“Water is thicker than blood.” I thought about this as I sat at big Bob Vande Bunte’s funeral on Sept. 16. “Water is thicker than blood.” It is thicker than blood because water does what blood cannot do: it changes our understanding of family.
Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees and Sadducees—those “religious types” who were born into God’s family by blood, born as Jews. In Matthew 3, they come upon John the Baptist baptizing a whole crowd of people. John turns to them and calls them a “brood of vipers,” continuing, “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.’”
John meant to offend them. They presumed that their birth as good Jewish Pharisees or Sadducees gave them privileges that others did not have. They were right, in part. It gave them the privilege of God’s law. But the privilege also gave to them the obligation of walking in faithfulness, which they did not do. They lived by self-righteousness and not by faith. They simply held up their Jewish bloodline to those being baptized by water, as if to say, “We’re God’s children because blood is thicker than water.”
But what brings us into God’s family? “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). The “body” to which Paul refers is Christ, into which we are all made members through baptism. Water is thicker than blood. Through the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit breaks our stony hearts and makes us true descendents of Abraham, God’s family. For big Bob, though he never had children by blood, he was a giant father because of the waters of baptism.
As the Belgic Confession reminds us, “By [baptism] we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may be dedicated entirely to him, bearing his mark and sign” (Article 34). Notice two things. First, God receives us into his family, the church, through baptism. We are branded by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. This is what sets us apart from the world. Therefore, it is a privilege to be received into God’s church through baptism.
Second, the Belgic urges us to avoid the error of the Pharisees, which was the error of presumption. The privilege of God’s family does not nullify but makes greater the obligations of living as his children, “that we may be dedicated entirely to him.” As God’s children, let us bring glory to our heavenly Father. How? Through true faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit will work in us the fruits of joy, peace, love, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22,23).
Jesus was challenged by the Pharisees and Sadducees—those “religious types” who were born into God’s family by blood, born as Jews. In Matthew 3, they come upon John the Baptist baptizing a whole crowd of people. John turns to them and calls them a “brood of vipers,” continuing, “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father, for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.’”
John meant to offend them. They presumed that their birth as good Jewish Pharisees or Sadducees gave them privileges that others did not have. They were right, in part. It gave them the privilege of God’s law. But the privilege also gave to them the obligation of walking in faithfulness, which they did not do. They lived by self-righteousness and not by faith. They simply held up their Jewish bloodline to those being baptized by water, as if to say, “We’re God’s children because blood is thicker than water.”
But what brings us into God’s family? “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:13). The “body” to which Paul refers is Christ, into which we are all made members through baptism. Water is thicker than blood. Through the waters of baptism, the Holy Spirit breaks our stony hearts and makes us true descendents of Abraham, God’s family. For big Bob, though he never had children by blood, he was a giant father because of the waters of baptism.
As the Belgic Confession reminds us, “By [baptism] we are received into God’s church and set apart from all other people and alien religions, that we may be dedicated entirely to him, bearing his mark and sign” (Article 34). Notice two things. First, God receives us into his family, the church, through baptism. We are branded by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever. This is what sets us apart from the world. Therefore, it is a privilege to be received into God’s church through baptism.
Second, the Belgic urges us to avoid the error of the Pharisees, which was the error of presumption. The privilege of God’s family does not nullify but makes greater the obligations of living as his children, “that we may be dedicated entirely to him.” As God’s children, let us bring glory to our heavenly Father. How? Through true faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit will work in us the fruits of joy, peace, love, kindness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22,23).
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