App
Baptism Series #11
Fred R. Coulter—April 17, 1998
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Today in Florida there is a movement among God's people—many of who were in the Worldwide Church of God for years and years—to where they are requiring everyone to be re-baptized in the name of Yahweh, and they are requiring all males to be circumcised—that is kind of painful thought! There are also people in the past who have believed that you should only be baptized in the name of Jesus. And that what you read in Matthew 28, at the end, is really a trinitarian formula.
Let's find out if that does conflict with some other Scriptures, which we will read concerning baptism. Matthew 28:18: "And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me…. [this 'power' is 'exousia' in the Greek]…Therefore, go and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even until the completion of the age.'" (vs 18-20).
Many people will turn here and say, 'Go therefore into all nations, and that's our commission. We must reach out to the world.' That is part of it. You have to read all of it: "Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you…" That shows an ongoing thing of developing the Church and the congregation and developing the faith of the brethren. And right now the brethren need to be strengthened, so we're doing this part of this commission. But what I want to focus in on is "…into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (v 19). Does that conflict with these following verses?
Let's go to Acts, the second chapter. In every study paper I have on it—and I have several—because several have sent things to me concerning it, and they always quote Eusebius, who leaves out 'in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.' Now Eusebius, I would have to say, is the only one who quotes it that way. Then what you have is the same thing that Carl discovered when he was trying to find Galatinus. Remember what Carl wrote on debunking what the sacred-namers miss, that everyone quoted Galatinus; so it was quoting in a circle. Everyone was quoting that so you get this reference or this commentary and it all comes back to Eusebius.
Now, Eusebius, in many cases, can give us some insights into the things that were happening. But please remember that Eusebius was also of those 'Christians' who were the first Sunday-keepers. And Eusebius is counted as one of the first fathers of the Catholic Church. We're not going to debunk what he has said, but beyond that there is virtually no proof that section of Matthew 28 was an 'add-on' at a later date. We know in 1-John 5:7, we have the add-on verse there and that is evidenced by many, many, texts from many, many, sources rather than just one from Eusebius.
Acts 2:38: "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent and be baptized each one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you yourselves shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"
Acts 4:10: "Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, Whom you crucified, but Whom God has raised from the dead, by Him this man stands before you whole. This is the Stone that was set at naught by you, the builders, which has become the Head of the corner. And there is no salvation in any other, for neither is there another name under heaven which has been given among men, by which we must be saved" (vs 10-12). And the force of the Greek there is: it's obligatory to be saved. No other name.
Acts 19:1 [corrected]—here's where we can learn a couple of things here in addition to it. "Now, it came to pass that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the upper parts and came to Ephesus; and when he found certain disciples, He said to them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit after you believed?'.… [The key thing in baptism is receiving the Holy Spirit!] …And they said to him, 'We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' Then he said to them, 'Unto what, then, were you baptized?' And they said, 'Unto the baptism of John.'…. [John's baptism is about as close to the real thing as you could get—right? Yes!] …And Paul said, 'John truly baptized with a baptism unto repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in Him Who was coming after him—that is, in Jesus, the Christ.' And after hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus" (vs 1-5).
Here's the principle of re-baptism. If you had to be re-baptized because of John's baptism, surely you have to be re-baptized because of Baptist baptism or Catholic baptism or Lutheran baptism—correct? Because the object is this: If you have been baptized and you haven't received the Holy Spirit, then your baptism was not valid. And there are occasions that we have with people, even within the Church of God, not knowing or not being instructed or for whatever reason were baptized and didn't receive the Holy Spirit, God is the One Who withheld it because He knew the circumstances involved.
At a later date, because God is still with the person and for the person, the individual might come to the conclusion and deep conviction that he or she might need to be baptized again. And in some cases we do that. But what I always do is this: I tell the individual to fast and pray about it. Ask God to reveal to you whether the Holy Spirit is in you or with you, because God does not want you to be in doubt. He'll reveal that to you, and if you need to be re-baptized, then fine, we'll do that—because the object is to receive the Holy Spirit of God. So there we have the basis for it.
