Prophet, Priest, and King: The Roles of Christ in the Bible and Our Roles Today

by Richard P. Belcher Jr.

The Bible tells us that Christ has three “offices”—those of Prophet, Priest, and King. Viewed alongside his humiliation and exaltation, they provide a fully rounded understanding of his work and insight into the ongoing roles of the church.

In this biblical theology, Richard Belcher explores and defines the basic functions of prophets, priests, and kings through an analysis of key Old Testament texts before discussing their fulfillment in Christ and how they are carried out today by the church, its leaders, and individual believers.

“Belcher’s impressive treatment of these offices in their biblical-theological setting is essential reading in understanding their comprehensive nature. This book deftly combines biblical and pastoral insight that is most welcome in furthering our understanding of Scripture and the person and work of Christ.”
—DEREK W. H. THOMAS, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia

“With wisdom, clarity, and grace, Belcher guides the reader to a richer and fuller vision of Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King.”
—MICHAEL J. KRUGER, President and Samuel C. Patterson Professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Charlotte

“Belcher’s work points us all toward the importance of keeping the centrality of Christ in view as we address the manifold challenges that Christians face as we long for his return in glory.” —RICHARD L. PRATT JR., President, Third Millennium Ministries

RICHARD P. BELCHER JR. is Professor of Old Testament and Academic Dean at Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is author of The Messiah and the Psalms and commentaries on Gene- sis and Ecclesiastes and has a decade of pastoral experience.

Genres: Theology, Old Testament

220 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 22, 2016

About the author

Dr. Belcher is the Professor of Old Testament. He is an ordained minister in the PCA and pastored an urban nondenominational church in Rochester, NY for ten years before pursuing the Ph. D. This pastoral experience in an unusual and challenging setting gives him great insight into the practical, modern issues that will be faced by future pastors studying with him at RTS. He graduated from Covenant College and received his M. Div from Covenant Seminary. He also received an S.T.M. from Concordia Theological Seminary, and his Ph. D. is from Westminster Theological Seminary. He has served as stated supply for numerous churches in the area since coming to RTS Charlotte in 1995.

Reviews

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first book of 2017 was a good one (and a Christmas gift from good people!). Belcher reviews the offices of prophet, priest, and king in the Old Testament. Not much of this material was new to me, but it is quite thorough and ought to be used as an excellent resource in the future. Probably the most interesting portions were those that discussed the combination of two or three of these offices in one man (prior to Christ). We often assume this was a bad thing, due to kings who got in trouble for offering sacrifices. But the Biblical reality is much more complex. I always considered Moses the best OT example of a prophet-priest-king (a Levite who was adopted by a princess and later delivered the Law of God and interceded for the people). But Belcher offers Abraham as an equally strong example (he interceded for Lot and Sodom, defeated a royal alliance, and is explicitly called a prophet in Gen. 20:7).

Belcher also discusses how Christ fulfilled each of these roles. This too was good. Belcher discusses Christ's earthly ministry thoroughly, but I wish he had discussed Christ's current occupancy of those offices a little more.

The last chapter addresses how the church today, but corporately and individually, fulfill these three offices. This material was new in many ways to me, and incredibly helpful. For believers ARE called to serve as prophets, priests, and kings, although not in a manner that detracts from Christ's execution of those offices in any way.

[Anne Michal]

This book is really good! I had to read it for class but I personally loved his last chapter on how we as believers are prophet priest and king in our daily lives.

[Ronnie Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and biblical. Beneficial both to the laymen and elder. Mr Belcher does an outstanding job of describing the OT roles of prophet, priest, and King, and then clearly explains how Jesus Christ fulfills all of those roles in HIs Kingdom and the New Covenant. The study questions at the end of each chapter and the biblical and detailed exposition make this an excellent resource for a Sunday school or bible study group, and should find a home in the library of any pastor.

[George Herndon · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a clear little book. I’m continually impressed by Dr. Belcher’s ability to extract relevant application from doctrines we often grow dull to. The questions after each chapter would make this a wonderful book for a small group to go through.

[Grant Carter]

Dr Belcher is a great prof. I have thoroughly enjoyed his class on the Pentateuch and this was a very helpful book.

[Kirby Key · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stine, this one was pretty good

[Dann Zinke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of the roles of prophet, priest, and king in the OT, and how Christ fulfills each of those roles. Also has a nice bonus chapter on how the church today can embody each roles in various ways.

