The Covenant Household
My children, then, will be raised as Christians; members of the visible church. As such, they will be expected to be baptized, obedient to the Law of God, to pray, read their Bibles, attend worship, and participate in the Lord’s Supper.
God deals with individuals and their households throughout the entirety of Scripture. In this sense, the religion taught in the Bible is not an individual one, it is a covenantal one. The First Catechism says a covenant is,
”A relationship that God establishes with us and guarantees by his word.”1
Doug Wilson offers this definition:
“A covenant is a solemn bond, sovereignly administered, with attendant blessings and curses.”2
This solemn bond, this relationship, is established by God with an individual (like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah, or David), but extends to others who have a relationship with that individual (like the human race, Noah’s family, the people of Israel, or David’s descendants).3 This was the basis for covenantal circumcision in the Old Testament. God made a promise to Abraham and told him to apply the sign of that promise to his entire household. It was a multigenerational promise, so when Abraham died, God’s promise remained and extended to Abraham’s seed, Isaac and Jacob. We apply this same principle in the New Covenant sign of baptism4 (that footnote is a very long rabbit trail for anyone interested in how that connection may be established). It is a sign of God’s promise to His covenant people. When we see the sign, we ought to remember God’s promise. And, as our forefathers did before us, we also remind God of His promise.
“And He remembered for them His covenant, And relented according to the abundance of His lovingkindness.” Psalm 106:45
“Remember, O Yahweh, Your compassion and Your lovingkindnesses, For they have been from of old.” Psalm 25:6
When we apply the covenant sign of baptism to a child, we are not saying anything about that child’s membership in the invisible church. It says nothing objectively about whether the Holy Spirit has regenerated that child. We keep saying and will continue to say that we do not believe in the ex opere operato efficacy of the sacraments. In other words, we do not believe that the Holy Spirit automatically confers the washing of regeneration with the physical application of the washing of baptism. But we are applying the sign of God’s promise and we will continually remind ourselves and remind our Lord of that promise,
“And it will be that everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be delivered…” (Joel 2:32)
“And Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.””(Acts 2:38)
At Covenant Reformed Church, we treat our children as Christians. We are raising them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) and they are to obey their parents “in the Lord…” (Ephesians 6:1). When we apply the covenant sign of baptism to a child, we are saying that they are ingrafted into Christ as a branch to a vine that will be removed if it is fruitless (see John 15:2), that they partake of the benefits of the covenant of grace (as anyone does who participates in the church), and that they are engaged to be the Lord’s.5 In these ways, they are in the Lord. They have been placed within the legal structure of the covenant. However, this is no different than how we treat anyone who claims the name of Christ and is baptized. Can we say with confidence that any person is regenerated? I should be able to say this about myself, but I do not truly know the hearts of the other people in my life. Any one of them can apostatize and it will become clear that they were never really regenerate. However, right now, before the apostacy takes place, from my perspective, and for all intents and purposes, they are a Christian, and I will treat them as such. If it turns out that one of my children apostatizes, then I will treat them as I treat any other professing believer who turns away from the faith. In the meantime, as we disciple our children to walk in a way that becomes followers of Christ, we are, in fact, exercising a form of church discipline. We are training our children to know right and wrong from a Christian worldview: they are learning how to live as Christians.