Let's go to Philippians, the second chapter now and let's understand about the name of Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:5: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus… [that's the whole goal of why we're here, brethren.] …Who, although He existed in the form of God… [the Greek there being 'huparcho' which means existing as or in a state of being as God] …did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but emptied Himself, and was made in the likeness of men, and took the form of a servant" (vs 5-7). That means the exact same likeness as men. As I've mentioned before, when Jesus was born He had to have the umbilical cord tied. He had to be swaddled. He had to be diapered, cleaned, suckled and everything like that.
Verse 8: "And being found in the manner of man… [and that is everything that human beings go through in the physical process of living] …He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Therefore, God [the Father] has also highly exalted Him and bestowed upon Him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of beings in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (vs 8-11).
Does Jesus have a name greater than the Father? No! Jesus said, John 14:28[transcriber correction]: "…because my Father is greater than I."
Let's come to Matthew 11:25 and let's see why Jesus came. Understand that Jesus came to reveal the Father: "At that time Jesus answered and said, 'I praise You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to babes. Yes, Father, for it was well pleasing in Your sight to do this. All things were delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son personally chooses to reveal Him" (vs 25-27).
What we have to understand, brethren, is that the New Testament, as we have it today, was a progressive revelation that Christ gave to His apostles. We also have to realize that in putting that together, that we have quite a startling statement that was made by the Apostle Paul—and that statement is that just before his death, or at least while he was in prison here which was maximum five years before his death, minimum just before his death.
Ephesians 3:1: "For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles, if indeed you have heard of the ministry of the grace of God that was given to me for you; how He made known to me by revelation the mystery (even as I wrote briefly before, so that when you read this, you will be able to comprehend my understanding in the mystery of Christ), which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed…" (vs 1-5). That is at this time, while he was in prison he had the profound revelation that our purpose and goal was to become as God is. That was not understood at the beginning of the preaching of the Gospel. Remember, Jesus told His disciples on the Passover night: 'I have many things to say to you but you are not able to bear them now.'
"…as it has now been revealed to His Holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles…" (vs 5-6). Wasn't that a Divine revelation that God gave to Peter through the experience of Cornelius? That the Gentiles would receive the Holy Spirit, not being required to be circumcised? Yes! So, that was a revelation.
What we need to also understand is that the New Testament was canonized by Paul, Peter and John. God did not leave it to the philosophers of the Catholic Church to canonize the New Testament. That's like asking a thief to watch my money while I go away! You think God would entrust His Word to them? No!
There is a book out that is called: The Original Bible Restored by Ernest Martin, which is quite a good book and I may give a sermon on that—I did years and years and years ago—about the canonization of the New Testament. There's ample reason to believe that the book of Matthew was the first one written. However, whoever said that it was written in Hebrew—which I think Eusebuis did—Carl mentioned that to me is not true. Nor was it written in Aramaic. You need to understand this: the leaders of Judaism so hated Christ that they could not be trusted to preserve the Word of God of the New Testament in Hebrew. Therefore, God called those who spoke Greek. All the area around Galilee was Greek-speaking. Tiberius had one of the greatest Greek centers of teaching in the whole area of Galilee and they spoke Greek as the native language there. That's why all of the disciples outside of Judas were called from that area. God intended it to be written in Greek; because Greek, at that time, was more akin to what the modern languages would be. So that we would have a living language in which the New Testament was preserved—separated from the enemies of God being Judaism. If you want to know what the Jews would have done with it just read what the 'Jesus Seminar' is doing to the New Testament and you will understand what I'm talking about.
