HEIRCARE

Image from Web“Foryou are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many ofyou as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jewnor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male norfemale; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s,then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”(Gal. 3:26-29).

Introduction

God’sLaw was given to drive us to faith in Christ, just as it drove those who livedfrom the time of Moses to faith in Christ. The threefold use of the Law, i.e.,the Ten Commandments, is a) To restrain sin by promoting righteousness insociety as well as in the individual, and b) To bring a man under conviction ofsin and therefore point the man to Christ, and c) the Law is to be used as arule of life for all believers.

Inthe following we’re looking at some of the benefits we have by being in Christ,i.e., by being Christians. Before Jesus was lifted up and transported intoheaven, He told His disciples “that repentance and remission of sins should bepreached in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you are Mywitnesses” (Luke 24:47-48). Then the LORD said to His disciples, “Behold, Isend the Promise of My Father upon you; buttarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power on high” (Luke24:49).

Andthe story continues in Acts 1:4-5, “And being assembled together with them, He commandedthem not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father,‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, butyou shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now’” (Acts1:4-5).

Thereason I mention these passages should be obvious from our text which isGalatians 3:26-29). The baptism in verse 27 is the baptism of the Holy Spiritof which only Covenant Baptism is the picture. “For as many of you as werebaptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:27). To have “put on” orto have been endued with Christ is to have the Holy Spirit come upon you. Tohave the Holy Spirit come upon you is to receive the Promise of the Father. Andto receive the Promise of the Father is to be an heir according to the promise.

TheHeir

The Return of the Prodigal Son
after wasting his inheritance.Theheir we’re talking about is not the ‘air on your ‘ead! No! We’re talking abouta legal heir as in one who inherits an inheritance. And according to our text,WE are heirs according to The Promise.

Paulhas been going to great lengths to remind the Galatians that they are heirsaccording to the Promise. Back in Galatians 3:2 he asks the Galatians, “Did youreceive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” And,of course, they received the gift of the Spirit by faith alone and notbecause of their own works.

Uptill now Paul has been proving to the Galatians that it was the same forAbraham. Abraham was saved by grace alone through faith alone. Abraham waspromised an Heir who would come from his own loins. “In you [Abraham] all thenations shall be blessed.” Abraham (in Genesis 15) was concerned about an heir.He told the LORD that since he was childless one of his servants was his heir. Hisservant was his slave and this servant was to inherit all that Abraham had. Sothe LORD said to Abraham, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will comefrom your own body will be your heir” (Gen. 15:4). Genesis 15:6 says, “And hebelieved in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6).

Now,don’t think for a moment think that all Abraham believed was that he wassomehow going to produce a son from his own loins. Of course, he didn’tunderstand the full implications of this all at once. But there are too manyScriptures that tell us Abraham had his eye on the Promised Seed, i.e., Christ.Eg, Jesus says, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad” (John8:56).

Abrahamthen saw the Christ to come even when God blessed him with a son, Isaac. Abrahamknew that the Saviour was on His way to crush the serpent’s head. Indeed,Abraham believed in the Promise of God, and he is called the father of allbelievers! “Only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). And inGalatians 3:26 of our text we read, “For you are all SONS of God through faithin Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26).

Idon’t have to tell you that we live in an age when some women read that andimmediately label the Apostle Paul as sexist. To jump to that conclusion thefeminist misses, along with the immersionist, the beauty of God’s Covenant ofGrace. The Galatians were having problems with circumcision. It was only male believersand their children who put on or were clothed or endued with the sign andseal of the Covenant of Grace in the Old Testament. Only the sonreceived the promise of the father, i.e., the promise of his inheritance. Readthe parable of the Prodigal Son who squandered his inheritance. But it was onlythe male child who was promised the inheritance.

Malecircumcision was the sign and seal of the inheritance Godpromised to Abram and to the sons of Abraham. “He who is born in your [i.e.,Abraham’s] house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised, andMy covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And theuncircumcised male child, who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin,that person shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant”(Gen. 17:13-14). “And he [i.e., Abraham] received the sign ofcircumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he hadwhile still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of allthose who believe… For the promise that he would be the heir of theworld was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, butthrough the righteousness of faith” (Rom. 4:11a, 13).

