W. H. F.
1. In Matthew 28:1919Go 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) Christ as risen is giving the commission to the apostles to “disciple all the nations,” and baptism is “unto the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”; it is the full revelation of God in Christ, ministered by the Holy Ghost, carried by the apostles, and believed on in the world. Nothing less than this was preached, nothing less received, and to nothing less were those who received it baptized.
In Acts 2:3838Then Peter said unto them, 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. (Acts 2:38), and also in 10:48 (where many editions read “Jesus Christ” instead of “the Lord”) it is Peter who, by the Lord’s previous ordering, opens the door of grace to Jews first, and then to Gentiles. Here stress is laid upon the fact that it is Jesus Christ who is Lord. For the Jews, if Jesus was the Christ, then they had crucified their Messiah, and if Jesus the crucified Messiah was Lord then God had raised Him, and they were lost unless a door of grace could be found. His name is that door, and so it is the character of the baptism that is brought out. Not “to the name,” but “in the name.” (In Acts 2:3838Then Peter said unto them, 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. (Acts 2:38) many editions read “on-the-ground-of the name,” making it still stronger.) The same ground held good for the Gentile, and was ministered by the same apostle, although in the latter case the gift of the Holy Ghost came before baptism.
In Acts 8:1616(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) (Acts 8:16) and 19:5 we have Christianity established. There is a place where Jesus is owned as Lord, and this is what marks off Christianity from the place where Satan’s authority is outwardly owned. Hence baptism, where Christianity already exists, is “to the name of the Lord Jesus.” The three main points are that the Word of God connects baptism with—
3. A fresh administration — The authority of an absent Christ as Lord maintained by the presence of the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:16, 19:8).
S. H. H.
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In John 17 our Lord is speaking anticipatively, as verse 11 will prove. Hence we believe that whereas all through His life He glorified His Father, yet verse 4 has special reference to His work on the cross.
ED.