The revelation was given, but I think it's very, very clear that Matthew was the first one written. Matthew was also a Levite. Let's follow this along a little more carefully here, and let's understand that in canonizing the New Testament the Apostle John wrote things far differently than the other three Gospels. Why do you suppose that was? Because the first three Gospels—called the Synoptic Gospels—represent three witnesses. That's why you have those three Gospels very similar. Then you have the fourth Gospel being the Gospel of John then, which then brings another witness from an entirely different perspective. And also, in the Gospel of John we have things revealed to us that are not even contained in Matthew, Mark and Luke. We also have this: John, the oldest living apostle, was the only one who truly wrote about the love of God—in the Gospel of John and in the Epistles of John. The reason being is that the love of God is something that you come to understand after a great deal of other experience.
Here in John, the fourth chapter, we find what God wants, and we will be dealing in the Gospel of John as we go along—we'll cover a good part of it here. John 4:23: "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth… [Now that's what God wants! That's how we worship Him! And it's anyplace on earth; you don't have to go to Jerusalem; you don't have to go to Samaria; you don't have to go to Mecca; you don't have to go to the Ganges, or any of those things.] …for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must… [are duty bound or it's obligatory] …worship in spirit and in truth" (vs 23-24).
We don't find that written anywhere in Matthew, Mark or Luke—do we? No we don't! We find in the New Testament a progressive revelation. John is the one who finishes it off with the Gospel of John, the Epistles of John and the book of Revelation. It could very well be in finalizing and canonizing the Bible, that that section of Matt. 28 was added in. It had to be added in by John, and maybe Andrew was there with him, and some of the other apostles. But, should we throw it out because it appears to be a trinitarian formula? Well, let's examine some more things here in the book of John. Let's just do a little survey here in the book of John. We're going to survey several things here that are important for us to understand. And I would have to say that the Gospel of John reveals the Father more than any other book in the Bible. We'll see that as we go along.
John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us (and we ourselves beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten with the Father)…" If you get out your handy-dandy Strong's Concordance, or you plug in your computer, and you key into 'Father,' key into the 'Gospel of John,' you will see that John uses the Father more than any of the other Gospel writers, bar none. By time you add up all of those that Paul wrote, Paul also brought out a lot concerning the Father.
"…full of grace and truth…. [in that fullness He'll never run out] …John testified concerning Him, and proclaimed… [that is saying out loud, speaking loudly] …saying, 'This was He of Whom I said, "He Who comes after me has precedence over me because He was before me"' And of His fullness… [there is a fullness of Christ, but which comes from the Father, because He's the glory of the Father] …we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses, but the grace and the Truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (vs 14-18). That was at the time that John was writing that the Father had Christ in His bosom, as it were.
John 3:31—this is some more of the witness of John, just before he was arrested: "He Who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthy, and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all; and what He has seen and heard, this is what He testifies; but no one receives His testimony. The one who has received His testimony... [He's talking of Christ revealing the things that the Father was teaching him to teach.] …has set his seal that God is true" (vs 31-33). If you receive whatever Christ says, you're receiving the testimony, or you're testifying that God is true—'set His seal.' That means putting a stamp of authenticity upon it as it were.
Verse 34: "For He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God…" We're going to see that's exactly what Jesus said. This is also a test for anyone who is a teacher. Do they speak the words of God? That has to be the test! Or, do they teach the will of God or their will? You can phrase it either way you want.] …and God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him [the Son]. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. The one who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but the one who does not obey the Son shall not see life, for the wrath of God remains on him" (vs 34-36).
Now, let's come over here to John 6, and I think we will begin to see why the name of the Father is involved.
- Is the Father involved in your calling?
- Is the Father involved in leading you to repentance?
- We will see the Father is also involved in your baptism.
John 6:27: "Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures unto eternal life, which the Son of man shall give to you; for Him has God the Father sealed. Therefore, they said to Him, 'What shall we do, in order that we ourselves may do the works of God?' Jesus answered and said to them, 'This is the work of God: that you believe in Him Whom He has sent'" (vs 27-29). The He being the Father has sent Whom? Christ!That is the work! That is greater than anything else! If you truly believe with the heart—because the Scriptures say that 'as a man thinks in his heart so he is'—it's far more important to believe with the very depth of your being than it is to do some work out here. To believe in Christ is a greater work! That's what he's saying.
