The Word of Truth is sponsored in part by Paul Rents. Visit paulrents.com for party and equipment rentals. Welcome to the Word of Truth, a ministry of Pastor Lars Larson and the First Baptist Church of Leominster, Massachusetts. It is our desire that our Lord use this broadcast to instruct, encourage, and strengthen both Christians and local churches in the New England region. Pastor Lars is always available to assist you. You may reach him at 978-660-8869. May today's message from our pastor be blessed by our Lord to instruct and encourage you through the Holy Scriptures, the Word of Truth. Greetings and thank you for tuning in today. I would like to consider today the ministry of our Lord Jesus as the great prophet to God's people. God has provided for us in His Son a prophet to teach us and guide us in the way that God would have us believe and walk in His world. Through His office of prophet to God's people, Jesus Christ shows forth one of His works as the one mediator between God and man. Let us first pray for our Lord's help and blessing on you and me and today's message. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for providing for us the perfect, all-sufficient Savior in your Son, the Lord Jesus, the Savior of those who believe on Him. I pray that you would help us better understand this role and function of our Lord Jesus as our Prophet, so that we might not only learn better how to relate to you through him, but how we might learn of you more fully through his prophetic office. May your grace be with us. May you instruct us and guide us into further depths of understanding of your word. And may you give us greater measures of your grace so that we may walk before you in faith and obedience. And I pray for your word to be made effectual to those who may listen to this program today, but are not yet in covenant relation with you through faith in your Son. May you illuminate that soul to the reality of his need for a Savior. May you reveal to that soul the sufficiency and uniqueness of Jesus as the only Savior available for sinners. We commit our time and effort to you, Father, for I do pray in Jesus' name. Amen. We are presently addressing the Biblical truth of Jesus Christ as the one and only Mediator that stands before God and mankind. As the Apostle Paul had declared to Timothy in 1 Timothy 2.5, for there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. God, in the everlasting covenant that He made before creation between the three persons of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, God determined that He would save a people that He chose for Himself from fallen humanity. And God decreed from eternity that He would accomplish His salvation for His people by sending into the world the second person of the blessed Holy Trinity, the eternally begotten Son of God, who would assume a human nature, becoming one of us and one with us except for sin. so that as our mediator he would accomplish a work of salvation through his life and death and resurrection. We cannot save ourselves for we are helpless, hopeless, guilty sinners. If we were to be saved, God himself would have to act. And so Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father to be our Mediator, to communicate and bestow salvation upon us. Now in order for Jesus Christ to be our Savior, He would need to perform the work of three different kinds of ministers, or ministries, that are described and defined in the Scriptures. He would need to be from God for the sinner, his prophet, his priest, and his king. And again today we want to consider Jesus Christ as the prophet for his people. Let us first consider the need for this threefold office of Christ our Savior as mediator between God and man. Jesus is the Christ, that is, the Anointed One, the Messiah. And that's what the word Christ means, Anointed of God. He is the Messiah. The word Messiah is the Hebrew word for Christ, which is a transliteration or translation of the Greek word Christos. This means that Jesus was called and equipped by God his Father to secure the redemption of his people. And so the name Christ means anointed, which carries the idea of being selected and equipped by God to work on God's behalf. Jesus of Nazareth was sent into the world to accomplish God's work of salvation for all who come to him in faith and repentance. You have no power to make yourself acceptable before God, nor does anyone other than this man, Jesus Christ, have this ability. Jesus is the Christ, the one anointed, the one appointed by the Father and equipped by the Spirit to accomplish this very thing. Now more specifically, the term Christ speaks of our Lord being anointed to his threefold office, and each office is necessary for our salvation. First, we were in need of Christ as a prophet to reveal God to us and our sinful and condemned standing before Him. Second, we were in need of a priest to intercede with God on our behalf and make sacrifice for our sin. And third, we were and are in need of a King to subdue sin within us, to lead us and preserve us unto His heavenly kingdom. And our Lord Jesus was anointed by the Father to perform this threefold function on our behalf, we who believe on Him. In Christ alone were all of these duties