Matthew Summary: "in the name..."

““Baptizing them into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28: 19b)

 Some scholars wonder whether or not this phrase was actually spoken by Jesus. They have trouble believing that such a clear Trinitarian theology existed as early as the 80s when Matthew’s gospel was written. It is true that later it became an issue in the church, and it took the Nicene Creed to clarify and affirm our theology of the Trinity. Here are the relevant lines, which you know. 

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. … And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets…..

 Our creed was developed in Nicaea (Turkey) in AD 325, and supplemented in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in AD 381. It was a matter of finding and agreeing on the right words, but of course those words were Greek words. It is still a difficult mystery in English words; but a tenant of our faith is that the mystery is true. And, it is biblical. Are there not hints of Trinitarian theology in the New Testament?

 All four Gospels, all completed by the 90s, portray the scene of Jesus’ baptism as an appearance of the Trinity: The Father’s voice rings out in confirmation of the Son’s baptism, and the Holy Spirit shows up as a dove alighting on Jesus’ shoulder (Matthew 3: 13-17, Mark 1: 9-11, Luke 3: 21-22, and John 1: 31-34).

  According to Acts, Peter did say early on that his audiences should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 2: 38, 10: 48). Yet, both times the Holy Spirit appeared as well and coming to God in repentance was the topic. In those early days, the baptismal formula was not set, nor was the pattern of what comes first and what comes second. It turns out that the order is up to God. In some cases, the Holy Spirit fell on people during or after baptism, in other cases the Holy Spirit fell first, then the people were baptized later (Acts 10: 44-47). Peter’s statement does not limit the Trinitarian formula as if there were a conflict between “in the name of Jesus Christ” and “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” There is not. 

 The Corinthian letters are thought to be Paul’s earliest and thus the first books of the written New Testament. Paul concludes II Corinthians (written about 56 AD) with this blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (13: 13). That is the shape of Trinitarian theology only 25 years after Christ’s death and resurrection (See also Ephesians 4: 1-6).. 

 There are many early manuscripts of the Gospel according to Matthew. By my quick count: ten papyri from the 200s and nineteen manuscripts from the 300s and 400s (see The Greek New Testament, edited by Kurt Aland, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren, 1968. Pages xi-xvi). Every one of these early manuscripts contains these words of Jesus about baptizing in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Not one of them leaves out these words or inserts a variation. That is pretty good evidence that these words are not a later addition to the text. (See also a similar claim by R. V. G. Tasker, The Gospel Accord to Matthew, 1961. Page 275). 

 We should understand that Jesus’ words here indicate that a new ritual is being created that does not simply rehearse Jewish washings or even repeat John the Baptist’s formula of baptism for the remission of sins. This baptism is about covenant relationships. The Christian convert now is bound in relationship to God in three ways. 

 As an aside, yet a necessary one to help us understand, let me reiterate the theology that our Trinitarian God is a relational being. Those of us who are descended from the Western church that developed in Rome and Western Europe tend to emphasize the Persons: that is, the Father, Son, and Spirit as separate substances. Since the time of the Great Schism (1054 AD), we Westerners have tended to read fewer of the Eastern Church Fathers and thus are unaware that the persons are defined by their relationships. 

That is, the Father is a father because he has a relationship with the Son, and vice versa. Both Father and Son are bound with the Spirit by their relationship; thus we read of the Spirit of God in one place, and the Spirit of Christ in another. These relationships express love as the central dynamic of the Trinity. This is a ‘reaching-out’, ‘self-giving’, ‘other-embracing’ love. And this is the kind of love that we should express if we belong to the Trinity. 

 Each person of the Trinity has a power that supports and never opposes the other, and thus the persons exist in a dance (in Greek: perichoresis) that spirals out further to include us. This is the meaning of baptism. This conception of the Trinity is close to the human limit of understanding God. Or, put in contemporary terms: ‘It blows my mind’. 

  In the economy of the Trinity, we relate to the Father who created us and sustains us in our daily lives. We give thanks for the gifts, and we are careful with how we think of ourselves, how we treat others, and how we live in this gift we call the living world of plants and animals. And so we should begin our prayers. We have a life to live.  

