Growing in God's Word

In the Name of – a Study in Greek

Posted by Randy A. Brown on Nov 28th, 2009 in Salvation | 0 comments

The phrase ‘in the name of’, as applied to baptism, has sparked many debates over the years. The Popular view of the baptismal formula comes from Matthew 28:19, which uses the titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. An argument that is used against the formula ‘in the name of Jesus’, as seen in the book of Acts, is that the phrase ‘in the name of’ means ‘by the authority of’. This study will look at the Greek words in this phrase to see what was meant when Jesus and the Apostles said “in the name of’.

One argument against baptism in the name of Jesus is that the phrase ‘in the name of Jesus’ only refers to the authority of Jesus. It is true that ‘in the name of’, and ‘in his name’, is in reference to the power and authority of Jesus (Bernard, p. 72). It is by Jesus’ authority that we use His name, because Jesus has all power.

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Jesus told His disciples to use His name.

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Jesus uses the same phrase during the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

We see this phrase in the book of Acts in reference to baptism.

Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Acts 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord

Acts 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

If the phrase ‘in the name of’ only means ‘by the authority of’ then we would not have a baptismal formula because Matthew 28:19 also uses the same phrase. If we have no baptismal formula, Paul would not have needed to rebaptize the disciples of John. But Paul did rebaptize the disciples of John, and he used the name of Jesus.

The verse in Matthew and the verses in Acts use the same phrase, ‘in the name of’, but they are not all the same in Greek. The preposition ‘in’ has three different prepositions in the Greek text- eis with the accusative case, en with the dative case, and epi with the dative case. Here are the Greek definitions of the words ‘in’ and ‘name’:

1519 eis {ice} Meaning: 1) into, unto, to, towards, for, among

1722 en {en} Meaning: 1) in, by, with etc.

1909 epi {ep-ee’} Meaning: 1) upon, on, at, by, before 2) of position, on, at, by, over, against 3) to, over, on, at, across, against

3686 onoma {on’-om-ah} Meaning: 1) name: univ. of proper names 2) the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one’s rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc. 3) persons reckoned up by name 4) the cause or reason named: on this account, because he suffers as a Christian, for this reason

Matthew 28:19 uses the same phrase as Acts 8:16 and 19:5. This Greek phrase is eis to onoma tou kuriou Iesou (in the name of the Lord Jesus). This phrase literally means ‘into the name’ (Bauer, et al, p. 228). This literally means that the one who is baptized becomes the possession of, and is under the protection of, the one whose name he bears (Bauer, et al, p. 228). When we are baptized in Jesus name we become His possession because He bought us with His own blood. This is how we are baptized into His death.

Romans 6:3-7 ³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: ⁶ Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. ⁷ For he that is dead is freed from sin.

Eis, which means ‘into the name’, shows us that Matthew 28:19 commands us to be baptized into the name. What is the one name we are to be baptized into? We see in the book of Acts this name is Jesus.

Acts 10:48 uses en. The phrase is en to onomati Iesou Christou (in the name of the Lord). The phrase literally means verbally calling the name (Bauer, et al, p. 572). This literally means to say the name of Jesus Christ at baptism. Bauer, et al, says that the use of en seems to be a formula (Bauer, et al, p. 572). Bauer, et al, gives the following examples of the name being uttered as a formula.

Mark 9:38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.

Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;

Luke 9:49 And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us.

Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

Acts 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Acts 4:7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

Acts 4:10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Other examples include:

John 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

Acts 16:18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Colossians 3:17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:

These verses, as in Acts 10:48, speak of verbally calling the name. Peter was telling Cornelius to be baptized with the name of Jesus verbally called over him.

In Acts 2:38 the Greek phrase is epi to onomati Iesou Christou (in the name of Jesus Christ). This phrase literally means ‘on (or in) the name’ (Bernard, p. 79). This indicates that the name is literally called out (Bauer, et al, p. 573). This shows that we should call out the name of Jesus during baptism. Here are some other verses that use epi:

Acts 4:17-18 ¹⁷ But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. ¹⁸ And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

Acts 5:28 Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.

Acts 5:40 And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

Jesus uses epi in Great Commission that we find in Luke.

Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Jesus was saying to speak His name.

F. F. Bruce stated that a study of the Greek prepositions shows that Matthew 28:19 is a symbolic reference, while Acts 2:38 refers to a specific invocation of the name (Bruce, p. 57). En to onomati refers to ‘in the name’ and ‘on the authority of’, while eis to onoma implies a transfer of ownership (Bruce, p. 57). The idea is that we call on the name of Jesus in baptism, and we receive remission of sins that He bought with His own blood. We become His through the new birth experience of water and Spirit baptism.

The Greek text shows that water baptism is to be performed with the name of Jesus being called out. When the name of Jesus is called over us during baptism we are dedicating our lives to the one that died for us. Through faith in His name, we are expressing His authority to remit our sins. We are devoting our lives to God and proclaiming Jesus as the Lord of our lives. We proclaim Jesus as both Lord and Christ.

References

Bauer, W., Arndt, W. F., Gingrich, F. W., and Danker F., (1979). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2nd ed.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Bernard, David K. (1992). In the name of Jesus

Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press

Bruce, F. F., (1984). The Books and the Parchments, rev. ed.

Old Tappan: Revell

David K. Bernard In the Name of Jesus