On the opening day of the Church, after receiving God’s Spirit for the first time, there was a sermon preached. It was preached by Peter. Remember, Peter is the one to whom Jesus said: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19
It wasn’t just happenstance that Peter preached that first sermon in the Church. He had the keys of the kingdom of heaven. So, when those who had gathered because of the uproar, were pricked in their hearts, realizing they had crucified their Christ, they asked Peter -- “What shall we do?” Acts 2:37
Peter didn’t say, “If you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ, you shall be saved” Romans 10:9. True, this is a scripture. But that scripture comes from a letter that Paul was writing to an already-established Church, the Church in Rome. Salvation is not culminated by believing and confessing only, but these two acts lead unto righteousness and salvation. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 6:10 This scripture is often used when telling people how to be saved. Yet remember, Paul was not writing a letter to people who were still in need of salvation. Actually, in the tenth chapter of Romans, Paul was writing about the salvation of Israel and making points about preaching and hearing of the Word of God. To tell people that’s all they have to do to be saved, is coming up short of the doctrine that was established on the first day of Church.
What Peter did say on that first day was, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost [what the approximately 120 disciples in the upper room had just received]. For the promise is unto you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38
Did Peter make a terrible mistake? Jesus had said, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” Matthew 28:19 This is how most Christian churches baptize today. Many claim that they will take the word of Jesus over Peter’s. And do remember, there is only one baptism (Ephesians 4:5).
But let’s take a closer look at what Jesus was saying in Matthew 28:19. He was saying to baptize in the name of the Father, the name of the Son and the name of the Holy Ghost. Remember -- Father, Son and Holy Ghost are not names. We all know for sure what the name of the Son is, Jesus. Every Christian will acknowledge that without argument. But what about the name of the Father and the name of the Holy Ghost? Is it Jehovah, I AM? Throughout scriptures there are clues to that very important name.
Isaiah said, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” Isaiah 9:6.
We read this scripture so often at Christmas time that we become unseeing to what is actually being said. I think that most Christians agree that this prophecy is about Jesus Christ. It is saying that his name shall be called “The everlasting Father.” How many everlasting Fathers are there? Again, Ephesians 4:6 says that there is “one God and Father of all.”
Jesus said, “I am come in my Father’s name” John 5:43. (We all know what name that Jesus came in -- Jesus.) As Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17, He said, “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word” John 17:6. The Apostles knew the name. Peter knew the name.
As for the name of the Holy Ghost, Jesus said, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name ...” John 14:26 Again, the Holy Ghost was coming in Jesus’ name.
Jesus also said before He ascended into heaven, “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47 And that’s exactly what happened. Peter preached, “Repent and be baptized everyone one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins ...” and it began at Jerusalem.
Probably the biggest clue about how to baptize is the fact of how it was actually done by the first Church according to the Word of God. Not every time that a baptism takes place in scripture does it spell out how it was done. But, in the cases that it does tell us what was said, people were baptized in the name of Jesus. “In the mouth of two or three witnesses, shall every word be established” 2 Corinthians 13:1; Matthew 18:16; John 8:17.
So how was baptism handled in other places in the Word of God? In Acts 8:16, we read that the Samaritans were baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. This is a second witness (after the first day of Church, Acts 2:38) in the Word of God that tells us that the first Church baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. In the tenth chapter of Acts, again, Peter baptized the Gentiles in the name of the Lord (Acts 10:48).
What about Paul? Paul wrote most of the epistles found in the New Testament, how did he handle baptism? In the nineteenth chapter of Acts, Paul met up with some disciples. As they started to talk, he must have noticed that things weren’t exactly right about these believers. When he found out that they hadn’t received God’s Spirit, he said, “Unto what then were ye baptized?” Acts 19:3. And they told him that they had been baptized under the ministry of John the Baptist. Paul immediately explained things to them and rebaptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:5).
Besides the testimonies that the Lord Jesus gave about the name and that the Apostles knew the name, we have three witnesses in the Word of God that baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Do you know how many witness there are that baptized by saying, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost?” Zero. The Apostles and first Church had a revelation about the name of God. They were constantly warned and persecuted for preaching that name. They performed many great miracles in that name. That name was (and still is) Jesus, the Christ. There is power in knowing the name that is above every name. Many Christians don’t have a full understanding of Jesus’ name. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name John 1:12. If a Christian believes fully in the saving power of Jesus Christ and in His name, he or she will be baptized in His name.
Do you think it’s important how you are baptized or baptize others? Remember, Paul rebaptized disciples who had not been baptized in the Lord’s name. Personally, I came to the conclusion in my walk with the Lord, that I didn’t want to take the chance. We’re only talking about eternal life. Please note the following scriptures:
“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” Acts 4:12
“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” John 20:31
“I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and not denied my name.” Revelation 3:8
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18
As these scriptures point out, a lot depends on our believing on the name of Jesus Christ.
“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.” Philippians 2:9-10