Definition (house style)
The threefold office (munus triplex) describes the redemptive-historical ministry of Christ as prophet, priest, and king. The doctrine is rooted in the biblical structure of anointing: in the Old Testament, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed to their office. Christ’s name (“Anointed One,” Messiah/Christos) thus encompasses the entire threefold office. Its systematic formulation goes back to John Calvin (Institutes II.15).
On apokatastasis.wiki, Noordzij reads the baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:21-22) as the moment of anointing to the threefold office: the heavenly voice confirms his sonship (royal), the Spirit rests upon him (priestly), and he begins his public ministry as the prophet in the line of Moses (Deut. 18:15). Bullinger confirms the priestly office through the sevenfold “after the order of Melchizedek” formula in Scripture.
Usage per author
Noordzij
Noordzij connects the anointing to the threefold office explicitly with the baptism of Jesus:
“Then the Father anointed Him as true King and High Priest and declared: ‘You are My Son, the beloved, in whom I am well pleased’ (Luke 3:21-22). What riches! King, High Priest, Son of the living God!”
[Noordzij, Moses and the Way to Sonship, §48 — translated from Dutch]
The prophetic office Noordzij connects to the Mosaic prophecy of Deut. 18:15:
“‘A Prophet from among your brothers, like me, the Lord your God will raise up for you; to him you shall listen’ (Deut. 18:15). That happened more than a thousand years later, when the Lord Jesus was sent.”
[Noordzij, Moses and the Way to Sonship, §18 — translated from Dutch]
The kingship carries an eschatological accent in Noordzij: the final throne will be shared with those who have walked the path of suffering and glorification (Rev. 3:21; Rom. 8:17).
Bullinger
Bullinger documents the numerical confirmation of the priestly office through the formula “after the order of Melchizedek,” which occurs seven times in Scripture:
“‘After the order of Melchizedek’: Old Testament 1 [Total] 7. New Testament 6. (Ps. 110:4, quoted in Heb. 5:6,10, 6:20, 7:11,17,21.)”
[Bullinger, Number in Scripture, Part I, ch. II]
The number seven (divine stamp) on the Melchizedek formula confirms for Bullinger the divine validation of Christ’s eternal high-priesthood — an office that surpasses the Aaronic priesthood.