Baptized Into the Triune Name

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gave this final command to his disciples:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

When I preached on this passage last week, I mentioned some of the ways in which Matthew brings his Gospel full circle:

• At the beginning, he gives us Jesus’ genealogy to prove that he is the son of David, the rightful king of Israel; at the end, he gives us Jesus’ declaration that he has authority not only over the nation of Israel, but all authority in heaven and on earth.
• At the beginning, Jesus’ ministry was only to the lost sheep of Israel (Matt 15:24); at the end, he commands his disciples to make disciples of all nations.
• ​At the beginning, Gentiles came to the land of Israel from far-off lands to worship God (Matt 2:1-12; Isa 60:3); at the end, Jesus sends his disciples, the true Israel of God, out from the land of Israel into all nations.
• At the beginning, Jesus was declared to be Immanuel, “God With Us” (Matt 1:23; Isa 7:14); at the end, Jesus declares, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

There’s another way in which Matthew’s Gospel comes full circle: baptism. Jesus commands his disciples to make disciples, by going, baptizing, and then teaching. Baptism is the beginning of discipleship, the lifelong process of learning about Christ and becoming more like him. And when new disciples are baptized, Jesus says that they are to be baptized “in (literally into) the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. Since the very beginning, Christians have recognized that God exists as a Trinity, three Persons in one Being, and that to be baptized meant to be added into and joined with his visible body on earth, the church, through identification with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 6:1-11). This is why Christian baptism is always done in the name (singular, not plural) of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism identifies a person as a disciple of Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Godhead; and because God cannot be separated from himself, to be identified with Christ is also to be identified with the Father and the Spirit. Jesus’ command to baptize in the threefold name of the triune God is an explicit revelation of God’s nature as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

​So how does this tie in with the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel? Matthew 3:13-17 records Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist:

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

At the beginning of his earthly ministry, at his baptism, the Trinity is on full and glorious display for all to see. As Jesus is baptized in the river, the heavens are opened and the Spirit descends on him like a dove, and a voice from heaven, the voice of the Father, declares that Jesus is indeed his beloved Son, with whom he is well pleased. Father, Son, and Spirit together, each playing a different part in the work of redemption, yet perfectly united in being and essence. And so again at the end of Matthew, Jesus gives his disciples the command to make disciples by going, baptizing, and teaching, once again making the direct connection between baptism and God’s triune nature. 

Strictly speaking, baptism isn’t necessary for salvation. The thief on the cross is the classic example of this (Luke 23:39-43). Jesus didn’t need to be baptized in the sense that he commanded us, but it was still necessary for him to be baptized, “to fulfill all righteousness.” In the same way, we don’t need to undergo baptism in order to go to heaven, but it is still a direct command from our Lord Jesus. No matter what position on the timing, mode, or further significance of baptism they may hold, all Christians agree that baptism of disciples is a direct command from Christ, and must be administered in the triune name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And as we make disciples of all nations, by going, baptizing, and teaching them, always remember that we do this not in our own strength or power, but in Christ’s, because all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him, and he has promised that he will be with us always, to the end of the age.