We Baptise in the “name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” as in Matthew 28:18-20. But since Jesus was alive at that moment this “great commission” was a prophetic event not an actual command. All the other places Baptism is mentioned, i.e. Acts 2:38, Phillip and the Ethiopian Eunich, etc. they were Baptised “in the name of Jesus” and the other two are not mentioned. Which is the correct phrase to use when Baptising a new Christian?
Ed:
I have have gotten a number of questions about the “issue” of whether we baptize in the name of Jesus or in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Given that the Bible describes both, the obvious interpretation is that it simply does not matter whether we baptize in the name of Jesus on in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I do not know how anyone could responsibly claim that Matthew 28:18-20 is not a command! I have heard people say something like, “We want to be safe and baptize in the name of all three, just in case.” I have also heard people claim that one is not even saved if one is simply baptized in the name of Jesus. My response is “Give me a break!” It is my conviction that this is a silly issue. We should stick to worrying about important matters, such as repentance and faith in Jesus. Of course, baptism into Christ is a very important Christian teaching, but we do a disservice to Jesus to get hung up on such unimportant matters. By the way, I do not mean to imply at all that you are “silly” to ask this question. It is a good question!!!