Then they wanted a sign, they said, 'We want manna' (v 31); and Jesus said, 'I'm not going to give it to you." He said, "I am the bread which comes down from heaven' (vs 33-34).
Then we have here in v 35: "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; the one who comes… [a present tense participle in the Greek; meaning that it is ongoing; you are constantly coming to Christ] …to Me shall never hunger; and the one who believes in Me shall never thirst at any time.'"
The truth of the matter is this: is that God put in every human being a longing of the missing ingredient in their life, being the Holy Spirit. But God has to call to satisfy that longing! People try to fill it with physical things: travel, other people, hobbies, pursuits. They just strive after—you could put in there the whole book of Ecclesiastes—list all the human endeavor cut off from God, seeking to fill the void. But once God the Father has called you and has led you to Christ, then you will never hunger and you will never thirst IF you continue coming to Christ because He gives the fullness of God the Father. We partake of that fullness and of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. In other words, Christ is never going to run out of grace. Christ is never going to run out of fullness. So therefore, we can be filled. We can be satisfied spiritually. That empty void that is there in every human being then is filled with the Spirit of God.
Let's come down here to v 44 and we can begin to understand this: "No one can come to Me unless the Father, Who sent Me, draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day…. [God the Father Himself makes the first decision in calling. He's involved—isn't He? Yes, He is!] …and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Therefore, everyone who has heard from the Father, and has learned, comes to Me" (vs 44-45). The Father has to start it; He's involved in it.
Verse 57—this is the summary of the Passover and the whole Feast of Unleavened Bread, this one verse. Even though some things get kind of technical and some things get kind of complicated from time-to-time, it all boils down to some simple things. Here's how you can boil the whole thing down, right here, v 57: "As the living Father has sent Me, and I live by the Father; so also the one who eats Me shall live by Me"
Let's see how Christ was dependent upon the Father, John 5:19: "Therefore, Jesus answered and said to them, 'Truly, truly I say to you, the Son has no power to do anything of Himself…" That's quite a statement—isn't it? It really means that the Son is doing nothing 'ek outos'—out from within Himself of His own physical being He did nothing of Himself, or out from Himself.
"…but only what He sees the Father do. For whatever He does, these things the Son also does in the same manner. For the Father loves the Son… [it's an ongoing relationship—present tense participle] …and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing. And He will show Him greater works than these, so that you may be filled with wonder. For even as the Father raises the dead… [I want you to see the emphasis there that Christ is putting on the Father.] …and [quickens] gives life in the same way also, the Son gives life to whom He will" (vs 19-21). There are two quickenings that happen to you.
- you've already experienced: you were dead in sins and were made alive in Christ
- will happen at the resurrection when you are changed from flesh to spirit.
And 'quickened' (King James)means: made alive.
Verse 22: "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son So that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent Him. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who hears My word, and believes Him Who sent Me… [You are believing on the Father. In the first instances we saw that you believe on Christ (John 6:29). Now you believe on the Father, The Father is involved, no question about it!] …has everlasting life and does not come into judgment; for he has passed from death into life" (vs 22-24) Then He talks about the resurrection (v 25).
Verse 26: "For even as the Father has life in Himself, so also has He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and has also given Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of man" (vs 26-27). Then He talks more about the resurrection.
Verse 30: "I have no power to do anything of Myself…" He's talking spiritually. Physically, anyone can walk or talk and if you have ears to hear and eyes to see, you have a mind, you can think—you do that of yourself. But Who gave it to you? God did! So truly, in that sense, even physically you can do nothing of yourself but what God has given you—correct? But spiritually speaking, can you do anything separated from God the Father and Jesus Christ? No! Why would you want to?
"…but as I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father, Who sent Me" (v 30). There we go! Whose will do you want? The will of God? or Your will?
Verse 36: "But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works that the Father gave Me to complete, the very works that I am doing, themselves bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, Who sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice nor seen His form at any time. And you do not have His Word dwelling in you…" (vs 36-38).
