Matthew 28:19 says, “Go ye therefore, and disciple all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Gk.). Although you might have read this verse many times, perhaps you have never realized that it is related to the building up of the church. In Matthew 16:18 the Lord Jesus said, “Upon this rock I will build my church.” But how does the Lord build up His church? The answer is in Matthew 28:19. The way to build up the church is to baptize the believers into the name of the Triune God. The Lord had a purpose in charging His disciples to disciple the nations and to baptize them into the Triune God. This purpose was not that people might escape hell and go to heaven; it was that they might be built into the church.
We need to take the divine Word as a whole. If we are careful, thoughtful, and logical readers, when we read in Matthew 16:18 that the Lord Jesus will build His church, we should immediately ask about the way the Lord builds His church. In order to build something we must have both the material and the way. The material for the building of the church is mentioned in Matthew 16:18. Here the Lord tells Peter that he is a stone and that He will build His church upon Himself as the rock. However, the way to build the church is not found in this verse. Throughout the years, many great Christian teachers have spoken about the builded church in Matthew 16:18, but I doubt that even one of them has spoken about the way to build the church. Once again I say that the way is in Matthew 28:19.
Only after the Lord had passed through crucifixion and resurrection, accomplishing full redemption, did He reveal His way to build up the church. His death was the termination of the old creation, and His resurrection was the germination of the new creation. By His all-inclusive death on the cross, Christ has terminated everything of the old creation, including ourselves, our flesh, and our natural life. Do not care for your feelings about your strong self or your corrupted flesh. Care for the fact that the Lord has terminated all the old creation. Hallelujah, we have been terminated! But if there were only death without resurrection, the situation would be hopeless. Praise the Lord that following termination we have germination! Today, I am happy and living because I have been germinated. The Lord’s charge to His disciples in Matthew 28:19 is based upon these glorious facts.
Many years ago, I was invited to speak at a mission called “Go Ye Mission.” As I was considering the title of that mission, I wondered whether those dear ones realized what these words actually meant. Their concept of the Lord’s words, “Go ye,” was to go to the mission field to rescue fallen sinners that they may be saved and go to heaven. The Lord Jesus, however, did not command His disciples in this way. Rather, He charged them to disciple the nations by baptizing them, not only into water, but into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The baptism spoken of here is not a matter of sprinkling a few drops of water on someone’s head. This baptism is the putting of believers into the person of the Triune God.
A name always denotes a person. When I call a brother by name, I get the person. Hence, to baptize people into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit means to immerse them into the divine person. Matthew 28:19 does not mention three names; it speaks of baptizing people into “the name.” This name is the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, denoting the Person of the Triune God. To baptize people into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is to baptize them into the divine person of the Triune God.
The water used in baptism is a sign, not only of the death of Christ, but also of Christ Himself. Romans 6:3 says, “Are you ignorant that as many as have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?” Most Christian teachers emphasize the baptismal water as signifying the death of Christ. They do not stress that the water also signifies the person of Christ. When we immerse people into water, we put them into the death of Christ and simultaneously into the person of Christ. Galatians 3:27 says, “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” If we put this verse together with Matthew 28:19, we see that to be baptized into Christ is to be baptized into the name, the person, of the Triune God.
Because Christ today is the pneuma, it is easy to baptize people into Him. Nothing is easier than getting into the air. We are in the air all the time, and the air is also within us. Physical air is a symbol of the divine pneuma. Christ today is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45). Now Christ the Lord is that pneuma, the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). Because Christ is the very pneuma, Spirit, air, we can easily be immersed into Him. We all have been put into the divine person of the Triune God. The reality, the substance, the essence, of the divine person of the Triune God is the Spirit. God is Spirit (John 4:24). The divine pneuma is the very essence and substance of the Triune God. When people are baptized into the name of the Triune God, they are put into the person of the Triune God, which is the essence, the substance, of the divine Being. We are not immersed into the substance of the Triune God that we may go to heaven or merely that we may be holy or spiritual. It is that we may be the church. The Lord Jesus builds up His church by putting us into the Triune God. I can testify that I am undoubtedly in the Triune God. Do you have the confidence that you are in the Triune God? Do you have the boldness to declare this? As long as we are in the Triune God, we are the church.