Baptism and Covenant Theology

Foundational to a biblical theology of baptism is the recognition that baptism's sign character positions it within an ongoing pattern of divine activity. Throughout the history of redemption, God's dealings with his people have always included the use of emblems. His epochal promises were illustrated and confirmed physically and visually as well as verbally.

This pattern appears specifically in the history of divine covenants. To the verbal promise of the Noahic covenant was added the physical token of the rainbow in the sky (Genesis 9:12-16). The token was a sign of the promise and sealed it, guaranteeing God's faithfulness. The rainbow was in fact first a sign of God's promise to God himself. It then reassured Noah that God himself was reminded to remember his promise! Later the Abrahamic covenant had its own sign of circumcision (Genesis 17:11), while the "visible" sign of the Mosaic covenant was the Sabbath day (Exodus 31:16-17).

In their own context each of these covenant signs pointed forward to a fulfillment in the new covenant in Christ. He is the true Noah in whose ark we are saved (1 Peter 3:20-22), the seed of Abraham in whom all the nations of the earth are blessed (Galatians 3:13-22), the prophet-leader like Moses in whom the final Exodus took place (Deuteronomy 18:15; cf. Luke 9:31, where "spoke of his departure" translates elegon tēn exodon autou = ie. spoke of his exodus).

This background shows that the physical signs of baptism and the Lord's Supper which Jesus instituted belong to a larger pattern and should be interpreted in the light of this biblical-theological tradition. Baptism cannot be fully understood abstracted from this matrix.

- Sinclair B. Ferguson in David F. Wright (ed.), Baptism: Three Views

Link: More on Baptism and Covenant Theology (13 Nov 10)