作者: Kim Riddlebarger 译者/校对者: 牛泓/王一
对我们的诊断是非常不乐观的：我们是无知的、有罪的和堕落的。然而，预后却更加糟糕，我们落在了咒诅和死亡之下。作为被罪恶三重毁坏的堕落之罪人，我们的心思昏暗了（罗1:21），我们的思想也尽都是恶（创6:5）。我们的心地因着罪变得昏昧，对上帝的事情无知（弗4:17-18）。我们在自身罪孽巨大的重担下劳苦，这是我们屡次违背上帝律法的惩罚。我们可以欺骗自己说我们只得罪了邻舍，大卫却知道这不是真的。“我向你犯罪，惟独得罪了你；在你眼前行了这恶，以致你责备我的时候显为公义，判断我的时候显为清正。 (诗51:4
)”同时我们也从我们所继承的罪恶的状态那里遭受着严重的污染，从受孕的那一刻起，它就不无时无刻地影响着我们的方方面面。正如诗人所说，我们是生在罪孽中的（诗51:5），在我们里面没有良善(诗
14:1-3)。我们的身体，就是那奇妙可畏的受造（诗139:14），成了将那隐藏在我们心里的恶施行出来的器具（罗6:13）。这则坏新闻真是糟糕透顶。罪留给我们的是无知、罪疚、污染以及它们所带来的悲惨处境。
但是，此疾有一充满了神奇般地荣耀的救法：福音的好消息就是尽管“在人这是不能的”，但是在上帝“凡事都能”（太19:26）。是约翰•加尔文提出了基督的三重职分并将其发扬光大。基督的三重职分在后来的改革宗传统中被许多人使用，它把基督作为先知、祭司和君王呈现在我们眼前，而基督在祂的救赎大工中成全了在旧约出现的全部的受膏的职分。正如加尔文所指出的，基督的三重职分是解释主的救赎工作的最好的方式之一，它的提出是为了使我们克服自己的无知、罪疚和堕落，并且在现今也带给我们亮光、救赎和盼望。
我们以耶稣的先知职分开始，祂藉着此职分将上帝显现给人类。耶稣是世界的光（约1:4-5），祂来了是要将父显给我们看（约14:9）。是摩西告诉我们将有一位大先知“耶和华—你的神要从你们弟兄中间给你兴起一位先知，像我，你们要听从他。(申18:15)”是彼得，在教会刚刚建立的初期，立即将这段经文应用在了主的身上(徒3:22-23)。耶稣也说自己是这样的一位先知（路13:33），我们的主也清楚地声明只讲父要祂讲的话(约12:49-50; 14:10, 24; 15:15;
17:8, 20)。耶稣讲论未来之事(太24:3-35)，并且祂讲话不像其他人，而是有着令人惊奇的权柄(太7:29)。事实上，主的话语乃是倚靠上帝的大能，所以祂大能的工作是为了证实祂传讲的信息的真实性(太21:11,
46; 路7:16,
24:19;约3:2,
4:19, 7:40, 9:17)。约6:14告诉我们：众人看见耶稣所行的神迹，就说：“这真是那要到世间来的先知！”
基督祭司的职分占据了新约圣经大部分的内容，不仅包括对该职分的讨论，也包括基督为了将罪人从罪恶当中拯救出来而所做的牺牲性的死亡。新约圣经的钥章，来5:1及其后的经文，列举了一个真祭司的特征。首先，“凡从人间挑选的大祭司，是奉派替人办理属 神的事，为要献上礼物和赎罪祭。（1节）”；其次，这样一个祭司是由上帝所指定的（4节）；再次，大祭司献上“礼物和赎罪祭”（1节）。另外，祭司要为百姓代求（来7:25），奉上帝的名祝福他们（路9:22）。毫无疑问，耶稣基督是最卓越的大祭司。尽管《希伯来书》的作者是新约圣经作者当中唯一一位把“祭司”这个词应用在耶稣身上的，但是他却不断地重复说耶稣是一位祭司。
有关基督的君王职分，圣经说道“耶和华在天上立定宝座；他的权柄（原文是国） 统管万有。 (诗103:19
)”。不像那些认为基督在现今延迟了自己完全的掌权直到千禧年的时代，基督现今就对万有施行着完全的统治。耶稣是万王之王，祂的国度满有恩典与权能。在祂的升天中，耶稣基督升到了父神的右边，现今祂作为全权之主统管着万有（民事国度），也作为恩典之约的中保统管着教会（基督国度）。
新约圣经不断地提到基督是“教会的元首” (弗1:22, 4:15; 5:23; 西1:18; 2:19)。基督对教会的统治与二者间奥秘地联合密切相关，而圣经将教会描述为基督的身体（林前12:27）。基督国度是个属灵的国度，所以它没有旗帜，没有世界总部，也没有吸引人的口号。但现今它是基督的百姓聆听圣道并领受圣礼的地方（罗14:17）。这个国度等同于新约圣经中不断出现的“上帝的国”。这个国度是一个攻无不克的国度（太12:28），但是却不依赖于文化、经济或政治组织（约18:36）。恶人无法承受这个国度（加5:21），尽管我们的孩子被看作是“这些人中最小的”，但是他们已经藉着洗礼成为了这个国度的一员（路18:16）。这是一个荣耀的国度（帖前2:12），不论有些人怎么说，这个国度就是现今的事实（太3:2）。正如信条所宣称的，这个国度“没有穷尽（彼后1:11）”。
在祂作为先知、祭司和君王的三重职分里，耶稣医治了我们的无知，除去了我们的罪孽，并将我们从堕落当中拯救。耶稣作为恩典之约的唯一中保，直到这里，我们才明白了它的一些意义。
Basics
of the Reformed Faith: Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King
Kim
Riddlebarger
The
diagnosis is not very good: we are ignorant, guilty, and corrupt. But the
prognosis is far worse. We are under the curse and face certain death. As
fallen sinners ravaged by a threefold consequence of our sins, our hearts are
darkened (Romans 1:21) and our thoughts are continually evil (Genesis 6:5). Our
minds are clouded by sin and ignorant of the things of God (Ephesians 4:17-18).
