Ordinances and Membership at Grace Church of DuPage

At Grace Church of DuPage (GCD), we recognize a strong link between the rituals Scripture presents as identifying the new covenant community and the covenantal bond Scripture implies as uniting that community. The rituals are called Ordinances or Sacraments, referring to Baptism and Communion. The bond is called Membership. In this Paper, we will address the meaning and function of Baptism, Communion, and Church Membership generally, then with regard to children in particular, before finally explaining briefly how the Ordinances and Membership work together here at GCD.

Baptism – What Does It Mean and How Does It Function?

Jesus’ final words recorded in Matthew’s gospel issue what we call the Great Commission. In this Commission, Baptism is commanded. “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (Matthew 28:18-20). When people respond to the gospel and receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, they should be baptized.

The verb to baptize means to immerse or to submerge, to cleanse by dipping or submerging (Strong). So, when a person is baptized, s/he is immersed or submerged in water which points toward some form of cleansing. This generates the image of taking a bath, washing while submerged in water. However, the sort of cleansing imaged in Baptism is not physical; Baptism is not intended to desoil our bodies. Speaking of those who were saved from the flood with Noah in the ark, Peter wrote, “Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 3:21). So, Baptism is a symbol. It symbolizes the spiritual cleansing we receive from God by faith in the saving work of Jesus.

Paul is helpful not only in telling us what Baptism looks like, but how we should understand it. “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:3-4). So, our Baptism symbolizes our spiritual cleansing in Christ by our union and identification with him in his death (going under the waters of God’s judgment like Jesus who was crucified and buried) and also in his resurrection (coming up out of the waters of God’s judgment in victory over sin and death) to live a life of obedience, observing all that Jesus commanded.

Perhaps more clearly, Baptism is a ritual, a physical activity with a spiritual meaning—a visible, physical action that pictures an invisible, spiritual reality. So, Baptism is a symbolic reenactment of Jesus’ death and resurrection through which we are marked by God as spiritually cleansed and belonging to him in covenant relationship. Like circumcision was the sign of entering into God’s family under the old covenant, Baptism is that sign under the new covenant. Paul wrote, “In [Christ] you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead” (Colossians 2:11-12).

Therefore, the most important thing that happens when we are baptized is not the physical action, that which is done with hands, but that which is done without hands—the spiritual action that God is accomplishing in us through our participation in the physical action. He is marking us as belonging to himself through our faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. Put differently, Baptism in water symbolizes what happens when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit—when we savingly believe in Jesus Christ and therefore receive his indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14; cf. Luke 3:16). Thus, in some ways Baptism can also be seen as a sovereign act of God, signifying and sealing the salvation it illustrates.

In addition to being marked as God’s possession through Baptism, we believe that his grace comes upon us uniquely through this act of obedience, strengthening us toward observing all that Jesus taught. In part, this is what Jesus meant when he said, “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And much as Baptism marks our entry into the universal church—the blood-bought people of God from all times and places—we believe that Baptism should also mark our entry into the local church. Therefore, the adults whom we baptize at GCD will, through their Baptism following their signed agreement with our documents, be “added” to our Membership (cf. Acts 2:41).

Regarding the Baptism of Children. We believe that children are capable of saving belief by God’s grace even at remarkably young ages. And we believe, as a general rule, that Baptism should closely follow one’s profession of saving faith. However, children present special challenges with regard to our confidence in the authenticity of their professions. Our disposition toward them is not one of doubt, but of loving and cautious discernment and shepherding. The criteria of our discernment are the same for children as for adults: (1) Do they demonstrate a clear understanding of the gospel?
(2) Do they display an ability and a desire to articulate a clear conversion testimony? (3) Do they give evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives? (4) Have they completed our Starting Point class and displayed an acceptable understanding of Baptism and Membership? As we progress through this process with children, criteria 1, 2, and 4 are fairly straightforward. But regarding the fruit of the Spirit being evident in a child’s life, we are dependent on the testimony of parents, our GCD ministry staff, and others in the body who have interacted with the child at home, church, and social settings. What we are looking for is a developing pattern of making self-denying choices in favor of obedience to God’s Word. Once we are confident that each of these four criteria are met in a satisfactory manner, we delight to baptize children.

Communion – What Does It Mean and How Does It Function?

Paul gives a good summary description of Communion in his first canonical letter to Corinth. “For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).

Where Baptism is the symbol of entry into the new covenant community, Communion—the Lord’s Table, the Lord’s Supper—is the symbol of belonging to the new covenant community. It is a covenantal meal enjoyed by all who are in covenant relationship with God by faith in Christ. The bread represents Jesus’ body which he surrendered to crucifixion as our substitute, absorbing the wrath of God against our sin which we justly deserved. In his human body, Jesus lived a sinlessly perfect life according to the standard and calling of his Father even though he was tempted in every way like we are (Hebrews 4:15). This made him a suitable sacrifice for our sin. But even in his human body, Jesus remained fully God, so his sacrifice was also sufficient for all who believe, “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). The cup represents Jesus’ blood which he shed. “The life of the flesh is in the blood…; its blood is its life” (Leviticus 17:11, 14). “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses” (Ephesians 1:7). In the 1 Corinthians 11 passage quoted above, Paul reports Jesus as saying that his shed blood is the means of establishing a new covenant relationship with God, the one Jeremiah anticipated (33:31-34) in which there will be forgiveness of sins and the law of God will be written on each one’s heart (no longer on tablets of stone). Jesus opened the way for us to enter this new covenant relationship with God. We enter it by faith in him. And communion is the ritual by which we remember and proclaim his death until he returns (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) and also anticipate the future celebration of our union with him in heaven (Revelation 19:7-9; cf. Mark 14:25).

