Baptism

What Is Baptism

As the Bible outlines, Baptism is immersion in water for the remission of sins. Acts 2:38 states that one should, “repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins…” This was part of the plan of salvation that Jesus Christ preached throughout his earthly ministry. It is a washing, that is according to Acts 22:16; which says, “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” It is a burial according to Romans 6:4 and Collosions 2:12.

Why Immersion?

Baptism comes from the Ancient Greek βαπτίζω (baptízō, “to dip, plunge, draw wine”). According to the New Testament Greek Lexicon, it means to immerse. Thus, if we look at the Biblical inference of Baptism it must be noted that it was done in an area of much water (John 3:23), that Jesus Himself was baptized in the Jordan river and came “straightway out of the water” (Matthew 3:16), and that by referencing the word baptism in Scripture there are no indications that it was performed in any other fashion than by immersion. This conclusion not only signifies that the New Testament Church practiced baptism by immersion, but that any other form of the rite was not known by the original church. Other modes of baptism such as pouring and sprinkling did not come into use until the 3rd Century at The Council of Ravenna, in 1311.

How Should Baptism Be Administered?

The Bible is certainly clear about every aspect of water baptism. One of the most debated aspects surrounding baptism is how it should be administered. Biblically it was always administered in the name of Jesus Christ. Tradition has always played a significant role in how churches administer the Rite of Baptism. The vast majority of churches administer it by calling the titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost over the penitent as they are being plunged under the water. This has its origins in the Book of Matthew. Matthew 28:19 says, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” This is known as the Great Commission. That is to say, Jesus was ready to ascend into heaven, but just before his ascension, He commissioned his disciples to go into all the world, preach the Gospel, and baptize them. Interestingly enough the Great Commission is recorded in three of the four Gospels, as well as, the Book of Acts. It is written in different ways based on the stylistic writings of the author, but the same message was captured accurately. You can find these accounts in Mark 16:16-18, Luke 24:47, and Acts 1:7-8.

Let’s look at Matthew 28:19 first. Note that Matthew’s account of the Great Commission references the “Name” of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. It does not say Names, plural, nor does it say titles. The other Gospel writers reference “His Name” or “My Name,” while the Book of Acts focuses on the commission itself. We will find in Act 2:38 how the Apostles carried out the commission. So, why would Matthew’s account differ so much from the others? In reality, it does not differ at all. As previously mentioned it says “in the Name,” signifying a single name of reference that applies to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. That singular name is none other than the name of Jesus Christ. If we look at Isaiah 9:6 we would see that it references the Son that was born and given as the Everlasting Father, among many other titles. It should also be noted that the Holy Ghost was given in His Name (John 14:26). Thus, we can see that “Name of”, “His Name, and “My Name” all mean the name of Jesus as summed up in Acts 2:38.

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.” The culmination of Christ’s teachings on the plan of salvation is summed up in this scripture. When the Apostles began to fulfill the commission that Christ gave them, they did so by baptizing their new converts in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. This mode of baptism was carried out in the book of Acts, and references in the Epistles many times. The titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not referenced in the actual administration of baptism anywhere in the Bible.

A Few Points of Reference

In conclusion, I would like to reference a few sources:

Water Baptism STUDY — ;
BRITANNICA ENCYCLOPEDIA
11TH edition, Vol 3, Pg 365-366
The baptismal formula was changed from the name of JESUS CHRIST to the words Father, Son, & Holy Ghost by the Catholic Church in the second century.
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BRITANNICA ENCYCLOPEDIA
Vol 3, Pg 82
Everywhere in the oldest sources it states that baptism took place in the name of Jesus Christ.
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CANNEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION
Pg 53
The early church always baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus until development of Trinity doctrine in the 2nd century.
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
Vol 2, Pg 263
Here the Catholics acknowledged that baptism was changed by the Catholic Church.
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HASTINGS ENCYCLOPEDIA
OF RELIGION
Vol 2, Pg 377
Christian baptism was administered using the words “In the name of Jesus”.
Vol 2, Pg 378
The use of a Trinitarian formula of any sort was not suggested in early Church history.
Vol 2, Pg 389
Baptism was always in the name of Lord Jesus until the time of Justin Martyr when Triune formula was used.
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CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA
Vol 8
Justin Martyr was one of the early Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church.
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HASTINGS ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION
Vol 2, Pg 377 on ACTS 2:38
NAME was an ancient synonym for “person”. Payment was always made in the name of some person referring ownership. Therefore one being baptized in Jesus Name became his personal property. “Ye are Christ’s.”
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NEW INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
Vol 22, Pg 477
The term “Trinity” was originated by Tertullian, a Roman Catholic Church Father.
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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 addedm at various times and places which cannot be safely identified, (a) the trine name (Justin)….
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INTERPRETERS DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE
(1962) I, 351
The evidence … suggests that baptism in early Christianity was administered, not in the threefold name, nut ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus’.
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A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT (Otto Heick)
(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 Ghost.
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HASTINGS DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE
(1898), I, 241
[One explanation is that] the original form of words was ‘into the name of Jesus Christ’. Baptism into the name of the Trinity was a later development.
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A HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Williston Walker, (1947), Pg 58
The Trinitarian baptismal formula … was displacing the older baptism in the name of Christ.
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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.
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CANNEY’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIONS
(1970), Pg 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.
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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.
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ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
11TH edition, (1910), Vol 2, Pg 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 wide spread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to Cyprian of Carthage, declared it to be valid.
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“And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” (Matthew 10:22)