Christian kings, therefore, in their fight against evil, “put on the full armour of God” (Eph.6:11).
Mostly, this struggle begins in your own heart. Our greatest enemy is our own sinful nature. But the Christian king will challenge Satan when he tempts us to do wrong. He will throw him out again and again. Conquering the prince of evil makes the Christian king glad and with a good conscience he lives to fight another day and another battle. Christian kings do not want to compromise their stand for Christ, whether that be in themselves, or in the church, or in the world. They don’t want to give some room to both darkness and light. They know from experience that divided loyalties will mean their undoing.
The Christian kings arms himself with the spiritual weapons God provides – truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God, and prayer. That’s our armour. With that we can withstand the evil one. We are part of the church militant. Christ is our captain. “Onward Christian soldiers”, we sing, and daily we fight in spiritual warfare. Yes, when you strive with a good conscience against sin and the devil in this life, then you will be a great and wonderful Christian king.
And so the three roles of prophet, priest and king must stand side by side. Just like they make Christ a complete and wonderful Saviour, so also do they make you and me into Christians with whom God will be pleased. Yes, He is glorified when there is much of Christ in the Christian.
So then, when the call comes to leave this earth and be with Christ, will He say to you and me, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful…!” (Mat. 25:21)? Will the Lord say to us, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance; the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Mat. 25:34)? “Come and reign with me over all creation for all eternity.”
But be careful now, don’t take these descriptions of the Christian as prophet, priest and king as demands. If all that has been said about Christian prophets, priests and kings, is seen as a job list that has to be ticked off, then we might feel rather uncomfortable with it all. But it isn’t a checklist. God is more kind to us than that. He says to us that this is what we can become in Christ. This is what we can grow into. Remember Christ makes us Christians and then we become like Him by faith.
Yes, it is by faith. If we live by faith in Christ for every situation and circumstance then we will be great and wonderful prophets, priests and kings. But because our faith is still so imperfect, our attempts at being prophets, priests and kings are so often marred with shortcomings. However, we do not live unto God by looking to our imperfect faith, we live by looking to Christ. Therefore, the more of Christ in us, the better prophets, priests and kings we will be.
Amen.