Gospel Ordinances: Emblems of Grace

Joshua 4 stands as one of the more memorable scenes in Old Testament history. The nation of Israel just crossed the Jordan River, and was about to conquer Canaan. Before venturing further, Joshua instructed them to erect a memorial on Jordan’s riverbanks (4:7). These twelve memorial stones would serve as a reminder to those passing later of how God led them into the Promised Land by His grace. However, the book of Judges shows that Israel failed in this, and instead “forgot the Lord their God” (Jdg. 3:7).[1]

Memory plays an important role in the Christian life. We can forget our keys sometimes or misplace our telephones, but forgetting God and His goodness is folly. As we read the Joshua and Judges narrative, we can see ourselves. We, too, are prone to forget Christ. [2]

In this essay, we’ll consider the importance of church ordinances, which serve as reminders that focus us on the person and work of Christ. We’ll also explore the important connection between church ordinances and church membership. Finally, we’ll look at how the ordinances are uniquely tied to the spiritual well-being of Christians, helping us mediate and reflect upon Christ and His truth.

Church Ordinances

Baptism

The central theme portrayed in baptism is identification with Christ. Believers are baptized into Christ, identifying with His death, burial, and resurrection (Rom. 6:4). For first-century believers, baptism served as an entryway into what the church inherently is: a publicly professing body of believers. Acts 2:41 demonstrates the sequence: People received the Word, were baptized, and then “added to the church” in membership.

The New Testament also reveals the mode of baptism. First-century believers were baptized by immersion. Scripture describes those being baptized as “coming up out of the water” (Mk. 1:10; Acts 8:39). Furthermore, the word baptizo means “to immerse.” Lastly, the symbolism tied to baptism (death, burial, resurrection) is best exemplified by immersion.

Not until the second century did some Christians begin teaching that baptism provides, in some way, the remission of sin. This view of baptismal remission is tied to the practice of infant baptism, which some had already started practicing by the second century. However, the New Testament is clear: while believers should be baptized, it has no power for the remission of sins. Instead, it serves as a testimony to what has already occurred.

Lord’s Supper

For the first-century church, the Lord’s Supper was initiated by the Passover meal and occurred regularly. In Acts, we’re told that the church had the custom of meeting on a weekly basis. Given the pattern seen elsewhere, believers, who had been identified with the church (following baptism), were participants in these meals. Acts also shows that these were happy occasions. Christians gathered to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the assurances of His atoning work on the cross.

The earliest purpose of this ordinance was as a celebration and memorial of the resurrection of Jesus. As Justo Gonzalez notes, “The main purpose of this service of worship was not to call the faithful to repentance, or to make them aware of the magnitude of their sins, but rather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and the promises of which that resurrection was the seal.”[3]

How many of us can confirm to being asked whether we’re “worthy” to partake of the elements during this special service? Confession should be a pattern in the Christian life, and it should come long before we come to the communion table. Note that Jesus’ command is in the imperative mood: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk. 22:19). We come to the table, not to remember our sins, but what our Savior has done to our sins.

This memorial theme, then, leads us to ask about the presence of Christ in the Lord’s Supper. The memorial view has been a characteristic of most Baptists. This view is associated with the Swiss Reformer Ulrich Zwingli who taught that the Lord’s Supper is a symbol of Jesus’ death for our sins, which serves as a remembrance of His death.[4]

The Free Will Baptist Treatise states that the Lord’s Supper “is a commemoration of the death of Christ for our sins.” [5] Free Will Baptists differ with a Catholic view of transubstantiation, which states that the substance of the elements are transformed into Christ; and similarly the Lutheran view (sometimes called consubstantiation), which affirms the bodily presence of Christ in the elements. Even though we reject the bodily presence of Christ in the elements, that doesn’t mean Christ is absent from the celebration. God always blesses obedience, and when we observe the Supper properly, God will be there to bless.

Feet Washing

Scripture mentions the practice of feet washing in two places: John 13:1-20 and 1 Timothy 5:10. John 13 provides the primary basis for feet washing as an ordinance. The Free Will Baptist Treatise highlights the reason for feet washing, explaining that it “teaches humility and reminds the believer of the necessity of a daily cleansing from all sin.”[6] Humility is central in this particular church ordinance, as it should be for all fruit-bearing Christians (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).

