Why We Baptize in the Name of JESUS CHRIST Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church | Erie, Pennsylvania

Visitors ask us this often, and it is a fair question. Most churches baptize using the words "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." We baptize in the name of JESUS CHRIST. People want to know why.

The answer is not tradition, and it is not preference. It is the plain record of what the apostles did. Our Constitution states that this church holds "the right to use the New Testament Scriptures as their final rule and authority in all operations of this church." So the question becomes a simple one: when the apostles baptized, what did they say?

Let the record answer.

What Peter Preached at Pentecost-Why We Baptize in the Name of JESUS CHRIST

The church was born on the day of Pentecost. The crowd had just heard Peter preach, and they were cut to the heart. They asked the most important question a person can ask: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37)

Peter's answer was immediate and specific:

"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."Acts 2:38

That day, "they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls" (Acts 2:41).

Three thousand people. The first converts of the New Testament church. And the words spoken over them were the name of JESUS CHRIST.

Consider who was speaking. Peter had stood on the mount and heard the Lord give the Great Commission just days earlier. He had been handed the keys of the kingdom (St. Matt. 16:19). If anyone on earth understood what the Lord intended, it was the man preaching that sermon. And this is what he said.

The Pattern Never Changed

Pentecost was not an isolated case. Every conversion account in the book of Acts follows the same pattern, in every city, among every people.

In Samaria, Philip preached and the people believed:

"For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."Acts 8:16

At Caesarea, in the house of Cornelius, the Gentiles received the Holy Ghost, and Peter "commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10:48).

At Ephesus, Paul found disciples who had received only John's baptism. He taught them, and then:

"When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus."Acts 19:5 Why We Baptize in the Name of JESUS CHRIST

And Paul himself, converted on the road to Damascus, was told by Ananias: "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). Why We Baptize in the Name of JESUS CHRIST

Jews at Pentecost. Samaritans. Gentiles. Disciples of John. The apostle Paul. Different cities, different years, different men doing the baptizing — and one name spoken over all of them.

If the apostles had understood the Lord's command differently, somewhere in those thirty years of ministry the record would show it. It does not. Not once.

But What About Matthew 28:19?

This is the honest question, and it deserves an honest answer.

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."St. Matt. 28:19

We believe this verse completely. We also believe the apostles obeyed it — because they did. The question is not whether to obey the Great Commission. The question is what the Lord actually commanded.

Notice the word name. It is singular, not plural. He did not say names. He pointed to one name held in common by the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

What is that name? The Scriptures tell us plainly:

• The Son came in His Father's name — "I am come in my Father's name" (St. John 5:43).

• The Holy Ghost is sent in the Son's name — "whom the Father will send in my name" (St. John 14:26).

• And the Son's name is JESUS — "thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (St. Matt. 1:21).

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are titles that describe how God has revealed Himself. JESUS is the name. When Luke records the same commission, he writes it this way: "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem" (St. Lk. 24:47).

In his name. And beginning at Jerusalem is exactly where Peter stood when he said, "in the name of JESUS CHRIST."

The apostles were not contradicting the Lord. They were carrying out precisely what He said, using the name He had given.

Why the Name Matters So Much

Some will ask whether the words really make a difference. The Scriptures are not casual about this.

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."Acts 4:12

Peter spoke those words before the same rulers who had crucified the Lord. He had every reason to soften them. He did not.

Paul wrote to the Colossians, "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Col. 3:17). If that governs every ordinary act of a believer's life, how much more the moment a person is buried with Christ in baptism?

And Paul rebuked the Corinthians for allowing any other name to attach to their baptism: "Was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (I Cor. 1:13). The name spoken matters, because it identifies whose you have become.

What Baptism Accomplishes

Baptism is not a symbol we perform after salvation is already settled. Peter tied it directly to the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), and Ananias told Paul to "wash away thy sins" in it (Acts 22:16).

"Therefore we are buried with him 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."Rom. 6:4

A burial requires a grave. This is why we baptize by full immersion, as the apostles did — a death, a burial, and a resurrection into new life. And the Lord Himself said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mk. 16:16).

Paul wrote that there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Eph. 4:5). Not several. One.

A Word to Those Baptized Differently

If you were baptized using the titles and you are reading this with a troubled heart, hear us carefully: we are not questioning your sincerity, and neither did Paul.

Those men at Ephesus were disciples. They were believers. They had been baptized — genuinely, in good conscience, under John's preaching. Paul did not accuse them of dishonesty. He simply taught them what they had not yet been told, and "when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:5).

There is no shame in learning something new and obeying it. That is what a disciple does. The men at Ephesus are in the Scriptures as an example, not as a warning.

Come and See for Yourself

We would rather you search this out than take our word for it. Open the book of Acts and read every baptism recorded there — chapters 2, 8, 10, 19, and 22. Read them slowly. Ask what the apostles said, and ask whether any of them ever did it another way.

This church was founded on the conviction that the New Testament Scriptures are our final rule and authority. On this question, the Scriptures speak with one voice.

If you have questions, bring them. If you have never been baptized in the name of JESUS CHRIST and you want to obey the Word, we would count it a joy to baptize you.

Christian Ministries of the Apostolic Faith Church serves Erie, Pennsylvania and the surrounding area. Whatever your background, you are welcome here.

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