Themes of the End Times (Inaugurated Eschatology and the Threefold Office of Christ [Part Two: Christ the Priest])

A. Old Testament Priestly Ministry

The priest offered up substitutionary sacrifices for the people [Lev. 1:4-5; 16]

To atone for their sin and provide forgiveness [Lev. 1-2, 4-7 (burnt, sin, trespass offerings)]

To purify from their guilt and provide cleansing [Numbers 19 (waters of purification from the ashes of a red heifer)]

To overcome their alienation and bring joyful fellowship with God [Lev. 3 (peace offerings)]

The priest mediated and interceded for the people [Lev. 16:12-13; Ex. 28:9-12, 29-30, 36-38]

B. Expectations of a More Perfect Priest

A greater high priest was required because of the insufficiency of the Aaronic Priesthood

The sacrifices were insufficient, and had to be offered incessantly [Heb. 10:1-4]

The priests were insufficient: they had to offer up sacrifices for their own sins, and they had to cease their ministry of intercession because of death [Heb. 7:23, 27]

A greater high priest was foreshadowed in Melchizedek [Gen. 14:17-24; Heb. 7:1-17]

A greater sacrifice was promised in the coming of the Christ (Gen. 22:13-14; Ps. 40:6-9; Isa. 53)

C. Christ’s Perfect Fulfillment of the Priestly Service

Christ provided the perfect and final sacrifice of his own body [John 1:29; Heb. 10:4-9; 1 Pet. 2:24]

His substitutionary sacrifice of himself fully accomplished our forgiveness and justification [Rom. 3:23-26]

His substitutionary sacrifice of himself fully accomplished our cleansing and sanctification [Hebrews 10:10-14]

His substitutionary sacrifice of himself fully accomplished our reconciliation/ joyful fellowship with God [2 Cor. 5:18-19; Rom. 5:1-2]

Christ fully accomplished the priestly ministry of intercession

He offered up a perfectly effective high-priestly prayer [John 17]

He continually lives to intercede for us [Heb. 7:24-25]

D. Eschatological Outworkings of Christ’s Perfect Fulfillment of the Priestly Ministry

Christ already perfectly accomplished our justification; this guarantees that we will be accepted/vindicated on the Day of Judgment [1 Cor. 4:4-5]

Christ already accomplished our definitive sanctification; this guarantees that our practical sanctification, worked in us by his Spirit, will culminate in perfect holiness [Heb. 9:13-14; Eph. 1:4, 13-14; Rom. 8:3-6, 29]

Christ already tore down the veil and gave us access to the Father; this guarantees that we will finally be brought into his glorious presence for all eternity [Heb. 10:19-22]

Christ has already offered up a perfect plea in our behalf; this guarantees that God will never reject us [Heb. 4:14-16]

E. The Already/Not Yet Character of Christ’s Priestly Ministry Displayed Before Us Every Sunday

In the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded that Christ already perfectly accomplished our salvation by offering himself up as a sufficient sacrifice for our sins.

In the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded that we may still feed upon Christ’s sacrificial work by faith continually, as we press on to our home in the New Jerusalem.

In the Lord’s Supper, we are reminded that the perfect priestly and sacrificial work of God will be consummated in the Marriage Feast of the Lamb, where we will rejoice in God’s fellowship and feast on what he has provided for us by his redemptive accomplishment.

F. Discussion Questions

1.Why does the Old Testament so strongly emphasize the need of a priestly ministry for God’s people? What is the distinction between the sacrifices and the priests who offered them, and why were both necessary? How does Christ fulfill both aspects, and what does that fulfillment mean for you today?

2.The reformed tradition (with good reason) often speaks of justification as a one-time event and sanctification as a process; but when pressed too sharply, can this distinction obscure some of the nuances of justification and sanctification, and their relationship to each other? How are both aspects related to the priestly work of Christ? Is there any sense in which it can be said that there is a definitive “already” sanctification in the past, and a consummate, “not yet” sanctification in the future? What about justification? How does reflecting on the already/not yet accomplishment of Christ’s priestly work affect my daily life?

3.When observing the Lord’s Supper, do you primarily focus on the past or on the future? How can the remembrance of the perfect accomplishment of Christ in the past and the anticipation of a perfect consummation in the future work together to help you in the present?

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