Malachi 3:16–17 — Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and who esteem His name. 17 “They will be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
We saw in our previous meditation that baptism is a seal. We want to examine that idea a little more closely this time. As a seal, baptism functions in two ways:
- A seal is a mark of ownership. We often mark valuable possessions in a way that identifies it as our possession. For example, we might etch the frame of a bicycle or put a tag on a pet or a farm animal so that it is clearly marked as belonging to us. These things are, in effect, seals. They identify that object or animal as ours and serve to resolve any possible case of disputed ownership.
In the same way, baptism is an outward mark indicating that the one baptized belongs to the Lord. It indicates that they have been separated from the world (i.e. those who have not received the mark) and set apart to the Lord for His service. It is a mark, as we have seen, that the Lord would have applied to all His children, and this ought to make it very special to us. The Psalm above contains a sense of the enormous privilege of being born into the New Covenant people of God, of receiving a mark that says we belong to the King. The passage from Malachi also conveys an idea that is present in baptism from this point of view - it is a mark which distinguishes between those who serve God and those who do not. This is certainly something to reflect on with gratitude and humility!
- Secondly, a seal validates a promise. It was common practice (and is still done in the certain cases) for important legal documents to be signed by those entering into agreement and then sealed by impressing a mold into hot wax. The seal confirms the validity of what is contained in the text and carries with it the authority of the one whose seal it is.
Likewise, baptism confirms (seals) outwardly and visibly to the one baptized the validity and reliability of all the spiritual promises that it signifies (such as those concerning the washing away of sin, union with Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit - all of which are blessings reserved for the children of God). We will examine these promises in greater detail as this series continues, but again, they provide us with wonderful and profitable material for reflection, and our baptism should serve to bring them to mind and confirm them to us.
Owned of God and confirmed as possessing His great and precious promises. How thankful we should be as we reflect on the things of which baptism is a seal!