entrusted, and he alone was equipped to execute them. He is the one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus. Now in the Old Testament there were examples of men and dude with two of these three offices. We read of kings who were also prophets, such as David. The Old Testament records of a king who was also a priest, that being Melchizedek. And there was also a priest who was a prophet, and that was Samuel. But our Lord Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows to possess this threefold office to execute on behalf of his people. And thus he is to Christians a priest, having sacrificed himself on our behalf, and he lives to apply the benefits of his sacrifice to us. And He is to the Christian a prophet, who declares and reveals the will of God to us. He is our Teacher. And He is our King, who delivers us, leads us, and protects us, and provides for us. Now the Westminster Catechism, which has been used for centuries as a tool for churches to teach their new converts, and Christian parents to teach their children the substance of the Christian faith, addressed this three-fold office of our Savior in an understandable manner. It is covered in questions 23 through 26. Question 23 speaks to the threefold office of our Lord as our Redeemer. And then the following three questions address the three offices individually. And so here are the questions and answers. Question 23 of the Westminster Catechism. What offices does Christ execute as our Redeemer? Answer. Christ is our Redeemer, execute the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and his exaltation." In other words, while he ministered here on earth and also since he was resurrected and enthroned in heaven. Question 24. How does Christ execute the office of prophet? Answer, Christ executes the office of a prophet in revealing to us by his word and his spirit the will of God for our salvation. Question number 25. How does Christ execute the office of priest? Answer, Christ executes the office of a priest in his once offering of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice and reconcile us to God and in making continual intercession for us. And then question 26. How does Christ execute the office of king? Answer, Christ executes the office of a king in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies. Charles Spurgeon in the 19th century developed a Baptist catechism which has been used by many since its original composition. And I like the simple way it sets forth this threefold office of Christ and why we're in need of each one. You'll hear the similarity between Spurgeon's Baptist Catechism and the Westminster Catechism of several centuries prior to that. Question 22, what offices does Christ execute as our Redeemer? Answer, Christ as our Redeemer execute the offices of a prophet, Acts 3.22, of a priest, Hebrews 5.6, and of a king, Psalm 2.6, both in his state of humiliation and exaltation. Question 23. How does Christ execute the office of a prophet? Answer. Christ executes the office of a prophet in revealing to us, John 1.18, by His Word, John 20.31, and Spirit, John 14.26, the will of God for our salvation. But perhaps the simplest and easiest to understand is the manner in which these three questions and answers are set forth in a short children's catechism, which read as follows. And listen to the simplicity as well as the profundity of this question and answer series. Question. Why do we need Christ as prophet? Answer, because I am ignorant. Question, why do you need Christ as a priest? Answer, because I am guilty. Question, why do you need Christ as a king? Answer, because I am weak and helpless. And that pretty much says it simply and clearly. If we are to be saved from our sin, God is going to have to do it for us. And he is determined to do so through the Son of God, whom God anointed to be the believer, sinners, prophet, priest, and king. Now let us consider more carefully the role of the Savior as God's prophet to his people. And I want to give due credit to Thomas Watson to guide us in these matters. He was a wonderful Puritan pastor and author of the 17th century and he wrote about these matters in his classic book, A Body of Divinity. A prophet is a man who declares the will of God to others. And we are told that Jesus Christ is our prophet who serves us in this way. Christ reveals God's Word to us through the Bible, for the whole Bible is the revelation of God that Christ revealed to us. Christ is the Word of God, and therefore Christ serves us by giving forth His Word, the written Word of God, through His office of prophet. But since reading the Word alone cannot bring understanding to us as darkened, fallen sinners, Christ also reveals God's will to us through the Holy Spirit. And so the role of Christ as prophet therefore answers to one of the great needs we have because of our sin. He has given us His Bible and He gives us the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of the Word to us. Now there are several names given to us in the Holy Scriptures that describe this office and work of Christ as prophet. For example, he is called the Counselor in Isaiah 9.6 which reads, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, there it is, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And that title of Counselor describes the Eternal Word of God, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, as the anointed prophet to his people. He is Counselor. Christ is also described in the Old Testament in his prophetic office when he's described as the angel of the covenant and the word angel means messenger and so sometimes it's translated in this passage Malachi 3.1 as the messenger of the covenant and there we read a prophecy of the coming Lord Jesus God said behold I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple even the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight behold he is coming says the Lord of hosts." And again that's Malachi 3.1 and there you can see how his title as messenger conveys this thought or idea of Christ being a prophet to his people. In 2 Samuel 22 29 he is described in this prophecy as a lamp. And so this is Christ in his prophetic office. There we read, For you are my lamp, O Lord, the Lord shall enlighten my darkness. And that's what the Lord Jesus does. He is a lamp that provides light. In other words, He is our prophet who reveals to us truth regarding ourselves and truth regarding Himself and God His Father. And then in the last book of the Bible, the book of the Revelation, He is called the Morning Star in Revelation 22, 16. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star. And the bright and morning star is one who provides illumination. as we anticipate the full brightness of the day of eternity that will one day dawn upon us, Jesus Christ reveals to us its onset. And so that describes Him in His office as Prophet. Now, more specifically, how does Christ teach His people in this office as the Prophet of God sent to them? Well, first, Christ as prophet teaches his people externally by his written word, the Holy Bible. And so we read, for example, in Psalm 119, 105, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet. Those who pretend to have light or revelation above the Word, or apart from the Word, or contrary to the Word, never had their teaching from Jesus Christ, because He is the prophet sent by God the Father, and He instructs people externally by His written Word, the Bible. As Isaiah was told how to test a false prophet, identify him from a true prophet. Isaiah 820 reads, "...to the law and to the testimony. If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." And therefore, if people teach what they claim to be spiritual truth, and yet if it's not in accordance with the written Word of God, they have not been taught by Jesus Christ, God's prophet that He has sent to His people. But secondly, not only does Christ, his prophet, teach his people externally by his written word, the Bible, but Christ teaches these mysteries of his word inwardly by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus said that he would send the Holy Spirit to teach his disciples about these matters. The fact is, the world knows not the things of God with respect to salvation. For we read in the scriptures, the natural man receives not the things of God, nor can he know them. And so he knows not what it is to be transformed by the renewing of his mind, Romans 12, 2, or what the inward workings of the Spirit mean. Nicodemus was clueless. These are unsolvable riddles to him. He may have more insight into the things of the world than a believer, but he does not see the deep things of God. And Thomas Watson once wrote, a swine may see an acorn under a tree but he cannot see a star in the sky and he who is taught of Christ sees the state secrets, the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. And so we need Christ in this prophetic office to reveal to us the truth and he does so by means of the Holy Spirit that he gives to his people. Now, what are some of the lessons that we may glean from this truth, this biblical truth of Christ as the prophet to God's people? Well, first of all, we understand that Christ teaches us to know our own hearts. We read in the scriptures that the heart is a great sea of deep wickedness, the bottom of which no man can find. And so the prophet Jeremiah asked rhetorically, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it? And the rhetorical question implies the answer, no one can. That is, no one except for God alone. And so He must reveal to us, in a measure, the depths of our own sin, or we would never come to see our need for a Savior. When Christ teaches, He removes the veil of ignorance and illuminates a man's own heart to Him. And then, as one once wrote, then he sees swarms of vain thoughts He blushes to see how sin mingles with all his duties. His stars are mixed with clouds. He prays as Augustine that God would deliver him from himself. Secondly, Christ teaches the vanity of the creature. That is, Christ teaches us, when we're taught by Christ, the futility and the vanity of the world and living only to attain the things of the world. In other words, Christ causes us or teaches us to no longer desire the fame of the world, the wealth of the world, or the power of the world, or at least that which the world offers the sinner. On the other hand, the man who is untaught by Christ the prophet values these things highly. He