The threefold office

Three anointed offices

‘Christ’ means ‘anointed one’ (see Messiah). In Israel three offices were filled by anointing: prophet, priest and king. The church has read in the name that Jesus fulfils all three in himself, and calls this his threefold office (in Latin, munus triplex). He was anointed not with oil but with the Spirit, as Peter told Cornelius: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38).

Christ is the prophet. Moses had promised:

The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to him.

Deuteronomy 18:15

The prophets passed on the word they received, but in these last days God "has spoken to us by His Son" (Hebrews 1:2), who is himself the Word. Christ is the priest, "a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek" (Psalm 110:4). He is both priest and sacrifice, and "He always lives to intercede for them" (Hebrews 7:25). And Christ is the king: "His kingdom will never end!" (Luke 1:33). He bears the name "KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS" (Revelation 19:16), yet his kingdom advances by word and Spirit, not by the sword.

The church's confession

The idea is old. Early in the fourth century the historian Eusebius called Christ the only high priest of all, the only king of all creation and the Father's supreme prophet Eusebius, Church History 1.3. At the Reformation Calvin made the three offices the frame for explaining Christ's work Calvin, Institutes 2.15, and the frame became standard in Lutheran and Reformed theology alike. The Heidelberg Catechism explains why he is called Christ:

Because he is ordained of God the Father, and anointed with the Holy Ghost, to be our chief Prophet and Teacher, … our only High Priest, … and our eternal King, who governs us by his Word and Spirit

Heidelberg Catechism, Q. 31

The Westminster Shorter Catechism adds that he carries out these offices "both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation" Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 23 (see humiliation and exaltation). The three are not separate jobs but three sides of one saving work. On the cross the priest offered himself, the prophet bore witness to the truth, and the king triumphed over his enemies; in heaven he still teaches by his Word, intercedes and reigns. His priestly work is taken further under atonement.

Sharing in his anointing

This teaching belongs to no single tradition. The Catholic Church also confesses Christ as priest, prophet and king, and teaches that the whole people of God shares in these offices Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Heidelberg Catechism likewise says that Christians are so called because by faith they are members of Christ and share in his anointing Q. 32, and Peter calls the church "a royal priesthood" (1 Peter 2:9).

The traditions differ in how that sharing relates to the church's ministry. The Catholic and Orthodox churches teach, alongside the priesthood of all the baptised, a ministerial priesthood received in ordination. Protestant churches lay the weight on the priesthood of all believers and see pastors as ministers of Word and sacrament rather than priests who offer sacrifice, while the Anglican tradition keeps the name priest for its presbyters and understands it in more than one way. All agree that Christ is the one high priest and that his sacrifice was offered once for all. See also the lesson Prophet, priest and king.