Baptize in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?

God in the Bible goes by many names. All of these names reveal something about God or his nature. There are two types of names that we need to understand before we can speak about baptism. This topic hinges on the difference between these two types.

The first type of name tells us what God is. Without anything he has created. The name YHWH which is often translated as “I am” or “He is” (this can be debated) reveals God's aseity. Which means God exists out of himself. He owes his life to no one else.¹ The second type of name reveals what God is in regards to his creation. Jehovah-Mekoddishkem translates to “the LORD your sanctifier.” Jehovah-Rapha translates to “the LORD your healer.”²

God also goes by many titles. Titles also describe God in reference to what he has created. “King of kings”, “Lord of lords”, “Alpha and Omega” and “Ancient of Days” are all titles that place God above his creation either temporally or hierarchically.³ What we want to prove is that there is a difference between a name and a title. And that it affects the way we should be baptizing as Christians. We will do this in 4 steps. First we will look at the commandment in Matthew 28:19 and how the Apostles applied it. Second we will look at the disciples in Ephesus. Third we will look at what it means to be buried in a name. Lastly we will see if Father, Son and Holy Ghost are anything more than a description of one God.

Here is the commandment from Matthew.

As you can see the scripture states that we are to be baptized “in the name” not “names”. So what is the name of the Father? What is the name of the Son? What is the name of the Holy Ghost? Jesus never commanded his disciples to baptize in the titles of Father, Son and Holy Ghost. But in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Mark also records this commandment and adds that salvation will come through it.

Again we see that salvation comes through water baptism.⁴ So how did the Apostles understand the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost? Acts will give us a clear answer. When Philip went to preach the Gospel in Samaria. Many believed and were baptized. So the Apostles sent Peter and John to them.

This scripture alone should make those who are baptizing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost reevaluate their ways. The Apostles who were commanded to baptize in Matthew 28:19 did not use the titles of Father, Son and Holy Ghost when they baptized. But they baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” As we will see when looking at Peter's first message and when the Holy Spirit fell on the household of Cornelius.⁵ So it is safe to conclude that the Apostles knew the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost to be the name of Jesus.

What we are not saying is that the Apostles were not following Matthew 28:19. They were following it. By understanding how the Apostles followed Matthew 28:19 we can know what it means. We are also not trying to say that there are 3 persons that share one nature. The Trinity believes that there are 3 persons that share one nature. We are saying that they are all titles of one God. More on that later.⁶

Our next example is in Ephesus.

Notice how Paul approached this situation. These men were considered disciples and were already baptized. Paul asked them if they received the Holy Spirit and they said no. So Paul asked them what they were baptized in. Once he found out they were baptized in John's baptism he had them baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then he laid hands on them and the Holy Ghost fell on them and they spoke in tongues. Which shows that they received the Holy Ghost.⁷

So we have no evidence that someone can be born again and not be baptized in water in the name of Jesus. Some may argue about the household of Cornelius receiving the Holy Spirit before they were baptized.⁸ Well there are two points we can make about this. One is that the Holy Spirit is given to “them that obey him”.

And two God is consistent. He knew that Cornelius was going to obey. So he showed his knowledge by having the Spirit fall on them first. And then Peter immediately “commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”⁹

Next we will look at what Paul says about what happens when we are baptized.

When we are baptized we are being baptized into the death of Jesus Christ. One death and one burial “with him”. When we are baptized we are being immersed into the death of Jesus Christ under the name of Jesus. Which leads me to believe that if someone was baptized using the words “I baptize you in the name of the King of kings and Lord of lords” that they are not being buried with Christ. Because the King of kings and Lord of lords is a title not a name.¹⁰

Some may say that the book of Revelation calls these titles names.

Yes it does use the word name. But a name that describes someone is different than a name that tells you who that person is. For example if I said that a dog was a Collie. That would be a name for a breed of dog. It would describe what kind of dog it is. But if I said that dog's name was Lassie. That would be the name of that specific dog. Same thing with God. “King of Kings” tells us what God is. It does not tell us who he is. There is only one name that tells us who he is.

There is no name that we can be saved by other than the name of Jesus. Not the Father, not the Son and not the Holy Ghost. If we baptize with any name other than the name that Jesus told us to baptize in we are not practicing the baptism that is taught in the Bible.¹¹

Two questions arise when we try to baptize in the titles of God. Why only baptize in the titles of Father, Son and Holy Ghost? Why not baptize in all of God's titles? If all the titles of God are describing the same God. Why would we pick out these 3 titles to baptize in? The title “King of kings” does not make the title “most high God” any less true. They are all describing the same God.

So what are the Father, Son and Holy Ghost? Well if we look up the definition of manifest in Merriam-Webster. It says that it is “easily perceived by the senses (as by sight)” or “easily understood or recognized by the mind”. To manifest something is to show it or display it.¹²

So when we manifest something we are showing the evidence of that thing. When someone has the flu they may have a runny nose, fever and chest congestion. Those are manifestations of the flu. They are not the flu but they show that the flu is present in the body. Everything that God has created is a manifestation of him. Whether it be plants, animals, humans, angels or planets. They all show that there is a creator that is intelligent and has certain characteristics about him.¹³

If created objects are a manifestation of God. Then how can the Father be a “manifestation”? Manifestation of who? The Bible also tells us that God is a Spirit. And that God is holy.¹⁴ So what is the difference between God and a Spirit that is Holy? Or God and the Holy Spirit? If the Holy Spirit was a separate person or focal point of consciousness how could the Holy Spirit be God's Spirit?

Matthew 1:18 tells us that Mary “was found with child of the Holy Ghost”. Then when that child was born he called God his Father. So the Holy Ghost and the Father are not two separate entities.¹⁵

Matthew 28:19 tells us to baptize in one name. The Apostles who knew this commandment baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. In Jerusalem, Samaria and the household of Cornelius. Paul told us that we are being buried with Christ when we are baptized. And Peter told us that there is no other name we can be saved by. The Father, Son and Holy Ghost are all descriptions of one God. The name of that one God is Jesus.