Having seen the general teaching of Scripture about the offices of Christ we should look at each one of them in detail.

First, we call Christ “our chief Prophet and Teacher.”

What is a prophet?

We must distinguish between the precise meaning of the word “prophet” and the common, loose use of the word.

Loosely used, a prophet is one who speaks of the future. Jeanne Dixon is called a modern prophet by some because she predicts the future. Even in the church the word “prophet” is used in a similar way: prophetic preaching speaks of the future—the events to come, we are told.

According to t he Bible, however, a prophet does not tell of the future exclusively. Oh, he tells of the future, but always in the context of the Kingdom of God. His task is to speak the Word of God. Therefore, prophetic preaching is the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom and the application of that Gospel to every part of life, present as well as future.

The word “prophet” portrays this in a very colorful way. Our actual word “prophet” comes from two Greek words which literally mean “to talk for.” This English word we always use to translate a Hebrew word used in the Old Testament. However, the Hebrew word is far more colorful than simply: “to talk for.” The Hebrew word which we translate “prophet” means “to boil up, to boil forth, as a fountain.” Further, it implies that this boiling comes because of an outside influence. Perhaps we could say that it is like a boiling produced by fire under a kettle of water (Jeremiah 20:9). The prophet is a man who is moved and affected by the inspiration ofGod. His boiling does not come by his own power. He is moved by God!

When God called Moses to go back to Egypt so that Israel could be brought out of bondage, Moses objected, saying, “Lord, I am not eloquent . . .” (Exodus 4:10). Jehovah answered, “I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak . . .” (Exodus 4:12). And Moses was a great prophet (Deuteronomy 34:10)!

Thus, a prophet has more to do than tell when to expect the end, or the so-called rapture. The prophet is filled with the knowledge of God and His will. Before the Fall, Adam possessed this knowledge. After the Fall, this knowledge was given to God’s servants the prophets. They knew; therefore, they spoke. Amos could come with his harsh words: “You are not heeding God’s commands.” Elijah could speak with the Truth that hurts! They spoke because they were empowered by the Holy Spirit. Having eaten, as it were, the Word of God, it became a fire in their bones! Being in subjection to that Word, they could do nothing but speak God’s Truth as it related to the past, present and the future. As prophets they spoke of God, His covenant, His kingdom, His will. They spoke in His name as friend servants of God.

It is in this context that we speak of Christ as our Chief Prophet. The tasks of the prophets all “meet, and that in a singular and eminent manner, in Christ our Prophet. Matt. 5:21, etc.; John 1:18 . . .” (John Flavel, The Fountain of Life, p. 99). Of Him the prophets had been speaking all along. When He came, the last prophet, John the Baptist, said, “He must increase; I must decrease” (John 3:30). The Chief Prophet had come personally in the fulness of time to dwell among us and speak with us face to face.

As our Chief Prophet He was doing His substitutionar y work as the Last Adam. If He was to be our Savior, He had to praise God as Adam was to do. To do this He had to know and praise God in harmony with the Law. This we failed to do through sin. However, all through His life He did do as God commanded.

But Christ’s work as prophet was even more detailed. Not only was He to know and praise God according to the Law, He was also to reveal God to sinful man as the merciful, gracious and forgiving Savior. And that is just what He does! That is why Jesus would read about Himself from Isaiah 61:1 in the synagogue: “Jehovah hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek . . . .” Twice the Lord sealed Him to this office by owning Christ by the voice from heaven (Matthew 3:17, 17:5). Even His enemies were forced to acknowledge of Him, “Never man so spake” (John 7:46).

What a wealth we have in our Chief Prophet “in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden” (Col. 2:3). He is “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (John 14:6), “the Light of the World” (John 8:12), “the True and faithful witness” (Revelation 3:14); He spoke “the words of eternal life” (John 6:68).

His work is to reveal to us God and His whole will. He said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). To see the Father we must be enlightened. This enlightening is an opening of the heart.

When Jesus joined the two men on the road to Emmaus on Resurrection Day evening we read, “Then opened he their mind, that they might understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:45). John Flavel wrote: “The mind is to the heart as the door to the house: What comes into the heart, comes in through the understanding . . .” (The Fountain of Life, p. 113). Similarly, we read about Lydia, that the Lord opened her heart (Acts 16:14).

This opening of the heart and enlightening of the understanding is the work of our Chief Prophet through the Holy Spirit.

For this He makes deaf ears to hear. By His Word and Spirit He makes God known to us until that knowledge becomes a fire in our bones, too. Then, we confess, “And we know t hat the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life” (I John 5:20).

So that we know God’s Truth, the Word is preached. Men called of God to be, as it were, prophets, bring the Word in its fulness, and the Holy Spirit does the work needful so that we may truly hear. Romans 10:13 and 14 in the American Standard Version expounds t his truth so well: “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

How important, then, is that Word of God preached right now! Through its application we grow. True, sometimes it hurts terribly. Yet, this action of the prophetic Word is necessary. And so we hear, “Incline your ear and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live” (Isaiah 55:3). “And it shall be that ever y soul that shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed from among the people” (Deuteronomy 18:19). Then, our prayer becomes;

Teach me, O Lord, Thy way of truth, . . . Give me an understanding heart.