We labor under the tremendous weight of our guilt–the penalty for our many
infractions of the law of God. We may delude ourselves into thinking that we
have sinned against our neighbors only; David knew that this was not true.
“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight”
(Psalm 51:4). But we also suffer from the destructive pollution of our
inherited sinful condition, which infects every part of us from the moment of
conception. Born in sin as the Psalmist declares (Psalm 51:5), there is no good
residing in us (Psalm 14:1-3). Our bodies, which are fearfully and wonderfully
made (Psalm 139:14), become instruments to act out the wickedness that would
otherwise lie hidden in our hearts (Romans 6:13). The bad news is very bad. Sin
leaves us ignorant, guilty, and polluted, and therefore miserable.
But
there is a glorious and miraculous cure from this disease: The good news of the
gospel is that while “this is impossible with men,” nevertheless, with God,
“all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26). It was John Calvin who brought the
so-called “threefold office” of Christ into prominence. Utilized by many in the
subsequent Reformed tradition, the threefold office presents Jesus Christ as
prophet, priest, and king, who in his saving work fulfilled all the anointed
offices of the Old Testament. As Calvin pointed out, the threefold office of
Christ is one of the best ways to explain our Lord’s redemptive work, which by
design overcame our ignorance, our guilt, and our corruption, and which even
now provides us with illumination, redemption, and hope in the present.
We
start with Jesus’ prophetic office in which he represents God to humanity.
Jesus is the light of the world (John 1:4-5), who comes to show us God the
Father (John 14:9). It was Moses who foretold of a great prophet that “the Lord
your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your
brothers—it is to him you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:15). And it is Peter,
who immediately after the birth of the church, applies this passage to our Lord
(Acts 3:22-23). Jesus speaks of himself as such a prophet (Luke 13:33), and our
Lord expressly claims to speak only what his father has told him to say (John
12:49-50; 14:10, 24; 15:15; 17:8, 20). Jesus speaks of the future (Matthew
24:3-35), and speaks with an amazing authority unlike all others (Matthew
7:29). Indeed, our Lord's words are backed by the power of God, for his mighty
works serve to confirm the truth of his message (Matthew 21:11, 46; Luke 7:16,
24:19; John 3:2, 4:19, 7:40, 9:17). In John 6:14 we are told that “When the
people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet
who is to come into the world!”
The
priestly office of Christ occupies a major place in the New Testament and
includes not only a discussion of the office itself, but also of Christ’s sacrificial
death to redeem sinners from their sin. The key passage in the New Testament,
Hebrews 5:1 and following, lays out the characteristics of a true priest.
First, “for every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on
behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins” (v.
1). Second, such a priest is appointed by God (v. 4). Third, the high priest
offers “gifts and sacrifices for sins” (v. 1). In addition, the priest makes
intercession for the people (Hebrews 7:25), blessing them in the name of God
(Luke 9:22). Clearly, Jesus Christ is the high priest par excellence. Although
he is the only New Testament writer who applies the term to Jesus, the author
of Hebrews repeatedly speaks of Jesus as a priest.
As
for the kingly office of Christ, the Scriptures declare that “the Lord has
established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over it” (Psalm 103:19).
Unlike those who argue that Christ delays the full manifestation of his rule in
this present age until a millennial age yet to come, Jesus presently exercises
full dominion over all things. Jesus is King of kings, and his kingdom is a
kingdom both of grace and of power. In his ascension, Jesus Christ ascended to
the right hand of his father and even now rules over all of creation as
sovereign Lord (the civil kingdom) and over his church as covenant mediator
(Christ’s kingdom).
The
New Testament repeatedly speaks of Christ as “head of the church” (Ephesians
1:22, 4:15; 5:23; Colossians 1:18; 2:19). Christ’s rule over his church is
closely related to the mystical union formed between Christ and the church,
which the Scriptures describe as his body (1 Corinthians 12:27). Christ’s
kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, so it has no flag, no world headquarters, and
no catchy logo. But it is present wherever Christ’s people gather to hear God’s
word proclaimed and to receive the sacraments (Romans 14:17). This kingdom is
identical to that which the New Testament repeatedly calls the “kingdom of
God.” This kingdom is a conquering kingdom (Matthew 12:28), but is not tied to
cultural, economic, or political institutions (John 18:36). The wicked will not
inherit this kingdom (Galatians 5:21), though our own children, seen by the
world as “the least of these,” are already members through baptism (Luke
18:16). It is a glorious kingdom (1 Thessalonians 2:12), and despite what some
may say, it is a present reality (Matthew 3:2). It is a kingdom, which as the
Creed declares, “has no end” (cf. 2 Peter 1:11).
In
his threefold office as prophet, priest, and king, Jesus cures our ignorance,
he removes our guilt, and he deliver us from our corruption. It is here that we
find some of the specifics of what it means for Jesus to be the only mediator
of the covenant of grace.