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What about baptism “in Jesus’ name”?

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
—Matthew 28:18-20, NIV

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”
—Acts 2:38a, NIV

The question is, Shall we baptize people, shall we say, “I baptize you in the name of Jesus for the remission of sins,” or should we say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”?

Notice in Acts, there is no occasion where one person says to another, “I baptize you in Jesus’ name.” Every time Acts mentions a baptism in Jesus’ name, the phrase characterizes the baptism, it does not record what the baptizer said. It means the baptism was in Jesus’ name, under the authority that Jesus gave them. It was the way they distinguished what sort of baptism they were doing. They were not performing a Jewish baptism for a convert to Judaism, nor were they performing John’s baptism for repentance, they were doing the baptism that Jesus commanded. Jesus’ commandment for doing baptisms is in Matthew 28:19.

Therefore the phrase “baptism in Jesus’ name” means nothing more and nothing less “Christian baptism,” but the words in Matthew 28:19 are what the baptizer says during the baptism in Jesus’ name.

All churches, east and west, that have a continuous existence that began on or before the year 1500 have that position, and all ancient Christian documents agree that it was done that way. The practice of baptizing by saying “I baptize you in Jesus’ name” is very recent. Since that is not the way the ancient church baptized, older churches do not recognize that sort of baptism as correctly done.

To review, the essential elements of a baptism in Jesus’ name are as follows:

If these three conditions are met, then the baptism is valid in all churches.

Now let us imagine a situation where two friends are baptized by the same preacher on the same day in the same baptistery. In both cases, the preacher intends to perform a valid Christian baptism. In both cases, they are immersed three times.

When Bill is baptized, the preacher says, “I baptize you in Jesus’ name,” but when Betty is baptized, the preacher says, “I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Now many years pass. Betty and Bill decide to become members of the Greek Orthodox Church, which by the way has existed continuously since the apostle Paul founded its original congregations. Both Betty and Bill remember their baptism with crystal clarity. The church accepts Betty as a baptized Christian, but they require Bill to be baptized, because his baptism did not include the words in Matthew 28:19.

What does Jesus consider a valid baptism? You have to make up your own mind. However, I think it is best to do what the ancient church did and submit to baptism in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

There are cases when a person isn’t sure they are baptized, usually in cases when they were baptized as an infant and there is no certificate, or the person can’t remember how the preacher did it. If that is the case for you, you cannot be baptized again, because the promises of God are irrevocable. But you can ask for a conditional baptism in which the baptizer says, “If you are not already baptized, I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

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