HCSB Matt 28:19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit....It says "name", not "title". The terms "Father", "Son", and "Holy Spirit" are all titles, not names.
It also says "name" (singular), not "names" (plural).
Many of us have been "baptized in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit", as Matthew indicates we should be, but it's interesting to note that in the book of Acts, at least some of the conversions are done in an actual name, and not in three titles:
HCSB Acts 2:38 "Repent," Peter said to them, "and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.and
HCSB Acts:8:16 For He had not yet come down on any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.and
HCSB Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.and
HCSB Acts:195 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.So it becomes pretty clear that the one name of "Jesus" is equivalent to the three titles of "Father", "Son", and "Holy Ghost", and to be immersed in the name of Jesus is to be immersed in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
1 comment:
I'm told that the phrase "in the name of" means "by the authority of." Since the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all one Trinity, you are baptizing by the authority of all three, which are One.They hold the same title, the same authority. So, yes, you are right that when you baptize in the name of Jesus, and are doing so in the name of the three persons of the Godhead.
Post a Comment