XIV. Of Christ's Office as Prophet.

After the Son of God had been solemnly anointed and had passed victoriously through sundry hellish temptations (Luke 4:1-13; Mark 1:12-15, 22) He presented Himself at once to the world (Matthew 4:17) as the great prophet (Luke 7:16) who had been promised of God (Acts 3:22, 23; Deuteronomy 18:15, 18), in that He taught the way of God in truth (Matthew 22:16) as one who had authority (Mark 1:22) and with a wisdom (Matthew 13:54) which no one could withstand; preached the gospel of the kingdom of God, repentance and faith (Mark 1:14, 15); testified likewise how one must walk to be pleasing to God (Matthew 5:3-12), foretold also things to come (Matthew 20:18, 19; 21:2; 24:2); and confirmed it all with many wonderful miracles. Matthew 11:5. Moreover, He lived just as He taught (John 8:46) and has thus left us both in His teaching and His life an example which we are to follow. 1 Peter 2:21.

Further, as the Lord Christ taught and led His people under the old covenant as the angel of God's presence, through Moses and all the prophets, in whom His Spirit was, and as He now did the same in His own person, so He continued His teaching office through His apostles and evangelists (Ephesians 4:11; Luke 10:1-7), whom He called (Luke 9:1-6), instructed (Acts 1:2, 3), endowed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8; 2:1-4), and sent forth (John 20:21) to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8. And these were faithful even unto death and kept back nothing that is profitable (Acts 20:20, 24) but declared the whole counsel of God unto salvation, to which God also bore witness by signs and wonders and by manifold gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Hebrews 2:4.

The Lord Jesus also continues His work as teacher by means of His holy Word, seeing He has given a short yet sufficiently complete account of His holy life and divine teaching as well as of those of His holy apostles to be transmitted in the books of the New Testament, in which, together with the books of the Old Testament, there is included everything needful to a rule of faith and life. (See Art. 2). Through the teaching, reading, and hearing of this Word He continues to bring about faith, conversion and sanctification, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. Romans 1:16.

Finally the Lord Jesus teaches also through the Spirit according to His promise, both convincing and winning the unbelieving, and leading the believers into all truth. John 16:13. In this work the Spirit never contradicts the true meaning of the written Word (James 3:11; 1:17), but enlightens the believer's mind to a right understanding of the Word (Luke 24:45), gives them assurance of its truth, and brings to remembrance the things that the Lord has spoken. John 14:26.

It is, therefore, necessary to prove the spirits whether they are of God (1 John 4:1) and to hold fast to the unerring Word of God (2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21) concerning which we have received assurance and know who has taught us the same. Galatians 1:6-12.

©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.