Trinitarian Baptism and Matthew 28:19
Many have been
baptized into a trinitarian formula, basing their actions on Matthew 28:19. Now
learn the facts about this verse and the proper prescription for immersion.
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What Must We Do?
A
profound feeling of guilt swept over the Apostle Peter’s audience. Those
gathered learned that it was their breaking of Yahweh’s law (their sin, 1John
3:4) that caused the Savior’s death! A feeling of despair overwhelmed them and
they earnestly and urgently asked Peter, “What must we do?”
“Then Peter
said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Yahshua
the Messiah for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.” (Acts
Baptism is the initial, compelling act one considers
after learning of one’s own sinful record. Baptism is a willing, voluntary step
assumed by a contrite heart, seeking spiritual restoration and the grace and
forgiveness freely promised us by the Heavenly Father through His Son.
Israelites were brought into the covenant through
involuntary circumcision at infancy. Today, the New Covenant is entered into on
one’s own volition.
Sadly, not everyone who is called to be grafted into
the Abrahamic promise willingly responds. Some may turn their backs upon
Yahweh’s invitation and though called, are not chosen.
“So the last
shall be first, and the first last: for many are called, but few chosen.” (Matt. 20:16)
To the dutiful, seeking Bible student, the question is
often raised, “Unto what are we to be baptized?” This very question was
foremost among many of the early seekers of truth when learning that baptism
means complete immersion into water, representing a voluntary submerging of
one’s self into the character of Yahshua the Messiah. It signifies a burying of
our wills to be in harmony with His.
Baptized into a Name or Titles?
The
popular practice is to baptize into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit. Where did the Trinitarian formula for baptism come from, anyway?
The only verse found in the Bible, dealing with
baptism, that even hints at a trinitarian formula is found in Matthew 28:19: “Go you therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
Being baptized into the name of the Father, Son and
Holy Spirit” is not being baptized into a name at all! Father and Son are mere
titles. Unlike names, no power or promise exists in titles. The Holy Spirit is
not a name, but a descriptive noun for the dynamic Power that flows from the
Father and is shared by the Son. Many men are fathers and have sons. All sons
have fathers. “Father” and “son” are common nouns, not names.
Notice in Matthew 28:19 that the noun “name” is in the
singular. It is not “into the names,” plural, but the expression is “baptized
into THE NAME.” This is considered the savior’s parting command to His beloved
Disciples. Henceforth they would be apostles (meaning those “sent with a
mission”) and no longer disciples (“learners”).
Known as the “Great Commission,” this verse appears in
the revered King James Version and is often quoted in an attempt to prove the
trinity doctrine.
The validity of these departing words has been
questioned since the time of Coneybeare. That the Savior actually spoke these
exact words that allude to a Trinity is questioned by many reputable scholars.
Bible experts down through history have questioned
Matthew 28:19, pointing out that this verse is contrary to both the plain
teachings in the Book of Acts and Paul’s writings as well. It is not in harmony
with other Scriptural teachings, nor do ANY of the narratives on baptism follow
this trinitarian practice.
The following fact, brought out in the New
International Biblical Commentary, shows why Matthew 28:19 is so questionable:
“This is the only occurrence of the formula from the first century... Elsewhere
baptism is said to be ‘in the name of [Yahshua] (Acts
Other Examples Curiously Absent
Why
is Matthew 28:19 the ONLY passage where the bible seemingly presents a
Trinitarian formula or concept for baptism?
In the numerous instances of immersion extant in the
New Testament, why don’t we find the Apostles baptizing converts into the
Trinitarian formula using the phrase, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit”? Why is not this formula followed anywhere in the entire Book
of Acts?
Why does not Paul or Peter specify baptism into the
trinitarian formula rather than only into “Yahshua’s Name”?
The doctrine of the Trinity says that the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit are “three persons in one, and all three are equal.” But the Savior never said He was equal to the Father.
He said His Father was GREATER than He (John
A number of observations from Bible-based sources
reveal that the Trinitarian formula is an erroneous teaching of the Church, a
doctrine that eventually crept into the evangel of Matthew. This fraudulent
verse was taken from liturgy and soon attached to the end of Matthew’s text.
The Trinity doctrine is not found in the Old Testament, and is only a forced
interpretation of a few New Testament verses. A multitude of references show
that the Trinity concept stems from paganism. (Write for our booklet, The Truth
about the Trinity).
