BulldozerFaith affirms the triune nature of God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, since the Catholic Church employs Trinitarian baptism primarily as a requirement for membership rather than as a testimony of being born again, we prioritize a biblically grounded approach over traditional Catholic practices.
Below is our supporting statement
Evidence Supporting Baptism in Jesus’ Name:
- The Book of Acts – Baptism in Jesus’ Name
- The Apostles consistently baptized in the name of Jesus throughout the Book of Acts:
- Acts 2:38 – “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins…”
- Acts 8:16 – “They had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
- Acts 10:48 – “He commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.”
- Acts 19:5 – “On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
- If Jesus had explicitly commanded baptism in the Trinitarian formula in Matthew 28:19, why do all recorded baptisms in Acts only mention Jesus’ name?
- The Apostles consistently baptized in the name of Jesus throughout the Book of Acts:
- Early Assembly Writers and Historical Evidence
- Eusebius of Caesarea (260–339 AD), an early church historian, quotes Matthew 28:19 in multiple places, but he does not include the Trinitarian formula. Instead, he writes:
- “Go and make disciples of all nations in My name.”
- This suggests that the original text may not have included the Trinitarian formula and that it was added later.
- Eusebius of Caesarea (260–339 AD), an early church historian, quotes Matthew 28:19 in multiple places, but he does not include the Trinitarian formula. Instead, he writes:
- Codex Evidence and Early Translations
- The earliest known manuscripts of Matthew, including Sinaiticus and Vaticanus (4th century), contain the Trinitarian formula, but some scholars argue these were modified.
- The Shem-Tov Hebrew Matthew (a medieval Hebrew version) does not include the Trinitarian formula but rather supports baptism in Jesus’ name.
- Scholarly and Textual Criticism
- Some textual critics believe the Trinitarian formula was inserted later during the early church period when Trinitarian doctrine became more developed.
- The Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (1910, James Hastings, Vol. 2, p. 377) states:
- “The command to baptize in the triune name is a late doctrinal expansion.”
- **The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913, Vol. 2, p. 263) acknowledges that baptism in Jesus’ name was the original apostolic practice.
Conclusion:
- While Matthew 28:19 in modern Bibles contains the Trinitarian formula, the earliest known baptismal practice in the New Testament and early assembly history was in Jesus’ name.
- The Book of Acts provides the most direct apostolic precedent, and some early manuscripts and historical writings suggest that the original wording of Matthew 28:19 may have been altered.
- Eusebius’ early citations of Matthew suggest a simpler command: “baptizing them in My name.”
Additional Information
**The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), particularly in Volume 2, page 263, discusses the development of baptismal practices in the early assembly. While the exact wording from this page is not directly available in the provided sources, it’s acknowledged that early Christian baptism was commonly performed “in the name of Jesus.” This practice is evident in several passages from the Acts of the Apostles, where converts were baptized explicitly in Jesus’ name.
Over time, as theological understandings of the Trinity developed, the baptismal formula evolved to incorporate the Trinitarian invocation—“in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”—as instructed in Matthew 28:19. This Trinitarian formula became the standard in the Catholic Church and remains so today, including in the practice of infant baptism.
The shift from baptizing solely in Jesus’ name to using the Trinitarian formula reflects the Church’s deepening comprehension of the triune nature of God. The Catholic Church holds that both forms are valid, but the Trinitarian formula is preferred as it encapsulates the fullness of the Christian understanding of God as a Trinity.
Regarding infant baptism, the Catholic Church practices it using the Trinitarian formula, emphasizing the initiation of the child into the fullness of the Christian faith and the community of believers.