I can covenantally treat my household as a Christian household because I am a Christian. I have a covenantal relationship with God through Christ. Therefore, the Law of God ought to be written on the doorposts of my house (Deuteronomy 6:9) and I should be able to say with Joshua,
“… as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.” (Joshua 24:15)
My children, then, will be raised as Christians; members of the visible church. As such, they will be expected to be baptized, obedient to the Law of God, to pray, read their Bibles, attend worship, and participate in the Lord’s Supper. These are all things that we expect from Christian people. The reason they are raised in this way is that they are my children (WLC #166), and as I am discipling my Christian children, I can reasonably expect that they will one day take hold of the faith for themselves. That they will one day profess Christ from a heart regenerated by the Holy Spirit. This is not automatic, but I believe that God’s promise is to my children (Acts 2:39). Proverbs says,
“Train up a child according to his way, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
I am a Christian and because of that fact, my household is Christian. Even if I, as the head of the home, was not a believer, but my wife was, this still has a sanctifying effect on the household as a whole,
“For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. For otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.” (1 Corinthians 7:14)
The takeaway for all of us ought to be, what kind of sanctifying effect are we having on our household? Doug Wilson presents the inescapable question this way,
“The man is the head, whether he wants to be or not, and the only choice is whether he will be a good head or a bad head. He cannot not be a head. Even if the man abandons his family and flies to the other end of the country, his empty chair still dominates the table. He is still teaching about what headship is, but his abdication means he is teaching a lie about it. A husband does not have the option of being silent about Christ and the Church. All day, every day, in every word, a husband is teaching about Jesus. What he is living out is either true or false, but he is always teaching—when a father chooses to be absent, distant, grasping, or selfish, he is teaching his family lies.”6
But as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.
The Household Principle in Scripture
The Household of God, the Church, is saved through our covenantal head, Jesus Christ
This household principle is throughout the entirety of Scripture and is essential for an understanding of headship. The first head, Adam, led the human household into total depravity. The new head, Christ, is leading it to salvation. Below is a survey of the household principle in Scripture.
When Adam fell, so the entire human race fell (1 Corinthians 15:22, Romans 5:12-21) - God’s relationship with Adam extended to all of humanity.
Noah and his family are saved in the ark but Noah alone is the one who found favor before God (Genesis 7:1, Hebrews 11:7).
God made a covenant with Abraham but told him to apply the sign of that covenant (circumcision) to everyone in his household (Genesis 17).
When God instituted the Passover, there was only one lamb for each household (Exodus 12).
God brought destruction to the Egyptian household because of the rebellion of Pharoah (Deuteronomy 6:22).
Joshua, as a type of Christ, made a covenant for his household (Joshua 24:15).
Rahab is saved along with all of her father’s household at the destruction of Jericho (Joshua 2:18).
In the Davidic Covenant, God made a promise to David and his household (II Samuel 7:8-17).
In the New Covenant, Peter tells the Jews to be baptized in the name of Jesus because the promise was for them and their children (Acts 2:38-39).
Cornelius, a man who feared God with all his household (Acts 10:2), was told by the Holy Spirit that his household would be saved (Acts 11:14).
The Lord opened the heart of Lydia and her household was baptized (Acts 16:14-15).
The Apostles promised salvation to the household of the Philippean Jailer (Acts 16:31).
Crispus, described as a leader of the synagogue, believed with all of his household (Acts 18:8).
Paul baptized the household of Stephanus (1 Corinthians 1:16).
The Household of God, the Church, is saved through our covenantal head, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:6, 10:21, 1 Peter 2:5, 1 Timothy 3:15 with Ephesians 5:23).
“Therefore, holy brothers, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession—Jesus, who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house. For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, in so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God…Christ was faithful as a Son over His house—whose house we are, if we hold fast our confidence and the boast of our hope.” (Hebrews 3:1-6)
Conclusion
In other words, it doesn’t matter what kind of learner you are, visual, auditory, tactile, etc…Christ is communicating the Gospel to you.
