How does Christ fill the office of a prophet?

March 27, 2019 Discipleship Mark McIntyre Leave a Comment

Question 24 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, How does Christ fill the office of a prophet?

The answer given is, Christ fills the office of a prophet in revealing to us by his Word and Spirit the will of God for our
complete salvation.

The purpose of a prophet is to speak the words of the one who sent him. Many of the prophets ended their declaration with the words “says the LORD” or “declares the LORD.” The Old Testament prophets came on the scene with a message to the nation of Israel that was given to each prophet by God.

In John 14:9, Jesus made an astounding claim when he said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.”

In Jesus, we have the ultimate prophet who reveals the words, actions and character of God the Father. Because Jesus is the eternal Son of God, he can perfectly reveal God the Father to us.

It is never a bad thing to point out that Jesus did not come with a message of judgement. As Jesus said to Nicodemus:

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God. This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.
John 3:17–19 (CSB)

Jesus is the prophet who came to bring the light of God’s love and show us a way out of the darkness.

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

Getting off the merry-go-round

I am forced to admit that I made the chains binding me to the merry-go-round. They are of my own manufacture. But they no longer need to bind me.

You are the salt – Part 2

These verses should inform our idea of what it means to be salt in the world. Do we work for economic justice? Do we work for social justice? Do we work to bring physical and spiritual healing to those we encounter? Do we proclaim the good news of Jesus?

Power and authority in the church – Choose who is in control

Herod was giving an opportunity to choose to submit to the ultimate authority. Similarly, church leaders must choose who is in control. Some choose well and others badly. The choice has serious consequences.

Can we stop pointing fingers?

God wants our hearts to reflect his heart. What would our world look like if they did? We would probably do less finger pointing and more work to bring healing and reconciliation.

Freeze Warning: When visitors complain that your church is cold

When the Apostle Paul said farewell to the Ephesian elders, he quotes Jesus as saying, “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Paul pointed to his own work to support himself while among the Ephesians as an example of this. Along these same lines, Matthew 20:28 tells us that Jesus did […]

Actual vs Aspirational

So while what we are singing may not describe what is actually true of us in the moment, it can be an accurate description of our desire. Our voice can express what is aspirational even though it may not be wholly or even partially true in the moment.