A Study of the Book of Judges
John Frame has coined the term triperspectivalism to describe the fact that as men and women, made in the image of God, we bear some prophet-ness, priest-ness, and kingliness. Many are now using these three categories to helpfully describe and analyze human personality, gifting, and weaknesses in both individual and corporate settings. For example, in a gift assessment to see if s
omeone is a good fit for a future hire, one would ask the question: what kind of person do we want for this role and does person X have that gift set? Do we need a priest, a prophet, maybe both? Or, perhaps a church leans too heavily into one category and needs more of the other two, then that church could helpfully use this tripartite means of categorizing in its self evaluation.
Two big and important points. One, though God has made us to be wired the way we are wired, we are called to live with and complement others. So, you might be a priest, with negligible strengths in the prophetic or kingliness. But, you are called to use your strengths to complement the other. American culture tends to value the prophet-king the most, but that does not make that person any better or more important. So, neither superiority or inferiority are appropriate responses. Two, being aware of yourself and others will only help you with point one.
So, what does it mean to be priestly, prophetic, and kingly?
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