Biblical Answers
to Commonly Asked Questions On Water Baptism
FORMULA OF WATER BAPTISM continued:
Question 27: Are there historical witnesses to the innovating of the formula of Water Baptism from the single name of Jesus to the triune titles of Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Question 27: Are there historical witnesses to the innovating of the formula of Water Baptism from the single name of Jesus to the triune titles of Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
Answer: History books clearly record the priority of the single name formula and the beginning of triune Baptism.
1. Dictionary of the Bible, by James Hastings, 13th Edition, volume 1, page 241. “The original form of words was ‘into the name of Jesus Christ;’ baptism into the Trinity was a later development.”
2. Canney Encyclopedia of Religion: (1970), page 53. “The early Church always baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus until the development of the Trinity. Afterward they were baptized into the name of a Father, Son and Holy Ghost.”
3. Hastings Encyclopedia of Religion: Vol. 2, Pg. 377: Christian baptism was administered using the words “In the name of Jesus.” NAME was an ancient synonym for “person”. Payment was always made in the name of some person referring ownership. Therefore one being baptized in Jesus Name became his personal property. “Ye are Christ’s.” Vol. 2, Pg. 378: The use of a Trinitarian formula of any sort was not suggested in early Church history. Vol. 2, Pg. 389: Baptism was always in the name of Lord Jesus until the time of Justin Martyr when Triune formula was used.
4. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, (1951), II, 384, 389: The formula used was ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ’ or some synonymous phrase; there is no evidence for the use of the trine name... The earliest form, represented in the Acts, was simple immersion....in water, the use of the name of the Lord, and the laying on of hands. To these were added at various times and places which cannot be safely identified, (a) the trine name (Justin)....
5. Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, (1962) I, 351 “The evidence ... suggests that baptism in early Christianity was administered, not in the threefold name, but ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus.’”6. The History of Christian Thought, by Otto Heick, (1965) Vol I, Pg 53: At first baptism was administered in the name of Jesus, but gradually in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
7. History of the Christian Church, by Willistion Walker, (1947), Pg 58: The Trinitarian baptismal formula ... was displacing the older baptism in the name of Christ.
8. Encyclopedia Biblica, (1899), Vol I, Pg 473: It is natural to conclude that baptism was administered in the earliest times ‘in the name of Jesus Christ,’ or in that ‘of the Lord Jesus.’ This view is confirmed by the fact that the earliest forms of the baptismal confession appear to have been single – not triple, as was the later creed.
9. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Page 82: “Everywhere in the oldest sources it states that baptism took place in the name of Jesus Christ.” Page 365, 366. “The Trinitarian formula and trine immersion were not uniformly used from the beginning... Bapti[sm] into the name of the Lord [was] the normal formula of the New Testament. In the 3rd century baptism in the name of Christ was still so widespread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to Cyprian of Carthage, declared it to be valid.”
For further witnesses, see the following references:
10. New Catholic Encyclopedia, 1967, Volume 13, Page 1012.
11. Encyclopedia Americana, 1957 in Edition, Volume 26, Page 69.
12. World Book Encyclopedia, 1975 Edition, Volume T, Page 363.
13. New International Encyclopedia, Volume 22, Page 476.
14. Encyclopedia International, Volume 18, Page 226, 1975 Edition.
15. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Page 396.
Question 28: What reasons do the historical records give for the formula innovation?
Answer: The reasons given by the historical records for forsaking the single name formula in favor of the triune one are basically two in number:
Answer: The reasons given by the historical records for forsaking the single name formula in favor of the triune one are basically two in number:
1. The development of the new doctrine called the Trinity. The new formula of Father, Son and Holy Ghost was chosen to accommodate the plurality of persons in the Trinitarian godhead.
2. Anti-Semitism. Jesus is a semitic (Hebrew) name. The name in Hebrew is “Yohowshua.” Water Baptism is a legal transference of the person being baptized over to the property of the one named in the baptismal formula (see question 39). The perception of requiring a Gentile to become the property of a Jew was considered anti-productive to worldwide evangelism. (See the Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Abingdon Press, 1962, Volume 4, page 711 under “Trinity”.)
In both of the above reasons there is an observation that needs to be made to help us understand how such a move was possible: As a cursory study of patristic writings will reveal, the Christian world of the 2nd and 3rd centuries was very anti-semitic, and for what seems to be a good reason. The very first great persecution brought upon the Lord’s church was Jew on Christian. It was the Jews that killed Stephen and James; also, Paul (via the Romans), to say nothing of Jesus. It was none other than Christ, Himself, in the Apocalypse, that references the Jewish religion as the “synagogue of Satan.” Jesus, also, (in the book of Revelation) identifies Jerusalem as Egypt, Babylon, and the Great Whore that rides the Beast, who was drunk on the blood of the saints. With this anti-semitic position permeating the thought processes of the ancients, the Apostolic Fathers, and those after them, had closed themselves off from the Jewish culture. It is from the Jewish/Hebraic thought that one is made aware of the importance of the name of an individual. It is from the Hebrews that we learn that the name of a person carries (embodies) the very essence of that person. The Christian leaders of the 2nd and 3rd centuries missed this important aspect of biblical doctrine, because they where shut out from any hebraic interaction. Robbed of this knowledge there was no watchman on the wall, so to speak, that cried against the move to expand (and that is indeed what it was - an expansion) the name of the Jewish Jesus to include the three different modes of the Deity they knew He embodied. They were unaware, because of the partition placed between themselves and the Jews, that by removing the saving name from the saving act of water baptism they had robbed the Christian faith of the true biblical water baptism altogether.
Question 29: What was offensive about the invoking of a Jewish name at Water Baptism?
Answer: See question 28.
Answer: See question 28.
Question 30: How does this type of offense fulfill the prophecy of Scripture concerning the name of Jesus?
Answer: The anti-Semitism of the Gentile world, which led to the rejection of the name of Jesus in Water Baptism, fulfill the prophecy that the world would be offended at his name (Matthew 10:22; Luke 21:17).
Matthew 10:22, And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. Luke 21:17, And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
Apostolically Speaking,
☩☩ Jerry L Hayes
(Mar David Ignatius)
Dear Disciple, looking for answers to Water Baptism questions? Please visit the INDEX to our Water Baptism Q & A at the link provided here:
https://bishopjerrylhayes.blogspot.com/2019/05/water-baptism-index.html
Dear Disciple, looking for answers to Water Baptism questions? Please visit the INDEX to our Water Baptism Q & A at the link provided here:
https://bishopjerrylhayes.blogspot.com/2019/05/water-baptism-index.html
Water Baptism is a comprehensive study of biblical water baptism. Bishop Hayes addresses 70 commonly asked questions on the subject, after which he examines 14 different biblical passages showing the salvific nature of the sacrament. Also, included in Water Baptism is a thorough examination of the canonicity of Matthew 28;19. Own your personal copy of this classic work on Water Baptism by ordering today from the link provided here:
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