Covenant Reformed News – June 2006, Volume XI, Issue 2
This article from Covenant Reformed News examines the meaning of the "holiness" of believers' children in 1 Corinthians 7:14, arguing for a view of real, inward spiritual sanctification rather than merely formal church membership. The author grounds this interpretation in Reformed covenant theology and the doctrine of election, connecting the holiness of covenant children to Christ's redemptive work and the Spirit's regenerating grace.
Holy Children I Corinthians 7:14 asserts that the children of one believer (or the children of two believers) are not “unclean” but “holy” (Greek: hagios). But what is meant by the holiness of the children of believers here? Some argue that this means that these children are not illegitimate (i.e. since their parents were validly married), while others reckon that holiness here means only that the children of believers are formally, externally, outwardly and legally in the instituted church...