THE JOHN 3:5 PROJECT
"....by which we must be saved!"
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” ~ Matthew 1:18
Posted: Sunday, July 23, 2023
The God of the bible, the only God there is, has many names; each reflecting some characteristic of his state of being or his nature. Some of those names expose the innate properties of God that solely reflect his being apart from any of his creations. For instance, the personal name of God "YHWH", usually translated "I am" or "He is", although a precise interpretation of the name varies, but it expresses the aseity of God; his sovereign state of existence as originator. Some of the names of God reflect his characteristics "relative" to his creation; for example, "Jehovah-Mekoddishkem", which is interpreted; "the LORD who sanctifies you" or Jehovah Rapha, interpreted as "The God who heals."
We know from these names that it is only God who can sanctify anyone or anything and it is only the Lord who can heal. The titles of God also describe his characteristics, relative to his creations; for example, "King of Kings", "LORD of Lords", "Alpha and Omega", and "Ancient of Days" all describe God relative to his creations both chronologically and in the hierarchy of creation. Despite the many names and titles of God, it is hard to miss the irony in how water baptism is administered in much of Christianity. Many sincere people seeking forgiveness of sins through repentance and water baptism (Acts 2:38) find themselves submitting to water baptism with the titles; "Father", "Son", and "Holy Spirit".
This way of administering baptism can scarcely be considered "biblical" seeing that not a single baptism in the
bible was carried out this way. So why is this done? This method of baptism is a derivative of another concept
not found in the bible; and that is the trinity. Much to the chagrin of revisionist clergy; as it pertains to the names of
God, the bible has never proclaimed any of them to be Father, Son or Holy Spirit. Baptism, post resurrection has
always been executed using the name "Jesus". Even move important is that we know that salvation itself is directly
linked to water baptism (and of course repentance), "through" the " name" " Jesus" , for a few reasons:
Acts 8:14-16 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the "Holy Ghost:" (For as yet he was fallen upon "none" of them: "only" "they were baptized in the "name" of the Lord Jesus.")
This verse ALONE should compel those that baptize using the titles father, son and holy spirit to
"reconsider" their doctrine, as clearly, scripture states baptism was administered using
the "NAME" of the father, son, and holy spirit as was commanded by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20
Acts 19:1-6 states And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to Ephesus: and finding certain disciples, He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? And they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto what then were ye baptized?
And they said, Unto John's baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the "Lord Jesus." And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they "spake with tongues", and prophesied.
When Paul asked the believers at Ephesus if they had received the Holy Spirit (the new birth) they replied they did not know if there was such a thing, having said that, the first thing Paul did was questioned their baptism as they had "NOT" received the infilling of the Holy Spirit. When the believers at Ephesus were "re-baptized" in the name Jesus and Paul laid hands on them; they "then" received the Spirit of God, for the scriptures said they heard them speak in tongues as the spirit gave utterance; which is the evidence of the new birth.
Until that point, the spirit of God had not fallen on the believers at Ephesus, because they were NOT baptized in the name of Jesus and had not received the new birth, as such they had not come into salvation, UNTIL they were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and received the Holy Spirit evidenced by the speaking in tongues as the spirit of God gave the utterance. There is no reason to assume once can be born again, without going down in water in the name of Jesus(Acts 5:32). Some might argue that Cornelius is an example of someone who was filled with the spirit of God "without" being baptized in Jesus name. However, The bible states in
Acts 5:32 And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God "hath GIVEN to" "them that obey him."
That fact that Cornelius was filled "before" simply illustrates God's omniscients as he KNEW cornelius would submit to baptism in Jesus name.
Romans 6:3-4 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into "Jesus Christ" were baptized into his"[singular] death? Therefore "we are buried with him[singular] 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.