Now, that's really kind of a stinging indictment—isn't it? Yes, it is! What is the ultimate that God wants with us in this physical life? That His Word is living in us! The word 'abiding' (KJV) means living/dwelling. That it's written on your heart and inscribed in your mind.
"…for you do not believe Him Whom He has sent. You search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life… [They had a religion trying to define how they would receive eternal life according to their works. And to this day they do not understand faith and belief.] …and they are theones that testify of Me. But you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I have known you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves" (vs 38-42). That's quite a statement that He gave to them—wasn't it?
Then He said, v 43: "I have come in My Father's name…" Here we have the name of the Father—don't we? And Jesus came in His name. In other words, everything that Jesus did was subordinated to the Father, in the name of the Father—correct? We'd have to say that is true!
We know that Christ is 'the door.' We know that we are part of the 'sheepfold.' We hear the voice of Christ. He is the 'good Shepherd' and all of that. But notice what He says here, John 10:22: "Now it was winter, and the Feast of Dedication was taking place at Jerusalem."
Let me just pause here. Someone asked me: How do we know this is Hanukkah? What we call Hanukkah today? And there are people who will turn here and say, 'See, Jesus kept Hanukkah. So therefore it's okay to keep Hanukkah.' Let me tell you something: Hanukkah is as pagan as Christmas, no question about it.
Supposedly, when the Maccabees re-dedicated the temple they only had enough oil for the lamp to burn one day, but it burned for seven days—correct? That is the story that they tell. However, why do they have nine candles instead of seven? You take a close look at the Hanukkah menorah and they have nine candles—three and three and three, and the middle one is raised higher. The middle one stands for the 'queen of heaven,' but they don't tell you that, because it's a mystery within a mystery, within a mystery. This man said, knowing that about Hanukkah: 'Could this be the dedication of the feast as written in Ezra 6?'—because that was in the month Adar, which is still in winter. There's no way we can prove one way or the other that this could not be the true dedication of the temple written about in Ezra. It could have some reference to Hanukkah, but it could also be to the other one because it's still in winter.
Verse 23: "And Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's porch. Then the Jews encircled Him and said to Him, 'How long are You going to hold us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.' Jesus answered them, 'I have told you, but you do not believe. The works that I am doing in My Father's name, these bear witness of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; and no one shall take them out of My hand" (vs 23-28). Who's hand are you in? The Son's hand or the Father's hand? Both!
Verse 31: "Then the Jews again picked up stones so that they might stone Him." Notice how John is revealing the name of the Father. You don't have that in any of the other Gospels.
John 12:28: "Father, glorify Your name.' Then a voice came from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.'" This took place on the tenth of Nisan; this is when Christ was selected as the Lamb of God. So He says, "…glorify Your name…."
If we didn't have John 13-17, we would not have the words of the New Covenant for the Passover—would we? NO! Did God reveal to John things called to his remembrance that the other's didn't record? Yes, He did—and in particularly concerning the Father!
Track 2 or Download
John 14:6: "Jesus said to him, 'I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life… [And it is true, there is no other name under heaven whereby you are, you must, be saved—that is true. No question about it.] …no one comes to the Father except through Me.'" Both of Them are involved. No question about that.
Verse 7: "If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also. But from this time forward, you know Him and have seen Him.' Philip said to Him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and that will be sufficient for us.' Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long a time, and you have not known Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; why then do you say, "Show us the Father"? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I speak to you, I do not speak from My own self; but the Father Himself, Who dwells in Me does the works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; but if not, believe Me because of the works themselves. Truly, truly I say to you, the one who believes in Me shall also do the works that I do; and greater works than these shall he do because I am going to the Father." (vs 7-12).
Notice the emphasis on the Father all the way through. And I think we will see why this has a bearing then on baptism, but it does not take away from baptizing in the name of Jesus Christ.
Verse 13: "And whatever you shall ask in My name, this will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it…. [That is if it's according to the will of God. No question about that.] …If you love Me, keep the commandments—namely, My commandments" (vs 13-15).
Notice, the Holy Spirit is involved in a way that is not taught anywhere else in the Scriptures—just here in the Gospel of John. And unfortunately, this section of John, having to do with the Holy Spirit. {see study paper and the tape showing the correct translation of this} In some cases, it is almost a blatant mis-translation where they have 'he' and 'whom' when it should be 'it' and 'which' with no question at all. I'm going to read it the way that it should be, because the Spirit is always 'tau pneuma'—'tau'is neuter the; 'pneuma' is spirit—'tau pneuma hagion'—the Spirit Holy. And that's the way it is in almost all cases.
Verse 16: "And I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter… [Remember, this ties right in with what Peter said, 'Repent and be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.' John is giving us more understanding about the Holy Spirit.] …that it may be with you throughout the age, even the Spirit of the Truth, which the world cannot receive because it perceives it not, nor knows it; but you know it because it dwells with you, and shall be within you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world shall see Me no longer; but you shall see Me. Because I live, you shall live also" (vs 16-19).
Here are some very profound verses—we need to understand this very carefully, v 20: "In that day, you shall know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you. The one who has My commandments and is keeping them, that is the one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him'…. [Christ has revealed Himself to you and to all of those who have the Holy Spirit. How did He do it?] …Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, 'Lord, what has happened that You are about to manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?'" (vs 20-22).
Here's the answer, v 23: "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word… [Ask yourself: What is the least commandment that I do not follow? Because there are some who consider some commandments 'least.' Let that be your own project.] …keep My Word'… [His Word is what's going to judge us at the end—correct? 'The words which I have spoken unto you, they shall judge you.'] …and My Father will love him…[The Father is involved—isn't He?] … and We will come to him and make Our abode with him."
That's a profound statement, because when you receive the Holy Spirit it comes from the Father. 'Whom the Father will send in My name.' But also there's a component of the Father being the begettal to be the son of God or the daughter of God, which seed remains in you (1-John 3:9) and the seed is 'sperma.' That comes from the Father. There is also the Spirit of Christ, part of the same Spirit called 'the Spirit of Christ' which is in you that gives the mind of Christ. That's why He says, v 23: "…and We will come to him and make Our abode with him…. [the reason that the world cannot have this revealed to them is because of this]: …The one who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word that you hear is not Mine, but the Father's, Who sent Me" (vs 23-24) That's quite profound—isn't it? Having the Holy Spirit in those two aspects.
Let's go to Romans 8:9: "However, you are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if theSpirit of God is indeed dwelling within you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ…" There we have it again: Two aspects of the Holy Spirit:
- of the Father
- of the Son
—correct? There it's defined, right there.
"…if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. But if Christ be within you, the body is indeed dead because of sin; however, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. Now if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead is dwelling within you…" (vs 9-11). There we have it again, the two aspects of the Holy Spirit. We will 'come unto Him and We will make Our abode with Him.' So, when we get to baptism there has got to be a recognition of the Father, too. We'll see that.
"…He Who raised Christ from the dead will also quicken your mortal bodies because of His Spirit that dwells within you…. [again, referring to the Father] …So then, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh; because if you are living according to the flesh, you shall die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God" (vs 11-14).
We find a progressive revelation here—don't we? Revealing more of the Father—don't we? Yes! John 14:26: "But when the Comforter comes, even the Holy Spirit, which the Father will send in My name… [The Father is the One Who gives the Holy Spirit and has the aspect of the Father and the Son making the abode together within the individual.] …that one shall teach you all things, and shall bring to your remembrance everything that I have told you."
I cannot go back and verify what Matthew wrote or didn't write. The Greek text that I have has in there Matt. 28:19: "…into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." If it were added later—which is a possibility, but I can't verify that it was; and I can't verify that it wasn't—then it had to be John who had recalled to his memory everything that Jesus said. If it were added on, then John would be the one who wrote it, because he wrote more of the Father and understood more about the aspect of the Holy Spirit and the Father and the name of the Father than any of the other apostles.
