Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-01-18
[Origlnal.
CHRIST..THE PROPHET.


Christ came into the world to save sinners
Because of the nature of the work which he
undertook to perform, he is called Jesus, or the
Saviour and to indicate his fitness to dis
charge the office work of the Saviour OF sim
ners he is called Christ, or the anointed. AS
the Saviour of sinners, Jesus Christ executes
the office of prophet, of a priest, and OF a
king. In other words, he is at the same time
prophet, priest and king. The state and con-
dition of those whom he undertakes to save,
requires that he be prophet, priest and king.
They are, by nature, sinners, and sinhas blind
ed their understanding; and before they can be
rescued from their fallen state they must be
the blindness of their minds, they are resting
under the curse of violated law, and possess
nothing that will shield them from Gods
righteous indignation. Such is their moral
helplessness that some 6ne must undertake to
reign over them, and rule in them, and thus
protect and defend them from all their spiritu-
al enemies.
In their logical order, the Office of priest is
first. 1t was rs priest that Jesus Christ pro-
cured righteousness fol his people, and took
away the guilt of their sins. Unless this was
done he could have no people to instruct, and
no kingdom of grace over which to reign. In
the order of their execution, however, the Of
flee of prophet is apparently first.
We are not to suppose that, in the execution
of the plan of redemption, Jesus Christ execu-
ted the official duties of prophet, priest and
king separately, or began the duties of one
after he had completed those of the one pre-
ceding it. . Such was not, bysany means, the
case In reality, he began the work properly
belonging to each of the three offices at the
same time, and still continues, and will con-
tinue to the final consummation of all things,
to be prophet, priest and king
For our knowledge of Jesus Christ as the
prophet of his people, we are wholly dependent
upon revelation. Creation and Providence re-
veal nothing concerning Saviour. On this
most important of all subjects to lost sinners,
creation and providence are silent. From the
Bible, and from the Bible only, are we able to
learn the duties of prophet, and that Jesus
Christ is the prophet, and only prophet of his
people.
The duty of prophet is to reveal the will
of God Sin disordered everything. When
God created man, the law of God was written
upon his heart. When man sinned, the knowl'
edge of this law was blotted from his mind.
In this blind, naked and miserable condition,
man must have remained unless redeemed by
God. In order to effect mans salvation, it
was necessary that the will of God, for our
salvation, be revealed. This work Jesus Christ
undertook to perform. The prophetic work of
our Saviour did notconsist in simply restoring
the copy of the law which sin had blotted.
This would have been a great thing, but under
the peculiar circumstances, it would have been
insufficient. The law of God, which was orig
inally written upon mans heart, revealed
nothing but the will of God as creator, and
the duty of man as a moral and responsible
creature. The circumstances of the case de-
manded that the will of God, as the redeemer
of sinners, be revealed
AS a prophet, Jesus Christ undertook to re-
store the original law of God and to make a
new revelation in new mode.
i uc VI q plOpHCo dlC, uloV, IHC
choice of God the Father, to that Office. God
reserves to himself the exclusive prerogatiye
to supply his people with officers. That Jesus
Christ was chosen by God the Father, to be
the prophet, priest and king Of his people, is
plainly, positively and frequently taught in
both the Old and New Testament Scriptures.
In the S9th Psalm, at the 3rd verse, we find
these words: 81 have made covenant with
my chosen" and at the 10Th verse, 81 have
laid help upon one that is mighty l have ex-
alted my chosen out of the people," 1t is
true that David is mentioned as the chosen,
but it is clear that it is David as the type OF
Christ that is meant. In no other sense can
the language of the eighty-ninth Psalm be ap-
piled to David. 1t is promised that the seed
of the chosen shall be established forever, and
that his throne shall be to all generations.
Except as type of Jesus Christ, this Ian
guage cannot be applied to David. In the
prophecies of Isaiah, chapter 42:1, we find
the following: "Behold my servant, whom
uphold mine elect, in whom my soul delight
eth have put my spirit upon him he shall
bring forth judgment to the Gentiles." The
Select" spoken of by the prophet is the same
person who is called the "chosen" by the
PsalmiSt.
From these and many other passages of
Scripture, we conclude that in the economy of
grace, God the Father, chose God the Son, as
the mediator between the offended Deity and
the offending creature, man. In other words.
Jesus Christ was not aself-constituted prophet.
He did not undertake, of his own motion, to
reveal to sinners, the will of God, for their
salvation. To make this revelation, he was
chosen by God the Father. 1t is true that Je-
sus Christ willingly and gladly assented to the
choice of his father. 'Here am I send me, I"
is his Language.
The second requisite, in order to reveal the
will of God, for the salvation of sinners is,
that the prophet who undertakes to do this
have that will communicated to him by God
himself 1t is evident, that without knowing
what the will of God for salvation is, it can
not be revealed, and it is further evident that
no being in the Universe, except God himself,
knows what Gods will for the salvation of
sinners is.
According to the Scriptures, Jesus Christ,
the prophet chosen by God to reveal his will
for salvation, is himself God equal to the
Father. He possesses all the communicable
and incommunicable attributes of Deity.
Whatever God is he is. "He is spirit, in
md of himself infinite in being, glory, bles
,edness and perfection !; all-sufficient, eternal,
incomprehensible, everywhere
present, almighty, knowing all things, most
nerciful and gracious, long-sutfering, and
abundant in goodness and TRUTH"