The Work of Christ – Part 1 (Discipleship Training)

This post is part of my series on Discipleship Training. See all Discipleship Training Plans here.

Or, read my introductory post on discipleship training here.

The Work of Christ (Part 1): The work of Christ is vast and comprehensive. Everything we depend upon for our salvation was accomplished for us by Christ. Therefore, we will divide our study of Christ’s great work for us into multiple sections. In this section, we will consider the threefold offices of Christ, as well as his work for us in the “estate of humiliation.”

When we call Jesus the Messiah or the Christ, we are using Hebrew and Greek terms (respectively) that translate into English as “Anointed One.” In the Old Testament, there were three anointed offices: prophets (e.g., 1 Kgs. 19:16), priests (e.g., Ex. 29:7), and kings (e.g., (1 Sam. 10:1; 16:13). Anointing with oil was symbolic of the anointing of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Sam. 16:13). As the ultimate Anointed One, Christ is our final Prophet, Priest, and King.

Much of the way that Christ executes these offices is through his “estate of humiliation”—that is, through his work of taking “the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:7) for us, and for our salvation. Christ willingly humbled himself from his conception all the way to his death and burial to do everything necessary to accomplish our salvation.

Training Objective

To recognize Christ’s work as Prophet, Priest, and King, and to see how Christ accomplished his work by humbling himself in his estate of humiliation.

Scripture

Read and discuss:

• 1 Kings 19:16: Prophets were anointed to their office
• Exodus 29:7: Priests were anointed to their office
• 1 Samuel 10:1: Kings were to be anointed to their office
• 1 Samuel 16:13: Anointing by oil symbolized the anointing of the Holy Spirit
• Philippians 2:6–8: Christ humbled himself in his estate of humiliation, all the way to the point of death on a cross

Doctrine

Read and discuss:

• Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch. 8:4a
• Westminster Larger Catechism #41–50
• Westminster Shorter Catechism #23–27

Discussion Questions

• What does it mean to say that Christ is “Mediator”? What does that tell us about Christ’s work?
• What do the titles “Messiah” and “Christ” mean? Why is Christ’s status as “Anointed One” important for understanding his work?
• What does Christ accomplish for us as our Prophet?
• What does Christ accomplish for us as our Priest?
• What does Christ accomplish for us as our King?
• Why was it necessary for Christ to enter into an estate of humiliation to accomplish his work for us?
• How does an understanding of Christ’s estate of humiliation help to explain what Christ meant when he said that the Father was “greater” than he (John 14:28; cf. John 5:19; 8:28; 10:29; 12:49)?

Application

• Pray for Christ, as Prophet, to renew your deceived mind
• Pray for Christ, as Priest, to take away the pollution of your sin
• Pray for Christ, as King, to subdue your rebellious will
• Praise Christ for humbling himself in an estate of humiliation for us

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