The Church In Covenant Part 2

Now, back to some of the things that I wanted to say about the Church Covenant...

The Covenant is divided into five sections. These five sections outline different aspects of our solemn duty of Christian life. I think it is helpful to divide the Covenant as follows:

Section 1 is a promise made to the Father, through the Son, and by the Spirit.
Section 2 is a promise to the local church.
Section 3 is a promise to ourselves.
Section 4 is a promise to individual members of the church.
Section 5 is a promise to the Church Universal.

Promise number 1 serves as the foundation and strength of the rest of the document.

Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour, and on the profession of our faith having been baptized In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, we do now in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.

The promises we make to one another are rooted firmly in this first paragraph. In it our salvation, confession, and baptism are brought together as a unit for fellowship together in a single body in Christ. The Godhead, angels, and the present body are all called together to be witnesses to our covenant. It is a solemn, yet necessary, matter that we come together as a body of believers, because when we do we are stating our purpose to live our lives for the glory of God, the advancement of His kingdom, and the good of His body, the Church.

This is not something that is optional for Christians. This is rooted and grounded in our union with Christ. This union is brought together in three ways:
Our initial salvation, by which we are united with Christ,
Our baptism, by which we show our union with Christ, and
Our confession, by which we show our common unity in Christ, grow up into a perfect body, and persevere together in Christ.