Theological term
Threefold Office
22 sermons · All terms
The Regulation of Priests and Prophets
Deuteronomy 18 governs the two offices through which God communicated with Old Covenant Israel: the Levitical priesthood and the prophetic ministry. The chapter moves from the material provision owed to priests and Levites, through a comprehensive prohibition of pagan divination, to the promise of a succession of prophets culminating in one greater than Moses — the Lord Jesus Christ, identified explicitly in Matthew 17 and Acts 3. The sermon draws out the typological and redemptive-historical unity of the chapter, showing that what Israel sought illegitimately through witchcraft and necromancy, God supplied legitimately through his Word-bearing offices, and that the old covenant's pattern of 'do this and live' finds its fulfillment in Christ who kept the covenant perfectly on behalf of his people.
2LCF Chapter 8 - Of Christ the Mediator, Part 4
Chapter 8 of the 1689 London Baptist Confession sets forth the person and work of Christ the Mediator, and this study works through its latter paragraphs (4–10) covering the historical description of Christ's obedience, the specific operation of His atoning work, the retrospective application of redemptive benefit to Old Covenant saints, the communication of idioms, and the effectual application of redemption to the elect. The confession grounds definite atonement, active and passive obedience, and penal substitutionary atonement in Christ's willing entrance into the state of humiliation and His perfect fulfillment of the law, establishing the foundation for the confession's later treatment of justification by faith alone. The threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest, and king is shown to be not an imposition on Scripture but its exegetical fruit, meeting precisely the threefold need of God's people for revelation, reconciliation, and kingly rule.
The Command from the Mount
Matthew 28:16–20 presents the risen Christ commissioning his disciples from a mountain in Galilee — a location Matthew treats as theologically laden with the entire biblical theology of mountains, from Eden to Sinai to Zion. The sermon traces that mountain typology across Genesis, Isaiah, Hebrews, and Zechariah to show that the Great Commission is nothing less than the eschatological commencement of the new covenant. Christ's declaration — 'All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth' — is expounded as the mediatorial kingly inheritance he receives by virtue of the perfection of his redeeming work, not a restoration of suppressed divine glory. The commission therefore binds the church to gospel proclamation, believer's baptism, and the continual instruction of the baptized, all undergirded by the abiding presence of the exalted Christ through his threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.
The Crucifixion of Christ, Part 2
The crucifixion scene in John 19:23–27 contains two theologically freighted details: the seamless tunic cast for by lot, and Christ's provision for his mother from the cross. The tunic, described in terms that evoke the high-priestly garments of the Old Covenant, calls the reader to see Christ functioning as the perfect, perpetual high priest whose once-for-all sacrifice accomplishes what Leviticus 16 could only foreshadow. The division of his garments fulfills Psalm 22:18 exactly as God predetermined, underscoring that the cross was never plan B. The sermon concludes by pressing four implications of the gospel: substitutionary atonement, justification by faith alone, the reordering of priorities at the foot of the cross, and the binary demand that every hearer either look to Christ in faith or remain under divine wrath.
The High Priestly Prayer, Part 4
What grounds the prayers Jesus offers for his people, and why does he explicitly exclude the world from his intercession? Working through John 17:9–11a, this sermon examines the focus and rationale of Christ's high priestly intercession: he prays specifically for the elect whom the Father gave him, not for the reprobate world, and he does so as the mediating priest who both sacrifices and intercedes on behalf of his own. The mutual possession declared in verse 10 — 'all mine are yours and yours are mine' — establishes the full equality of the Son with the Father, while 'I am glorified in them' frames the church as a trophy case of divine grace displayed before angels and nations. The sermon closes with an exhortation to treasure the blessedness of election: a Savior who intercedes, a triune God who is known, and a security that nothing can sever.
2LCF Introduction and Preface to the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession
The Second London Baptist Confession of Faith (1689) did not arise in a vacuum — it was forged under persecution, shaped by theological antiquity, and published to correct misrepresentations of Particular Baptist doctrine. This study introduces the Confession through its original preface, examining the necessity and utility of creeds and confessions, the historical context of 17th-century England, and the specific additions, changes, and deletions the Particular Baptists made to the Westminster Confession and Savoy Declaration. The Confession stands as a faithful summary of biblical doctrine and a demonstration that Particular Baptists stood firmly within the stream of historic Protestant orthodoxy, differing from their Presbyterian and Congregationalist brethren only on baptism, church polity, and certain covenant theology distinctions.
The Great Commission
Matthew 28:11–20 presents two responses to the resurrection of Christ: the fraudulent suppression of the evidence by the chief priests and elders, and the Great Commission given by the risen Lord to his disciples. The passage exposes the lie concocted by the Sanhedrin as historically incoherent and theologically revealing — a judgment of God upon covenant-breaking Israel. The Great Commission is then unfolded through its four-fold use of 'all': Christ's absolute authority as mediator grounds the command to go, make disciples, baptize believers as new covenant members, and teach them to observe all that he has commanded.
