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Baptize Into the Name of... |
Dear Brethren,
What does baptism
picture? Why is baptism so important for Christians? Jesus
commanded us to be baptized when He gave these instructions: “Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
into the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
(Matthew 28:19) At baptism, we are literally placed into God’s
Family Name.
More and more as we
near the end-time, the validity of Matthew 28:19 is coming under
attack. The problem is that every element expressed therein is
valid and true. It is not a new controversy – by any means. Men
have been disfellowshipped for defending the legitimaticy of this
scripture. This verse contains concepts of our faith that define
our understanding about Christian baptism.
Jesus Christ
commands baptism for salvation. We are baptized into the divine
Family Name – though not yet born into the Family of God as spirit
beings – in the name of, or by the authority of Jesus Christ. Our
receiving of God’s Holy Spirit enables us to partake of the divine
nature of God. At our resurrection, we will then ultimately become
God’s born sons and daughters and heirs of the Kingdom of God.
The contention
being made again today is that Matthew 28:19 contains bogus and
spurious wording that should not be included in the baptism
ceremony. That is not true. The mention of the “Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit,” does not constitute an overt Trinitarian
phrase. The comparison of Matthew 28:19 to the proven spurious
addition in 1John 5:7-8 is disingenuous. In 1John 5:7-8, an entry,
“the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost,” was introduced in the
margin of one manuscript by a monk, and subsequently added
improperly into the King James Version of 1611.
In Acts 2
we recognize the proper use of Scriptural references to the Father,
Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Jesus was the first to receive
the Father’s promise of the Holy Spirit.
“Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having
received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Spirit, He [the Father] hath shed forth this, which ye now
see and hear.” (Acts 2:33) The Holy Spirit comes from God the
Father.
Please notice
carefully how the authority of Jesus Christ extends this same
promise of the Father to us. “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 Spirit. For the
promise [of the Father] is unto you, and to
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the
Lord our God shall call.” (Acts 2:38-39)
Make no mistake
about it Jesus is Savior. “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. This is the stone
which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of
the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there
is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we
must be saved.” (Acts 4:10-12) “[Peter] commanded them
to be baptized in the name of the Lord.” (Acts 10:48)
Baptism, also a
picture of burial and resurrection, is a symbolic act of that which
takes away our sins. It is the death of Jesus Christ that remits
our sins, and it is His resurrection, by which we are finally
saved. “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. For if we have been planted together
in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of
his resurrection.” (Romans 6:3-5)
“Jesus came and
spake unto them [the eleven disciples], saying, All power
is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: 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) These words are not so much a formula for baptism as they
are instructions for us.
When does a
Christian receive the Father's name? Are we born with it? Do we
take it on at the resurrection? How and when does a converted
person acquire the Father's name? In the book of Revelation we read
a remarkable prophecy about those who have the Father's name. "And
I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with him a
hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name
written in their foreheads." (Rev 14:1) The responsibility for
those of us who would seek to understand the truth of scripture,
particularly the very words of Jesus Christ, is an awesome one
indeed.
For over fifty
years, many people were baptized into God's Church according to
Christ’s instruction. For many years, God blessed His Church greatly
in the spreading of the Gospel to many nations. After
repenting of our sins, which is the transgression of God's holy and
righteous and perfect law, and acceptance of Jesus Christ as our
personal savior, our Lord and Master, our High Priest and the soon
coming King, the minister said these words, “I now baptize you, not
into any sect or denomination of this world, but I baptize you
into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, by
and through the authority of Jesus Christ for the remission of your
sins. We were then baptized by being immersed under water. The
minister then said, “Congratulations, your sins are now forgiven.”
He then laid his hands on us and asked God to give us the promise of
the Father – God’s Holy Spirit.
Today, the greater
Church of God is being scattered. Men are turning to another form
of baptism than the one practiced for so many years. Some men are
saying, "We will not baptize the way Herbert W Armstrong baptized."
To bolster their contention they even bring into question the Holy
Bible itself. This old heresy of baptizing, "In the Name of Jesus
Only," which was addressed by Herbert W. Armstrong in 1948, has
again come up. The traditional teaching of the Church of God with
regard to baptism was given in the booklet: “All About Water
Baptism” (1948) (pg. 7, 1972 edition)
"Since some today
are being baptized over again "in the name of Jesus ONLY" in order
to eliminate the Father, and the Holy Spirit, this should be
considered here. The contention of these people is that this
passage in Matthew 28:19 is the only place in the Bible where the
names of the Father and the Holy Spirit are commanded. They argue
that a biblical command must be established "in the mouth of two or
more witnesses," and since they claim there is but this one witness
to this command, it must be rejected. All other passages mention
only the name of Jesus.
"The explanation is
that two or more witnesses are required only in the case of HUMAN
testimony -- where one accuses another. That instruction does not
apply to the divine Witness, as inspired by the Holy Spirit, and to
assume it does is surely close to blasphemy against the Holy
Spirit! On the contrary, "ALL scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable ...." And, THE SCRIPTURE CANNOT BE BROKEN! If
you can break, disprove, reject, or throw out this one scripture,
you can reject all the rest!
"In this passage,
the word translated "in" should properly be translated "into." The
meaning, then, is that repentant believers are baptized INTO God the
Father, and into Christ the Son, and into the Holy Spirit. But the
one who plunges the new believer under the water performs the act IN
THE NAME OF -- that is, by authority of, JESUS CHRIST. Why?
"Because Jesus said
"ALL POWER" -- and that includes all authority -- "is given unto me
in heaven and in earth." He has ALL authority! Either we do it by
His authority, or else we are doing it without any authority."
(pg. 11, 1972 edition) "Notice carefully, too -- we are "BAPTIZED
INTO JESUS CHRIST""
The word "Name"
carries a number of different connotations. It sometimes means
"authority," as in: "Stop in the name of the law!" It can mean
reputation, as in: "He has a good name." It can mean first name or
family name. A father's son carries his sir-name. A Christian
receives the Father's name at baptism. It is the
same name that Jesus, the Son of God, possesses. At baptism, a
convert is also baptized into the Spirit of God - the spiritual life
of God. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body...
and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." (1Corinthians
12:13) At baptism, we become children of God - possessing the
Father's name. "And will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty."
(2Corinthians 6:18)
We must receive the
Father's name for the following to be true. Jesus said, "Now I
am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to
thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name
those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are."
(John 17:11) Jesus added, "Believest thou not that I am
in the Father, and the Father in me?"
(John 14:10)We, too, are baptized into the Father and Jesus
– in the same way!
***
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"Baptize Into the Name of..."
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