Genesis 17:7:
"I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee."Notice what is taught here:
- The covenant is unilateral (one-sided) - "I will establish my covenant", and unconditional. It is not, "Abraham, thou and I are going to establish this covenant together", neither is it, "I will establish my covenant with thee if thou..." It is an operation of the sovereign power of God, in which He does as He pleases.
- The essence of the covenant is not justification or outward blessings, but that God will be the recipient's God - "to be a God unto thee". That is, the covenant is fellowship with God, it is life itself. Justification is a means toward, and only a part of, the establishment and realization of the covenant.
- This covenant (fellowship with the Triune God) is promised not to Abraham only, but also to his children - " between me and thee and they seed after thee in their generations... to be a God unto thee and to they seed after thee". And to point toward this inclusion of the children, God commanded Abraham not only to circumcise himself, but also his (male) children, verses 10ff.
But first, we notice that the covenant with Abraham is "everlasting". And then we ask, what does the New Testament teach about the covenant with Abraham, and its place in the New Testament Church?
Romans 4:16
"Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all."Galatians 3:14,29
"That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith... if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."Can it be any clearer? We, New Testament Gentile believers, are "heirs according to the promise". We are the children of Abraham, who is "the father of us all". And in case there was any confusion, the Apostle Paul says explicitly:
"For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;" (Rom 2:28-29)We are the seed of Abraham, the true Israel, the Jews by heart; we are the children of Abraham, the recipients of the promise. And the covenant still includes our children, for it is "everlasting". And to this the New Testament agrees:
"For we [Jew & Gentile believers] are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit." (Phi 3:3).
"Then were there brought unto him little children [that is, believing parents brought their "little children" to Jesus to be blessed by him], that he should put his hands on them [think of believers bringing their babies to the church to be baptised], and pray: and the disciples [the modern-day Baptists] rebuked them. But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 19:13-14And for this reason, the Reformed Church has always confessed,
"For the promise is unto you, and to your children" - Acts 2:39
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" - Acts 16:31
"For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy." - 1 Corinthians 7:14
"Are infants also to be baptized?Praise God that the promise is not only for us, but also for our children! And because of this everlasting, unfailing promise of God, we baptise our children.
Yes: for since they, as well as the adult, are included in the covenant and church of God; and since redemption from sin by the blood of Christ, and the Holy Ghost, the author of faith, is promised to them no less than to the adult; they must therefore by baptism, as a sign of the covenant, be also admitted into the christian church; and be distinguished from the children of unbelievers as was done in the old covenant or testament by circumcision, instead of which baptism is instituted in the new covenant." (Heidelberg Catechism, Q74)
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2 comments:
Thanks Manuel. On that note, it occurred to me this morning that essentially, Anabaptists do not really have children at all. Our true children are those children who are after our new nature, not the old (since the old is being destroyed daily, and since the essential thing about genuine children is that they are in the image of their parents - John 8!).
So, the children of the flesh are not our true children at all, and destined for everlasting destruction in the unquenchable fire. Only the spiritual children are our true children. The Baptists deny that we have spiritual children, and treat all as unconverted and refuse them baptism and entrance to the church.
It is as absurd as if the sheep were called and brought into the sheepfold, and then proceeded to cast out all their lambs until the lambs are old enough to look the same as the adult sheep. But the good shepherd feeds the lambs and blesses them. What is the blessing of Jesus Christ except the fulness of life with God in the covenant of grace?
Your picture of the sheep and lambs is great! Thanks Sam.
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