The threefold office of Christ (the munus triplex) is the classic framework, given its fullest expression by Calvin, that organizes the mediatorial work of Christ under the three anointed offices of the Old Testament—Prophet, Priest, and King. The very title “Christ” (and its Hebrew equivalent “Messiah”) means “Anointed One,” and in Israel three classes of men were anointed for their offices: prophets, priests, and kings. Christ, anointed with the Spirit without measure, fulfills all three perfectly in His single person, and these offices together comprehend the whole of His saving work. As Prophet He reveals the will of God for our salvation, dispelling our ignorance. As Priest He offers Himself a sacrifice for our guilt and intercedes for us, removing our condemnation. As King He rules, defends, and subdues, breaking the power of sin and Satan and governing His people. The framework is illuminating because it answers the threefold ruin of fallen man: by sin we are ignorant (needing a Prophet to teach), guilty (needing a Priest to atone), and enslaved (needing a King to rule and deliver). It also guards against partial views of Christ that would seize one office while neglecting the others—the rationalist who wants only a Teacher, the sentimentalist who wants only a Sacrifice for comfort, or the triumphalist who wants only a King of power. The whole Christ is Prophet, Priest, and King, and saving faith receives Him in all three offices: trusting His teaching, resting in His atonement, and submitting to His rule. To divide the offices is to fashion a Christ of one’s own; to receive them together is to know the Mediator as He truly is.