One of the popular arguments for paedobaptism is based on 1 Corinthians 7:14 which says:
“4 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
Recently I’ve seen people attempt to link this to Malachi 2:14 and suggest that Paul is referencing Malachi in his argument. This says:
“15 Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.[d] So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
The connection seems to have been made because both passages are to do with why you shouldn’t divorce, and both include consideration of a child’s status as either godly or holy. However, a quick check through commentaries suggests that this doesn’t seem to be a link that is being drawn.
Additionally, the question of how best to translate the Hebrew text and interpret it has proved challenging in the case. At a most wooden transliteration it says
“Has not one (he) made them”
Apparently, some have even disputed over who the “he” is here with Rabbinic scholars suggesting that the reference is to Abraham. However, translators since have presumed that it is God acting with “one” either referring to the oneness of God, or more likely that it is describing how he has made the two, man and woman into one flesh. This would fit best with the context which is a rebuke for marital unfaithfulness. Some have suggested that the issue was polygamy though note that God’s concern here is not merely with multiple wives at the same time but also sequentially, hence God hates divorce (Malachi 3:16).
The question then is as to why unfaithfulness now, specifically to the wife of your youth would affect the status of offspring. Malachi says that what is sought is “godly offspring” or offspring for/from God. In other words, offspring that fulfil his covenant promises. It cannot be that children from the existing, original marriage would no longer be “godly” or fulfil that purpose. However, it is possible that one reason why people were seeking new wives because they were still without children from the original marriage, similar to Abraham’s attempts to fulfil the promise through Hagar. This would fit with a theme of barrenness and fruitlessness in Malachi. The people come weeping to the altar because of this but God isn’t interested in unrepentant tears and sacrifices.
The thrust then is “stop bothering me with your weeping and waling. There is a reason why things are not working out. Repent and go back to your lawful wife.”
You see, if they thought that any offspring would do, God insists that this is not the case, it is specifically godly offspring, conceived and born in accordance with his commands and promises, just as it was with Abraham.
In 1 Corinthians 7, the link is again to say no to divorce but this time to an unbelieving husband. Beyond the surface links, there isn’t much more connection, different points are made. Paul wants to show that your husband can be considered “clean” because otherwise your children would be considered unclean and that isn’t the case. Notice that the category of cleanness here is not to do with salvation. You don’t know if your unbelieving partner will be saved. Nor is it to do with the husband/father’s federal headship, the application is both in the case of an unbelieving husband or wife. So, I don’t think we should make too much of possible links here.
In any case, the point that “any offspring will not do” that seems to be made in Malachi and certainly is made in the life of Abraham should cause us to sit up and pay attention. You see, there has been a move in recent times to insist that Acts 2 guarantees or at least gives a strong presumption in favour of children to Christian parents being included in the New Covenant. The follow on from this is that if our children are automatically or as close to automatically as possible included in God’s people then our mission priority should be to have lots and lots of children, as many as possible.
However, that’s not where Malachi takes us. The important thing, he insists is that these are godly offspring, or God’s offspring. What makes them godly? How can we know if they are? Well, Paul helpfully tells us this in Romans 9:8-9:
“6 It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”[b] 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”[c]
It’s not physical descent that counts. I cannot assume that because a child is my physical heir that they are a child, or an heir of the promise. So, how does one become a child of the promise?
Well, note that the whole emphasis in Romans has been on faith. We are justified by faith, that’s how righteousness is credited to us so that we benefit from the same blessing as Abraham. And so, we reach Romans 10:9 which requires heart belief and mouth confession for salvation. Similarly, Acts 2 makes it clear that the promise is tied in to repentance and faith.
This is important for two reasons. First, it means that neither 1 Corinthians 7:14 or Malachi 2:15, separately or together provide support for paedobaptism. Second, it liberates Christian couples from something that is creeping in at the moment. This is the idea that Christians should not just have children but lots and lots of children, this is seen as their first duty and anyone who suggests that having lots of children might not be best in their context is dismissed as somehow unfaithful. Note the illustrative image at the top as this has sometimes come under the banner of “a quiver full”.
Yet the point we see in Malachi is that our priority is “godly children” and that means according to Romans, children who have faith. So, it is perfectly legitimate to think about the implications of raising children and how many children you are not just in a position to bring into the world but to raise and point to Christ. It’s also legitimate to look at how you can help bring other people into God’s kingdom who are not your own children but who will then be godly offspring. Indeed, Paul’s relationship to Onesimus and others suggests that we might as much think of those we have discipled as our godly offspring as physical children.
To be clear, I have no problem with large families. I know many people who have benefited from the joys of being part of large families. My own mum was one of six children. There is a blessing in that. However, this doesn’t mean that large families are necessary or more godly.
Faithroots 