Inthis we see then that male circumcision is the sign and seal of God’scovenant. It is God’s promise to who qualify to receive and therefore receivethe sign and seal of the covenant that they are adopted sons ofGod, and as such, are heirs along with father Abraham. What was Abraham’s promisedin heritance? That he would be the father of all who believe AND that he washeir to the world!

Image from WebAsall the Presbyterian and Reformed know, Old Testament circumcision has beenreplaced by New Testament baptism. E.g., “In Him you were also circumcisedwith the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of thesins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with Him in baptism, inwhich you also were raised with Him through faith in theworking of God, who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:11-12).

Circumcisionof course symbolized the removal of the sinful flesh. But it was also areminder of the Promised Seed who was in the loins of Abraham, then Isaac thenJacob all the way down to... all the way down to whom? Who is the Father ofJesus Christ? Jesus Christ is the Son of God, isn’t He? God is His Father butMary is His mother. And isn’t Jesus the Seed of the woman even in the Gospelpromise of Genesis 3:15?

Nowthen, we know that in the Old Testament the son was promised the inheritance andnot the daughter. And we know that circumcision was a picture of the promisedinheritance. If baptism replaces circumcision, then why are women receiving thesign and seal of the Covenant? There’s no command in the New Testament tobaptize women. Then why are we baptizing females? Well, I’ll tell you! It’sbecause all of us are heirs according to the promise – not just the blokes! That’swhat Paul is on about where he says, “There is neither Jew norGreek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female;for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). All who are in Christ theonly begotten Son of God are heirs with Him.

So,what is the Promise of God the Father? It is the Holy Spirit, isn’t it? Andupon whom is the Holy Spirit poured? All flesh, which includes females. “For asmany of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). Asmany of you upon whom Christ has poured out His Spirit (as pictured in CovenantBaptism) are clothed in Christ. If you are in Christ, then you are an heir ofthe Covenant Promise. And according to 2 Corinthians 1:20 all the promises ofGod begin and end with Jesus Christ. “For all the promises of God in Him areYes, and in Him Amen” (2 Cor. 1:20).

Sothen, is Paul sexist when he says, “You are all sons of God through faith inChrist Jesus” (Gal. 3:26)? Of course not! He is calling both males and females“sons” because we have had Jesus Christ put on us.

WhenGod looks at you and me He sees His Heir, i.e., His only begotten Son. Hedoesn’t see a Scotsman or an Aussie, or a man or a woman! Again, “There isneither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neithermale nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). WhenGod looks upon you who are baptized by His Spirit (as illustrated by Covenant Baptism) He sees His Son.

InCovenant Baptism, the sprinkled or poured out water on the recipient’s head is thesign and seal of the covenant. The picture is that the poured out Spirit hastaken the poured out blood of Christ and has affixed and applied the promise ofits benefits and blessings to the recipient. In the Old Testament God treatedas sons those who had the sign and seal of the Covenant on them. And in the NewTestament He treats as sons those who have the sign and seal of the Covenant onthem. The blood-sprinkled doorposts and lintels of the households at the firstPassover pictures the same thing, which is the protection of the firstborn, i.e.,the heirs. Thus, baptism, like circumcision before it, is a sign and seal ofGod’s covenant promise.

Asit was in the Old Testament, so it is in the New, the outward sign of theCovenant, is simply an outward sign of what needs to take place inwardly. Inthe Old Testament, the LORD told them to “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, andtake away the foreskins of your hearts” (Jer. 4:4a). And Moses told the peopleof God, “Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and be stiff-neckedno longer” (Deut. 10:16). Therefore, if you fail to see the continuity fromcircumcision to baptism, you will, with the feminist and with the immersionistmiss the beauty of the Covenant.

Weare Abraham’s seed only because Christ came through the loins of Abraham. Christis the Seed (Gal. 3:16), and it was Christ who received the Promise of theFather. The Father poured the Spirit upon Christ from heaven after John theBaptizer anointed Christ’s head by water baptism. And every time you see aCovenant Baptism performed, you are seeing a picture of someone, male or femalebecoming an heir!