Matthew 28:19 Examined
Under
“Baptismal Formula,” the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911 edition, states: “Ursinus, an African monk...also asserted that baptism
into the name of [Messiah] alone was valid... “Trine immersion, then, as to the
origin of which Basil confesses his ignorance, must be older than either of the
rival explanations. These are clearly...invented to explain an existing custom,
which the church had adopted from its pagan medium. For pagan lustrations were
normally threefold. Ovid...Persius...and Horace...similarly speak of trine
lustrations; and on the last mentioned passage the scholiast Acro remarks, ’He
uses the words thrice purely, because people in expiating their sins plunge
themselves in thrice.’ Such examples of the ancient usage
encounters us everywhere in Greek and Latin antiquity” (pp. 365-366).
These are rather strong words, but as the Britannica
says, the trinitarian formula for baptism was invented to explain an existing
custom that the church had adopted strictly from paganism! Notice that the
pagan converts, upon being baptized for forgiveness of sins, voluntarily dip
themselves three times as a carryover from the trinitarian influence of their
previous heathen beliefs.
Religious Sources on Matt. 28:19
The
following are comments selected from time-honored, scholarly sources skeptical
of the phrase, “baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,”
as found in Matthew 28:19:
The Jerusalem Bible, a scholarly, well-respected
Catholic work, admits: “It may be that this formula, so far as the fullness of
its expression is concerned, is a reflection of the liturgical usage
established later in the primitive community. It will be remembered that Acts
speaks of baptizing ‘in the name of J-sus,’ cf. Acts 1:5.”
The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, vol.
4, p. 2637, under “Baptism,” says, “Matthew 28:19 in particular only canonizes
a later ecclesiastical situation, that its universalism is contrary to the
facts of early Christian history, and its Trinitarian formula “foreign to the
mouth of [Yahshua].”
New Revised Standard Version notes on Matthew 28:19:
“Modern critics claim this formula is falsely ascribed to [Yahshua] and that it
represents later church tradition, for nowhere in the book of Acts is baptism
performed with the name of the Trinity...”
The Expositor’s Greek New Testament by Nicoll, p. 340,
hedges in explaining the dubious Matthew 28 formula: “into the name as
confessing the name which embodies the essence of the Christian creed...it is
the name not of one but of three, forming a baptismal Trinity -- Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost. It is not said into the names of, etc., nor into the name of
the Father, and the name of the son, and the name of the Holy Ghost -- Hence
might be deduced the idea of a Trinity constituting at the same time a Divine
Unity. But this would probably be reading more into the words than was
intended.”
Word Pictures in the New Testament, p. 245, explains,
“Trine immersion is not taught as the Greek Church holds and practices, baptism
in the name of the Father, then of the Son, then of the Holy Spirit. The use of
name (onoma) here is a common one in the Septuagint and the papyri for power or
authority.”
The New American Bible, by Catholic Bible Publishers,
states concerning Matthew 28:19: “Go, therefore, and make...some regard these
words as an interpretation of [Yahshua’s] final instruction in the light of the
church’s early change from a mission to the Jews to one in behalf of the
Gentiles...The baptismal formula reflects the church’s gradual understanding of
G-d as three Persons...”
The Hasting’s Encyclopedia of Religion (vol. 2, pp.
377-389) asserts about the change in formula: “The Christian baptism was
administered using the Name of [Yahshua]. The trinitarian formula of any sort
was not suggested in the early Church history. Baptism was always in the Name
of the [Master Yahshua], until the time of Justin Martyr, when the Trinity
formula was used.”
New Testament Theology by Donald Guthrie points out
inconsistencies with Matthew 28:19: “The dispute over the authenticity of the
triune formula revolves around the comparison with the simpler formula used in
Acts (cf.
Another footnote explains that the Triune formula was
used for the Gentiles, whereas in Acts those baptized were Jews or those
fearing Yahweh. In other words, Jews were immersed into Yahshua’s Name, and Gentiles into the Trinitarian formula, as a
trinity was familiar to pagans, p. 719.
Adam Clarke’s Commentary corroborates the practice:
“The Jews baptized proselytes into the name of the Father, that is, into the
profession g-d, whom they called by the name of Father. The apostles baptized
the Jews into the name of [Yahshua] the Son, and the Gentiles into the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” vol.3, p. 285.
Expositors’ Bible Commentary says only one formula was
ever correctly used, a single-name prescription: “Many deny the authenticity of
this Trinitarian formula, however, not on the basis of doubtful reconstructions
of the development of doctrine, but on the basis of the fact that the only
evidence we have of actual Christian baptism indicates a consistent monadic
formula -- baptism in [Yahshua’s] name...” vol. 8, p. 598.
