The Offices of Christ, Why Are They Important

The following material is taken from an ongoing conversation. But even so, it seemed worth publishing here.

Hello ****,

In our conversations, something has been winking at me off and on. But I have not captured it until now. In all our discussions, I have lost sight of the most important aspect. I apologize for my slowness here.  

What I have neglected concerns the offices or functions of Christ. In so far as I have read and have conversed with others, this is not a subject of importance to them or to Christendom as a whole. "Christ has done what he came to do and will appear again sometime in the future to finish up the job," seems to be the prevailing attitude.

In an epistle written to all the Kings, Princes, and Governors in the whole world and to all that call themselves Christian; and others, Fox puts forth the questions: So Christ has come and you that are called Christians will confess him, but how do you know him as a prophet in your midst? How do you know him as a shepherd in your midst? How do you know him as a governor and king in your midst? How do you know him as a bishop in your midst? How do you know him as a priest in your midst? And so on. In each instance he details what it is that Christ does in the midst in these various offices. (This is a rough paraphrase of material from Works of Fox, Vol. 5, pp. 319-320) The answer one receives when asking these questions is, "Huh? What are you talking about?" If the answerer is particularly alert, one may get, "Why do we need to know Christ as prophet in our midst, as bishop, shepherd, king, priest, etc. in our midst?"

In our discussions, we have kicked around the question of conformity to the outward practices of the early Church. But knowing Christ present in the midst is all his offices has to do with the question of living in the same life and power as the apostles, the prophets, and Christ. This is the important question. Acceptance before God has nothing to do with whitewashing the tombs of dead men's bones, but with experiencing those bones brought forth to life.

Ellis