A month ago, I published an article about the session of Christ. Christ's session is part of his exaltation. Seated at the Father's right hand, he still exercises his offices as prophet, priest, and king. In this article, I want to focus on Christ's prophetic office. My reference is Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley's book Reformed Systematic Theology Volume 2: Man and Christ, published by Crossway in 2020.

Source

Beeke and Smalley devoted three chapters to elaborating Christ's prophetic office (chapters 45 to 47). I think the third paragraph of chapter 45 captured the entire argument of the three chapters:

In this chapter, we address five introductory matters that lay a foundation for our study of Christ’s prophetic work. How is Christ’s person uniquely suited to be the revealer of God? What role does Christ play in general revelation? Why is Christ’s work of special revelation important? What did God reveal through Moses concerning Christ’s coming ministry of revelation? Lastly, looking beyond Moses, what does the full ministry of the Prophet entail? (p. 926).

In the above paragraph, the authors emphasized five biblical motifs:

• Christ's Person as The Ideal Prophet

• Christ and General Revelation

• Christ and Special Revelation

• Christ and Moses

• The Prophet's Twofold Ministry

Christ's Person as the Ideal Prophet

Why is Christ the ideal prophet? His prophetic office depends upon his unique person. The Bible informs us that His personality is inseparable from His relationship in the Trinity and His two natures as both human and divine. The Bible describes His person in three ways:

He is the Word of God

In contrast to Old Testament prophets, nowhere in the Bible can we read that the Word of God came to Jesus, simply because He is the Word of God Himself and participated both in creation and salvation. Word means speech or rational thought. Applied to the Father, Jesus is "the Father's eternal self-expression" (p. 927). Quoting Carl F. Henry:

The Logos of God—preincarnate, incarnate, and now glorified—is the mediating agent of all divine disclosure (ibid.).

He is the Son of God

This title tells us that only Jesus uniquely knows the Father. He alone is qualified to reveal the Father due to this unique knowledge.

He is the Image of God

Man is created in God's image. However, the use of this title 'image of God," applied to Jesus is distinct from the fact of our creation in God's image. Christ is God's image not only in his humanity but also in his divinity. To see Christ therefore is to see God Himself.

The above three titles qualify Jesus as the ideal prophet to reveal God's will to us. Those who confine the person of Christ to a great teacher miss the whole point of the Bible, telling us that the Teacher is God. As such, redemption is not possible. The redemption that the Bible teaches can only be found in Jesus, who is the Word of God, the Son of God, and the image of God.

If you prefer to listen to the musical version of this article, check The Word Who Speaks.

Grace and peace!

Reference: Joel R. Beeke and Paul M. Smalley. 2020. Reformed Systematic Theology Volume 2: Man and Christ. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway.