Prior Book | Prior Chapter | Prior Verse | Next Verse | Next Chapter | Next Book | Viewing NASB and Amplified 2015 | |
NASB | Acts 2:38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Acts 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. |
Bible Question: Apparently the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus. Was this a revelation from the Holy Spirit after Jesus said in Matthew 28:19 to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? |
Bible Answer: Isn't it amazing how much controversy can be stirred up over such a simple topic. I have browsed through some of the posts, and I am sure I am repeating some of them with my response. It seems to me that most of the posts I have read have completely missed the main argument that should be presented when this question arises. The whole controversy began in the early 1900s due to the misunderstanding of the phrase “In the Name of”. We use it often in common speech when we refer to the doing something by the authority of. We are all familiar with the command “open up in the name of the Law” from old TV shows or other popular cultural references. But it goes back further than that, and I am not going to present all the history of its origins but it has always been used to refer to “what authority you are doing something in, or Who gave you that authority.” When we say we Baptize in the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we are saying it is The Divine Godhead that has given us this authority. When we say we Baptize in the Name of Jesus, we are stating that Jesus has given us the commandment to Go and Baptize people. The words are not what make you “In the Name of” What I mean is that if you are not born again and saved by faith and living pleasing to God, you have no authority to baptize another believer. However those of us that are believers and particularly those that are called to do so, are sent to Baptize in the Authority of Christ, or In the Authority of God. Now when some well meaning but ignorant and uneducated preachers say “In the Name of” as though it is some spell or incantation they cast with words, then this is why this type of foolish hairsplitting takes place. There is no difference between saying I am sent by the authority of God or to say I am sent by the Authority of Christ except to give emphasis to the Divinity of Jesus. Whether you say you are given authority to baptize by the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, or whether you say you are Given Authority to Baptize by Jesus Christ, is all the same to a New Testament believer. To emphasize what words you use when you speak at a baptism as constituting what is defined as “the name of” rather than by what authority you do what you do, and who gave you this authority shows you to be an ignoramus with less than a high school education. I do not say that mean spirited. I am saying that is exactly how one appears to the well read that would observe a man emphasizing the phrase “in the name of “ as something other than “in the authority of”. Then you might have your formula of words just the way you want it, but your converts will all be of the poor ignorant masses like you because the intelligent will think you are a loony tune. It is amazing to me that a whole denomination has sprung up around what words to use at a baptism, but what is NOT surprising to me is that there is not one scholar among them. The very foundation is based on error in grammar. The argument ceases to exist as soon as you learn what “in the name of” means in New testament usage. Look through the New Testament at all the times In the Name Jesus is used, on almost every occasion, the idea has nothing to do with speaking words, but rather by what authority a believer does things in. Also it is good to read about the origins of this Jesus Name Only movement and how it began. May God Bless You as You Study His Word |