Father ; who put all power and judgment into His hand, and gave Him commandment to execute the same.' Along with this may be taken tiie answers to questions 43-45 in the Lartjei- Catechism. ' 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.' 'Christ executeth the office of a priest in His once offering Himself a sacrifice without spot to God, to be a reconciliation for the sins of His people ; and in making continual intercession for them.' ' Christ executeth the office of a king in calling out of the world a people to Himself, and giving them officers, laws, and censures, by which He visibly governs them ; in bestowing saving grace upon His elect, rewarding their obedience, and correcting them for their sins, preserving and supi)orting them under all their temptations and suflferings, restraining and overcoming all their enemies, and powerfully ordering all things for His own glory and their good ; and also in taking vengeance on the rest, who know not God, and obey not the gospel.'
Tn our day it is less common than formerly to speak of the official character of Clirist ; and this for several reasons. Definite doctrine as to the Person and work of our Lord is unacceptable in many quarters, and a reaction from the termin- ology of the schools is common. Questions as to the metaphysical nature of Christ are thougiit to be too abstract. That Jesus should embody a fullilineut of OT propiiecy as to tlie Messiah is of remote interest to many. The richne.ss of Christ's humanity lias been so energetically un- folded, that there is an aversion to contemplate Him in any aspect wliich might be suspected of dehumanizing Him by representing Him more in the light of a formal functionary than of a loving Son of Man and Elder Brother. Ritschl, e.g., attacks the word ' office ' as unsuitable, because office is a special calling with a view to realizing a legal or moral community upon conditions of law (see Dorner, op. cit. p. 383).
As against such objections we would submit that the theological category in question possesses too much historic and intrinsic worth to be dis- carded. Historically it has its roots in Scripture, and controversially it has served to clarify doctrine and to safeguard certain aspects of Christ's Person and work. But, above all, Christ in His official character meets the entire needs of sinful man. On account of that moral evil Avhich blinds the soul to the knowledge and perception of God, we need a Mediator to reveal God and to enligiiten the conscience ; and here Christ, as the Light of the world, appears in His prophetic office. Next, the efifect of light is to disclose the fact of sin and awaken tiie sense of guilt and the fear of judg- ment ; and here Christ, by putting away sin, by affording access to God, and by blessing us from God, discharges the priestly office. Lastly, by creating an eternal society in which we may live as His loving subjects, serving Him willingly according to His laws. He acts as a Divine king. Nor is there any subordinate office performed by Christ which may not be classified under one or other of these constitutive three.
LiTERATURK.— Hodge, Syst. Theol. ii. 459 ff. ; Martensen, Chr. Dngmat. 295-329; Macpherson, Chr. Dorjmat. 328 f. ; Litton, Dogmatic Theolorjy, 222 ; Dennev, Stud, in Theol. 137 ff., 163 ff. ; art. ' Jesu Christi dreifaohes Amt ' in PRE'i and the Lit. there
&'^^n- Robert M. Adamson.
OIL (j^B*, fKaiov), by which Ave are to understand olive oil, was from the very earliest times one of the main products of Palestine, for already in days prior to the Hebrew settlement, Canaan was 'a land of oil olives ' (Dt 8^). The importance of this valuable commodity cannot easily be over- estimated. It afforded lig'lit (Mt 25^) and nourish- ment (1 K 1712) to the household ; it was valued for its healing and medicinal virtues (Is l^ RV, Lk lO'-') ; it had its place in the Hebrew ritual (Ex 29^», Lv 2') ; and it was an important article of commerce (2 K 4', Lk 16").
The oil was obtained by subjecting the berries
of the olive-tree to pressure. The earliest method of expression seems to have been that of treading the olives with the feet, to which allusion is made in Mic 6^', and perhaps also in Dt 33'^^. This pro- cess is unknown in modern times (Thomson, LB pp. 207, 339). Van-Lennep, however, states that the pulp from the olive-press is still ' trodden with the bare feet of women and girls ' [Bible Lands, p. 13U). At what period this primitive method was abandoned, and made way for more thorough jjrocesses, we do not know. The OT has no refer- ences that are clear enough to guide us : those that occur [e.g. Job 24^1 29^) are vague and general, and in none of them is the oil-press speciiically men- tioned. But from the Mishna [Mcndhoth \\\i. 14) we learn that tiie processes commonly employed were bruising in a mortar, and crushing in the oil-press and the oil-mill, tiiese processes being consecutive, not alternative.