The household principle can be found throughout all of Scripture. It serves as a visible delineation just as a nation does. America is not Canada. But, just because a person is an American citizen does not keep them from being a traitor. My household is Christian and therefore my children are Christian. I am not saying that they are regenerate, that is between them and God before whom they will have to stand. However, I am saying that as long as they are in my house, they will be raised to live and act as Christians. Because of this, they will be expected to participate in all the things that Christians participate in: baptism, Bible reading, prayer, repentance, faith, community, feasting, singing, the Lord’s Supper, etc…Just as God’s promise to Abraham extended to his seed, so God’s promise to us extends to our seed. It is based on this principle that we allow our covenant children to be baptized and partake of the Lord’s Supper. The sacraments are visible or, sensible. They are things we can see, touch, taste, smell, and hear. They are ordinary means of grace: these are things that the Holy Spirit ordinarily uses to bring about regeneration and sanctification. They are not mystical, but rightly used, they can be yet another mode of communicating the Gospel. In other words, it doesn’t matter what kind of learner you are, visual, auditory, tactile, etc…Christ is communicating the Gospel to you. Salvation is offered through the reign of Christ the King. Repent of your sins and believe in Him as your Savior, for He has made the promise to you and your children.
“Come further up, come further in!” C. S. Lewis7
Wilson, Douglas. The Covenant Household (p. 7). Canon Press. Kindle Edition.
The First Catechism, question #24.
And if you are thinking to yourself that God dealt with Israel as a nation in the Mosaic Covenant and that this disproves my premise here, then consider who was called Israel first: Jacob. An individual. God’s dealings with the nation of Israel are an extension of the covenantal promises he made to the patriarchs of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
It is at this point that our Baptist brethren will say, “Aha! And you do this without any Biblical data to support your connection.” - I agree that there is no command to connect these dots; however, there is Biblical data that we believe warrants such a connection. As a matter of fact, Paul is the one who makes this connection. Consider,
In Ephesians 2:11-13, Pual tells the Gentile believers that they were formerly separated from the commonwealth of Israel, back when there was a physical sign of separation between the two groups, i.e. circumcision. But now, they had been brought near to the covenants of promise. Interestingly, he did not say, “the New Covenant,” or even “covenant of promise” (singular). But covenants. He was saying that the Gentiles have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel. The New Covenant is an extension, or even better, an expansion of all of the covenants of promise that God had established with His people. In this way, there is a direct correlation between how the covenant was administered during the time of the patriarchs and how it is administered now. Just as the promise was to Abraham and his children, so the promise is to the Jews and their children. And even more than that, to all who are far off, namely, the Gentiles (Acts 2:38-39).
In Galatians 3, Paul makes the point that the covenant which God established with Abraham extends to all believers in the New Covenant,
“…so know that those who are of faith, those are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.” (Galatians 3:7-9)
The blessing extended to all of Abraham’s seed: All THE NATIONS. This included the believing Jews, their children, and the entire world. All were grafted into the commonwealth of Israel by the common working of the Holy Spirit as exhibited throughout the book of Acts. The blood of Christ made the two groups into one group, the household of God, or the church, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:19-22).
In Colossians 2:8-12, Paul makes a connection between circumcision (Genesis 17) and baptism. He equates our baptism into the visible church with circumcising our dead flesh. This “circumcision of Christ” occurs at baptism. When we are baptized, we are saying that we repent, or turn from, our idols, we crucify our flesh, our old man, with Christ. This is the circumcision that Paul is referring to. This can only truly happen by the power of the Holy Spirit, moving when, where, and how He pleases. However, it is certainly symbolized and promised visibly in Christian baptism. We apply it to our children, as our father Abraham, because we are raising them also to crucify their flesh. We do this with a firm reliance on the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of our children, for we know that it is not through works of righteousness that we have done (how we raise them) or our children have done (whether baptism or a self-disciplined lifestyle) that they are saved. But only by the grace of God, applied by the Spirit in their effectual calling, wherein their mind is enlightened, the will is renewed, and they accept Jesus Christ as He is offered to them in the Gospel. This is promised visibly (or sensibly) in baptism just as it was promised before in circumcision. As Christian parents, we pray for this promise to come to pass and we obey in light of it. We therefore apply it, with hope, to our children.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism, question #94.
Wilson, Douglas. The Covenant Household (p. 20). Canon Press. Kindle Edition.
Lewis, C. S.. The Chronicles of Narnia Complete 7-Book Collection: All 7 Books Plus Bonus Book: Boxen (p. 1089). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.