"We only baptize in 'the name of Jesus'"--is thought to be a spiritually advanced and "deep" view. One Scripture is pitted against another for no purpose except to prop up a bogus notion, with confusion as the result. And we know who the author of confusion is...Is God "modal"? Was He Jehovah, then Jesus, and now the Holy Spirit (sort of like the "modes" of water--can be any of three but not all at once) or is He the 3 in "one"?
1John 5:7 (NKJ) For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one.Here is our explanation, if you have ears to hear it.
Mat 28:19-20a (NAS) "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you."There is no disagreement in Scripture--we are given direct instructions on the NATURE OF GOD and HOW TO baptize in the form of "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit", and also told that people were baptized in narratives on other subjects in a sort of "shorthand notation"--to differentiate it from the multitudinous other Mikvas (baptisms) the Jews were famous for.
Acts 19:5 (NAS) When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.As an example, if I write this from the house of "Dean, Laura, and Catalina", that would tell you there were three of us in this one house. But nobody would flinch if in a narrative about what Dean did in a typical day, it was said "We went to Dean's house". Oh no! Now Laura doesn't exist! And Catalina is fading fast! Or perhaps this statement could be used to launch into the silly fantasy that Dean transmogrifies himself into Laura or Catalina from time to time--a CHANGELING. Nonsense, just a shorthand way of describing to normal, sensible people what happened and whose house is being referred to. If there were 20 statements of "going to Dean's house" and only one of "who else was in the house" in a book, the logical conclusion would be that both statements are true and that by "going to Dean's house" you also get Laura and Catalina as an extra bonus. Right? Am I going to fast?Anyway, that is how most believers in all ages have seen it. We are told HOW to baptize in texts commissioning us to this purpose. Trinitarian baptism is differentiated elsewhere in narratives by being described as "in the name of Jesus", as opposed to the "baptism of John" and so forth. But this is merely a shorthand reference, not a proscription. To make a badge of superiority out of such a simple mistake is not a good sign.
2 Cor 13:14 (Wey) May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.