The bible makes clear that we are baptized into the death of Jesus Christ through emersion in water using the name Jesus. One cannot be baptized in the name of "Zeus" and expect Jesus to acknowledged our burial in him; why? "Zeus" is not the name of God. An individual cannot be baptized in the name "Yahweh" or "Jehovah" and expect the remission of sin (Acts 2:38); for a similar reason. Yes, Yahweh is the vocalized name of God, yet that name would have no spiritual implications in terms of remission of sin; none. This we can confidently say because "the bible" says, in
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: "for there is "none" other name "under heaven" "given among men", "whereby we must be saved"
That name is "Jesus"
Deviating from the specified protocol for baptism given to the apostles by Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 2:38) nullifies the power of baptism; that includes baptism using any name OTHER than the name Jesus (Acts 8:14-16, Acts 19:1-6). A candidate for baptism cannot be sprayed with a garden hose "in the name Jesus" and expect remission of sin any more than you can immerse someone in water stating "I baptize you in the name of the Most High God" and expect the remission of sin, or the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Baptizing using the titles Father, Son, and Holy spirit was not something that Jesus commanded, nor was it taught or practiced by the apostles. Even more interesting; why baptism in only three titles; why not four of five or every title of God.
There is no reason to apply "special status " to the titles "Father", "Son ", and "Holy Spirit " these are all descriptions of God’s traits that all titles of God detail.Does the title "King of kings" in some way mitigate the title "The Most High God". Do the titles of God fall into a hierarchy whereby one title is higher than another; how is that possible; and if one were to ask "what is the name of the King of Kings, or what is the "name" of the "Prince of Peace " what name would be given? Another point to consider is if one is to "personify " the titles that apply to God, as the trinity doctrine does, why wouldn’t the title "Ancient of Days" translate to a fourth person or "Light of the World:" to a fifth person or "personality ".
Now trinitarians might argue theese titles are divided among the "three" persons in the Godhead.
However, the question would then be, "which of these titles apply soley to the "the single" God that("allegedly")
manifests himself in three persons?" Naturally, if the "Father" is God,
then there are only two manifestations of God; the Son and the Holy Spirit. If the Father is a manifestation
of God, then there is a fourth, unknown entity, "manifesting" the three.
Father is the description of Jehovah "relative" to his creations. God is the Father of all that exists, including the physical laws, and all the resources that perpetuate and advance human civilizations. Father also applies to Jehovah as the "literal" father of the child conceived in Mary. We read in:
Matthew 1:18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
If nothing else, this verse should, at minimum, prove there is no distinction between
the Holy Spirit and "the Father", but even more telling is which person in the Godhead
did the "son" call the father? "Father" is not the "name" of God"; Baptism should
not be performed using this title.
"Son" of God is the description of Jehovah incarnate. It describes God "relative" to mankind as a genuine member of the human family (Matthew 1:1). It also describes Jehovah incarnate "relative" to God "through the human experience and its limitations." Son is by definition a hierarchical title, the Son of God, had both a Mother, a Father and a genealogy (Matthew 1). It was through that vessel of flesh that the name of God (Jesus) was carried to humanity (John 17:6); that vessel also served as the means of redemption for mankind by way of God’s sacrifice of "his" life through his blood (Mathew 26:28, Revelation 1:5). Note that the son of God (human) bore the name Jesus by way of the spirit (Luke 1:31, Hebrews 1:4). One important item to note is that the son of God is almost exclusively referenced in the third person.
The son of God is never "directly" address as "Jesus" or the father in scripture; the lone exception being demons. Just as the demonic forces recognized the angelic hosts in the guise flesh in Sodom and Gomorrah; the bible makes clear that the demons recognized the presence of Jesus operating through flesh. We know it was God himself in flesh for a couple of reasons. First, When Philip asked Jesus to "show us the father", Jesus said
John 14:8-9 Philip saith unto him, Lord, " show us the Father" , and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have "I" been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known "me" , Philip? he that hath seen me "hath" seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?