The Interpreter’s Bible agrees: “Probably this
baptismal formula was simpler in the very first days of the church -- ‘in the
name of the [Master Yahshua].’ The formula of verse 19 was probably a later
development,” vol. 7, p. 624.
The Anchor Bible, a Catholic reference Bible, says on
Matthew, “The neophyte baptized into the name of the Messiah thus not only
pledges allegiance to [Yahshua] as the Messiah and Sovereign, but is also
incorporated into fellowship with Him. Hence the expression used in this verse
describes an entrance into fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit...It seems plain from the early material in Acts that baptism was
performed “in the name of” and also “into the name of” [Yahshua] as Sovereign
and Messiah. The mistake of so many writers on the New Testament lies in
treating this as a liturgical formula (which it later became), and not as a
description what baptism accomplished,” pp. 107-108.
Parrinder’s World Religions raises the question of a
later addition of the verse: “This verse may well be a later interpolation into
the original gospel of Matthew, but it certainly reflects what the early Church
did, in fact, does,” p. 425.
Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible says, “...Matthew
28:19 has also been disputed on textural grounds, but in the opinion of many
scholars the words may still be regarded as part of the true text of Matthew.
There is, however, grave doubt whether they may be regarded as ipsissima verba
of [Yahshua]. The evidence of Acts 2:38;
Word Pictures in New Testament by A. T. Robertson:
“The name of [Yahshua] is the essential part of it as is shown in Acts. Trine
immersion is not taught as the Greek Church holds and practices, baptism in the
name of the Father, then of the Son, then of the Holy Spirit. The use of name
(onoma) here is a common one in the Septuagint and the papyri for power or
authority,” vol. 1, p.245.
Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,
sums up: “[Yahshua], however, cannot have given His disciples this
Trinitarian order of baptism after His resurrection; for the New Testament
knows only baptism in the name of [Yahshua] (Acts 2:38; 8:16; 19:5; Gal. 3:27;
Rom. 6:3; 1Cor. 1:13-15), which still occurs even in the second and third
centuries, while the Trinitarian formula occurs only in Matt. 28:19, and then
only again Didache 7:1 and Justin, Apol. 1:61...Finally, the distinctly
liturgical character of the formula...is strange; it was not the way of
[Yahshua] to make such formulas...the formal authenticity of Matt. 28:19 must
be disputed...” (p.435).
Examples of Immersion in the King James
Version
The
Book of Acts shows that baptisms were in the name of the Savior alone. There is
no example in the Book of Acts of any Trinitarian formula anywhere. Note the
following: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahshua the Messiah for the
remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts
“For as yet
[the Spirit] was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name
of Yahshua the Messiah.” (Acts
“And he
commanded them to be baptized in the name of [Yahshua the Messiah]. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.” (Acts
“When they
heard [this], they were baptized in the name of the sovereign Yahshua.” (Acts 19:5)
“And
now why tarriest? arise, and be baptized, and
wash away your sins, calling on [His
name -- all texts].” (Acts
In all five of the above references to baptism in the
Book of Acts, the baptisms are done in the Name of Yahshua. That we be baptized
into Yahshua’s saving Name is a very important consideration, as we will show.
Salvation in Yahshua the Messiah
Of
ourselves, we can do nothing that will redeem us. All our righteousness is as
filthy rags in Yahweh’s sight. The only way we can be clothed in clean raiment
is by having our robes washed in the blood of the Lamb. By yielding to Him and
acknowledging Him as Sovereign we can enter into the presence of Yahweh. We
must repent from our past life and acknowledge Yahshua as the Head of the body.
Otherwise we are lost.
“And such
were some of you: but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are
justified in the name of the [Sovereign] Yahshua and by the Spirit of our
Elohim.” (1Cor.
Through baptism into the Messiah, we publicly
acknowledge that we have turned from our past life that was without hope,
ending only in death. Now we follow in the footsteps of our beloved Savior. We
bury our past life in the baptismal waters and are brought forth to walk in
newness of life.
“Know you
not, that so many of us as were baptized into Yahshua Messiah were baptized
into His death?” “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that
like as Messiah was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so
we also should walk in newness of life.” (
Notice, our burial is with Yahshua, not with a
Trinity! Paul makes the point that we are immersed into Yahshua’s Name, putting
the old carnal nature to death and arising from the baptismal waters to walk as
the Savior walks, in complete obedience to Yahweh. The Apostle Peter agrees
with Paul, there is only one Name by which we can attain salvation. That is in
the Name, Yahshua, the Name the Savior was given directly from the heavens.