Jesus gives the command to practice this act of humility just after He exemplifying it Himself (Jn. 13:14, 15). This command also brings out one of the important themes of the Christian gospel: the humiliation and incarnation of Christ.[7] Dr. Matthew Pinson captures this well, “This picture of humiliation and incarnation of Christ lays the groundwork for our humility in serving our brothers and sisters, in serving our fellow human beings.”[8] Feet washing, then, not only shapes us towards humility, but also reminds us that Immanuel has come to us as one of us, and calls us to serve as He has.

Feet washing also represents sanctification in the life of a believer. This can be seen in the dialogue between Peter and Jesus in John 13:8-10. Jesus tells His disciples, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean” (Jn. 13:10). Jesus’ reply to Peter shows us two necessary components of saving faith: justification and sanctification. Both serve as essential segments in the life of a believer.[9] Christians must be declared forgiven (justification) before a righteous God while subsequently growing in holiness (sanctification) in order to become like Christ. This understanding of feet washing provides spiritual depth, encouraging believers to exemplify humility, and reminding them of necessary daily cleansing from sin.[10]

Intersection between Church Membership and Ordinances

A study of church ordinances is not complete unless attention is given to how they intersect with church membership and the nature of the church’s ministry. The church as a body, in my view, is the most basic metaphor found in the New Testament. Paul’s writings give us insight into how the body metaphor emphasizes unity despite the diversity in spiritual gifts. This unity is clearly displayed in the ordinances.

Believers, gifted in their unique ways and called to minister to all types on all levels, are united together in baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and in washing the saints’ feet. For this reason, and many others, the church is inherently different than a parachurch organization. The parachurch organization serves by helping one type of person or church, while the church is given the unique call to minister to every nation, tribe, people and language. The church makes God’s glory their ultimate concern, being sent by Him on mission (Jn. 20:21).

One of the blessings that church membership affords believers is the ministry of taking care of those within the church. Each member takes on responsibility to care for one another lovingly and patiently. I am often reminded of this unique responsibility whenever our church goes through each ordinance. For example, the Lord’s Supper offers the opportunity for introspection as we focus on Jesus’ finished work on the cross, after which the leader prays for the local body of believers. As a member, I have the responsibility to care for those around me, as we all reflect in unison on the gospel and the fellowship that should be created among us.

The ministry to one another is exactly what Paul had in mind when he was talking about growing in Christian maturity. He writes, “From whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Eph. 4:16).

Conclusion

We set reminders throughout each day, week, month, and year. These tasks can include other people or just individual work. Regarding church ordinances, they involve a time of introspection, but they’re always communal events. Each involves a covenant fellowship of believers walking together in commitment. Believers participate in these memorials, thereby promising to love and care for others who will be loving and caring for them.

Gospel ordinances not only carry a communal aspect to them, but also serve as structured forms of discipleship to remind us of Christ and His work. Each of these ordinances highlight important themes in Christ’s life and ministry: incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, church ordinances are celebrated as testimonies to grace received, and they provide opportunities to practice obedience.

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[1] All Scriptural quotations come from the English Standard Version.

[2] Prior to the Joshua and Judges narrative, similar warnings appear in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 20-23.

[3] Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity: The Early Church and the Dawn of the Reformation, Vol. 1, (New York: Harper Collins, 2010), 107.

[4] J. Matthew Pinson, A Free Will Baptist Handbook (Nashville: Randall House, 1998), 85.

[5] Treatise of the Faith and Practices of the National Association of Free Will Baptists (Nashville: Executive Office, National Association of Free Will Baptists, 2013), 15.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Pinson, A Free Will Baptist Handbook, 89.

[8] J. Matthew Pinson, The Washing of the Saints’ Feet (Nashville: Randall House, 2006), 51.

[9] Jesus makes it clear to Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me” (Jn. 13:8). D.A. Carson notes, “unless the Lamb of God has taken away a person’s sin, has washed that person, he or she can have no part with him” (The Gospel According to John in the Pillar New Testament Commentary [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991], 464).

[10] Pinson, The Washing of the Saints’ Feet, 59-60.

Author: Zach Maloney

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1 Comment

  1. Great job Zach! I love the way you bring each point out in some different ways you may have never thought of before.

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