And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment." (Mark 12:28-30; Deuteronomy 6:4)
Read that again -- The Lord our God is ONE Lord. Peter (standing with the eleven on the day of Pentecost) said, "This same Jesus whom ye have crucified is BOTH Lord and Christ." (Acts 2:36)
So, if the Lord our God is ONE Lord, and He Himself who knew no sin was made flesh and dwelt among us, wherein His Word do we find a foundation for teaching the trinity. Jesus clearly stated, "I and My Father are ONE." (John 10:30) He was in the world and the world was made by Him and the world knew Him not. He came unto His own and His own received Him not. (John 1:10-11)
The Word dwelt among us -- the same Word that was with God and was God -- and He willingly paid the price on the cross so that you and I might have salvation and eternal life.
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matthew 1:21-23)
But the modern day religious culture does not believe that God was manifest in the flesh, as it is written in I Timothy 3:16, and as a consequence, these teach the false doctrine -- the trinity, or God in three persons, or a tri-une God. It is for this reason that they baptize using the titles, rather than the "name" which Jesus commanded believers to do. Indeed, every single person in the scriptures was baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus so what should that say about the false traditions of men?
Let's examine this topic in depth. First, note that the commandment Jesus gave in Matthew was to baptize in the name. Note that the "name" referred to here is singular. This scripture does not say names, as it would if it was intended to have a plural meaning. I do not want to diminish or take away from the words of Jesus here, but it is important to note that Jesus said -- All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth -- so it would not make sense for Jesus (in the very next verse) to then suggest that all power was not given unto Him but to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost as equal persons in the Godhead. But I digress somewhat. I will return to this point later.
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost -- teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (Matthew 28:18-20)
The Father, Son and Holy Ghost all have one name, and the apostles who walked with Jesus day in and day out would know that name. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is NONE OTHER NAME under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
"Until the day in which He was taken up, after that He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen -- to whom also He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God ..." (Acts 1:2-3)
So, what does all this mean? First and foremost, God is not the author of confusion. We are instructed to search the scriptures for our understanding, which in this case, should result in not preferring one verse to many others that elaborate on the original point. Like I said, the apostles walked with Jesus every day, plus, were privy to Jesus (after He was risen) for 50 days, wherein He taught them specifically of the matters pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
This might also be a good time to interject that the "great commission" is not only mentioned in the gospel presented by Matthew. Mark writes, for example, Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe. In My Name, they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues ..." (Mark 16:15)
Luke's account states: " ... And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high." (Luke 24:47-49)
His name? The name of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus the Christ.
How do we know? Because Peter (standing with the eleven) on the day of Pentecost proclaimed Jesus as both Lord and Christ.
"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 2:38)
And, as we know from the record in Acts 2, that the apostles obeyed the words of the Saviour when they baptized the first 3,000 souls in the name of the Lord Jesus. Note that Matthew was one of the eleven, and thus, if Peter was preaching a wrong message, one would think that Matthew would have said so. But he did not. The apostles stood in agreement of the spiritual that Jesus had taught them.
Acts 2 was not a one off event. Throughout the book of Acts, new believers were routinely baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost (for as yet He was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost." (Acts 8:12-17)
"And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." (Acts 10:48)
"When they heard this, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts 19:5)
"And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the Name of the Lord." (Acts 22:16)
Moreover, in Romans 6, we read that we are baptized into Christ -- buried and resurrected with Him.
"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? 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." (Romans 6:3-4)
"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." (Galatians 3:27)
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him: rooted and built up in Him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, which is the Head of all principality and power:
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ. Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:6-15)
"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 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." (Colossians 3:16-17)
Thus, if our hearts encourage us to do everything in both word and deed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ who love us enough to shed His precious holy blood for you and I, should we not also want to be water baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ too?
We have so much that the Lord wants to share with us so don't let the religious traditions of men prevent you from taking on His garment of righteousness. Be water baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ -- buried and resurrected with Him, and experience for yourself the goodness and grace, the love and mercy, the joy and peace, His wisdom and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour. His name is JESUS. And stand in the offering plate with a Saviour whose love for us was so great that He would die on a cross while we were yet His enemies.
So, where did the words in Matthew 28:19 originate?
According to the experts of our time, this particular scripture was re-written, which now clarifies the truth that Jesus is indeed the Author and Finisher of our faith. And as Jesus Himself said, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18)
From the BRITANICA ENCYCLOPEDIA -- The baptismal formula was changed from the name of Jesus Christ to the words Father, Son & Holy Ghost by the Catholic Church in the Second Century. – 11th Edit., Vol. 3, ppg. 365-366.
From the CANNEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION -- The early church always baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus until development of the Trinity Doctrine in the Second Century.
From the CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA -- Here the Catholics acknowledged that baptism was changed by the Catholic Church. – Vol. 2, pg. 263.
From the HASTINGS ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION -- Christian baptism was administered using the words, “in the name of Jesus.” – Vol. 2, pg. 377. Baptism was always in the name of Lord Jesus until time of Justin Martyr when triune formula used. – Vol. 2, pg. 389.
[Therefore] NAME was an ancient synonym for “person.” Payment was always made in the name of some person referring to ownership. Therefore one being baptized in Jesus’ name became His personal property. “Ye are Christ’s.” – Vol. 2, pg. 377 on Acts 2:38.
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