November 15, 2002, Vol.2,
No.22.
Two new articles every two weeks.
Bible Question? E-mail
us.
THIS ISSUE: "Must
'in the name of Jesus' be said at baptism?"
(see below)
and "By Grace you have
been Saved through Faith"
ANSWERING YOUR QUESTIONS:
Must "in the
name of Jesus"
be said at baptism?
by Tom Rainwater
 QUESTION:
Do you baptize "in the name of Jesus Christ," meaning
that as you submerge someone, you say "I baptize you in
the name of Jesus Christ"? (And not say "in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost"?)
ANSWER: Hi! Thank you
for your question.
Many Pentecostal groups demand that the words "in the
name of Jesus" be said over the one being baptized in water,
or else the baptism is invalid. They believe it's wrong to say
anything else other than that -- even the phrase, "in the
name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
The truth is: No scripture binds a spoken formula upon the
one doing the baptizing. Also, no scripture makes the validity
of a person's baptism depend on what is said at the time (or
what is not said) by someone else.
Of course, the one being baptized must confess his faith in
Jesus Christ prior to baptism (Acts 8:37). But if the one doing
the baptizing wants to indicate verbally that he is baptizing
"in the name of Jesus Christ" (Acts 2:38; 10:48) or
"in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" (Matthew
28:19), there is certainly nothing wrong with that. He would
be speaking the truth of Scripture.
Baptizing "in the name of" indicates that the baptism
is being performed in compliance with the authority of heaven.
For example, a policeman may say, "Stop in the name of
the law." In doing so, he is telling you to stop based upon
the authority he has as a police officer. If you stop as commanded
of you, you are recognizing his authority and submitting to it.
Likewise, being baptized "in the name of Jesus" (or
"in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit") means
you are baptized because you recognize the authority of Heaven
and want to submit to Divine will.
A similar verse is found in Colossians 3:17:
"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the
name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
Him."
The verse instructs us to do everything "in the name
of the Lord Jesus." The apostle Paul doesn't mean we must
speak the Lord's name as a formula every time we do or say something.
Rather, he is teaching that we must submit ourselves to the will
of Jesus in all things. And that includes baptism.
We are happy to answer any Bible question anyone may have,
and will do our best to answer it according to Scripture. Just
e-mail any
questions you have to us.
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