Restoration Review: Leroy Garrett, Editor

“In the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit”

Only recently have I been made aware of the seriousness of this abuse of scripture. I had noticed that Alexander Campbell was insistent that it should be into and not in, and that he would refer to it now and again, but it was not until I read his” A Pure Version of the Scriptures” in the 1852 Millennial Harbinger that I saw he was not simply being cranky.

The above phrase does not in fact appear in all of scripture. Jesus did not say that his disciples were to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” even if most all the versions render it this way. Among those that I consulted only the New International Version gives into even as a marginal reading. Campbell’s Living Oracles, of course, goes all the way: “immersing them into the name of the Father, etc.” The Greek preposition is eis and not en, so it should be translated into and not in.

So it is with other like passages:

Acts 8:16: “they had simply been baptized eis (into) the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Acts 19:5: “On hearing this. they were baptized eis (into) the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Rom. 6:3: “all of us who were baptized eis (into) Christ Jesus”

1 Cor. 1:13: “Were you baptized eis (into) the name of Paul?”

1Cor. 10:2: “They were all baptized eis (into) Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

Gal. 3:27: “As many of you as were baptized eis (into) Christ have put Christ on.”

Mt. 28:19 is exactly the same way: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them eis (into) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Never in scripture is one baptized in (en) the name of either the Father or the Son, and never is there any reference to “in the name of the Holy Spirit” in any connection. That phrase in the name refers to authority, and while it is frequently used of God and Christ, it is never used of the Spirit. God is of course the essence of authority, and He gave authority to His Son, but there is no such assignment of authority to the Spirit.

But there is no reference to authority in Mt. 28:19. Jesus is not telling his disciples to baptize “in the name” or by the authority of anyone, but to baptize into a relationship. We are immersed into the dominion or reign or relationship with God, Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Campbell complained that this was the work of the Roman Catholic Church, “fascinated with the charms of authority,” as they are. They want to do everything, from weddings and funerals to christening and extreme unction, “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,” as if God has assigned them such prerogatives. It is made to mean “By the authority of the Trinity” I am doing such and such. Campbell insists that this is a gross abuse of this scripture, that Jesus meant no such thing.

But our own baptists do the same thing (as I myself have done in the past!). They raise a hand heavenward and say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit for the remission of your sins. Amen.” But that is wrong, and I shall never do so again. Jesus tells us to baptize into the name. The difference is important. The point is that we are immersing people into a communion with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit. It is not that we are baptizing by heaven’s authority. We may be doing that, well enough, but that is not what Jesus is saying.

Campbell suggests that if the baptist wants to say something (he does not of course have to say anything!), he could very properly use this formula:

In the name of the Lord (that is by his authority) I baptize or immerse you into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Campbell adds: “But no man, with the knowledge of the Greek New Testament and of the English language, in his understanding, can say, ‘I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.’ It is impossible. The reason of this is sublimely beautiful and interesting.”

This does not mean that we have to be immersed all over again, making sure this time that the right words are said. You were baptized into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, whether you realized it or not, if you truly believed, just as you were baptized for the remission of sins — regardless of what was said or not said. Thank God that our relationship to Him is not based upon what some preacher says or thinks, or doesn’t say or think. God puts it altogether in spite of how fouled up the baptist may be.

The point Campbell was making, which we vigorously repeat, is that we should seek to understand and practice precisely what the scriptures teach, and to avoid those abuses that have been passed along to us by those who should have known better. —the Editor