Baptism formula: (in the name of JESUS) = (in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost)

Baptism formula: (in the name of JESUS) = (in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost)

Today I was listening to Moody Radio.

I will not mention the program, it is not relevant to this discourse.

What happened is relevant: the common practice of Christian theologians and preachers contradicting the word of God.

It is done politely and respectfully, nevertheless their practice is an anathema to God: they replace God's wisdom with the wisdom of men.

This typical practice, replacing God's words with their own words in order to explain what God meant to say, appears in many ways.

The believer in, and disciple of, Jesus Christ will often come across instances where ... due to their incomplete tutorship by the Comforter who lead us into all truth ... it seems that both statements in the word of God cannot literally be true; due to Socrates' observation "For all statements of fact A this sentence must necessarily be true, 'Either A or not A.' " It is not possible that any unambiguous statement of fact can be both true and false, it is impossible for us to believe it.

One of the most popular methods of replacing God's word with the word of men is exegesis: cutting out parts of the scriptures, twisting those parts into an argument and pasting them together as though it is what God **really meant to say.**

Please notice that: the topic of this writing is not what we say when we baptize a new Christian in water.

Rather the topic is: the practice of replacing God's written word with the doctrines of men.

The Lord taught me many years ago that baptism in water is an act of obedience.

~ That He does not hold the new Christians accountable for the words that were used by another person when they were baptized: they obeyed His commandment and submitted to baptism.

~ He also taught me that it is fine to be baptized more than once; if a new Christian, or a denomination of Christians, insists that only their baptisms are valid: then in order to be able to worship and pray with them in communion do not hesitate to submit again to "their" baptism in water.

~ Submitting to a second, or to a third or a three hundredth, baptism in water, is a form of loving them as He has loved them: Keep His commandment to love one another as He loves us - how humble is Our God? Be like Him.

When I hear a man speaking in the name of Jesus Christ, and they are not speaking the truth, then the Holy Spirit within me bears witness against their words.

As a result I am offended by the lie which was presented by the speaker in the name of our Lord and our God, JESUS.

I do not hate that poorly taught person who speaks a lie in the name of JESUS, rather I hate the lie which was spoken.

My second mentor in Christ, Ruby Brookshier, taught me that when a person who is Baptized by God with His Holy Spirit becomes greatly committed to the truth, then the Holy Ghost in that person is the one which becomes indignant — that it is HIS "righteous indignation" borne by the Spirit of God in us.

I had recently discovered Moody Radio, and listened to it for several hours per day.

Then this event occurred (a "teacher" teaching a lie).

As a result of the "righteous indignation" which the Holy Ghost brought to my spirit, I rarely listen to Moody Radio.

I understand that there are various congregations of Christians which we refer to as denominations — earthly organizations created by men.

If anyone sees with the eyes of the spirit instead of their carnal eyes, they too will see that there is only one congregation, one church and only one group of Christians in God's eyes: those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life; and that when He looks down, He sees us as one body in a single place, in Him.

I also comprehend that the administrators and executives of those earthly organizations of mankind (i.e. pastors, priests, reverends, evangelists, teachers etc.) must follow the rules which are established by men, following the doctrines and covenants of that specific "denomination."

As a result, the specific words which the pastor recites during a water baptism follow a FORMULA which is proscribed by the rules of that organization.

Some denominations recite the words which Jesus spoke to His disciples, before they were prepared to follow His Great Commission: "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

Other denominations recite the words which were spoken by the Apostle Peter during the first and greatest sermon in the history of the Christian church: "in the name of Jesus Christ."

Both types of baptisms are acceptable to the Holy God,

because He has only ONE GIVEN NAME in this world.

As a scientist and a philosopher by training; I have found that the application of Occam's Razor is often helpful.

[Paraphrased.] For any phenomenon, the simplest hypothesis which requires accepting fewest unproven presumptions, is most often true.

The application of Occam's Razor:

The reason that both scriptures are exactly and literally true

is because "the name of Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"

is also "the name of Jesus Christ."

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During this one of the programs on Moody Radio a listener called to ask why some pastors baptize in water, reciting from The Great Commission the words of Jesus:

"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 KJV]

Notice above that "the name" is singular, not plural, because there is only one name.

This was not a mistake made by Jesus,

neither was it a mistake during the translation of old, Latin texts into English (I think Tinsdale translated this section of the King James Bible).

In truth Jesus said exactly and He meant ... that there is only ONE NAME.

... whereas some pastors do not recite those words, rather they baptize in water as the Church always did, in the name of Jesus:

"... they said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles,

Men and brethren, what shall we do?

"Then 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 2:37-38 KJV]

The person who was hosting this radio program answered as follows [paraphrased]

» That Apostle Peter was speaking conditionally; this instance in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles was outside of the FORMULA when Peter said that all Christians must be baptized "in the name of Jesus Christ."

» The speaker taught that today we recite the words which are FORMULARY: "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost"

>> because, he said, we are merely following the FORMULA which we [mistakenly] think that Jesus gave to us;

>> as opposed to doing what Peter did, when Peter obeyed Jesus by baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, which name is Jesus Christ.

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The problems with that radio program teacher's explanation:

The first problem is that it is not in the bible ... God did not say it.

This "doctrine of men" rather is an "Apology" — it was written by men who do not wholly believe the word of God,

and because they do not fully believe the literal word of the Holy God, they imagine in their hearts that they need to apologize for (explain) "what God really meant to say" ... if only GOD had been as smart and clever as these "teachers" and "preachers" and theologians.

Secondly there is no "formula" with God or from God: the new testament of Christ is not based upon following laws or complying with writings; there are no rituals which one performs, there are no words which one recites which have anything to do with salvation or conversion.

