Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …
In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. …
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

• John 1:1, 4, 18

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

• John 15:15

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

• John 20:31

Another reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. Anyone you forgive, I also forgive. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake,

• 2 Corinthians 2:9-10

For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

• 2 Peter 1:21

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

• Ephesians 4:11-13

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

• John 14:26

“Q. 23. How does Christ execute the office of a prophet?
“A. Christ executes the office of a prophet, in revealing to us (John 1:18), by his Word (John 20:31) and Spirit (John 14:26), the will of God for our salvation.”

• Charles H. Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Catechism (Scripture proofs in bold above)

“Q. 24. How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
“A. Christ executeth the office of a prophet in revealing to us, by his Word and Spirit, the will of God for our salvation.”

• The Shorter Catechism (Westminster Assembly)

“Q. 43. How doth Christ execute the office of a prophet?
“A. Christ executeth the office of a prophet, in his revealing to the church in all ages, by his Spirit and Word, in divers ways of administration, the whole will of God, in all things concerning their edification and salvation.”

• The Larger Catechism (Westminster Assembly)

Before we can discuss how Jesus executes the office of prophet, we must discuss what a prophet is in a biblical context.  A prophet is a person who speaks the truth of God to other people.  A prophet sees and thinks in a spiritual sense (both Ezekiel and John were carried in the Spirit – not physically relocated).  What is not a prophet necessarily is a foreteller of the future.

Why start the biblical proofs with John 1:1?  The Father and the Son are One.  What better means to explain what the Father wants to tell the people of earth other than through another person of the Trinity.  Who better to explain the mysteries of God other than God.

Jesus did not need an oracle, a vision, a dream.  Jesus is God.  As such, as Jesus spoke, He spoke prophecy – speaking the truth of God to other people.

And now let us sing.

The following worship song, How Firm a Foundation is sung by Chelsea Moon with the Franz brothers.  Jesus, being fully God, is the firmest of all foundations. In case you sing along, the third and fifth verses, provided below, are skipped in case you sing along, and the singer adds a couple of interludes.

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

E’en down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And then, when grey hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!”

• K. or George Keith or R. Keen, How Firm a Foundation

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord,
Thank You for all that You do.  You guide us with Your Holy Spirit.  You gave us Your Holy Bible to guide us.  You gave us Your Son to explain and fulfill the Old Testament prophecies.  You lay it out before us and it is our job to use our ears and eyes and other senses to know You are here with us.  We praise You for always being there.
In thy Name we pray.
Amen

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.