The translation is clear: "Show you the father? I AM RIGHT HERE" Also, the demons acknowledged their fate in torment at the hands of their judge which could not have been the son; the son of God was born "long"after the demons suffered ejection from heaven and judgement the bible states
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
Make no mistake about it, although God inhabited a human body; and had the experience as a human, he remained fully God, by spirit, and fully human by way of his "physical" existence and his human limitations. For example, God(spirit) was still "omnipresent" while clothed in flesh, we need look no further than the baptism of Jesus; God spoke.; out of heaven, appeared as a dove descending all while in a human body. However, that "flesh" could not be everywhere at the same time and was not all knowing. We know this as it was the spirit of God that walked on water, the flesh was merely carried along. It was the "spirit" that spoke to the storm and the turbulence ceased. It was spirit that said "Lazarus come forth" and Lazarus returned from the world of the dead back into his flesh to live once more. There is no inherent power in human flesh to perform such acts.
However, it was the "human" aspect that sought an escape from his approaching
suffering and subsequent death. It was the human aspect that did not know when the return
of the spirit would be (Matthew 24:36). It was the human aspect that stated "My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me." The relationship between Father and Son is the
relationship between body; human nature and spirit.
"Holy Spirit" describes God’s intrinsic nature of absolute moral pureness "relative" to his creations.
God is completely without defect or foible. Although God created man and angels without defect and morally pure,
that holiness was clearly susceptible to corruption. That vulnerability to corruption was not an inherent flaw in God’s design of man or angels.
God did not make his creation automatons or without will, or desire. The fall of both angels and man was the result of
pursuing exaltation "beyond" the parameters set by God. Unlike man and fallen angels, God is
"bound" by the parameters of holiness and is therefore is and will always be morally pure and incorruptible.
Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines Manifest as: (adjective) readily perceived by the senses and especially by the sense of sight.
2. (adjective) easily understood or recognized by the mind: "OBVIOUS" 3. (verb) to make
evident or certain by showing or displaying
Clearly the manifestation of something is merely the evidentiary characteristics of the entity and not the object itself. For example, a runny nose, a fever, and chest congestion are all symptoms of the flu virus (or some other respiratory virus), the symptoms are "not" the virus itself, but are the effects of the virus on the body. By the above definitions, everything created by God is a "manifestation" of God: plants, animals, humans, angels, planets on and on; they are "evidence" of a creator, "evidence" of his intelligence, "evidence" of his nature (Romans 1:19-20). So, if these created things are "manifestations" of God,through their existence and their characteristics, how could the "Father" be a "manifestation"; a manifestation of what? What is the father a manifestation of; who is manifesting the father? Likewise the bible says that God is a spirit and God is holy; so what distinctions can be made between God - the spirit that is holy and the "Holy Spirit" , the alleged third person in the holy trio; and who or what would the Holy Spirit be a manifestation "of", another "holy" spirit?
The bible illustrates that as it applies to the redemption of man, the only basis for a son [add link to unity of God doc], there is only a single manifestation of God, and that manifestation is "God in flesh." That male child born of Mary evinced "all" the power of God because God was "in" that flesh; the bible tells us that: The bible states in:
1 Timothy 3:16: And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
The second form of "God in flesh" manifests in the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The bible says in:
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
(also see 2 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Corinthians 6:19) We know that the infilling of God's spirit is "literal" because not everyone has it;and no one was born with it; the lone eception being John the baptist; we read in Romans 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Finally, we stated, the bible demonstrates that there is no distinction between the "Father" and the "Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:35); We also read in:
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit "of" him that raised up Jesus from the dead "dwells in you", "he" that raised up Christ from the "dead" shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
So, which spirit raised the son of God from the dead, and which spirit will raised believers; the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of the Son? To note, the son of God "ceased" to function when the spirit of God stepped out of that body on the cross; the son of God didn't walk, talk, or perform any miracles; as the animating force(God) was gone; the son of God is flesh and blood; and not an eternal son; it was through that body, the son, that God shared the human experience. The bible makes no distinction between the God, God in the Son; and the Holy Spirit; God is still God in spirit or in flesh. Baptism should only be performed in the "Name" of all three; that name is Jesus.