Indeedthat’s what the name Christ means  “anointed,” i.e., Messiah. John anointed Jesuswith water while the Father anointed Him with the Spirit. In Luke’s gospel Jesussays, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preachthe gospel to the poor” (Luke in 4:18a). And come the Day of Pentecost Christbaptized or anointed His Apostles with the Spirit and fire. They were anointedto preach the gospel to all the ends of the earth. They were to go into all theworld making disciples of all nations. The Spirit was doing invisibly what theApostles were to do visibly. They were to baptize the nations because thepromise was for all.

Acts2:38-39 records these words, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; andyou shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and toyour children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord will call”(Acts 2:38-39). Yes, the promise is to you AND to your children! For throughwater baptism people are received as members of the visible church. But onlythrough Spirit baptism are they received as members of the invisible church. Therefore,all we’re doing in water baptism is showing the promise of the Spirit inphysical terms. We’re just illustrating what Christ does invisibly, i.e., evenbaptizing whole nations into His Church according to promise. Therefore, we whohave been baptized by Christ who poured His Spirit upon us, are sons and heirsaccording to the promise.

TheCare

TheLORD looks after His Seed. We’re told in Galatians 3:29 that we are Abraham’sseed. God made the promise to Abraham and his seed. The Promise was made toAbraham and to Christ and to those who by faith are in Christ.

Image from WebInGenesis we read, “After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in avision, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedinglygreat reward” (Gen. 15:1). A whole sermon could by preached just on the meaningof the “shield” in this verse. What is the meaning of this word shield? Itspeaks of an actual shield that is used in battle. Which speaks of aprotection, a covering. “I am the one who “covers” you Abraham!” One theologianhas argued convincingly that the word has in its meaning “Suzerain.” Suzerainof course means “sovereign lord.” Perhaps like the Angel who revealed Himselfto Joshua as Commander of the LORD’s army Joshua 6:14. But, in my mind atleast, it all amounts to the same thing. The One who is the “Shield” is theLORD Himself. And He is Abraham’s exceedingly great reward. The LORD Himselfhas Promised Himself to Abraham.

TheLORD has made the promise to care for him and his children. In short, the LORDhas covenanted with Abraham and his descendants, yes, even you me. For we’retold in Galatians 3:29 that, if we are in Christ, then we are Abraham’s seed. Therefore,we need to have “put on” Christ in order to be identified with Him. And this ofcourse is referring to Spirit baptism. And since the Father has Promised theSpirit to believers and their children (Acts 2:39), we of the Reformed Faithbaptize with water believers AND their children. In other words, it is throughbaptism that ALL who are in the church on earth are to identify themselves withChrist.

Waterbaptism as was circumcision is the sign and seal of the Covenant of Grace. Allwho are truly in this covenant are heirs of the Promise of this Covenant. ThePromise in brief is everlasting life through merits of Jesus Christ alone. Thesemerits, or, if you will, this righteousness, are accredited to us by theFather. The Holy Spirit is the One sent by the Father and the Son to apply, i.e.,SEAL the blessings of the Covenant to the believers and their children. Just asthe Israelites were Passed Over by the destroying angel in Egypt because theyhad the blood on their doorposts, so are we shielded by the blood of the Lamb.

Christ,our High Priest, sprinkles His blood upon us just as Moses sprinkled the bloodof the Covenant upon the people of Israel. “Then he [Moses] took the Book ofthe Covenant and read in the hearing of the   people.And they said, ‘All that the Lord has said, we will do, and be obedient.’ And Mosestook the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, ‘Behold, the blood of thecovenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words’” (Exo.24:7-8).

Itshouldn’t take an Einstein to figure out that what Moses performed here isvirtually the same as that which takes place in Covenant Baptism. God has madePromises to us. His promises are in the Bible, i.e., the Book of the Covenant. TheWord of the LORD has come to us, not in a vision as with Abraham, but by HisSpirit speaking in the Scriptures. He promises to look after us. He is ourSHIELD. And we in turn, promise to love and to obey Him. Sounds just like amarriage, doesn’t it? Christ is the husband and His Church is the bride.

Sothen, Christ takes care of His bride. His bride is most precious to Him. Hepurchased His bride with His own blood. It is with this blood, His blood, theblood of His marriage, His covenant with us, that cleanses us of all our sins. Asin a marriage, the two become one, we in Christ and Christ in us. To be inChrist is to be justified. To have Christ in you is to be sanctified. Therefore,to have Christ at work in us and in our midst means He is looking after us.

