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, but 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). 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 (through Christ’s prophetic office), redemption (through his priestly office), and hope in the present (through his kingly office).
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