Countryside Baptist Church, Pasig City Galatians 3.
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Baptist Ministerial Seminary
Sunday Seminary Lecture on The Church Covenant
Lesson 3: Church Covenant, Paragraph 1 (part 2) October 15, 2017
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as
our Saviour, and on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the
Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now in the presence of God,
angels, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one
another, as one body in Christ.
Institution of Baptism: Matthew 28.18-20
Foundational Focus: Christ’s exaltation and universal authority as risen Lord (v. 18)
Major Proposition: teach all nations = make disciples of all nations
This is the only imperative verb in the commission. . .only one command-action with
following components
The main occupation of the church in relation to the world is to make disciples of Christ
Connecting Activities: Three participles surround the major proposition
(a) Going, ‘having gone’ = This is the assumed motion of disciple-making (Evangelism)
(b) Baptizing them, ‘baptizontes’ = an going mandate
The subject: Those who are made disciples
The Formula-Name: ‘of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’
 Each of the Persons is given His distinct identity. . .Note: of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit. . .Each carries the article
 The Three however, are constituted in one = the Name
(c) Teaching them = present participle = an ongoing occupation
Note: The teaching is the activity resulting from baptism, not that of qualifying for baptism
Beware: This is often reversed where doctrinal qualification is required before baptism is
administered
Lordly Promise: Christ’s abiding presence in His Church = I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world.
The mission of the Church as here defined is envisioned to the unalterable until the end
It is the presence of Christ in His Church that guarantees the completion of this mission in
the world
Christianity must spread by an internal necessity or it has already decayed; for one
of Jesus commands is to teach all he commands. Failure to disciple, baptize and teach the
peoples of the world is already itself one of the failures of our own discipleship. – D.A. Carson
NT Teachings on Baptism
Acts 2.41
The ones baptized were those who received the Word
Those baptize were deemed added to the community (church)
‘as many of you’ connects to the previous ‘you are all sons of God through faith’
‘have put on Christ’ = identified with Christ in a visible, or declarative way
Romans 6.3
This is Paul’s answer to the logic of looseness in life on account of grace
It is compatible with the identification of the believer with Christ signified in baptism
Ephesians 4:4, 5
Baptism is part of the oneness of the church
Being baptized implies being one with the faith-identity of the church
Colossians 2.12
Some analogy with OT circumcision is connected
Baptism identifies with the death of Christ and is a sign of our completeness in Him
Summary Teachings
1. All disciples of Christ are assumed baptized
2. The efficacy of baptism is oriented to the reality of faith in the gospel
3. Baptism identifies the disciple with Christ and His saving death-resurrection
4. Baptism incorporates the baptized into the church and unites with its faith.
Believer Baptism: Only those who make a credible personal profession of faith should be
baptized
1. Faith-baptism sequence in the NT
In John the Baptist. . .Lk. 3.8
In the institution of baptism. . .Mt. 28.18-20
In the actual apostolic baptisms. . .Ac. 2.41; 8.36ff; 10.47f; 16.31-34
2. Significance of baptism = the initiating/covenanting ordinance of confessed discipleship
3. Covenant and believer baptism
(a) Covenant promises/blessings in the NT are spiritual and redemptive (Heb. 8.7ff)
(b) Covenant favor in the NT is acquired by regeneration, and not by generation (Jn. 1.12-13)
(c) The covenant seal of baptism is administered to every individual regenerate (Acts 2.38)
(d) Membership in the church is by voluntary entry and covenant fellowship (Acts. 9.26)
Validity of Baptism
Issue: What constitutes a valid baptism in terms of the administrator?
False Ground: Lineage of legitimate baptism
It is based on a very unscholarly treatment of historical sources. . .no ‘primary sources’. .
.mere presumptions
It leads to a very flimsy and man-oriented base of assurance of validity
What if somewhere along the line, one is proved to be ‘illegitimate’. . .How can anyone
trace back infallibly?
Proposed Synthesis:
Key Scriptures:
John 4.1,2 = The disciple baptizing were doing so on behalf of Christ
Acts 19.1ff = The gospel-message provided the basis of valid baptism
1 Cor. 1.13ff = The prior claim of the gospel over baptism; who baptized is not the all-
important issue
Eph. 4.5 = Baptism has its connection with the community of faith (cf. Acts. 9.26)
1. The credible profession of the gospel – candidate/administrator – constitutes the essential
validation of baptism
2. Under normal circumstances, the administrator will be gospel-church with its
representative acting for it
3. There are abnormal circumstances without the presence of any gospel-church/minister
where the essential validation (# 1) may be sufficient. . .e.g. Philip baptizing the Ethiopian
eunuch
4. The ultimate question is ‘in whose name’ the baptism is validly administered – whose
disciples the parties are