Yet another problem, this un-scriptural "apology for the Word of God" shows us that this doctrine was created by men who do not know who God is ... if they knew Him then they would know His name.

Finally, there is ABSOLUTELY NO CONTRADICTION between the two scriptures cited above: Zero, none, NULL, void, the empty set.

» it only seems to them that the scriptures above tell us to do two different things;

» because those people do not know that the words

"the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is also "the name of Jesus Christ."

I will share with you the Word of the Living God.

If you reside in Jesus, and if Jesus resides in you [John 15:5; "If a man remains in me, and I in him ..."]

then His Spirit IN YOU will bear witness to the Word of God,

the Holy Ghost will confirm that what I speak unto you is the truth: there is no contradiction for God is not the author of confusion.

Below we will read the plain and simple, straightforward Word of God where it is written that:

1. There is only one God and He has only one "given name,"

2. That the name of the Father is JESUS,

3. That the name of the Son is JESUS,

4. And that the name of the Holy Ghost is JESUS;

5. Documenting that

("the name [singular] of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost") = ("the name [singular] of JESUS Christ")

Item 1) There is only one God; how many names does The One God have which is given under heaven?

[Hint: There is only one God, and there is only one name given ...]

1. "The Lord thy God is one." [Repeated often by the Prophets to the Nation Israel.]

2. "... know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no saviour. [Isaiah 43:10-11]

3. " I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." [Isaiah 44:6]

4. "and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a saviour; there is none beside me." [Isaiah 45:21]

5. "... that there is none other God but one." [ I Corinthians 8:4]

Item 2) "Jesus" is the name of the Father:

1. "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]

2. "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him." [John 14:7]

3. "Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew unto us the Father." [John 14:8]

4. "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father" [John 14:10]

4.a) "Believest thou not that he that I am in the Father, and the Father in me?" [John 14:10-11]

4.b) "Believe me that I am in the Father and he in me" [John 14:11]

7. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." [Paul in Colossians 2:8-9]

Item 3) "Jesus" is the name of the Son:

1. "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God." [Mark 1:1]

2. "And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS." [Luke 1:3]

"He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest ..." [Luke 1:32]

"The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." [Luke 1:35]

3. "... from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father" [2 John 1:3]

Item 4) "Jesus" is the name of the Holy Ghost:

I have reached a partial impasse in proving that the name of the Holy Ghost is JESUS.

Please do not think that I am devaluing or superficially disposing the salvation and conversion of any Christian: only God knows who is "saved" and who is not. I do not wish to cause any to take offense; I am only sharing with you my testimony of Jesus Christ: Who He is, what He did, and what happened when He came to me.

The simple fact which I have found to be true: For every single Christian that I have ever known which has also been baptized by the Holy Ghost; that person already knows that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of Jesus Christ, that the name of the Holy Ghost is JESUS; I do not need to prove it because they are in HIM.

For other Christians: For those who have *not yet* received the baptism of the Holy Ghost I have not yet found a specific scripture that states verbatim, "Jesus is the name of the Holy Ghost."

I do not understand why or how, in my personal experience, that the "Holy Ghosters" innately know His name and other Christians do not.

Perhaps when any Christian worships and praises the name Jesus, and the Holy Ghost resides in their praise, that those Christians who are baptized in Him and are known by Him recognize who He is because He is in them and they are in Him.

Whereas perhaps when a Christian sings songs of worship and praise to the God of our salvation, and the Holy Ghost resides in their praise as well, those who are not yet baptized in His Spirit [i.e. are not yet "in" Him] do not recognize who He is because His spirit dwelling within them is not sufficient: He is in them but they are *not yet* in Him.

Fortunately, for any Christian that truly desires to know the name of the Holy Ghost, we are able to suggest that they pray the Father in the name of Jesus Christ to show them what God has told all Christians to do.

The good thing is, God has made the most basic rules of discipleship in Jesus Christ very simple for us to follow:

Rule 1: Hear God.

Rule 2: Believe God.

Rule 3: Obey God.

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Please read again the following scriptures, while praying, standing upon His promise that "the Comforter will lead you into all truth" ... not relying upon our own understanding, ignoring any lies of the enemy which he uses to try to confuse us, approaching the throne of God in spirit without any presumptions or attempts to tell Him what we think He should say, while relying solely upon HIS promise that "the Comforter will lead you into all truth."

1) Why not, we ask? The Resurrected and Glorified Jesus Christ told the Church that the Holy Ghost and Himself cannot co-inhabit the world. We only need to hear and believe what He said ... even though we may not *yet* understand what it means; we are assured that there is a reason why what Jesus said is true; He said:

"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." [John 16:7 KJV]

2) First things first; consider that before the Apostles and disciples of Christ began "the great commission" Jesus commanded them to do something first:

"And being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence ... ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." [Acts 1:4-5, 8]

3) The best sermon ever! The very first "Christian Preacher" sermon in the history of the church, as well as the most successful evangelistic event ever, was Apostle Peter's message outside the gate of the temple.

When the multitude asked Peter what they must do, he replied:

"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. 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 2:38-39]

4) Jesus said that He is the Comforter, who is also known as the Spirit of truth:

"If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and he shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." [John 14:15-18]

5) Jesus said that the Comforter is the Holy Ghost:

"Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things I have spoken unto you, being present with you, But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring you in remembrance, whatsoever have said unto you." [John 14:23-26]

6) Paul persistently reminded new Christian that there is only one God, one Lord, one Spirit, one Father in all of us.

Apostle Paul wrote:

"There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, and one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." [Ephesians 4:4-6]

Hear what saith the Spirit,

If any man believes or teaches that he knows more or better how to baptize with water

... than did the Apostle Peter or any of the Apostles,

then that man does not love the truth and the Spirit of God is not in him.

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