Baptist Catechism 26

Q. 26. What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?

A. Christ, as our Redeemer, executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in His state of humiliation and exaltation. (Acts 3:22; Heb. 5:6; Ps. 2:6)

Scripture Reading: Psalm 2

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, ‘Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, ‘As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.’ I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, ‘You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 2, ESV)

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Introduction

I love questions 26 – 31 of our catechism. It was in question 24 that the only Redeemer of God’s elect was named. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. In that question, and also in the next, we learned about the person of Christ. He is the person of the eternal Son of God. And we are also learned about his nature. Jesus Christ is the God-man. He is fully human and fully divine. These two natures are inseparably joined together in the person of the Son without mixture or confusion. But here, in Baptist Catechism 26, our attention is focused on the work of Christ the Redeemer. We have considered his person and natures, now we consider his work. What is the work Christ has done to accomplish our salvation? That is now before us. 

When our catechism asks, What offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer? It is asking, what is the work that he has done. To “execute” is to carry out, accomplish, perform, or fulfill.  An “office” is a work to be done. When someone is appointed to the office of governor, they are officially appointed to do the work of a governor. When a man is appointed to the office of pastor, they are officially appointed to do the work of a pastor. So, when our catechism asks, what offices doth Christ execute as our Redeemer?, the question is, what work does Christ perform? Answer: Christ as our Redeemer executeth the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in his estate of humiliation and exaltation.

It should be noted that this is one of those questions in our catechism that functions as a kind of introduction to a series of questions and answers. In other words, Baptist Catechism questions 27-31 will elaborate on the answer to Baptist Catechism 26. Question 27 asks, How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet? Question 28 asks, How doth Christ execute the office of a priest? Question 29: How doth Christ execute the office of a king? Question 30. Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? And finally, question 31 asks: Wherein consisteth Christ’s exaltation?

So, as you can see, we will have an opportunity to consider the work of Christ in some detail through the lenses of these three offices of Christ  

The Answer Considered

Christ, 

as our Redeemer, 

executeth the offices 

of a prophet, 

of a priest, 

and of a king, 

both in His state of humiliation 

and exaltation. (Acts 3:22; Heb. 5:6; Ps. 2:6)

LCF 8.9-10

Paragraph 9. This office of mediator between God and man is proper only to Christ, who is the prophet, priest, and king of the church of God; and may not be either in whole, or any part thereof, transferred from him to any other. (1 Timothy 2:5)

Paragraph 10. This number and order of offices is necessary; for in respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of his prophetical office; and in respect of our alienation from God, and imperfection of the best of our services, we need his priestly office to reconcile us and present us acceptable unto God; and in respect to our averseness and utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue and security from our spiritual adversaries, we need his kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to his heavenly kingdom.

(John 1:18; Colossians 1:21; Galatians 5:17; John 16:8; Psalms 110:3; Luke 1:74, 75)

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Conclusion

1. What is sanctification (see Baptist Catechism 38 and/or Second London Confession 13)? Whose work is it? Where in us must sanctification reach if it is to protect against hypocrisy?
2. What is the fear of man? 
3. How can the fear of man lead to hypocrisy?
4. What are the three remedies to the fear of man that Christ presents in Luke 12:4-7?
5. What does it mean to fear God? 
6. Why is the fear of God the beginning of knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10)
7. How is the fear of the Lord that the non-believer experiences different from the fear of the Lord that the one who has faith in Christ experiences?

1. In Baptist Catechism 24 and 25, we considered the person and natures of Christ. What about Christ are we considering in question 26?
2. What is an office?
3. Where in the Bible do we learn about prophets, priests, and kings? What was the work of prophets, priests, and kings – what was their job?
4. There were many prophets, priests, and kings under the Old Covenant. What is unique about Christ as it pertains to these offices?
5. Why is it helpful to consider the work of Christ the Redeemer by looking at him through the lens of these offices?
6. How does it encourage your heart to think of Christ as our great prophet, priest, and king?   

1. What does it mean that the Son of God took to himself a true body and reasonable soul? What does this tell us about Christ’s human nature?
2. Christ is really and truly human. He is also really and truly God. How so?
3. When our catechism says that the Son of God became man, are we to think that something changed within God? (See James 1:17. The second half of Baptist Catechism A: 24 might be of some help to you. Also, see Second London Confession 8.2.)  
4. How did the person of the eternal Son assume a human nature? What was the process or mechanism? (see Luke 1:26ff.)
5. What is the phrase, “yet without sin”, important? How is it that Jesus Christ, a true human, was born without the guilt and corruption of sin?