It should also be noted that there is a proper biblical ordering of these Ordinances. Our participation in the one-time symbol of entry into the new covenant community, Baptism, should precede our participation in the ongoing symbol of belonging to that community, Communion. We see this same ordering under the old covenant where participation in the sign of entry, circumcision, had to precede participation in the sign of belonging, the Passover meal (Exodus 12:48).

Regarding Communion for Children. In the shepherding of their children, we counsel parents to honor the ordering of Baptism and Communion just described. We believe this ordering not only reflects God’s intent in Scripture but will also help parents explain these unusual rituals to their children in ways that aid their understanding of them and, therefore, their meaningful and conscientious participation in them.

Church Membership – What Does It Mean and How Does It Function?

Many have observed that neither of the words member nor membership appears in Scripture describing one’s connection to a local church. But we believe there are implications throughout the New Testament that suggest a formal in-group, often contrasted with an out-group, that is best expressed as membership. For instance, when Jesus talked about confronting a brother who sins against you (Matthew 18:15-17), just as when Paul addressed the Corinthians about confronting a sexually immoral brother among them (1 Corinthians 5:1-5, 11-13), the instructions were essentially to break fellowship with the persisting offender—“not to associate with” him (1 Corinthians 5:11) but to “let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 15:17), “to purge the evil from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:13). As Paul formed his argument, he explicitly mentioned “outsiders” in contrast to “those inside the church” (1 Corinthians 5:12). Members of the church, then, insiders, are an identifiable group.

Paul used this same language again later in his letter. Addressing spiritual gifts, he wrote, “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” (1 Corinthians 14:23). Again, church members are identifiable.

Scripture uses four metaphors to describe the church as a corporate entity made up of many parts, as a plural unity. And in each metaphor, there is a genuine danger of being disconnected from the whole. (1) The church is a building (1 Corinthians 3:9; Ephesians 2:20-21; 2 Corinthians 6:16). (2) The church is a body (Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). (3) The church is a flock (1 Peter 5:2 [shepherds know their flocks—which sheep belong to them and which do not]; cf. Luke 15:3-7). (4) The church is a family (Romans 8:14-17; Ephesians 1:5; cf. 1 Timothy 3:15). In each, members belong to the whole.

There is just no category in the New Testament for confessing Christians who are not joined to a local church. And there is no significant distinction between descriptions and characteristics of the universal church as compared to the local church. The universal church is the collective whole of all those who have been reconciled to God by faith in Christ. And these Christ-ones, while alive in this world, are connected to the universal church through smaller groups that gather in real-space-and-time relational clusters known as local churches. This is where believers belong as parts of a body, as stones in a building. This is where they “are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit”—“built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:22, 20). This is where they mature together into “the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” under the care of “shepherds and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11-16). This is how saving faith is meant to develop and grow.

Regarding Church Membership for Children. There is no minimum age required for Membership at GCD, although one must be twenty-one to participate in voting (Constitution Article VI, Section 4). So, children of any age who have trusted Christ as Savior are qualified to be Members. And they shall become Members by virtue of their Baptism, when that takes place here among us, just as was mentioned above regarding adults. By welcoming them into the covenantal bond of Membership, the benefits entailed in this bond will extend to and envelop our children (e.g., soul-care by Elders, discipleship, personal accountability, expectation of using their spiritual gifts to serve this body, etc.). Children who are baptized into Membership at GCD will have until their twenty-first birthday to complete and sign our Baptism and Membership Application, which affirms their understanding of and willingness to honor our Constitution, Doctrinal Statement, and Position Papers, and thus continue their Membership into their adult years.

How Do Church Ordinances and Membership Function Together?

At GCD, we believe that our striving toward a robust understanding of the Ordinances presses us to recognize these rituals as signs of entry and belonging not only to the universal church, but also to the local church. Thus, we affirm Baptism (and the process by which it is administered here) as the means of entry into Membership at GCD and more broadly as the biblically ordered precursor to participation in Communion.

This understanding of the linkage between the Ordinances and Church Membership is particularly helpful in clarifying the relationship that exists between GCD and children who grow up here among us. As their eyes are opened to their need for a Savior and they embrace Christ by faith such that the Spirit moves them through God’s Word to receive believer’s Baptism, they will thus become Members of this local church and will begin participating with us regularly at the Lord’s Table.

Those who come to GCD as adult believers who have not yet received Baptism, just as their desire for Membership will require their Baptism, even so their Baptism here among us will result in their Membership in this body.