Are Children Part of God's Covenant Family? New Testament Textual Proof for Infant Baptism

 

Ephesians 6:1-4 is an incredibly strong textual argument for infant baptism.  Both the instruction to children and the instruction to parents prove that in the New Testament, the children of one or more Christian parents were considered part of God’s covenant family.  If they are part of God’s family, then they should be given the sign of the Covenant.  Which means they should be baptized.

What’s interesting is that these are verses that EVERY church knows and would quote and teach its parents and children—even churches that don’t believe that children are part of God’s covenant family until AFTER they make their own profession of faith. See how the details of these verses make it abundantly clear that this was the teaching of the Apostle Paul and the early church. 

The Instruction to Children

Ephesians 6:1-3  Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  ² "Honor your father and mother" (this is the first commandment with a promise),  ³ "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land."  

1. Obey “in the Lord.”  This means that they are “in the Lord.”  They are united to Jesus and so they should receive the sacrament that demonstrates this union.  Reading the rest of Ephesians helps you understand all that the phrase "in the Lord" means.  Paul uses this phrase over 25 times in 6 chapters.
2. In verse 2, Paul quotes the 5^th commandment, which was part of the covenant between God and his people in Exodus 20.  This means that they are in covenant with God, and so the sign of the covenant should be applied to them.

The Instruction to Parents

Ephesians 6:4  Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

1. The discipline and instruction of the Lord means “the Lord’s discipline and instruction.”  Hebrews 12 makes it perfectly clear that the Lord disciplines his CHILDREN.  He doesn’t discipline those who aren’t his children.  This means that if parents are to raise their children with God’s discipline and instruction, then parents are to treat children as though they are God’s children.  God’s children are part of his family.  God puts his name on his children and his covenant sign.

These verses clearly indicate that children were considered part of God's family.  They were in the covenant, and so they should be given the new covenant sign of baptism.

What's as important and maybe even more important is that this means that Christian parents should raise their children in the gospel, helping their children to grow in their experience of the blessings that they have from Jesus.