Condensed Theology: A Primer in Systematic Theology

Condensed Theology
A Primer in Systematic Theology
Christology: The Doctrine of Christ

What does the Bible teach about Jesus Christ?
The Offices of Christ

Prophet, Priest, and King

As our Redeemer, Christ fills the offices of prophet, priest, and king. Christ is a prophet in that he reveals Gods will to us by his word and his Spirit. Christ is a priest in that he is our only mediator, sacrifice, and intercessor before God. And Christ is a king in that he has absolute authority over our lives.

Christ the Prophet
The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The term prophet is first used of Abraham
Gen 20:7: "Now therefore, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours."

Men who served as Gods spokesmen in redemption history
Enoch:
Genesis 5:18 Jared lived one hundred and sixtytwo years, and became the father of Enoch. Jude 14: It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones.

Noah
2 Pet 2:5: and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. 2 Pet 1:20-21: But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

Isaacs prophecy concerning his sons (Esau)
Gen 27:28-29, 40: Now may God give you of the dew of heaven, And of the fatness of the earth, And an abundance of grain and new wine; May peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you; Be master of your brothers, And may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, And blessed be those who bless you.40By your sword you shall live, And your brother you shall serve; But it shall come about when you become restless, That you will break his yoke from your neck."

Jacob cf. Genesis 49
Gen 49:8-11: "Judah, your brothers shall praise you; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's sons shall bow down to you. Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He couches, he lies down as a lion, And as a lion, who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. He ties his foal to the vine, And his donkey's colt to the choice vine; He washes his garments in wine, And his robes in the blood of grapes.

Moses
Num 12:6-8: He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream. Not so, with My servant Moses, He is faithful in all My household; With him I speak mouth to mouth, Even openly, and not in dark sayings, And he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid To speak against My servant, against Moses?"

Moses
Deut 18:15-18: The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen, you shall listen to him. This is according to all that you asked of the LORD your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the LORD my God, let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die. The LORD said to me, They have spoken well. I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.

Deuteronomy 18 was fulfilled in redemption history through a succession of prophets, until at last, a final prophet, whose word would represent Gods final word to his people, would come That person is Jesus of Nazareth

John 1:19-21: This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?" And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." They asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" And he said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No."

John 6:14: Therefore when the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, "This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world." John 7:40: Some of the people therefore, when they heard these words, were saying, "This certainly is the Prophet."

Acts 3:22-24: "Moses said, 'THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.' "And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.

But not only is Christ the prophet, in the sense of embodying perfectly the fulfillment of Deuteronomy 18 and all subsequent prophets, He is also a prophet, in that he reveals Gods will to us by his word and Spirit.

John 1:18: No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him. 1 Pet 1:10-12: As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaventhings into which angels long to look.

John 8:26: I have many things to speak and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world. John 15:15: No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Mark 1:22: They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Matt 5:22: "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. See also Matt 5:28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 12:6; 17:12; 26:29.

Matt 28:18-20: And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Christ the Priest
The Offices of Christ: Priest

The first time the word priest is used of someone in Scripture, it refers to the mysterious Melchizedek
Gen 14:18: And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. Ps 110:4: The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, "You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek."

But even before Melchizedek, the priestly work of offering bloody sacrifices took place
Gen 4:1-5: Now the man had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain, and she said, "I have gotten a manchild with the help of the LORD." Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell.

In this sense, all the Patriarchs were priests
Abraham
Gen 13:4: to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the LORD. Gen 22:13: Then Abraham raised his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of his son.

Isaac
Gen 26:25: So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac's servants dug a well.

Jacob
Gen 33:20: Then he erected there an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel. Gen 35:7: He built an altar there, and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed Himself to him when he fled from his brother.

The priesthood became an official office under the Mosaic economy It was held by heredity
Exod 29:29: The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, that in them they may be anointed and ordained. Num 25:12: Therefore say, 'Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel.

The priesthood became an official office under the Mosaic economy It was held by anointing, by consecration
Exod 29:29-31: "The holy garments of Aaron shall be for his sons after him, that in them they may be anointed and ordained. For seven days the one of his sons who is priest in his stead shall put them on when he enters the tent of meeting to minister in the holy place. You shall take the ram of ordination and boil its flesh in a holy place.

There would be a succession of priests until a supreme priest would arise whose work would abide forever
1 Sam 2:35-36: 'But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always. Everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, "Please assign me to one of the priest's offices so that I may eat a piece of bread."'"

1 Samuel 2 was fulfilled in redemption history through a succession of priests, until at last, a final priest, whose work would represent Gods final priest for his people, would come That person is Jesus of Nazareth

Heb 5:5-7: So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"; just as He says also in another passage, "YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK." In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety.

