Acts Study #7: Baptize in the Name of Jesus only, or in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? (Acts 1:1-8)

Hechos Estudio #7: ¿Bautizar sólo en el nombre de Jesús, o en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo? (Hechos 1:1-8)

Haga clic aquí para ir directamente a la versión en español de este estudio bíblico

If you are using a smartphone, please turn it to landscape mode for best viewing! Thank you!

All Bible quotations and the arrangement are found exclusively in the Kingdom Study Bible version, published by Jehovah Has Spoken Publishing Ministries. It is published for free in PDF format on this website.

There is no cost or obligation to download this PDF, and no advertisements.

“This is the work of Jehovah! It is marvelous in our eyes.” Psalm 118:23

Acts, Chapter 1.1: Many Jews of the Diaspora believed the Gospel of Jesus Christ (1:1 - 2:47)

§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave his Great Commission and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot (1:1 - 26)

¶Opposite The Lord gave his Great Commission to his first church (and all future churches) to take the Gospel to the entire Earth (1:1 - 8)

¶Opposite The apostles cast lots to choose an apostle to replace Judas Iscariot (1:9 - 26)

§Complement Peter preached the Gospel to foreign-born Jews and about 5,000 confessed Jesus as their Messiah (2:1 - 40)

¶Unique God poured out his Holy Spirit upon the apostles; and this miracle brought many foreign-born Jews around them (2:1 - 13)

¶Complement Peter preached that the miracle of speaking in foreign languages came from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:14 - 21)

¶Complement Peter preached that the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus was also from Jehovah, the God of Israel (2:22 - 28)

¶Opposite Peter pointed to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit from Jehovah as proof of the resurrection of Jesus (2:29 - 36)

¶Opposite Peter called the Jews to repent and turn to their Messiah; and be baptized as a sign of the forgiveness of their sins (2:37 - 40)

§Unique The Assembly in Jerusalem began to expand rapidly with many new believers (2:41 - 47)

¶Complement After baptism, the new converts continued in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles (2:41 - 43)

¶Complement The spiritual growth of the new converts resulted in more souls being saved, which were added to the Assembly (2:44 - 47)

§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power, and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot

¶Opposite Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power to carry out his Great Commission

Unique The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen. 1:3To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen by them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.

Complement And, being assembled together with the apostles, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; but “wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me:

Complement “for John truly baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Opposite Therefore, when they came together, they asked him, saying, “Lord, will you at this time restore the Kingdom of Zion again to Israel?” And he said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own authority.

Opposite “But you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria; and unto the uttermost part of the Earth.”

This is the third topical study on the subject of baptism; and, like the previous two studies, if you are a born-again Christian, it addresses a major theological controversy in our modern era that is plaguing many churches, and needs to be answered, before we launch into a full study of the Book of Acts.

And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority was given to me in Heaven and upon earth. Therefore go, and train disciples out of all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And, lo, I am with you always, even until the end of the Age.” Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Here is a complete list of passages in Acts that both mention water baptism and also baptizing in the Name of Jesus.

Then Peter said to them, “Repent; and be baptized every one of you in the Name of Jesus Christ as a sign of the forgiveness of sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit: for the promise is unto you and your children, and to all that are far away, even ‘as many as [Jehovah] our God shall call.’” (Acts 2:38 - 39)

“Now when the apostles that were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the Word of God, they sent to them Peter and John; who, when they came down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet he had fallen upon none of them; only they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 8:14-16)

Then Peter answered, “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as we?” And he commanded them to be baptized in the Name of the Lord.” (Acts 10:46b-48)

“When they heard this, they were baptized in the Name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 19:5)

So the question is: Should we baptize in the Name of Jesus as practiced by Peter and Paul during the Book of Acts or in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as commanded by Christ in Matthew 28:18-20?

First of all, we have to remember that the only teachings of the apostles that are inspired are the ones that were written directly by the apostles themselves in their letters (e.g. Romans, Ephesians, James, 1, 2, and 3 John etc), not necessarily the teachings that are recorded in the transitional, historical document of the Book of Acts.

Any teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ can be considered final and authoritative, no matter where it was recorded, because Jesus is God, and could not err (although all Scripture has to be interpreted by its context).

But the apostles were only men, and could certainly err, just as we can, UNLESS they were supernaturally guided by the Holy Spirit and preserved from all error by his power, as was the case in their letters.

On the other hand, the Book of Acts is an inspired, inerrant historical document that infallibly records the true words and actions of Christ and the apostles over a period of up to 30 some-odd years, perhaps, from the Ascension of Christ into Heaven until (roughly) 60 A.D. But it is not, strictly speaking, a teaching document! Only the letters of the apostles can be considered infalllible teaching documents.