Note Peter’s bold words: “Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts
Laying On Hands Of The Presbytery
We
are given the Holy Spirit at baptism by the laying on of hands of the
Presbytery (the Elders). Receiving the Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome the
pulls and temptations of the world, our flesh, and the Adversary.
“Then laid
they [their] hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”
“And when
Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’
hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money.” (Acts 8:17-18)
Baptisms in the Bible were always done by the
ministers. Following the immersion, the Apostles laid hands on the baptized
brethren, asking for Yahweh’s blessings and for the Holy Spirit to indwell
them. (This practice we continue to follow in Yahweh’s Assembly In Yahshua). Paul told Timothy the Holy Spirit was given him
by the laying on of hands of the ordained Elders of the Assembly:
“Neglect not
the gift that is in you, which was given you by prophecy, with the laying on of
the hands of the presbytery.” (1Tim
Paul was not ashamed to claim that the spiritual gift
passed on to young Timothy was through the placing of his own hands on the
young evangelist.
“Wherefore, I
put you in remembrance that you stir up the gift of Yahweh, which is in you by
the putting on of my hands.” (2Tim.
1:6)
The Body Of Messiah, The Assembly
The
only way we are to be given the promises is through Yahshua; for He is the only
One Who has kept all the law perfectly!
“For as many
of you as have been baptized into Messiah have put on Messiah. There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor
female: for you are all one in Messiah Yahshua.” (Gal. 3:27-28)
Through being baptized into the Name of Yahshua we
show our complete faith in Yahshua and are made children of Yahweh.
“And if you
be Messiah’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:29). By becoming the Messiah’s through
baptism into His Name, we are partakers of promises to Abraham made back in
Genesis 12 and 15 and carried on through the Old Testament and amplified so
gloriously in the New Testament.
By being immersed into Yahshua’s saving Name we act
out the Savior’s death and resurrection, burying our sins in the waters of
baptism. Now the power of Yahweh gives us a willing heart as we overcome and
endure day by day, looking for the resurrection day as shown by the Apostle
Peter:
“The
like figure whereunto even baptism does also now save us (not the putting away
of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward Yahweh),
by the resurrection of Yahshua Messiah.” (1Peter
The Bible teaches there is but one proper baptism.
Unless one has been fully dipped under water, into the Name of Yahshua, it is
not a proper baptism. Baptisms done in the Trinity formula of Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit are improper, based on an added liturgical formula in Matthew
28:19.
Neither is baptism in Ha Ruach Chodesh (the Holy
Spirit) proper, for the Spirit is the power or active force, the vitality that
flows from the Father and shared by the Son.
Being baptized into Yahshua’s Name is the only proper
formula for baptism. The preposition, “into,” is the Greek, “eis,” and means,
“motion toward.” We persist in following Him. We continually strive to be like
the Messiah and grow spiritually in Him so that we are like Him, for there is
but “One Master, one faith, one baptism.” (Eph. 4:5)
When immersed into Yahshua’s saving Name, we take hold
of the New Covenant, and we become a part of His body of believers, and we should
then do all we can to edify the body, His Assembly. As already noted, we
individually are given a special gift to be used in building and strengthening
His body, which we are to use in our role as a member of Messiah’s Body. To
ensure growth within the Assembly: “Yahweh
has set some in the assembly, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments,
diversities of tongues.” (1Cor.
Being properly baptized into the only Name under
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved, Yahshua puts us into the Body
of true believers. It is up to you to answer Yahweh’s call to become a part of
that Body through acknowledging the Head of that Body. His Name is Yahshua the
Messiah.
“For by one
Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles,
whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.” (1Cor.
Baptism of John Was of Repentance
Unless
one has been immersed into Yahshua, “the only
name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved,” it is not a
baptism unto salvation. Being immersed in “J-sus Name,” or in the “Father, Son,
and Holy Ghost/Spirit,” is improper.
According to Acts 19:1-5, such
baptisms are but a baptism of repentance. That is, the candidate was obedient and did what he understood at the
time. He was repentant, seeking Yahweh and Yahshua. But he did not fulfill the
correct prescription for immersion unto salvation through the saving Name.
Now that you have seen the Bible example of proper
baptism, if you have not been immersed into Yahshua’s saving Name with the
laying on of hands, determine now to do so. You should not hang back or put off
this most important act. Send for our baptismal counseling guide and learn more
about your personal obligation so that you, too, can enter into the New
Covenant.
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