In Eric Bechler's sermon from the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689, the focus is on Christ as the sole mediator between God and man, emphasizing that this role cannot be transferred to any other. The sermon explores Christ's mediatorial office as consisting of three interconnected roles: prophet, priest, and king. Bechler draws parallels between these roles and their Old Testament counterparts, explaining that while prophets spoke God's words, priests mediated between God and man, and kings ruled, Christ fulfills all these functions perfectly. As a prophet, Christ proclaimed and embodied God's word, calling for repentance and offering forgiveness. As the high priest, he offered himself as a sacrifice once and for all, securing eternal redemption. As king, he reigns with authority over all, promising to provide and care for his people. The sermon also highlights A.W. Pink's insights on the interdependent nature of these roles, which together accomplish the complete redemption of believers. Practical applications include examining one's life to ensure Christ's rule and guidance in daily actions and decisions.

Our reading this morning from the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689 again continues with chapter 8 of Christ the Mediator. This office of mediator between God and man is proper only to Christ who is the prophet, priest, and king of the Church of God, and may not be either in whole or any part thereof transferred from him to any other." This morning we continue with chapter 8 of Christ the Mediator. As a reminder, last week we focused on limited atonement, or better described as definite atonement, along with the mediating actions Christ takes for his people. Our paragraph this morning again touches on our view of Christology and makes three important points regarding the Office of Mediator. First, only Christ can hold and does hold that Office of Mediator between God and man.

Second, the character of his Office of mediator involves the threefold function of the prophet, priest, and king. And finally, that none of these functions, either partially or wholly, may be delegated or transferred to anyone else. Nate read our proof text this morning from Paul's first letter to Timothy in 2.5, for there is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus. We spent the last two months going over all the different aspects of Christ the mediator, and I think we can profess and have shown scripturally that the office of mediator between God and man is proper only to Christ, which is the first statement of our paragraph this morning. In the first paragraph of chapter 8, a couple months ago, we read that it pleased God in His eternal purpose to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus in His only begotten Son according to the covenant made between them both to be the mediator between God and man, the prophet, priest, and King, head and Savior of the Church.

And we'll stop there. I want to spend a little time speaking about Christ as prophet, priest, and king, which is the next section of our paragraph, Christ who is the prophet, priest, and king of the Church of God. As we read through the Old Testament, it's filled with prophets, priests, and kings, each function being done by separate individuals from specific tribes. What was a prophet? A prophet in the Old Testament was someone who spoke the words of God to people, many times prefacing his pronouncements with, thus says the Lord.

Prophet would proclaim God's truth. He would reveal God's plans for the future. He spoke words of indictment against the people for their sin. We see that in Isaiah 1, 2 through 9. They call the people to repentance in Isaiah 1, 16 through 20, and of course, many, many other places.

He pronounces the forgiveness and pardon of God, performs miracles and healings. Who were the priests and what did they do? The priests served as mediators between man and God. The priests were specifically from the tribe of Levi. The high priest came only from the family of Aaron.

And what did they do? They dealt with sin and death. They offered sacrifices to God on behalf of the people. They represented their people before God. They prayed for troops in battle.

They led worship. They taught the law. They determined if someone was sick or healthy and many other things. Who were the kings and what were their purpose? There are many kings of the people of Israel, most of them wicked.

Most of them led the people away from God to the gods of their neighbors. The monarchy was established for peace and prosperity and welfare of the nation. God spoke these words about David. The Lord has sought for himself a man after his own heart. And the Lord has appointed him ruler over his people from 1 Samuel 13-14.

It was said of David that he reigned over all Israel, and David administered justice and equity to all his people. 2 Samuel 8.15. He was a man of war, prudent in speech, brave, musical, and religious. And God promised that David's family should reign forever. A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a branch will bear fruit.

Isaiah 11, one. And that branch is Jesus. But the prophets, priests, and kings of the Old Testament were only types and shadows of what was to come, pointing us to Christ, the Redeemer yet to come. So how do we see Christ in these functions? Let's first read from the book of Revelation, Revelation 1.5, and from Jesus, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of kings of earth, to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.

The faithful witness is prophet, the firstborn of the dead is priest, and the ruler of the kings of earth as king. Let's first look at prophet. As mentioned previously, a prophet indicted the people for their sins and called them to repentance. The prophet declared forgiveness. And Jesus, as the final and sufficient prophet, has done all of these for us.

