New Testament Phase=
6
Baptized in the Nam=
e of
the Lord – 3 Uses
Return to New
Testament Phrases
<=
b>Table of Contents
Recognizing
the Uses of Baptism into the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ
All
the Uses of Baptism into the name of Jesus Christ the Lord
Matthew 28:19 and the Baptism in the Name the =
Lord
Acts 8:16=
(For as y=
et he
was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lo=
rd
Jesus.) Acts 8:16 shows that 8:12, 13 were baptisms in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Acts 10:4=
8 And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him=
to
tarry certain days.
Acts 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.<=
span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-language:HE'>
Since there was ne=
ver a
baptism in the name of the Jehovah, to be baptized in the name of the Lo=
rd
is clearly a New Testament use of kurios. Likewise, there are only t=
hree
uses of the phrase baptism in the name of the Lord to consider.
Nevertheless, God’s Word uses this New Testament phrase, as it does w=
ith calling
on the Lord, or with the word of the Lord, according to regular =
and
identifiable patterns that are consistent with the meaning of the phrase it=
self.
These regularities can help resolve difficulties in biblical studies such as
those that arise from Matthew 28:19.
The first regularity, or biblical research key,=
to
observe relative to this phrase is that a human is never named as the agent=
of
the baptism in the name of the Lord. This is not a random unrelated
happenstance, but flows from the meaning and sense of the phrase baptism
into the name of Jesus Christ. In Mark 16:15 the eleven apostles are se=
nt
out to preach. They are not specifically told to baptize. The apostles,
according to Mark 16:20 obeyed this commissioning. They went forth to preac=
h,
but the Bible does not say that the=
y
baptized. The precision and enduring power of this commissioning are reaffi=
rmed
in I Corinthians 1:17. Here, the Apostle Paul (who had seen the Lord as one
born out of due time--) was not sent to baptize. He was commissioned to pre=
ach
the gospel.
John’s bapti=
sm in
water is always mentioned with a human agent. Hence, we know that the bapti=
sms
Paul does perform among the Corinthians are baptisms with water. Paul did n=
ot
baptize everyone. The water baptisms were given to those who wished to rece=
ive
it once they had believed in Jesus Christ. The baptisms in
But after that the kindness an=
d love
of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Not by wo=
rks of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost;=
The baptism to salvation is no=
t of
man’s works; it is from God by His great grace. It is His work on our
behalf through the name, the accomplishments, of His wonderful Son Jesus
Christ.
The second great key, or regularity, that perta=
ins to
the use of the phrase baptism into the name of the Lord pertains to =
the
linguistic nature of the idiomatic expression itself. The baptism into Jesus
Christ, or the baptism into the name of the Lord, always occurs in the pass=
ive
voice. For those of us who live nearly two thousand years after the writing=
of
the New Testament and the church epistles, the heavenly Father has perfectly
preserved and demonstrated the use of the idiom to be baptized into a name.=
He
did this in I Corinthians 10:1-2:
Moreover, brethren, I would no=
t that
ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and a=
ll
passed through the sea;
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
Because all of
* It is
important to note that neither Phillip nor Paul baptized “in the name=
of
the Lord.” What words they may have said by inspiration or by prophecy
are not recorded in God’s word. All we know is that Paul ironically
assures us that he did not baptize in his own name. This is especially
important to keep in mind in regards to the use of baptism in the name of t=
he
Lord in Acts 10:48. In Acts 10:47 Peter considers baptizing those in the
household of Cornelius with water. However, as Acts 11:16 explains, Peter t=
hen
recalls the Lord’s words about the baptism in the holy spirit. Instea=
d of
baptizing with water in response to God’s outpouring of the holy spir=
it,
Peter, according to Acts 10:48, commands them to be baptized by believing i=
nto
the name of the Lord so that, in accordance with Acts 2:38, they would rece=
ive
into evidence the power of the Holy Spirit.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is bapti=
zed
shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Rep=
ent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remiss=
ion
of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received=
his
word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
Acts 8:12=
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.
Acts 8:13 Then Simon himself believed al=
so:
and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding=
the
miracles and signs which were done.
Acts 8:16=
(For as y=
et he
was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lo=
rd
Jesus.)—shows that 8:12, 13 were baptisms in the name of Jesus Christ=
.
Acts 10:4=
8 And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him=
to
tarry certain days.