So, any apostolic teachings in the Book of Acts must be judged in the light of the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostolic letters (e.g. Romans, James etc), which are guaranteed to be free of error, because they were inspired and preserved by the Holy Spirit of God.

In light of those facts, then, we need to consider another question: Whose commands should take priority: the Lord Jesus Christ, or the apostle Peter?

Without a doubt, the commands of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the God of glory, must take priority over anything uttered by any of the apostles during the transitional period of the Book of Acts! On that point alone, I cannot accept the teaching that is so common today that claims that if I have not been baptized in the Name of Christ according to Acts 2:38, then I have not been truly baptized. Absurd!

But how can we explain the contradiction between the teachings of Peter and the other apostles about baptism in the Book of Acts and the absolutely clear command of the Lord Jesus Christ to baptize in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? Here is the answer:

1) God uses fallible men and women to do his will

“And after a while they that stood by came to him, and said to Peter, “Surely you also are one of them: for your dialect betrays you.” Then he began to curse and to swear, saying, “I do not know the man!” And immediately the rooster crowed.” (Matthew 26:73-74)

We must remember that God doesn’t use perfect men or women to do his will: God uses fallible men and women who make mistakes in the course of serving the Lord. Only a few weeks before, Peter was a backslidden Christian who had fallen to the point that he was cursing and denying that he even knew who Jesus was! Jesus restored him after his repentance and used him greatly on the day of Pentecost to preach to thousands and win them to Christ, but that doesn’t mean that Peter was somehow unable to make any doctrinal mistakes from that point on. That goes also for all of the other apostles and early church believers as well.

In fact, the apostle Paul related another error of Peter in his letter to the Galatians:

“But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed: for before the time that certain people came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself: fearing them who were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel, I said to Peter before them all...” (Galatians 2:11-14)

Peter was certainly not infallible nor perfect; in fact, he was just like us!

Haven’t you and I made mistakes in our Christian life? Of course we have! Everyone sins and makes mistakes at one time or another. The only Person who never sinned or made a mistake was the Lord Jesus Christ! God can restore us to his favor and blessing and continue to use us, but that doesn’t mean that we might not make mistakes or sin again in the future. We are fallible people; and thank God, Jesus still wants to use us!

The apostles were no different than you or I. Yes, they were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, but that does not mean that they could not make an error in their teachings in the heat of the moment.

I realize that this may be hard for some to accept. I myself used to believe that every act recorded in the Book of Acts was a kind of perfect model for us today, simply because it was recorded there. But this doesn’t work when you remember what kind of document Acts is, and the fact that it is a transitional document only.

2) God allowed the apostles and the early churches to “figure out” their higher-level doctrines over a long period of time

Do you realize that there were a number of Bible doctrines that the early churches did not “nail down” until several hundred years after Christ ascended into Heaven? Here are a few: The doctrine of the Trinity of God, the nature of the church, the “rapture” of believers before the Tribulation period, and many more.

Let’s briefly discuss two of them:

1) The Trinity

Clearly, the Lord Jesus was teaching the Trinity in Matthew 28:18-20: “Therefore go, and train disciples out of all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”; the Name (singular) of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One Name, Three Persons. This is a very clear teaching of the doctrine of the Trinity of the Godhead. But, even with that statement, there are still many more questions about the nature of the Trinity that took several centuries of reasoning and debate among Believers before a general agreement was reached. This is what God intended.

But this was something new in the first century! No one had ever before taught that the one true God was composed of three Persons. So Peter, as the early leader of the apostles, was confronted with a problem: how to teach a brand-new doctrine about Jehovah God to Jews, who had never heard of such a thing before, and might even stone him for teaching it?

I believe that Peter decided on the spur of the moment to command the Jews to be baptized in the Name of Jesus, as a simplified version of the Lord’s command in Matthew 28:18-20. And from that time forward in the Book of Acts, the other apostles including Paul, followed his lead in baptizing in the Name of Jesus.

And apparently, the Lord Jesus did not rebuke him or them for doing this; which tells me that whether you baptize in the Name of Jesus or in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, it is still a legitimate baptism! Either method is legitimate.

However, if we want to be completely scriptural in how we practice water baptism, I believe that we need to follow the command of the Lord Jesus Christ, instead of the command of a lesser authority such as Peter and the other apostles during the Book of Acts.

The letters of the apostles give no specific directions about this issue. The letters of Paul do specify water baptism by immersion only (Romans 6:3-5; Colossians 2:12); but there is no mention of baptizing in the Name of the Trinity or in the Name of Jesus.

So, we can only be guided by the words of the Lord Jesus in Matthew and compare that to the words of Peter and Paul in the Book of Acts, and judge accordingly.