Heb 6:19-20: This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.

Heb 2:17: Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Heb 4:14: Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Heb 9:24: For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

But not only is Christ the priest, in the sense of embodying perfectly the fulfillment of 1 Samuel 2 and all subsequent priests, He is also a priest, in that he is our only sacrifice, mediator, and intercessor before God.

Christ our sacrifice
1 Cor 5:7: For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Heb 7:27: who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. Heb 9:12: and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

Heb 9:14: how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? Heb 10:1-2: For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?

Heb 9:24-28: For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

Heb 10:10, 12, 14: By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.12but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.14For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. Heb 13:12: Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Christ our mediator
1 Tim 2:5: For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Heb 10:19-22: Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Christ our intercessor
Heb 7:24-25: but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. Rom 8:34: who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Jesus is always pleading for us with God on our behalf. What an amazing thought!

The Incarnation and Christs Priesthood
The fact that Jesus is our priest is another proof for the permanence of the incarnation; For in order for him to make intercession for us, in order for him to continue as our mediator, he must continue to be able to stand perfectly between God and man as the God-man. Heb 2:17: Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

Christ as King
The Offices of Christ: King

The first king in Israels history was Saul
1 Sam 10:24: Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the LORD has chosen? Surely there is no one like him among all the people." So all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!" 1 Sam 10:19: "But you have today rejected your God, who delivers you from all your calamities and your distresses; yet you have said, 'No, but set a king over us!' Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans.

Although the establishment of the monarchy was a concession to Israels disobedience, Man ruling under Gods authority is part of his ultimate plan
Gen 1:26: Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Ps 8:6: You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.

Noah was to rule
Gen 9:2: The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea, into your hand they are given.

Abraham was a king in the sense that he was regarded as an equal of kings, and he and Sarah would be the parents of kings
Gen 17:15-16: Then God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her."

Jacob prophesied that the scepter would not depart from Judah
Genesis 49:10: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Jacob prophesied that the scepter would not depart from Judah
Genesis 49:10: The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes, And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

The Lord promised that through Davids line, a descendant would come who would rule forever, the Messiah
2 Sam 7:12-16: "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.'"

The Lord promised that through Davids line, a descendant would come who would rule forever, the Messiah
2 Sam 7:12-16: "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.'"

2 Samuel 7 was fulfilled in redemption history beginning with Solomon, though Solomon, by his disobedience showed that a still more excellent Davidic king would arise That person is Jesus of Nazareth

Isa 9:6-7 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Matt 12:42: The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Matt 21:5: "SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'"

Ps 2:8-11: Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware. Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth. Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.

Acts 2:29-32: Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. And so, because he was a prophet and knew that GOD HAD SWORN TO HIM WITH AN OATH TO SEAT one OF HIS DESCENDANTS ON HIS THRONE, he looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER DECAY. This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.

Matt 2:2: Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him. John 1:49: Nathanael answered Him, "Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel." John 18:36: Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."

To demonstrate his kingship, he inaugurates the kingdom, the righteous rule of God promised in the Scriptures
Mark 1:14-15: Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Matt 12:28: "But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

But not only is Christ the Davidic king, in the sense of embodying perfectly the fulfillment of 2 Samuel 7 and all subsequent kings, He is also a king, in that he has absolute authority over our lives

Acts 15:14-16: "Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, 'AFTER THESE THINGS I will return, AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN, AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS, AND I WILL RESTORE IT.

He has absolute authority to rule
Rev 19:11-16: And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, "KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."

Phil 2:9-11: For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Heb 2:8-10: YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET." For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.

He has absolute authority to defend
Isa 32:1-2: Behold, a king will reign righteously And princes will rule justly. Each will be like a refuge from the wind And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the shade of a huge rock in a parched land.

He has absolute authority to defeat all his and all our enemies
1 Cor 15:25: For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. See Psalm 110

Summary
The Offices of Christ: Summary

Christ is the ultimate prophet, and the ultimate priest, and the ultimate king promised throughout the Old Testament Christ fulfills perfectly what every former prophet, priest, and king could not because of sin
The Offices of Christ: Summary

Christ is a prophet in that he reveals Gods will to us by his word and his Spirit Christ is a priest in that he is our only sacrifice, mediator, and intercessor before God Christ is a king in that he has absolute authority over our lives

Condensed Theology: A Primer in Systematic Theology

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Condensed Theology

A Primer in Systematic Theology

Christology: The Doctrine of Christ

The Offices of Christ

The Offices of Christ

The Offices of Christ

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ: Prophet

The Offices of Christ

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ: Priest

The Offices of Christ

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King

The Offices of Christ: King