In the last two posts, I have made the case that each person is called to ministry and that the clergy/laity distinction is false. Does this mean that we are to be a totally egalitarian community? Are there roles of authority, and how do they function in the life of the church? I want to investigate this question by first visiting Calvin's idea of Jesus and munus triplex, "the triple office."
As we read through the Old Testament, we discover there were three types of offices to which people were anointed or ordained: prophets, priests, and kings. Each of these played a vital role in the life of Israel. Jesus' life, death, and resurrection changed all this.
Hebrews tells us that Jesus functions as our high priest, but he is unlike any high priest who has come before. Hebrews 5:6 says he was a priest "according to the order of Melchizedek." Melchizedek was the King-Priest of Salem who blessed Abraham in Genesis 14. The New Testament is filled with references to Jesus' Lordship. Jesus was also known as a prophet, and certainly he excelled beyond all others in "telling forth" God's purposes and bringing hope as he brought people to repentance and faith. Jesus fulfilled all three offices. At no point after Jesus' resurrection is there an anointing to these three offices.
With the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, individual believers had direct access to God. Bruce Waltke and Jerry MacGreggor in Finding the Will of God: A Pagan Notion? point out that all through the Old Testament, decisions were made by casting lots, using the "urim and thummim," and "fleeces" to discern God's will. The last instance of this we see is Matthias's selection as the disciple to replace Judas just before Pentecost. From then on, divination is no longer needed because we communicate directly with God through the Holy Spirit. Christ is our mediator, and we no longer need earthly priests.
Christ is the prophet, priest, and king. None of us individually is prophet, priest, or king, but because we are united to Christ as his body, we corporately fulfill these functions to the world. As Christ's body, we fulfill the munus triplex. With this in mind, I want to look at the first sixteen verses of Ephesians 4.
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