Entering the kingdom (Genesis 17:1-10; Matthew 28:16-20)

As we know, there is a connection between circumcision and baptism. What are the similarities? First, they are expressions of a covenant between God and his people. Circumcision was the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham and baptism is the sign of the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus. Covenant, when we speak about God, by definition is an expression of love. It indicated God’s desire to bless those who were and are in this special relationship with him.

The covenant with Abraham

What is needed for the covenant of God to be fulfilled? The answer to that question is his ability or his power. When we look at the way God speaks about himself when he made a covenant with Abraham, we see that he spoke about his power when he called himself ‘God Almighty’: ‘When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly’’ (Gen. 17:1-2).

God Almighty is El Shaddai. What does this name mean? The word translated God is El and it means the powerful one. It is possible that the name Shaddai also points to power because there seems to be a reference in it to mountains. If that is the case, then God could be stressing his power by using two different words in order to say that he is totally powerful. Another possible meaning of Shaddai points to God having resources, so then El Shaddai would mean that he has the power to deliver all his resources.

Why would Abraham need this reminder of divine power? There are three reasons in the context. First, Abraham was required to live a devoted life, described as ‘walk before me, and be perfect.’ He was to live in God’s presence, and behave in a godly way. Yet he was a sinner, without the strength in himself to obey God. What better encouragement could be get than to be told that the Almighty God would help him! 

Second, there was the seriousness of his family responsibilities – he would need to pass on to Isaac and the other family members the way that God wanted them to live. 

Third, there was the greatness of God’s promises – he was going to give to Abraham, who had nothing, and his descendants the entire land of Canaan.

We need God’s power for similar reasons. As believers, we are called to live in the presence of God and behave there in a holy manner, despite having spiritual enemies – the world, the flesh and the devil. 

Moreover, we have the responsibility to pass information about God to others who may not be receptive. How can we convince them that our words are true? Not by anything we have in ourselves; nothing but divine power can bring this about. 

And we also have God’s many great and precious promises. When God answers any of them, they come with great weight. There are no light promises in God’s Word and the fulfilment of them is a burden for which we need divine power.

The practice of circumcision was the sign that those who had been circumcised were now members of God’s community, not in the sense that it guaranteed entrance to heaven, but that they had access to the grace that heaven could freely provide them with. It marked them out as different from others, as dedicated to God as his special possession, and as those who were designed to live together as a community of those who served him by faith.

The sign of the new covenant

As we look at the details associated with the giving of baptism we can see that they included the emphasis on power and the use of a particular divine name. With regard to power, Jesus says that he has all authority in the universe, although it is important to note that he is saying he has power in two particular places – heaven and earth. And we can see that with regard to the name of God Jesus say it is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

What is the significance of mentioning heaven and earth? The obvious answer is that these are the two locations where Jesus will reign as the Mediator. In both of them he will reveal his total authority. Of course, he could express power in all kinds of ways, but here he connects his power to the discipleship of believers, of which baptism is the sign.

We can see why the apostles would need power because they were going to take the gospel to all the world. Most of them had little of natural ability and presence, and they were not educated in the cultural distinctions of the different societies to which they would take the gospel of grace. What they did have was the promise of the powerful presence of Jesus. 

Baptism is a sign for us that Jesus has the power to deal with any issues that will arise out of the culture in which we live. This should be an encouraging message to us in our postmodern world. We take the gospel to people who have no grasp of Christian history or beliefs. But neither did most who heard the apostles, and look what happened. They always had disciples. 

What will happen after they believe the gospel? There are two details that can be mentioned. First, baptism reminds us that disciples are called to have fellowship with each person of the Trinity. Of course, this is a mystery, but that does not mean we cannot appreciate or experience this threefold contact with God. We know that the Trinity works together in bringing spiritual blessings to us.

For example, with regard to justification, the Spirit enlightens us, we trust in Jesus and the Father reckons to our account the obedience of Jesus. With regard to adoption, the Father gives us the status of sons, Jesus is our elder Brother, and the Spirit works in our hearts as the Spirit of adoption, enabling us to cry ‘Abba Father.’ With regard to sanctification, the Father gives us the status of saints, we are constantly cleansed by the blood of Christ, and the Holy Spirit renews our hearts and minds. When we pray, the Spirit gives us desires, we offer them in the name of Jesus, and the Father answers us far above what we can imagine. In heaven, Jesus represents his people before the Father, he asks for spiritual benefits for his church, and the Spirit brings them into the experience of believers. In each of those areas, and in many others, we can have fellowship with the Trinity.

The second detail to observe about baptism is that those baptised are to obey the teachings of Jesus that he gave to the apostles. Those teachings are found in passages such as the Sermon on the Mount and in the instructions given in the Upper Room on the evening of his arrest, as well as in numerous other places in the Bible. Obedience is offered freely out of love and becomes the distinguishing mark of disciples – they recognise the authority of Jesus.

For ourselves, as we have another baptism today, we can pray that the family will know divine power, and that the parents and the child will have fellowship with the three divine Persons in this life and the next, and that they will be guided along the path of obedience.