2LCF Chapter 8 - Of Christ the Mediator, Part 5
The work of Christ as Mediator — his active and passive obedience, definite atonement, and threefold office as prophet, priest, and king — is the subject of this exposition of 2 London Baptist Confession of Faith Chapter 8, paragraphs 4 through 10. The confession traces Christ's voluntary humiliation, his satisfaction of divine justice as a propitiation, and the retroactive efficacy of that work for Old Covenant saints who looked forward to him through promises, types, and sacrifices. Paragraph 8's teaching that Christ certainly and effectually applies redemption to all for whom he obtained it grounds the assurance of salvation entirely in the sovereign purpose of God rather than foreseen conditions in the sinner. The threefold office — prophet to instruct the ignorant, priest to reconcile the alienated, king to subdue and preserve the unwilling — frames the believer's comprehensive dependence on Christ alone.
The Burial of Jesus
The burial of Jesus in Matthew 27:57–66 is examined across two movements: the burial proper (vv. 57–61) and the security measures taken at the tomb (vv. 62–66). Against both the swoon theory and ancient Jewish counter-testimony that the disciples stole the body, the sermon marshals the apologetic force of the sealed, guarded, newly-hewn tomb to demonstrate that the resurrection overcame every human precaution. The burial also carries weight in four theological categories: it confirms the reality of Christ's death, marks the final act of his humiliation as the last Adam, demonstrates his conquest of death, and strips the grave of its paralyzing power for all who belong to him.
The Enthronement of the Priest-King
Psalm 110, the most frequently cited Old Testament passage in the New Testament, presents the Messiah as the divinely enthroned Priest-King whose universal dominion is secured by the oath of God. This exposition traces three movements in the psalm: the enthronement and government of Christ the King (vv. 1–3), his eternal priesthood after the order of Melchizedek (v. 4), and the triumphant conquest of his enemies (vv. 5–7). The sermon draws on Peter's argument in Acts 2, Paul's application in 1 Corinthians 15 and Ephesians 1, and the author of Hebrews to show that Christ's present session at the right hand of the Father is not passive but active — he reigns, subdues, and intercedes. Christians living in tumultuous times are urged to resist despair by fixing their confidence in the sovereign rule of the enthroned Priest-King rather than in the shifting circumstances of earthly politics.
The Royal Purpose in the Incarnation
John 18:37 records Jesus declaring before Pontius Pilate, 'For this cause I was born,' identifying the incarnation with a royal purpose — he entered the world as king. This sermon expounds John 18:33–40, tracing the nature of Christ's kingdom (not originating from this world, yet encompassing it), the method by which that kingdom advances (through truth, not military force), and the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6–7 that illuminates both the king and his everlasting dominion. The listener is called to receive the truth Christ embodies rather than dismiss it as Pilate did.
The Crucifixion of Jesus, Part 4
Matthew 27:47–50 records the final moments before Christ's death on the cross — the mockery of bystanders who misheard his cry of dereliction as a call for Elijah, the offering of sour wine, and his loud, voluntary yielding of his spirit. The sermon examines what the cry of dereliction does and does not teach: it does not indicate a division within the Trinity, a dissolution of the hypostatic union, or patripassianism, but it does express the qualified, temporary withholding of the Father's favour from the Son as he bore the punishment due to his people. Christ's loud cry at the moment of death demonstrates that he laid down his life sovereignly and willingly, not as a victim overcome by suffering but as a priest offering himself as substitute. The only fitting response to this substitutionary sacrifice is not moral self-improvement but worship, gratitude, and faith in the one who was forsaken so that his people would never be forsaken.
The High Priest of the New Covenant
Hebrews 7:20–28 presents Christ's high priesthood as superior to the Levitical order in three respects: His appointment was confirmed by divine oath rather than hereditary succession, His priesthood is permanent because He lives forever, and His personal sinlessness qualifies Him as the perfect once-for-all sacrifice. The passage presses toward a practical conclusion: believers must actively avail themselves of this High Priest — confessing sin through their Advocate, crying out for aid in temptation, and resting in the unchangeable intercession of the One who always lives to make intercession for them.
1 Kings 1:28-53
1 Kings 1:28–53 records Solomon's anointing at Gihon, the collapse of Adonijah's attempted coup, and Solomon's act of clemency toward his defeated rival. The passage is examined under three considerations: the choice of Solomon (David's sworn oath and instructions), the coronation of Solomon (its comprehensive royal, divine, military, and popular approval), and the concern regarding Solomon (the rebels' fear and Adonijah's flight to the altar). Throughout, David is shown as a man animated by zeal for God's kingdom rather than personal ambition, pointing forward to the greater Son of David who rules over the kings of the earth.