The doctrine of the Trinity was a much-debated controversy during the early centuries of the church Age. The first Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. made the first official doctrinal statement of the early churches concerning the doctrine of the Trinity; and there were a number of other Council decisions in future years over the precise nature of the Godhead. But before that time, it was only taught by the apostles (e.g. I John 5:7-8) in their writings, but mostly, it was not stated clearly or in a “doctrinal statement” sort of way. 1 John 5:7-8 is controversial, although I accept it as a legitimate part of I John for reasons which I have to explain elsewhere to save time.

So, the only thing that the early Christians could do was to think it through for themselves, and over time, they finally got it right. And they made many errors along the way!

2) The nature of the “church” or the “ἐκκλησία”

Is it only referring to local congregations of believers, or is it a “Universal, Invisible” church that every believer belongs to, or is it one Universal, VISIBLE church that is the one true church (e.g. the Roman Catholic religion based in Rome)? Well, without answering that question here (my position is the first one), it is a question that has been a constant source of friction among professing Believers for nearly 2,000 years! The Lord Jesus did teach on the nature of the “ἐκκλησία”, and so did the apostles in their letters. However, the exact nature of the “ἐκκλησία” is still a controversy. I believe that there is a solid Scriptural answer to the question, but I will not give it here, because it takes a lot of time to give it.

My point is that there are many Christian teachings that were not yet resolved during the first century, so I can understand why Peter departed from the plain command of Christ concerning water baptism on the day of Pentecost and the years following for expediency; but that doesn’t mean that we should be following his departure from the clear command of Christ in Matthew 28:18-20: “Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”.

In conclusion, then,

1) Baptism in either the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, or baptism in the Name of Jesus alone is legitimate. However, water baptism according to the manner that Christ commanded is the preferable and most Scriptural method.

2) The teachings of the apostles in the Book of Acts must be take second or third place to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and the teachings of the apostles in their letters, and viewed as accurately recorded events and words, but not necessarily teachings that any church should be observing after the first century.

How to be saved

The Bible clearly states that salvation can only be obtained if we repent and believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved.

Luke 13:3: “I say to you, no; but, unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Romans 3:21-24: “But now, the righteousness of God apart from the Law is revealed (being testified by the Law and the Prophets), even the righteousness of God as it is through the faith of Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

It is impossible to keep the Law of Moses! The sole purpose of the Law of Moses (the Ten Commandments) is to make you understand that you are a sinner who has sinned against God. It cannot make you righteous in God’s eyes:

Romans 3:19-20: “And we know that whatever the Law says, it says to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be shut, and everyone may become guilty before God; therefore by the works of the Law no flesh shall be justified in His sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin.”

Sins can only be paid for by the finished atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross! We cannot pay for our own sins with our suffering, neither in this life nor in the fictitious place called “Purgatory”!

Romans 3:23-26: “For all have sinned, and have fallen short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God has publicly exhibited, to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of past sins, through the patience of God; to declare, I say, at this time his justice; that God may be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.”

Here is how you can be truly saved TODAY, and know that you have Eternal Life, right now!

The Bible says,

“that if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart, man believes into righteousness; and with the mouth, confession is made into salvation: for the Scripture says, “Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.” For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him: for it is written, “whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Are you ready to do that? If so, then find a place to pray privately, and pray this prayer with all of your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ:

“Lord Jesus, I know that I have sinned against YOU. I am no good, and you are righteous! You are my only hope for salvation! I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, you were buried, and you rose again from the dead on the third day. I want you to come into my life and be my Lord and Savior. Please come into my heart right now. Forgive me for all my sins, and save my soul. In the mighty Name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!”

If you have turned from your sins and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and only Savior from sin, please message me through Facebook and let me know that you have done that, so that I can pray for you and rejoice with you in what God has done in your life. Amen.

Hechos Estudio #7: ¿Bautizar sólo en el nombre de Jesús, o en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo? (Hechos 1:1-8)

¡Si está utilizando un teléfono inteligente, por favor, gírelo al modo horizontal! ¡Gracias!

Todas las citas bíblicas y el arreglo se encuentran exclusivamente en el Reino Estudio Biblia (REB) en español, publicada por los ministerios editoriales Jehová ha hablado.

Está publicado de forma gratuita en formato PDF en este sitio web.

No hay costo ni obligación de descargar este PDF, y ningún la publicidad.