John 15:9: "As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; live in My love." There again we have the Father.
Verse 26—again having to do with the Holy Spirit: "But when the Comforter has come, which I will send to you from the Father… [we read back here in John 14:26, 'which the Father would send in My name.' It says over here: 'which I will send to you from the Father.' It is a joint operation of receiving the Holy Spirit of God. Have to be!] …even the Spirit of the Truth, which proceeds from the Father, that oneshall bear witness of Me."
John 16:23: "And in that day you shall ask Me nothing. Truly, truly I tell you, whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He will give you. Until this day, you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full" (vs 23-24).
Verse 26: "In that day, you shall ask in My name; and I do not tell you that I will beseech the Father for you, For the Father Himself loves you… [present tense participle; God loves you continuously] …because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God" (vs 26-27). Again, we see the Father directly involved.
John 17—and here's the prayer that Jesus prayed and we'll just pick up a couple of verses that are key, important verses and why we should be baptized into the name of the Father. Then I will tell you exactly how it should be done, because you don't play one verse against the other. You put them together.
John 17:11: "And I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, those whom You have given Me, so that they may be one, even as We are one. When I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. I protected those whom You have given Me, and not one of them has perished except the son of perdition, in order that the Scriptures might be fulfilled" (vs 11-12). So the name of the Father is involved.
Let's look at a couple of other things to add to this. Ephesians, the first chapter talks about the Spirit, and here it is the earnest that we have now. Again, notice how Paul emphasizes the Father all the way through.
Ephesians 1:11: "Yes, in Him, in Whom we also have obtained an inheritance, having been predestinated according to His purpose, Who is working out all things according to the counsel of His own will… [God the Father Who is the One Who originally called us.] …that we might be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in the Christ; In Whom you also trusted after hearing the Word of the truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in Whom also, after believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise… [Which comes from the Father and Christ together as a joint project. One is the begettal to sonship; the other is Christ in you and the mind of Christ.] …Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory" (vs 11-14).
- that is the earnest
- the seal—we are sealed with the Spirit of God
- God the Father is involved
- Jesus Christ is involved
This is involved with baptism—is it not? No question about it, we'll see that.
Ephesians 2:18: "For through Him we both have direct access by one Spirit to the Father." Gives us direct access to the Father.
Now let's go to 1-Thessalonians 1:1—this one here really struck me in going through and studying this out. 1-Thess. is reputed to be the very first epistle that the Apostle Paul wrote. And notice what he writes here: "Paul and Silvanus [Silas] and Timotheus [Timothy], to the Church of the Thessalonians which is inGod the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ…" Both together again.
Let's see if we can add a little bit more to it and then we will go back and look at Matt. 28. What I want to emphasize is that we are kept in the Father's name. The Father sends the Holy Spirit. He is dwelling in us. Christ is dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit is dwelling in us. All three of them are involved in the operation of baptism.
Notice was Christ says here, Revelation 3:12: "The one who overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall not go out any more; and I will write upon him the name of My God… [This is Jesus speaking to the Church. So we will have written upon us the name of the Father. Because we take the Father's name, because He is the Father! Just like your children take your name. But you give your children also another name, too—don't you? Yes! This is the same operation He's talking about here.]…and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My Godthe new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from My God; and I will write upon him My new name." So we're going to have three names.
- The name of the Father
- The name of the Son
- And New Jerusalem
That's what it does say.
Let's go back to Matthew 28 and see if we can understand this without having to do a trinitarian formula. But I will have to confess, brethren, I have no clue as to how they baptized, say the last ten years in Worldwide or some of the other churches, I don't have a clue. So it may be that they did use a trinitarian formula, which would be incorrect. This does not bring a trinitarian formula.
