New Testament Phase 6

Baptized in the Name of the Lord – 3 Uses

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The Three Uses

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

The Three Uses

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 8:16 shows that 8:12, 13 were baptisms in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 10:48 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.

Recognizing the Uses of Baptism into the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ

Since there was never a baptism in the name of the Jehovah, to be baptized in the name of the Lord is clearly a New Testament use of kurios. Likewise, there are only three 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 with 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 itself. 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 sent out to preach. They are not specifically told to baptize. The apostles, according to Mark 16:20 obeyed this commissioning. They went forth to preach, but the Bible does not say that they baptized. The precision and enduring power of this commissioning are reaffirmed 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 preach the gospel.

John’s baptism in water is always mentioned with a human agent. Hence, we know that the baptisms Paul does perform among the Corinthians are baptisms with water. Paul did not baptize everyone. The water baptisms were given to those who wished to receive it once they had believed in Jesus Christ. The baptisms in Corinth follow the pattern of Philips’ baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:38*. Then, in conclusion, if the Lord did not send the apostles to baptize but to preach, who performs the baptism unto salvation specified in Mark 16:16? This Titus 3:4-5 tells us:

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,

Not by works 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 not 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 pertains 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 passive 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 not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

Because all of Israel obeyed Moses, they all received the same benefits from God that Moses received. Israel, through obedience alone became full sharers of everything that Moses accomplished for them by his trust in God. Moses name, Moses’ accomplishments with God became theirs. This use of the idiom occurs in the passive voice. Likewise, the use of the same idiom in regards to the church receiving all of the blessings of Christ by believing, of believers being baptized into the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, always occurs in the passive voice.

* 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 the 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 then recalls the Lord’s words about the baptism in the holy spirit. Instead of baptizing with water in response to God’s outpouring of the holy spirit, Peter, according to Acts 10:48, commands them to be baptized by believing into the name of the Lord so that, in accordance with Acts 2:38, they would receive into evidence the power of the Holy Spirit.

All the Uses of Baptism into the name of Jesus Christ the Lord

Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

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 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 also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Acts 8:16 (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)—shows that 8:12, 13 were baptisms in the name of Jesus Christ.

Acts 10:48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Acts 11:16 Then remembered 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, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Acts 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

Acts 18:8 And Crispus, 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 Gaius 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.

Acts 22:16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, 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 us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

1 Corinthians 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 Ephesians 4:5 says: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism…” This is an ellipsis: one Lord (Jesus Christ), one faith (of Jesus Christ), and one baptism (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 ability to receive into evidence, as on the day of Pentecost, the promised holy spirit 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.

Matthew 28:19 and the Baptism in the Name the Lord

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 Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

E.W. Bullinger, a Trinitarian, was particularly sensitive to the problems that the received text of Matthew 28:19 poses because he dedicated his life to biblical research based on the foundational principle that “all scripture is God-breathed.” That is, he believed that the Bible was written by men according only to what God Himself told them to write. Since, God is perfect and cannot lie, and since His Son is perfect, He and His Son can only be revealed by God’s perfect 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 obeyed 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. That is they appeal to writers who commented on the Bible before the oldest manuscripts 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. Those 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 all nations in my name:

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.

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 large list of this Patristic Evidence click this link).  The best arguments in favor of accepting 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 above 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 Acts 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.