“¡Esta es la obra de Jehová! Es maravilloso a nuestros ojos”. Salmo 118:23

Hechos, Capítulo 1.1: Muchos judíos de la Diáspora creído al evangelio de Jesús Cristo (1:1 - 2:47)

§El complemento Introducción: Jesús dio su Gran Comisión y los apóstoles eligieron un reemplazo para Judas Iscariote (1:1 - 26)

¶Lo opuesto El Señor dio su Gran Comisión a su primera iglesia (y todas las iglesias futuras) para llevar el evangelio a toda la tierra (1:1 - 8))

¶Lo opuesto Los apóstoles echan suertes para elegir un apóstol para reemplazar a Judas Iscariote (1:9 - 26)

§El complemento Cuerpo: Pedro predicó el evangelio a judíos nacidos en el extranjero y unos 5,000 confesaron a Jesús como su Mesías (2:1 - 40)

¶Único Dios derramó su Espíritu Santo sobre los apóstoles; y este milagro atrajo a muchos judíos nacidos en el extranjero (2:1 - 13)

¶El complemento Pedro predicó que el milagro de hablar en idiomas extranjeros provenía de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:14 - 21)

¶El complemento Pedro predicó que la crucifixión y resurrección de Jesús también provenían de Jehová, el Dios de Israel (2:22 - 28)

¶Lo opuesto Pedro señaló el derramamiento del Espíritu Santo desde Jehová como prueba de la resurrección de Jesús (2:29 - 36)

¶Lo opuesto Pedro llamó a los judíos a arrepentirse y volverse al cristo, y ser bautizados como señal del perdón de sus pecados (2:37 - 40)

§Único Conclusión: La asamblea en Jerusalén comenzó a expandirse rápidamente con muchos creyentes nuevos (2:41 - 47)

¶El complemento Después del bautismo, los nuevos conversos continuaron en la enseñanza y la comunión de los apóstoles (2:41 - 43)

¶El complemento El crecimiento espiritual de los nuevos conversos resultó en la salvación de más almas (2:44 - 47)

§Complement Introduction: Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power, and the apostles chose a replacement for Judas Iscariot

¶Opposite Jesus gave the apostles a promise to give them power to carry out his Great Commission

Complement And, being assembled together with the apostles, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem; but “wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard from me:

Complement “for John truly baptized in water, but you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

Introducción

La traducción al español de este estudio está pendiente.

Como Ser Salvado

¿Exactamente cómo y cuándo naciste de nuevo?

He aprendido por experiencia que aquellos que se niegan a responder lo hacen porque nunca han nacido de nuevo; no tienen idea de lo que significa, y por eso no pueden responder.

Si ese es tu caso, entonces tu destino eterno en este momento es el Infierno; y más tarde, el Lago de Fuego.

Afortunadamente, podemos cambiar nuestro destino eterno del Infierno al Cielo, si nos arrepentimos de nuestros pecados y recibimos a Jesucristo como nuestro Salvador personal.

Primero, debemos creer que Jesús es el Hijo de Dios; que fue crucificado por nuestros pecados, que fue sepultado y que resucitó de entre los muertos al tercer día.

Romanos 10:8-11: “Pero ¿qué dice? “La Palabra está cerca de ti, incluso en tu boca y en tu corazón”, es decir, la Palabra de fe (que predicamos), que si confesarás con tu boca al Señor Jesús, y creerás en tu corazón que Dios le levantó de los muertos, tú serás salvado: porque con el corazón, el hombre cree para justicia, y con la boca, la confesión se hace para la salvación: porque la Escritura dice, “cualquiera que en él creyere, no será avergonzado”.

Entonces, debemos arrepentirnos de nuestros pecados e invocar el Nombre del Señor Jesús para salvarnos.

Romanos 10:12-13: “Porque no hay diferencia entre el judio y el gentil: porque el mismo Señor sobre todo es rico a todos los que le invocan: porque está escrito, “Cualquiera que llamará sobre el Nombre del Señor será salvado”.

Juan 1:12: “Pero cuantos le recibieron, él les dio autoridad para convertirse los niños de Dios: incluso a aquellos quien creen sobre su Nombre”.

Cuando hacemos eso, entonces nacemos de nuevo instantáneamente en el Reino de Dios.

Estas listo para hacer eso? Si es así, entonces busca un lugar para orar en privado y haz esta oración con todo tu corazón al Señor Jesucristo:

“Señor Jesús, sé que he pecado contra TI. ¡No soy bueno y usted eres justo! Creo que moriste en la cruz por mis pecados, fuiste enterrado y resucitaste de entre los muertos al tercer día. Quiero que vengas a mi vida y seas mi Señor y Salvador. Por favor entra en mi corazón ahora mismo. Perdóname por todos mis pecados y salva mi alma. En el poderoso Nombre de Jesús, oro, ¡Amén!”

Si se apartó de sus pecados y aceptó a Jesucristo como su Señor y único Salvador desde el pecado, por favor envíeme un mensaje a través de Facebook y hágame saber que lo ha hecho, para que pueda orar por usted y alegrarme con usted en lo que Dios tiene hecho en tu vida. Amén.