[Hobart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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Throughout Church History, however varying in degree, theologians have focuses on the offices of Jesus Christ as Prophet, Priest and King. The present is probably one of those period that doesn't emphasize them too much -- at least, not the Prophet and King (even as Presbyterian and Reformed children recite them in their catechisms). It's probably time for us to take another look at them in detail. This is Belcher's aim, at least. As he says,

This book will address the work of Christ in light of the roles of Prophet, Priest, and King and will then draw out implications for the church.

(I'd originally spent 2 or 3 sentences saying that, when I spotted it in his opening paragraphs -- always go with pithy).

That's pretty much the book, after the introductory chapter, setting the stage, Belcher examines each office in turn, a chapter on the Old Testament definition, history and development of the office, followed by a chapter on Christ's fulfillment of the office during his estate of humiliation, and then in his estate of exaltation.

A redemptive-historical approach— emphasizing Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament —naturally lends itself to connecting with the roles, not just for Christ but also for his body, the church. This approach also has implications for preaching Christ from the Old Testament.

The examinations of the offices are very thorough, but probably not exhaustive (although they sure seem exhaustive) -- I'm not sure I learned a whole lot during these chapters, but I do think that reflecting on the offices in this manner has helped me understand them more and in a deeper way as leading to Christ. 

There are study questions at the end of each chapter that are a handy means of reviewing, but don't encourage much further study and thought. But I can see where they'd be useful for a class or discussion group.

While examining the Old Testament office of King, Belcher Mention digresses for a while to examine the question "Is there a Royal Priesthood in Israel?" What does the OT mean when it talks about Kings offering sacrifices, if that's the role of the priest. I'd wondered idly about that a time or two, but hadn't realized how complex the question can be.

In the nation of Israel the roles of prophet, priest, and king are basically kept separate to define their meanings. But it is significant that these roles come together in both the description of Adam and Eve and the description of Israel’s mission. Thus it makes sense that the Old Testament would begin to describe the coming future ruler as carrying out the combined roles (Ps. 110; Zech. 6: 11–13). 26 These are fulfilled in Christ, who is Prophet, Priest, and King during his earthly ministry. He fulfills them in his work of salvation and continues in these roles on behalf of his people in his ascension. The work of Christ lays the basis for restoring these roles to human beings in their service to God, to the church, and to the world.

Therefore, the final chapter looks at how The Church can fulfill her mission via these roles. I found this chapter fascinating -- easily the best in the book. It, too, is not exhaustive, but merely outlines the ways The Church (as a whole and as individuals) can function. I wish almost everything in this chapter had been more developed and explored.

This is sound, solid, careful writing. Sure, it could use some personality -- but it doesn't need it. It's just not that engaging -- but for those interested in the topic (or see a need to develop that interest), this is a good investment of time. For a careful examination of something too often ignored, this is a worthy read.

Disclaimer: I received this eARC from P&R Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for this post -- thanks to both for this.
N.B.: As this was an ARC, any quotations above may be changed in the published work -- I will endeavor to verify them as soon as possible.

[Andrzej Stelmasiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall I think it is a good read, I appreciate him gleaning not only from modern writers but from old ones as well. It is a good summary if one is interesting in the subject, I think I would have to take a few books out of my shelves to find a chapter here, a paragraph there... here the author wrote one decent treatment which is thorough but succinct in the same time. No major disagreements, but still unsure why is he saying that Adam AND Eve were a given priestly, prophetic and kingly roles? As usual for him, the language is very accessible but is deep enough in it's nature, to be used as a reference book for my seminary assignments. I am biased cause I like his books and profit from his lectures most (out of all we have to listen to) so would say that I recommend this book. If you have nothing else that would assist your studies, this one will still suffice. Is it the best treatment of the subject? I think that it is possible to go a lot deeper but that would be a scholarly work then. Because of Beale, Fesko, Vos and others I had a basic grasp of the subject already so there was nothing entirely new for me there, but as as summary I'd say 'yes' for this book.

[JR Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Biblical-Theological study of the three roles of Prophet, Priest, and King. Dr. Belcher not only goes into the historical background of these roles in the Patriarchs through to Israel, but also how Christ fulfills these roles. The last chapter seeks to apply these three roles to the church and the individual.

My only quibble might be that I wished the application part (the best part of the book) were synthesized through the book itself, rather than included at the end. The content of that last chapter didn't feel "tacked on", but it's placement did.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid and accessible theological exploration combined with helpful application. An enriching and thought-provoking book for Christians to see the fullness of Christ’s salvific work and the way the church applies it today.

[Tyler Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorough study of the three roles through the OT and their culmination in Christ. Helpful for the ground it covers...Not much more than that.

[Dylan Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid if not spectacular. Thoroughly biblical look at the offices of Christ.

[Jake Ruefer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid Biblical theological examination of this topic. Very helpful and easy to read quickly. I will return to this one.

