As I write this, I’m sitting in my of­fice on the ground floor of our house in Brisbane. It has some furniture, electronic equipment, a few books, a desk, and even a treadmill. I spend a lot of time in this room, and it’s very important for me in helping me do my work. But there is another kind of office I have that’s far more important than any physical space in which I might find myself. It is an office I take with me wherever I go. And if you are a follower of Christ, then you also have this office.

As Christians, we are each given a task, a role to play, a special re­sponsibility, and the authority from God to fulfill that responsibility. We call this task, this role, this author­ity: our office.

Mind you, there are special offices in the church that only some can have. Not everyone is called to serve in the office of elder or dea­con.

But there is an office which every­one in the church should have: the office of believer. Every true be­liever has been given this task and authority, whether young or old, rich or poor, male or female.

Old Testament Offices⤒🔗

Back in the time of the Old Testa­ment, there were people set aside for certain specific jobs. These special tasks are helpful in giving us an idea as to what we as New Testament believers are supposed to do.

For one thing, you had some set apart to be prophets, like Elijah. You also had some set apart to be priests, like Aaron. And you had others set apart to be kings, like David. Prophets, priests, and kings.

Unlike in the Old Testament, where only some were given these tasks, and most often only one, there is a sense in which we as New Testa­ment believers are all called to all of these tasks.

Mind you, we do not have the au­thority to fulfill these roles in and of ourselves. Rather, we can each be prophets, priests, and kings only because we follow the one who was the perfect prophet, priest, and king. We have a special responsi­bility and authority to hold the office of believer only because we are joined to the One in whom we be­lieve.

Anointed to be Prophet, Priest and King←⤒🔗

Back in the time of the Old Testa­ment, the prophets, priests and kings often went through a special ritual that showed that they were being set apart to do what they were supposed to do. This often involved pouring a special kind of oil on them. This was called being anointed.

Well, Jesus was called ‘Christ’ which means: ‘anointed one.’ This points us to how Jesus was anointed, set apart, given the spe­cial task and authority to be Prophet, Priest and King.

The oil being poured on Old Testa­ment prophets, priests and kings symbolized how they would have the Holy Spirit poured on them to enable them to do what they were being set apart to do. Being anointed with oil pointed to being anointed with the Holy Spirit.

Can you think of a time when Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit? At his baptism, which we read about in the gospels. The Spirit came upon him then in a special way to show that he had a special role to play, a special responsibility. Now of course, the Holy Spirit was with him long before his baptism. As the eternal divine son of God, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus had always had the Holy Spirit “poured out” on him. And you could say that throughout his Ministry, he continued to have the Holy Spirit “poured out” on him. He was continuously being anointed, set apart for his task.

The Ultimate Prophet, Priest and King←⤒🔗

Christ was anointed to the task of being a prophet. As the Samari­tan woman in John 4 recognized — “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.”

How did she know this? Because he told her the truth. That is ulti­mately what a prophet does. It’s not so much about forecasting the future as it is about telling the truth, proclaiming the truth of the Word of God.

Jesus reveals to us the Word of God. And in fact, He is the Word of God. John 1:18 — “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.” You can’t get a much better prophet than that.

He was also set apart also to be a priest. And what is a priest supposed to do? Offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. By doing this, they were serving as media­tors, acting as go-betweens between God and those who belong to him.

We read in Hebrews 10:10 — “we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Jesus was the ultimate priest. The sinful priests before him had to settle for making ongoing animal sacri­fices. Their sacrifices never fully paid the price for sins. But the sacrifice Christ offered was per­fect, because He offered his own blood.

By doing this, he has freed us from sin. He has taken on him­self the wrath of God against sin; he has suffered the complete punishment that should have been ours.

In addition, he continues to be our priest even now. Not that he continues to sacrifice himself. That part of it is all taken care of. Rather, He continues to intercede on our behalf in the presence of his heavenly Father. Our Lord Jesus Christ continually stands