 We relate to the Son who redeemed us through the forgiveness of our sins and the restoration of the image of God in our being. We accept with gratitude and praise in prayer the renewal of our standing with God and we carry a strong sense of obligation to do the work of Christ in this fallen and needy world. We have a life redeemed.   

 We relate to the Holy Spirit whom we experience as ‘God with us’ as we journey through this life. We look and listen and learn as the Spirit carries out the work of sanctification, paring away the rottenness in our lives and encouraging the practice of the gifts of the Spirit as we participate in the body of believers. (See also Randy L. Maddux, Responsible Grace: John Wesley’s Practical Theology, 1994. Pages 136-140). We have a life with a purpose. 

 Jesus instructed the disciples to go into the world and make disciples, a process that begins with getting right with God. We are made right with our true selves as children of God, first by creation and now by adoption. We are constantly being perfected in our relationship with God by the discipline of the Holy Spirit, so we are constantly in prayer. The Spirit shows us what in our lives needs to be deleted; things like hating our neighbors, misleading the children about our faith, or seeking power at the expense of weaker people. So we are Created, we are Redeemed, and now we are in the process of being sanctified. Such is our path, the path of a dedicated disciple of Christ. 

 The path is narrow and few actually take it. All’s the pity because our society can be held together by love only if there are enough loving disciples of Christ who serve other people, feed the hungry, lift up the poor, assist the migrants, heal the addicted, and counsel the misguided. However, if the Christian core of our society departs from these biblical principles, then society suffers. Christianity is destroyed by the desire for power, the love of money, and the hatred of anyone who stands in our way. The Bible says that we must not act like that (Exodus 23:11, Leviticus 19:10, Deuteronomy 15:11, 24:14-15, Psalm 10:2+9, 37:14-15. Proverbs 14:21, Ecclesiastes 5:10, Isaiah 3:13-15, 58:6-9, Ezekiel 22:27-29, Zechariah 7:8-12, Matthew 5:3, 20:25-27, Luke 14:12-14, 16:14, 22:24-27, Romans 14:13-19, I Timothy 6:10, II Timothy 3:2, Hebrews 13:5). 

 The prophets channel much that God says about how his people are to treat each other. God says that his own people have fallen so far away that they no longer heed those who teach the Bible.  

 “They hate the one who reproves in the gate, and they abhor the one who speaks the truth. Therefore, because you trample on the poor and take from them levies of grain, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not live in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins—you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe and push aside the needy in the gate (Amos 5: 10-12).

 Who tramples the poor and takes away their levies of food? Who builds fine houses and secures more than their share of fine wine? Who opposes the righteous, takes bribes for their vote, and pushes aside the needy in the ‘gate’. Notice that that phrase occurs twice in this passage. It is a reference to the seat of government in ancient cities, the place where business is conducted and legal decisions are made (Genesis 23: 10, Exodus 32:26, Deuteronomy 22:24, Joshua 20:4, Ruth 4: 1-11, II Samuel 15:2). Thus, ‘in the gate’ refers to the responsibility of businesses and governments for the care of the poor and for conducting themselves according to morally acceptable practices. This sense that we live in a moral universe has been lost in today’s world.     

 Just going to church doesn’t help if one’s behavior does not change. If fledgling disciples have been baptized into the possession and power of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, then they are the vehicle for spreading God’s amazing grace. If not, then the worship services are useless. 

 “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them,

and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps (Amos 5: 21-23).

 God doesn’t abide people who pretend to be disciples. What does God want instead? 

 “But let justice roll down like water and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5: 21-24).    

 If those who claim to be God’s people, instead of providing a sure witness of the love of God as demonstrated in Christ Jesus, twist justice and refuse to produce righteousness (as God sees it), then it would appear that they are not baptized Trinitarian Christians. What happens if we do not practice a divine generous love for the abused, the poor, the oppressed? 

 “The eyes of the Lord GOD are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from the face of the earth” (Amos 9: 8).