Acts 11:1=
6 Then reme=
mbered
I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; =
but
ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Acts 16:15 And when she was baptized, and=
her
household, she besought us, say=
ing,
If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and ab=
ide there. And she constrained us.
Acts 16:33 And he took them the same hour=
of
the night, and washed their str=
ipes;
and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
Acts 18:8=
And Crisp=
us,
the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; =
and
many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized. (Crispus and G=
aius
alone received water baptism from Paul. Crispus and his entire household and
many of the other Corinthians received the baptism in the name of the Lord.=
)
Acts 19:5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.<=
span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;mso-bidi-language:HE'>
Acts 22:1=
6 And now why tarriest thou? ari=
se,
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
Romans 6:3 Know ye not, that so many of u=
s as
were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
1 Corinth=
ians
12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been =
all
made to drink into one Spirit. (By the Holy Spirit we (who believe) are all
baptized into one body: that is the body of Christ, the church. Here a part=
of
what it means to be baptized into the name of the Lord is explained even as=
in
Romans a part of what it means to be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ,
the baptism into his death, is explained.
Sometimes,
students of God’s Word become confused because Ephe=
sians
4:5 says: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism…” This is an
ellipsis: one Lord (Jesus Christ), one faith (of Jesus Christ), and one bap=
tism
(into the name of Jesus Christ). What then of the promised baptism with the
holy spirit? Just as the baptism into the Lord includes the great mystery of
the church of his body, the mystery kept secret from ages and generations, =
so
also in Ephesians the baptism in the name of Jesus Christ includes the abil=
ity
to receive into evidence, as on the day of Pentecost, the promised holy spi=
rit
of power, and, in this way, to allow God to work in our hearts to produce a
spirit filled life well pleasing to Him.
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is a plenty =
of
discussion about the authenticity of Matthew 28:19:
Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fath=
er,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
E.W. Bullinger, a
Trinitarian, was particularly sensitive to the problems that the received t=
ext
of Matthew 28:19 poses because he dedicated his life to biblical research b=
ased
on the foundational principle that “all scripture is God-breathed.=
221;
That is, he believed that the Bible was written by men according only to wh=
at
God Himself told them to write. Since, God is perfect and cannot lie, and s=
ince
His Son is perfect, He and His Son can only be revealed by God’s perf=
ect
word. Concerning Matthew 28:19 he wrote in his Word Studies on the HOLY
SPIRIT, pp.47, 48: "These words are contained in every Greek MS.
(manuscript) known, and are, therefore, on documentary evidence, beyond
suspicion: but yet there is one great difficulty with regard to them. The
difficulty is that, the Apostles themselves never obeyed this command; and =
in
the rest of the New Testament there is no hint as to it ever having been ob=
eyed
by anyone. Baptism was always in the name of the one person of the Lord
Jesus." To resolve the apparent biblical contradictions arising from
Matthew 28:19 a number of scholars have appealed to patristic evidence. Tha=
t is
they appeal to writers who commented on the Bible before the oldest manuscr=
ipts
we now have. These scholars believe that these church fathers, patriarchs, =
were
commenting on a copy of the original manuscript of Matthew 28:19 that was
closer to the original God-breathed words given to the holy men of God. Tho=
se
relying on the
patristic evidence reconstruct Matthew 28:18-20 to read:
And Jesus came and spake unto =
them,
saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye, and make disciples of a=
ll
nations in my name:
Teaching them to observe all t=
hings
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even
unto the end of the world. Amen.
The best arguments
against going along with the evidence from these ancient Bible commentators=
is
that there is no text in existence today without the Trinitarian formula (for a l=
arge
list of this Patristic Evidence click this link). The best arguments in favor of acc=
epting
the version of the text quoted by Eusebius and Origen as the originally
inspired word of God is that the Trinitarian baptismal formula does not fit
with the inerrant accuracy of the rest of the Word of God. Likewise, the ab=
ove
study on the uses of the baptism in the name of the Lord emphasizes that the
apostles were never sent to baptize and that, therefore, in the baptism to
salvation in the church age, a human baptist is never named. Likewise, there
are a number of saints who believe that Matthew 28:19 should read:
Go
ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in my name:
Although many in the book of A=
cts
were baptized in the name of the Lord, these occurrences remain consistent =
with
the meaning of the ancient idiom and are, therefore, always recorded in the
passive voice, and additionally, no human baptist is ever named.