The Cleansing of the Temple, Part 2
Matthew 21:14–17 presents two responses to Christ's messianic presence in the temple: the blind and the lame receive healing, and the religious leaders respond with indignant fury. The healing of the outcasts carries deliberate Davidic overtones, evoking 2 Samuel 5 and the messianic prophecies of Isaiah 35 and 61, so that Christ's identity as the greater Son of David is confirmed by deed as well as by word. The praise of nursing infants, drawn from Psalm 8, presses the question of Christ's deity — the religious leaders understood the implications and hardened rather than repented. The passage calls unbelievers to abandon the side of Christ's despisers and look to Him as the only ground of mercy, and reminds the church that the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king is the heart of the gospel it is commissioned to preach.
The Ministry of the King-Priest
Hebrews 5:5–10 presents Jesus Christ as the divinely appointed King-Priest whose ministry, obedience, and accomplished redemption surpass every dimension of the Levitical priesthood. The sermon traces four elements of Christ's priestly office: his appointment by the Father (Psalms 2 and 110), his ministry of intercession and suffering in Gethsemane, his learned obedience through suffering, and his authorship of an eternal — therefore unlosable — salvation. Because this great High Priest now intercedes at the right hand of the Father, believers are called to hold fast their confession and come boldly to the throne of grace.
The Glory of Christ
Psalm 45 is a royal wedding song that the New Testament explicitly applies to the Lord Jesus Christ, and this expository meditation works through its portrait of the glory of the Savior under three headings: His person as the God-Man, His attributes, and His saving works. The sermon traces how the psalmist's overflowing heart moves from the beauty and eloquence of Christ, through His might, blessedness, glory, majesty, and righteousness, to His work as warrior King riding in truth and righteousness for His church. The church is called to respond to so glorious a Savior with wholehearted worship, abandonment of competing loyalties, and the endurance of faith — looking unto Jesus as the author and finisher of faith, not unto one's own performance.
The Marriage Relationship
Colossians 3:18–19 calls wives to submit to their own husbands and husbands to love their wives without bitterness — two commands that cut precisely against the natural grain of each. This sermon argues that both duties are grounded not in social utility or natural sentiment but in the gospel itself: the wife's submission images Christ's submission to the Father, and the husband's love images Christ's self-sacrificial love for the church. The sermon draws on Ephesians 5, 1 Peter 3, and 1 Corinthians 11 to show that ontological equality between husband and wife is fully compatible with functional differentiation of role, and closes by pressing both commands back onto the cross as the only sufficient motive and resource for obedience.
The Current Session of Christ
Peter's Pentecost sermon in Acts 2 demonstrates that the session of Christ — his present reign at the right hand of the Father — is the convergent fulfillment of the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants, together with the royal-priestly announcement of Psalm 110. Working from Acts 2:29–36, this sermon traces Christ's universal sovereignty over all creation and then hones in on his specific interest in his church, exercised through his threefold mediatorial office as prophet, priest, and king. The current session is not a distant or past reality but a present comfort: Christ subdues his people to himself, intercedes for them continually, and governs every circumstance of history for the glory of God and the good of his elect. Believers are exhorted to engage Christ in his offices — hearing him as prophet, going to the Father through him as priest, and submitting to him as king — before that submission becomes compulsory at the final judgment.
The Supremacy of Christ
Hebrews 1:1–3 presents seven interlocking evidences for the supremacy of Christ over the prophets: he is heir of all things, creator of all things, the brightness of God's glory, the express image of God's person, sovereign upholder of all creation, the once-for-all purger of sin, and the exalted King seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high. The sermon traces each claim through supporting texts in John, Colossians, 2 Corinthians, Acts, and Hebrews 7, demonstrating that Christ's superiority does not render the Old Testament void but rather fulfils it in his threefold office of prophet, priest, and king. Delivered as preparation for the Lord's Supper, the message calls believers to feed upon the glory of Christ at the table and urges unbelievers to look to him alone for mercy.
Jesus Was Born to Reign
Christ's appearance before Pontius Pilate in John 18:33–38 forces a confrontation with the nature of his kingdom and his identity as king. The sermon examines three particulars from this exchange — the issue Pilate raises, the clarification Jesus gives, and the response Jesus offers — showing that the incarnation is inseparable from the crown: Christ was born not merely as a helpless infant but as the eternal king whose kingdom originates not from man but from God, and whose conquest advances not by military power but by truth. The passage calls every hearer to reckon with the sovereign reign of Christ and to believe the gospel, knowing that what one does with Jesus determines one's eternal destiny.
The Superiority of Christ Over the Prophets
Hebrews 1:1–3 opens with a compressed Christological argument: God who spoke through the prophets of the old covenant has now spoken definitively and finally through His Son, and this Son is superior to every prophet in seven demonstrable ways. The sermon works through those seven evidences of Christ's supremacy — heir of all things, Creator, brightness of God's glory, express image of the Father's person, sovereign administrator, Savior, and exalted King — grounding each in the text and in supporting Scripture. Along the way it treats the unity of Scripture across the covenants, the cessation of new revelation, and the nature of the 'last days' as the present messianic era. The practical summons is to rest salvation entirely on Christ's finished work and to adore Him in His threefold office of prophet, priest, and king.