In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost
Jesus gave us a command in the Great Commission to spread His gospel and to baptize. Most have misunderstood His command. Let’s examine the command of baptism in the Great Commission and compare scripture for a clearer understanding.
The command is to baptize in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 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: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen
Most have understood this verse to mean ‘baptize in these titles”. Looking at the text, we see the command of Jesus is to baptize “in the name”. This is one singular name. Many Trinitarian scholars have recognized that Matthew 28:19 is referring to one name (Segraves, 2009, para. 10). It’s easy to figure out what this name is. All it takes is one question- what is the name of the Son? The name of the Son is Jesus.
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Since Jesus is the name of the Son, and this command includes the name of the Son, the name of Jesus should be used in baptism.
Matthew was there on the day of Pentecost when Peter preached his sermon.
Acts 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
Matthew certainly didn’t correct Peter if he felt that Peter had misunderstood Jesus’ command.
One argument is that the phrase ‘in the name of’ in Acts 2:38 means ‘by the authority of’. This is the same phrase in Matthew 28:19. If the phrase ‘in the name of’ means ‘by the authority of’ in Acts 2:38, then it must also mean ‘by the authority of’ in Matthew 28:19 – and we then would have no baptismal formula. Fortunately, we find many verses in scripture that do give us a baptismal formula. All we have to do is see how the Apostles obeyed this command, but some would say the Apostles didn’t follow Jesus’ command.
I’ve heard some say that they would rather obey the words of Jesus than the words of Peter. After all, Peter denied Jesus, right? This logic has many flaws.
First, the whole Bible is the Word of God.
2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Second, although Peter denied Jesus, he did repent and Jesus gave him the keys to the kingdom.
Matthew 16:18-19 18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Third, there is no contradiction between Matthew 28:19 and the baptismal passages in Acts. Matthew 28:19 tells us to be baptized ‘in the name’.
Is this three names or one?
The word ‘name’ in Matthew 28:19 is singular, signifying just one single name (Segraves, 2009, para. 15). What is the one name of Matthew 28:19? What name does God say He will be known by?
God said that He would be known by His ‘name’.
Isaiah 52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
Zechariah 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
God speaks of a singular name. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not proper names, but titles (Bernard, p. 61). Even if they were names, this verse is talking about one name- not three names. What is the one name?
We’ve already seen that the name of the Son is Jesus.
Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
Jesus said that he came in his Father’s name.
John 5:43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
Jesus also said that he manifested the name of the Father to us.
John 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
John 17:26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
Jesus received his name by inheritance.
Hebrews 1:4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
The Old Testament tells us that the Messiah would declare God’s name.
Psalm 22:22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.
Hebrews 2:12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
The name that Jesus received, came in, manifested, and declared was Jesus (Bernard, p. 62). The name of the Father is Jesus.
Jesus also tells us about the Holy Ghost, the ‘Comforter’.
John 14:16-18 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
The Holy Ghost is given in the name of Jesus.
Another question we should ask is “how did the apostles interpret this command”?
We see in the book of Acts that the Apostles understood Jesus’ command as ‘in the name of Jesus’.
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 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
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.
Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
They recognized that the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost is Jesus. In every case in scripture that mentions a name being used in baptism it is always in the name of Jesus.
How is the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost Jesus?
The scriptures tell us there is one God.
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
Galatians 3:20 Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
The Titles Father, Son, and Holy Ghost refer to roles.
The title Father refers to God in a parental relationship to humanity (Bernard, p. 62).
Deuteronomy 32:6 Do ye thus requite the LORD, O foolish people and unwise? is not he thy father that hath bought thee? hath he not made thee, and established thee?
Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us?
Matthew 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Romans 8:15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?
The title Son refers to the Incarnation- God manifest in flesh (Bernard, p. 63). As a man, Jesus is the Son of God.
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Galatians 4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Hebrews 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?
The title Son always refers to God as revealed in humanity. It never refers to Deity (Bernard, p. 63). The Deity in Jesus is the Father.
John 10:30 I and my Father are one.
John 10:38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
John 14:8-11 8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. 9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? 10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works’ sake.
The title of Holy Ghost refers to the Spirit of God in action and relation to humanity (Bernard, p. 63).
Genesis 1:2 And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
John 4:24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
John 14:16-18 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Jesus was claiming that He is the Comforter, the Holy Ghost that the Apostles would soon receive.
Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Acts 2:1-4 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Father.
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Matthew 10:20 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.
Romans 8:15-16 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
1 Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Compare this verse to Jude 1.
Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
We are sanctified of the Spirit, which is the Spirit of the Father.
Matthew 28:19 is not the only place that the Great Commission is recorded. It is very general, with its contents to come from other scriptures (Reeves, p. 35). For example, we also see the Great Commission is Luke 24:47.
Luke 24:47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
In this record of the great commission, Jesus tells that remission of sins, which is through water baptism (see Acts 2:38), should be preached in his name. This shows us that remission of sins is through baptism in Jesus name.
It is clear that the Apostles understood Jesus’ commission with a wider source of information and a clearer view (Reeves, p. 35). Peter and Paul baptized in Jesus name.
The three titles, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost do not refer to three persons within the Godhead. Instead, as can be seen when compared in scripture, they describe roles of God. God was manifest in flesh to provide salvation through the blood of His sinless Son, Jesus. Jesus is both God and man, Father and Son; Creator and Savior. He is the Father to us through creation and His relationship to us. As the Son he is our sacrifice. He is the Holy Ghost in transforming and regenerating us with His Spirit baptism. Jesus is the one name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Jesus is the name given to us for salvation.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Simply repeating the command that Jesus gives us isn’t obeying the command. Jesus is the name that God revealed to us for our salvation. We are commanded to be baptized in Jesus name for the remission of sins.
References
Bernard, David K. (1994). Oneness view of Jesus Christ, The
Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press
Reeves, Kenneth, V. (1966). Great Commission, The 4th Printing
Hazelwood: Word Aflame Press
Segraves, Daniel. (2009). Matthew 28:19 and Granville Sharp’s sixth rule.
Retrieved November 22, 2009 from,
http://danielsegraves.blogspot.com/2009/02/matthew-2819-and-granville-sharps-sixth_27.html
David K. Bernard The Oneness View of Jesus Christ
Related posts:
- Immanuel God With Us
- A Child is Born
- In the Name of Jesus
- Salvation Part 2 – Repentance, Baptism, and the Holy Ghost
- Is the Son the Father?
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It is hard to argue the fact of the truthfulness of this “in the name” debate. To me it is pretty clear that they baptized in Jesus name in nearly every instance but what is also interesting is that not every baptism had an evidence of spiritual gifts as David Bernard and others seem to put a premium on for initial placement of anointing from God
Almost every Bible scholar, Oneness and Trinitarian alike, agree that these (Matt. 28:19) were not the accual words of Jesus. Most say that the original Greek text read more along the lines of:
“Go and make disciples of all the nations (some add ‘baptizing them…’) in my name, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you.”