Acts 19:5 And when they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Galatians 3:27 For as many as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Acts 8:16 says that before the apostles came to Samaria the believers there "had only been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus." Notice that this verse does not say "in the name"; it says "into the name." 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 charged the disciples to baptize the believers into the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. But later, in practice, the believers were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, both in Acts 8:16 and in 19:5, and into Christ in Romans 6:3 and Galatians 3:27. 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). This also indicates that to be baptized into the name of the Triune God or of the Lord Jesus is equivalent to being baptized into the Person of Christ. Since the Samaritan believers had been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus, that is, into the Lord Himself, they surely must have received the Spirit of life essentially within them so that they might not only be born of the Lord but also joined to Him (1 Cor. 6:17).
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Acts, p. 190. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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