Matthew 28:19: "…baptizing them into the name of the Father… [Why? Because we're going to bear His name! We are kept in His name. We receive the Holy Spirit from God the Father as a begettal. Notice, it does not say in the next phrase: and in the name of the Son—does it? No!] (it says):…and of the Son…" Why is that? Because Christ died for our sins—didn't He?
The operation of baptism does involve Jesus Christ in a very profound way. And it involves us in a very profound way. It also involves the Father because He gives the Holy Spirit and we are kept in His name. But in Romans, the sixth chapter, it tells us what baptism is. Baptism, when we come to understand covenantal law, is a covenantal pledge of your death.
Just as Christ died for your sins. This is why it is in the name of the Father and of the Son, because of this right here: Romans 6:3 "Or are you ignorant that we, as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him though the baptism into the death; so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, in the same way, we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death…" (vs 3-5).
The Greek here means co-joined into His death. Actually, you become covenantally knitted into the death of Christ, because His death was a covenant death. And a covenant death is very profound. So, we are telling God, through baptism, that we are co-joined into the death of Jesus Christ. That if we do not fulfill our part, God has already done His—so it's not a question of what God will or will not do, it's a question of our faithfulness—we likewise will die! That's why baptism is a very profound and deep thing. It is not an external show of an inward faith. You are knit together and die the death of Christ in the covenantal death. That's why it is in the name of the Father and of the Son.
Let's go back to Matthew 28:19 and read it again here: "…and of the Holy Spirit…"—because the whole purpose is to receive the Holy Spirit. If you don't receive the Holy Spirit, are you kept in the name of the Father? No way!
Here's how I have always baptized, which I think is correct. We do it this way. We put both of the Scriptures together. Acts, the second chapter, again is how I think the Scriptures want us to do this: They were baptized in the name of Jesus. Here's how a baptism should be done: Always counsel the person first if they understand the meaning of baptism. You have to know it. I think it's very important that everyone understand that it is a covenantal death—so we need to emphasize that even more. That's why it's not for children. Children do not have a mature enough mind to pledge their life unto death to give themselves to God—do they? No!
So I ask: "What is your name?" They tell me their name.
Then I say: (whatever their name is) because you have repented of your sins, which are the transgressions of God's Holy and righteous and perfect law, and because you have accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord and Master and High Priest in heaven above right now, I baptize you—not into any sect or denomination of this world; nor do I baptize you into the name of any man. I baptize you in the name of the Father because you will bear His name for all eternity, and of the Son because through the crucifixion and the covenantal death that you are taking, He makes it possible for you then to receive the Holy Spirit which then is of the Holy Spirit.
And I do all of these things because you have been called of God the Father and will be in the Kingdom of God and I do this all in the name and the authority of Jesus Christ, Amen.
We do baptize in the name of Jesus Christ, but the Father is primary and included. Then of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, so we put it all together.
Scriptures from The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, A Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter
Scripture References:
- Matthew 28:18-20, 19
- Acts 2:38
- Acts 4:10-12
- Acts 19:1-5
- Philippians 2:5-11
- John 14:28
- Matthew 11:25-27
- Ephesians 3:1-6
- John 4:23-24
- John 1:14-18
- John 3:31-36
- John 6:27-29, 35, 44-45, 57
- John 5:19-24, 26-27, 30, 36-43
- John 10:22-28, 31
- John 12:28
- John 14:6-24
- Romans 8:9-14
- John 14:26
- Matthew 28:19
- John 15:9, 26
- John 16:23-24, 26-27
- John 17:11-12
- Ephesians 1:11-14
- Ephesians 2:18
- 1 Thessalonians 1:1
- Revelation 3:12
- Matthew 28:19
- Romans 6:3-5
- Matthew 28:19
Referenced, not quoted:
- 1 John 5:7
- John 6:31, 33-34; 5:25
- Ezra 6
- 1 John 3:9
Also referenced:
Books:
- The Original Bible Restored by Ernest L Martin
- Strong's Concordance
Sermon Series: Holy Spirit
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 5-28-07
Reformatted: 9/18/11