He came not just proclaiming the word of God. He is the word of God. John 1. He came to the world because of sin. Matthew 1.21.

He proclaimed our need to repent and believe on Him. He proclaimed our pardon and forgiveness of sin. As priests, priests were the mediators between man and God. Christ is the only mediator between God and man. He is our high priest, but unlike the high priest of the Old Testament, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own and then for the sins of the people.

For this high priest sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. He offered himself in Hebrews 7.27. And we will continue reading from Hebrews 9, 11 through 14. But when Christ appeared as high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent not made with hands, that is not of this creation. He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves, but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Thus Christians are able to take heart for our high priest, as it says in Hebrews 8.1, sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, and intercedes for us. And as king, the angel Gabriel told Mary that Jesus will be great and will be called the son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. His kingdom will never end.

Luke 1 3 32 through 33 Jesus conquered sin and death And Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth. He has the name that is above every name. Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Calvin in his Institutes tells us, because Christ is king, we pass through this miserable world, content with this one thing, that our King will never leave us destitute but will provide for our needs until our warfare ended we are called to triumph. The final section of our paragraph reads, and may not be either in whole or any part thereof transferred from him to any other.

AW Pink has a sermon on Christ as prophet, priest, and king that I would recommend for you to look it up and read it. It's too long for me to go in too much here, but it's a good read. He's very thorough on each part that Christ fulfills. And I'd like to read a couple sections of his sermon that addresses this interdependence of these three functions of Christ. The character of his mediatorial office involved the threefold functions of prophet, priest, and king, which was typed out in the Old Testament times by the anointing of prophets, priests, and kings, none other being formally and officially anointed.

These three functions are not three separate offices, but are varied activities of the one office of mediator. Nor are they separate functions capable of successive and isolated performance. They are rather like the several functions of the one living human body, as of the lungs in inhalation, as of the heart in circulation, and of the brain and spinal column in innervation. They are functions distinct yet interdependent, and so together constitute one life. So the functions of prophet, priest, and king mutually imply one another.

Christ is always a prophetic priest, a priestly prophet, and he is always a royal priest and a priestly king. And together they accomplish one redemption to which they are equally essential. The exercise of this threefold function of the mediatorial office was requisite for the complete deliverance of Christ's people by the circumstances in which the fall had placed them. In other words, the moral condition in which they lay as sinners makes it evident that not one of the three branches of his mediatorial office could be dispensed with. His people were immersed in ignorance, in guilt, pollution, and bondage.

At This point in his sermon, A.W. Pink references, maybe it's a poem, it's a nice little writing by John Dick regarding the need for all three functions of prophet, priest, and king. Their ignorance is removed by the discharge of his prophetic office. Their guilt is removed by his priestly office. Their pollution and bondage is removed by his kingly office.

As a prophet, he dispels the darkness of their understandings. As a priest, He atones for sins, for their sins. As a king, he delivers them from the bondage of depravity. He reveals God to us as a prophet. He brings us near to God as a priest.

He renews us after the image of God as King. And finally some points to ponder from A.W. Pink's sermon. And what is the practical application which must be made to us individually of what has been before us? This is Christ our King.

Or is the language of our hearts, we will not have this man to reign over us, as in Luke 19, 14. My readers, this is no mere academic inquiry or one for dispensationalists to fight over, it is a question of vital importance and consequence. And our real answer to it evidence is whether we are really saved or no. If Christ is not my King in a practical way, then no matter what my profession, I am a rebel against him. Can I truly say his will is my law?

His word is my rule of life. His scepter is the authority I own. Can I truthfully say other lords beside you have had dominion over me, Isaiah 26, 13, but henceforth I own no other king but you, no ruler but yours? Bring forth the royal diadem and crown him in your heart and life, Lord of all. I would recommend for you this coming week to take some time to ponder this.

We're all very busy and we all have so much to do, but 10 years from now it's unlikely any of you will remember what we did this week, especially the most important things you had this week. So I recommend take some time, do this. Block off some of this time this week to sit quietly and think about this. Examine how you spend your time. Examine what and who are your priorities?

How are you behaving when no one is looking? Where are your thoughts? Is there something in your life squeezing out God and taking dominion over you? If you find that you are off the track, confess and repent, turn back to God, and remember that Christ as prophet can dispel the darkness of your understanding and bring light into your situation, that Christ as King can deliver you from the bondage of sin, and that Christ as priest can atone for your sins. As we sang last week in one of our hymns, and crown Him Lord of all.

Amen.