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According to both the Bible and history, the New Testament
church invoked the name of Jesus at water baptism. Its baptismal formula
was "in the name of Jesus Christ" or "Lord Jesus," not
"in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost."
The Scriptural Record
Every time the Bible records the name or formula associated with an
actual baptism in the New Testament church, it describes the name Jesus.
All five such accounts occur in the Book of Acts, the history book of the
early church. It records that the following people were baptized in Jesus'
name.
The Jews, "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).
The Samaritans. "They were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus'
(Acts 8:16).
The Gentiles. "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of
the Lord" (Acts 10:48). (The earliest Greek manuscripts that we have say, "In the name of Jesus Christ," as do most
versions today.)
The disciples of John (rebaptized). "They were baptized in the name
of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5).
The Apostles Paul. "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins,
calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16).
Moreover, the Epistles contain a number of references or allusions to
baptism in Jesus' name. See Romans 6:3-4; I Corinthians 1:13; 6:11;
Galatians 3:27 ; Colossians 2:12; James 2:7.
The only verse of Scripture that anyone could appeal to in support of a
threefold baptismal formula is Matthew 28:19, in which Jesus commanded baptism
"in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost." The word name in this verse is singular, however, indicating
that the phrase describes on supreme name by which the one God is revealed,
not three names of three distinct persons.
The apostles understood Christ's words as a description of His own name,
for they fulfilled His command by baptizing in the name of Jesus. There is
only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4), and He has one supreme name today
(Zechariah 14:9). Jesus is the incarnation of all the fulness of the
Godhead (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is the name of the Son (Matthew 1:21),
Jesus is the name by which the Father is revealed to us (John 5:43; 10:30;
14:9-11), and Jesus is the name in which the Holy Spirit comes (John
14:16-18, 26).
Luke 24:47 is a parallel verse to Matthew 28:19, and describes Jesus as
saying that repentance and remission of sins-and baptism is for the
remission of sins (Acts 2:38)-would be preached "in his name."
Jesus is the only saving name, the name in which we receive remission of
sins, the highest name made known to us, and the name which we are to say
and do all things (Acts 4:12; 10:43; Philippians 2:9-11; Colossians 3:17).
Thus the one supreme, saving name of Matthew 28:19 is Jesus. We are to
fulfill the command of that verse as the early church did, by invoking the
name of Jesus at baptism.
The Historical Record
Respected historical sources verify that the early Christian church did
not use a threefold baptismal formula but invoked the name of Jesus in baptism
well into the second and third centuries.
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (1951). II, 384, 389: "The
formula used was "in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" or some
synonymous phrase; there is no evidence for the use of the trine name… The
earliest form, represented in the Acts, was simple immersion… in water, the
use of the name of the Lord, and the laying on of hands. To these were
added, at various times and places which cannot be safely identified, (a)
the trine name (Justin)…"
Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible (1962), I 351: "The evidence…
suggests that baptism in early Christianity was administered, not in the
threefold name, but 'in the name of Jesus Christ' or 'in the name of the
Lord Jesus.'"
Otto Heick, A History of Christian Thought (1965), I, 53: "At first
baptism was administered in the name of Jesus, but gradually in the name of
the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible (1898). I, 241: "[One explanation
is that] the original form of words was "into the name of Jesus
Christ" or 'the Lord Jesus,' Baptism into the name of the Trinity was
a later development."
Williston Walker, A History of the Christian Church (1947), page 58:
"The trinitarian baptismal formula,,, was
displacing the older baptism in the name of Christ."
The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (1957), I,
435: "The New Testament knows only baptism in the name of Jesus… which
still occurs even in the second and third centuries."
Canney's Encyclopedia of Religions (1970), page 53: "Persons were
baptized at first 'in the name of Jesus Christ' … or 'in the name of the
Lord Jesus'… Afterwards, with the development of the doctrine of the
Trinity, they were baptized 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and
of the Holy Ghost.'"
Encyclopedia Biblica (1899), I, 473: "It is natural to conclude
that baptism was administered in the earliest times 'in the name of Jesus Christ,' or in that 'of the Lord Jesus.' This view is
confirmed by the fact that the earliest forms of the baptismal confession
appear to have been single-not triple, as was the later creed."
Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed. (1920), II 365: "The trinitarian
formula and trine immersion were not uniformly used from the beginning…
Bapti[sm] into the name of the Lord [was] the normal formula of the New
Testament. In the 3rd century baptism in the name of Christ was still so
widespread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to Cyprian of Carthage,
declared it to be valid."
Christians today should use the biblical baptismal formula as found in
the New Testament. Everyone should be baptized by immersion in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.
DKB
Tract # 1567220770
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