56-1. Baptism is not to be unnecessarily delayed; not to be administered, in any case, by any private person; but by a minister of Christ, called to be the steward of the mysteries of God.

DIGEST : The current PCA text employs a second "not" in the second clause. When compared with all of the earlier editions, this would appear to be a typo introduced at some point. The substance of the paragraph remains essentially the same since that of the 1786 PCUSA draft. The use of several commas to break up phrasing also begins with the 1786 and is found in PCUS 1894 & 1927, PCA 1975 and the current PCA text, while not in PCUS 1929, 1933, or PCA 1975.

BACKGROUND AND COMPARISONS :
1. PCA 1975, Adopted text, as printed in the Minutes of General Assembly, p. 83
2. PCUS 1927, IX, §335
3. PCUS 1894, IX-1, p. 111-112
Baptism is not be be unnecessarily delayed; nor to be administered, in any case, by any private person; but by a minister of Christ, called to be the steward of the mysteries of God.

1. Continuing Presbyterian Church 1973, Proposed text, Directory for Worship, 10-2, p. 69
2. PCUS 1933, DfW, X, §344
3. PCUS 1929, DfW, X, §344
Baptism is not to be unnecessarily delayed, nor to be administered in any case by any private person, but by a minister of Christ, called to be the steward of the mysteries of God.

PCUS 1885, Third Revision of the Directory of Worship, III-2
Baptism is not to be unnecessarily delayed, nor to be administered in any case by a private person, but by a minister of the word, and, ordinarily, by the minister of that particular church with which the household is connected. It is usually to be administered in the presence of the congregation, on the Lord’s day, yet there may be cases when it will be expedient to administer this ordinance in private houses, of which the minister is the judge.

PCUSA, 1789, VII-1, p. 193.
Baptism is not to be unnecessarily delayed; nor to be administered, in any case, by any private person; but by a Minister of Christ, called to be the Steward of the mysteries of God.

PCUSA, 1786 draft, ¶-1, p. 76.
Baptism is not to be unnecessarily delayed, nor to be administered, in any case, by any private person; but by a minister of Christ, called to be the Steward of the mysteries of God.

COMMENTARY:
Morton H. Smith, Commentary on the Book of Church Order, 6th edition, 2007, p. 429.
In treating baptism, as an act of worship two negatives are stated. First, it should not be unnecessarily delayed. Parents of children of the Covenant should be encouraged to have their children sealed with the sign of the Covenant. This is in accord with paragraph 12-5, where"the church Session is charged . . . to see that parents not neglect to present their children for Baptism."

The second negative is that baptism not to be administered by any private person. This set against the Roman Catholic view of the sacrament, which holds that baptism actually conveys salvation, and thus even private persons are authorized to baptize infants. The requirement that the sacraments, including baptism are to be administered by those authorized by the Church fits under the general principle that all things in worship should be done decently and in order (I Cor. 14:40). Jesus gave both of the sacraments to the Church through f the Apostles. These, in turn, passed them to the ministers who succeeded them. It is these who are to administer baptism.