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The Covenant <strong>and</strong> Baptism<br />
were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the<br />
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, John<br />
1:13. The apostles were taught by the death <strong>and</strong><br />
resurrection of Christ, 3 to acknowledge no man<br />
after the flesh, i.e. to make no account of<br />
anything external as bringing persons into<br />
relation with God,<br />
2 Cor. 5:15, 16 <strong>and</strong> therefore they could never<br />
underst<strong>and</strong> that children should be baptized on<br />
account of the faith of their parents.<br />
But there was no danger of the apostles<br />
misunderst<strong>and</strong>ing our Lord, however<br />
obscurely he had intimated his will; for they<br />
were infallibly guided in their practice by his<br />
Spirit. The precision of the words of the<br />
commission, therefore, was not so much for<br />
their sake as for ours. The kingdom of God<br />
was to be published to many nations of very<br />
different ideas <strong>and</strong> habits, who were not to be<br />
infallibly secured from error. It was therefore<br />
3 They had formerly expected Christ to come for the<br />
salvation of Israel, but now they had learned the extent<br />
of his atonement, John 11:52; 1 John 2:2 <strong>and</strong> this had<br />
destroyed all their former prejudices respecting carnal<br />
descent.<br />
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