[Adam McKinney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good resource and I like that it has discussion questions after each chapter. Could be good for a small group context but it would depend on the overall maturity of the group.

[Jonathan Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid, if stodgy, overview of prophet, priest & King in the Bible.

[Kevin Sheth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent biblical theology of the threefold office and its implications for christian living - more introductory than academic but the endnotes are useful for further study.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the theme of Christ being Prophet, Priest and King has been much discussed in systematic theology the author made a good point that there hasn’t been the exploration of these motifs through the discipline of biblical theology; that is, there has not been the exploration of these offices’ as it developed through the unfolding of redemptive history that eventually anticipate and find its fulfillment in Christ. This book is an attempt to fill in the gap. I think the book accomplishes its aim of fulfilling this need. The author was able to do this in such a way that was spiritually enriching, practical and gives readers a greater appreciation for the wisdom of God found in the Scriptures.
The book is neatly divided into eight chapters. Chapter one discusses the importance of the Prophet, Priest and King. The bulk of the book are the six chapters in which there is a chapter that explore each of these three roles as it is found in the Old Testament with a corresponding chapter showing how Christ has fulfilled those roles. Chapter eight is on the implication for the church of the motif of Prophet, Priest and King. I appreciated the way the chapters were organized as it was logical to follow. I also appreciated how each chapters ended with a series of study questions that’s great for personal reflection and small group discussions.
The following are things I learned from this book:
• Chapter one has a good discussion of the Garden of Eden and Adam’s role of Prophet, Priest and King. The author admits that the role of Adam being a king is stronger than the role of priest and prophet.
• The book has an interesting discussion about the garments of the priest of Israel. The Bible spends some time talking about the priests’ garments with instructions on making them in Exodus 28 and Exodus 39. This includes the making of a special linen undergarments to cover their naked flesh which means that they must not step on stairs in the alter so as not to expose their nakedness which traces us back to Adam and Eve and the reminder of the shame with sin. Closer study of the priest garments reveal that it represent the presence of God to the people and also the priest as representative of the people to God.
• In discussing about the priesthood of Jesus the author does realize that during Christ’s earthly ministry there is not much discussion about His priestly office which followed more after His death. A large factor for this is that Christ would inaugurate a different priesthood of a different order than the Levites. I really enjoyed how the book showed Jesus’ fulfillment of the roles of Old Testament priests (teaching, sacrifice, etc.). I thought the most interesting discussion in the book concerning priests is how Jesus is responsible for “keeping and guarding” such as mentioned in John 17:12 which is an allusion back to Adam who also is responsible for “keeping and guarding” in Genesis 2:15 and also that of the Levites in the tabernacle according to Numbers 3:7.
• Both Deuteronomy 4:5-8 and Isaiah 49:6 contain the mandate for Israel to be a light.
• While a bit of a tangent I appreciated that chapter three referenced 1 Maccabees 4:46, 9:27, 14:41 as evidence that during the inter-testamental time period there’s recognition of the cessation of prophets from God.
Overall I enjoyed this book and I do highly recommend it.
NOTE: This book was provided to me free by P&R Publishing and Net Galley without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Richard P. Belcher's Prophet, Priest, and King. I loved how it covered both the Old and New Testaments. I loved the spin they put on the subject. This isn't the first book that took time to elaborate on how Jesus Christ is our prophet, priest, and king all-in-one. But it was the first book that I've read that then argued that the church body--the bride of Christ--is to continue on in these three roles. Believers are called to be--set apart to be--prophets, priests, and kings.

The book first shows how the roles of prophet, priest, and king were created and established in the Old Testament. With the creation of Adam and Eve, God set in place these three roles for humanity. Adam was not the perfect priest, the perfect prophet, or the perfect king. None of the Old Testament prophets, priests, or kings were perfect. But even imperfectly, even with much brokenness, these roles continued on: in some cases revealing the need for the perfect one to come, and in other cases, establishing a type, prophesying of the greater one to come. The book then shows how Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled--ultimately fulfilled in a way no other human could--the three roles of prophet, priest, and king. Last, the book then shows how our union to Christ enables us to continue on serving each other, serving the world as prophets, priests, and kings.

I loved the organization of this one. The first chapter serves as introduction and brings up creation and God's design. The last chapter serves as conclusion and brings up the church's role as creation order has been restored by Christ. The other (six) chapters look at the roles individually. First, the role is studied in detail from the Old Testament. Second, the role is studied in detail from the New Testament.

I appreciated the clarity. The author clearly defines and explains the roles of prophets, priests, and kings. And more importantly defines them based on usage in the Bible throughout both testaments.