Matthew 28:19

mathew 28:19Matthew 28:19

Jesus said, “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 28:19)

Jesus commissioned us to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Greek pneuma). Was Jesus, by making this commission, trying to teach the idea of the Trinity? I think not, or He would have been contradicting other statements He made, and many statements by other Bible writers. There is nothing in the verse that says there are three persons in the Godhead. There is nothing in the verse that says who is God. We learn elsewhere in the Bible that the “one God” of the Bible is the Father. “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom (1 Corinthians 8:6) The Bible uses the phrase, “God the Father” thirteen times but never uses the terms “God the Son,” or “God the Holy Spirit.”

Notice also that the verse says we are to baptize in the name of… Why is it singular if there are supposed to be three persons? The word “name” in the Bible often refers to a person’s character. As an example, Jacob’s name was changed from Jacob (“supplanter” or “deceiver”) to Israel (“God prevails”) because his character had changed. If we believe this verse to be referring to actual names of three individuals it would be impossible for us to fulfill this commission because we only know the names of two of the individuals. The proper name of God the Father is YHWH or, as some understand it, Jehovah. The proper name of God’s Son is Jesus or, as some understand it, Yahshua. Yet the Bible nowhere gives us any indication that the Holy Spirit has a name, and if the Holy Spirit does have a name, there is no mention of it in the Bible. Besides this, every record of a baptism in the Bible, after Jesus gave this commission, has the disciples baptizing “in the name of Jesus Christ,” “in the name of the Lord,” or “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” “When they heard this, they were baptized (Acts 19:5) There is no record anywhere in the Bible of anyone baptizing “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus was saying that we are to baptize in the character of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Father anointed His Son with His own Spirit. Therefore they have the same Spirit. The Father said to His Son, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.” (Hebrews 1:9) “For he whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.” (John 3:34) As is plainly shown, the Father and the Son share a Spirit. What type of Spirit do they share? Surely, it is a Holy Spirit. The Bible mentions several different types of spirit. We read in the Bible about “foul spirit,” “evil spirit,” “unclean spirit,” “dumb spirit,” “excellent spirit,” “humble spirit,” “wounded spirit,” “broken spirit,” “haughty spirit,” “faithful spirit,” “good spirit,” etc. All these “spirits” are distinguishable by the adjective that describes them. We know that God the Father has a Spirit, and can that Spirit be anything else, or anything less, than Holy? The word “holy” is an adjective in every case, whether in English or in Greek. “Holy Spirit” is not a name, but a description of the Spirit of God.