According to the book of Acts, the believers are baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, who is the all-inclusive embodiment of the processed Triune God. Acts 8:16 speaks of those who were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. The name denotes the person. To be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into the person of the Lord, to be identified with the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ, to be put into an organic union with the living Lord.
In Matthew 28:19 the Lord Jesus charged the disciples to baptize the believers into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But later, in practice, the believers were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. This indicates that to be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit because the Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the Triune God (Col. 2:9).
Acts 19:5 tells us of certain believers at Ephesus who “were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.” This is to be baptized into a spiritual union with the all-inclusive Christ. Apparently, these believers were not baptized into the name of the Triune God but into the name of the Lord Jesus. Actually, by being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus they were baptized into the name of the Triune God, for the Lord Jesus is the all-inclusive embodiment of the processed Triune God. Today, when we baptize believers into the name of the Lord Jesus we are actually baptizing them into the Triune God.
In the book of Acts we see that the believers are baptized not only into the name of the Lord Jesus but also in the name of Jesus Christ. Acts 10:48 says, “He charged them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.” To be baptized into the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized into the sphere of the name of Jesus Christ, within which is the reality of baptism.
Some readers of the New Testament may think that there is no difference between being baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus and in the name of Jesus Christ. However, there is an important difference. To be baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus is to be baptized into the Triune God to have an organic union with Him. But to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized in Christ as a sphere, the sphere of the name of Jesus Christ. It is also to be baptized into Jesus Christ as an element. Within Christ as the sphere and element is the reality of baptism. Apparently, water is the sphere and element in which the believers are baptized. But the water signifies a person, the all-inclusive Christ. This person, signified by His name, is the sphere and element in which we baptize the believers.
The divine and spiritual reality of baptism is in the name of Jesus Christ. Baptism, therefore, should not be a ritual through which people become members of a religion. We need to touch the reality of baptism. The water symbolizes the spiritual and divine reality which is the Triune God embodied in the all-inclusive Christ. When we baptize others, we need to pray for the divine reality of baptism.
Although our concern is with the spiritual reality of baptism, we still need water as a symbol. If we simply say to others that we are baptizing them in the name of Jesus Christ without putting them into water, there would be nothing to symbolize the reality of baptism. We need to put the believers into water. Nevertheless, actually we are not baptizing them in water, for the water is a symbol of the reality in the name, the person, of Jesus Christ.
Concerning baptism, water has four characteristics. First, water is enterable. Second, people can be buried in water. Third, water is used for washing. Fourth, according to the Bible, water is used for separation. For example, the deluge separated Noah and his family from the perverted, corrupted age. Also, the water of the Red Sea separated the children of Israel from the Egyptians. All these four characteristics are included in the matter of baptism. The water indicates that our God is enterable. Thus, when we baptize the believers, we put them into the enterable God. Furthermore, when believers are baptized, they are buried in God. In a very real sense, God is the tomb in which we are buried. To be buried in water is actually to be buried in God. The preaching of repentance by John the Baptist indicates this. All those who were willing to repent were buried by John the Baptist in water. The water in which they were buried points to the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist said that he baptized in water unto repentance, but that One—the Lord Jesus—was coming who would baptize people in the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; John 1:33). Elsewhere we have pointed out that the Holy Spirit is the germinating element. But unless we are buried the Spirit cannot germinate us. The point we are emphasizing here is that the water of baptism signifies that our God is enterable and that we, through baptism, are buried in Him.
When we baptize others, we need the deep realization that actually we are not putting them into water but are putting them into the enterable God. This is not the unprocessed God, the “raw” God, but the God who, embodied in Christ, has been processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. This processed Triune God is the sphere and element into which the believers are baptized. This is what it means to baptize the believers in the name of Jesus Christ.
In Acts 2:38 Peter says, “Repent and be baptized, each one of you, upon the name of Jesus Christ....” To be baptized upon the name of Jesus Christ is to be baptized upon the ground of what the name of Jesus Christ stands for. This name stands for all that the person of Jesus Christ is and all that He has accomplished, both of which constitute the faith, the contents, of God’s New Testament economy. It is on this ground that the believers in Christ are baptized.
The New Testament uses three different prepositions to describe the relationship of baptism to the Lord Jesus. First, eis, into (Matt. 28:19; Acts 8:16; 19:5; Rom. 6:3; Gal. 3:27), signifies a spiritual union with the all-inclusive Christ, who is the embodiment of the Triune God. Second, en, in (Acts 10:48), signifies the sphere of the name of Jesus Christ. Third, epi, upon or on (Acts 2:38), indicates that we are baptized upon the ground of what the name of Jesus Christ stands for. This name stands for all that the Lord Jesus is and all that He has accomplished. Now we can understand why these three prepositions are used with respect to baptism in the New Testament. The person of Jesus Christ is not only the sphere in which we are baptized but also the ground, the standing, upon which we are baptized. This ground comprises Christ’s person and work, and His person and work constitute the faith of God’s New Testament economy. This means that we baptize the believers on the ground of the New Testament faith. Therefore, the believers are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, into the name of the Lord Jesus, in the name of Jesus Christ, and upon the name of Jesus Christ.