even values them above his own soul. He's willing to trade his own soul for these things. But the one who is taught by Christ, who is the prophet, comes to see these things rightly, and he asks of himself, what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Mark 8.36. And then thirdly, Christ teaches us, He being a prophet, to highly prize things unseen, even the eternal things of God. And so Christ gives the soul a sight of glory. He gives them a prospect of eternity. The man untaught by Christ only views himself and today and maybe a few short years into the future. But the man who is taught of Christ, the prophet, looks into eternity and he begins to govern his life according to what he has seen. He sees God who is invisible, and he sees eternity before him, and he begins to act and think and respond accordingly. This is all the result of Jesus Christ the Prophet instructing him. As we read in 2 Corinthians 4.18, we look not at things which are seen, but at things that are not seen. And that's the result of the teaching of Jesus Christ the Prophet to his people. Fourthly, we might answer the question, how does Christ's teaching differ from other teaching? Well, first of all, Christ teaches the heart. Others may teach the mind, may reach the ear, but Christ teaches the heart. And so we read of Lydia in Acts 16, 14, of her whose heart the Lord opened. And that is what he does through his office as prophet. And in the same manner, Christ opens the heart of all His people to give attention to their salvation. All that the dispensers of the Word, like myself, can do is but to work knowledge. Only Christ can work grace in the heart. Human teachers can only impart the light of truth, but Christ is the one who gives the love for the truth. Otherwise, the words I speak are nothing. The one who is taught of Christ, however, will value the things that I say, even though I say them imperfectly and say them in a rather shallow way. The one taught by Christ sees the glory in these things, and other aspects of the Word of God is brought to the mind as we talk about these things. That is the function in the office of Christ as prophet, working in His people. Teachers can only teach what to believe. Christ only can teach how to believe. And this is His function as prophet. Secondly, Christ gives us a taste or a desire for the Word of God. Again, ministers may set the Word before you, and they might carve it out for you, but only Christ can cause you to taste it. It's one thing to hear a truth preached. It's quite another to taste it and to taste the delight of it, the enjoyment of it. It's one thing to read a promise of Scripture. It's another thing to realize that promise belongs to you, and only Christ as prophet can teach you that. Thirdly, Christ also teaches us to obey. He alone can make the sinner obey. Again, I can maybe instruct you as to what you ought to do, but I cannot produce obedience in you. I can teach you to be humble, but you'll remain proud unless Christ teaches you. When Christ teaches the heart, He removes the obstinacy of that sinner. He not only informs His people of the judgment, but He inclines their will toward Himself. And so, in this sense, His grace is irresistible. He causes the heart to be humble, and then, as a result, they receive grace from God. Fourthly, Christ teaches us easily. He can, with the least touch of His Holy Spirit, convert the hardest and most ignorant of sinners. And this is one of the greatest blessings of being Reformed. I don't have to go around looking for someone who seems to be willing. I can preach the Gospel to the drunk in the gutter, knowing that Christ as Prophet can teach him the truth, and Christ as King can save him from his sin. Fifthly, when Christ teaches, He makes men willing to learn. Again, ministers may teach others, but the hearers will not learn unless Christ teaches them, because He makes them willing to learn. And then lastly, Christ teaches not only to illuminate people to the truth, but as one put it, He also animates. That is, Christ, through His office as prophet, makes spiritually alive them who are spiritually dead. He takes the Word of God, and as a result, spiritual life takes place. A person becomes born anew. They all of a sudden have the light of the Word shining in them, and this is the result of Christ as Prophet working in their souls. We'll speak more of this next time. Until then, may God richly bless you. We trust that God has blessed you from listening to Dr. Lars Larsen. Today's program, as well as previously recorded messages, are available through our website. We invite you to visit the word of truth dot net. The First Baptist Church of Leominster and Concerned Friends have sponsored this broadcast of the word of truth. If we may assist you by directing you to a sound, reformed church near you, please contact us. If Pastor Larson can assist you further or answer a question that you may have about today's subject, he would be pleased to speak with you. You may reach him at 978-660-8869. Until our next time together, may our God bless you richly through our Lord Jesus Christ. Today's The Word of Truth program was sponsored in part by Paul Rents. Visit paulrents.com for party and equipment rentals.