Nowthen, since we are in Christ, this means that whatever belongs to Christbelongs also to us. Jesus was baptized by John, and then He was baptized by theFather. And please, get this dunking business out of your head or you’ll missthe beauty of the Covenant!

So,the picture then, is one of John anointing the Anointed. Or, if you will, Johnchristed the Christ. And of course, Jesus had John baptize Him to fulfill allrighteousness (Matt. 3:15). In other words, it was done out of obedience to thecovenant. But just after John had anointed Jesus with water, the Fatheranointed Him with the Spirit. Then, as I mentioned earlier, Jesus began Hisministry saying, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Meto preach the gospel to the poor” (Luke 4:18).

Jesus’sanointing took place at His baptism. John baptized with water but He willbaptize with the Spirit (Matt. 3:11; John 1:33).

Nowthen, it was the Father who gave the Son the gift of the Spirit at His baptism,and since we His Church are in Christ, then we have received the gift of theSpirit also. At His baptism with water and the Spirit the Father spoke fromheaven saying, “This is My beloved Son, in who I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:18).The Father identified with the Son and the Son with the Father through baptism andthe Holy Spirit witnessed this Covenant.

Whenwe “put on” Christ, as is pictured in Covenant Baptism, we are putting on HisCovenant every bit as much as Abraham “put on” His Covenant throughcircumcision. In baptism the LORD identifies Himself with us and we with Him. Andbecause we are in Christ the Father sees us as His Son. Therefore, when we arebeing baptized the Father is saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased.” “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal.3:26).

Weare “sons” because God doesn’t see us as male or female, Jew or gentile etc. ButHe sees us as His Son. And does the Father care about His Son?

Image from Web        Ihope you can see how the feminists who see the Bible as sexist miss the beautyof the Covenant. But on a sadder note, it breaks my heart when I talk to thoseChristians of a Baptistic mindset. They trot out all their little proof textsto defend the indefensible. E.g., Romans 6:3-4; Colossians 2:12, “Look!” theysay, “Buried with Him in baptism...” Matthew 3:19, “Then Jesus when He had beenbaptized, came up immediately out of the water,” “See!” they say, “It saysJesus came up out of the water!” And as the trot out their well-worn prooftexts all the while they are missing the beauty of the Covenant!

Andthe thing that is even sadder is that fewer and fewer in the Reformed Faith areshowing an interest in the LORD’s Covenant. All the confessions of theReformers that came out of the Reformation were all written in light of God’sCovenant of Grace. The Westminster Standards, i.e., the Westminster Confessionof Faith, the Westminster Larger and Shorter Catechisms etc., The Canons ofDordt, The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, The Second HelveticConfession, The Thirty-Nine-Articles etc. But all of these Confessions havebeen put on the backburner it seems to me. Instead we read books on secularpsychology, stress in management.“How to Love the Job you Hate”, “DevelopingYour Prophetic Gifting”, “Breaking Intimidation”, “Developing the Leader withinYou”, “The Winning Attitude” – these are just a sample of what Christians arereading! Wouldn’t it be nice to see a renewed interest in the LORD?

Atthe moment the Church is consumed with its own self. But as Jesus said,“Without Me you can do nothing!” He cares for the heirs but do the heirs careenough about Him? I’d like to see the Christian book shops inundated with booksshowing the beauty of God’s Covenant. For God has cared enough about us to haveperfectly preserved the Book of the Covenant. We need help to understand thebeauty of the Covenant. It’s my belief that if you catch even so much as aglimpse of the beauty of the Covenant of Grace, then you’ll begin to hunger andthirst after the righteousness that is revealed therein.

Conclusion

Let’sfinish with a couple of verses from Psalm 25, “Who is the man that fears theLORD? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell inprosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORDis with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (Psa.25:12-14).

Buried heredoes not mean being lowered into a six-foot hole in the ground as we do in theWest. This is alien to the text! Rather it is speaking of being entombed withChrist. “When Josephhad taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it inhis new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stoneagainst the door of the tomb, and departed” (Matt. 27:59-60).