The 3-fold mission (offices) of Christ:
1) Priest: worship God
emphasis: detailed obedience to God; guarding the sanctuary
2) King: serve God
emphasis: ruling under God by serving; beautifying creation
3) Prophet: speak to God and speak for God
emphasis: covenant wisdom and faithfulness
In the Bible, there are three offices: priest, king, prophet. In the Old Testament, these three offices are usually separated. But in the coming of the new covenant, they were combined in the one person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true Priest, the promised King, and the prophesied Prophet (Hebrews 7, 2 Samuel 7, Deuteronomy 18).
As the anointing oil on Aaron’s head trickled down to his body, so too Jesus’ anointing with the Spirit trickled down to his body, the Church. As head, Jesus received from the Father the fullness of the Spirit and gave it as gift to his Church. His Church, his bride, his body, is anointed in him, not apart from him.
This anointing of the Spirit is given to us in the waters of baptism (Acts 2:38). In baptism, we are identified with Christ and united to him by faith. Our union with him brings the double grace of forgiveness and Spirit-empowerment. United to Christ, we are priests, kings and prophets of God in him. Thus the Bible tells us that we are
+ a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9),
+ reigning with Christ (Ephesians 2:6),
+ prophets, speaking the words of Christ (Acts 2:16-18, Ephesians 5:18-19).
In Christ, we Christians are priests...
+ we have access to the Holy of Holies
+ we eat and drink before God in his sanctuary
+ we offer ourselves/our bodies as living sacrifices
+ we offer our praises and prayers
+ we offer the fruit of our hands and lives
In Christ, we Christians are kings...
+ we are ruling with Christ
+ we rule the world by serving it (this we do in the respective "secular" jobs that we do day by day)
+ we serve one another (“deacon” one another)
+ we shepherd one another (“oversee” one another)
+ we pursue shalom
In Christ, we Christians are prophets...
+ we are members of God’s council (whenever we pray, we are "counseling" with God; we "advise" God what to do)
+ we speak God’s Word to the world (evangelists)
+ we speak God’s Word to one another (teachers)
+ we apply God’s Word to all dimensions of life
Hence in Christ, the baptized people are individually and collectively priests, kings and prophets. This is a great blessing that brings with it great responsibilities. The question is: Will we be faithful to our three-fold identity and to the corresponding duties?