Trinity

=== Trinitarian baptismal formula ===
{{Main|Trinitarian formula}}
[[File:Piero, battesimo di cristo 04.jpg|thumb|''[[The Baptism of Christ (Piero della Francesca)|The Baptism of Christ]]'', by [[Piero della Francesca]], 15th century]]
Baptism is generally conferred with the [[Trinitarian formula]], "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit".<ref>{{bibleverse|Mt|28:19}}</ref> Trinitarians identify this name with the Christian faith into which baptism is an initiation, as seen for example in the statement of [[Basil the Great]] (330–379): "We are bound to be baptized in the terms we have received, and to profess faith in the terms in which we have been baptized." The [[First Council of Constantinople]] (381) also says, "This is the Faith of our baptism that teaches us to believe in the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. According to this Faith there is one Godhead, Power, and Being of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."<ref>{{bibleref2|Matthew|28:19}}</ref> may be taken to indicate that baptism was associated with this formula from the earliest decades of the Church's existence. Other Trinitarian formulas found in the New Testament include in 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 Corinthians 12:4–6, Ephesians 4:4–6, 1 Peter 1:2 and Revelation 1:4–5.{{sfn|Januariy|2013|p=99}}{{sfn|Fee|2002|p=52}}

[[Oneness Pentecostals]] demur from the Trinitarian view of baptism and emphasize baptism "in the name of Jesus Christ" only, what they hold to be the original apostolic formula.{{sfn|Vondey|2012|p=78}} For this reason, they often focus on the baptisms in Acts. Those who place great emphasis on the baptisms in Acts often likewise question the authenticity of Matthew 28:19 in its present form.{{citation needed|date=November 2023}} Most scholars of New Testament [[textual criticism]] accept the authenticity of the passage, since there are no variant manuscripts regarding the formula,{{sfn|Ferguson|2009|pp=134–135}} and the extant form of the passage is attested in the [[Didache]]<ref name="patristics"/> and other [[patristic]] works of the 1st and 2nd centuries: [[Ignatius of Antioch|Ignatius]],<ref name="patristics1"/> [[Tertullian]],<ref name="patristics2"/> [[Hippolytus (writer)|Hippolytus]],<ref name="patristics3"/> [[Cyprian]],<ref name="patristics4"/> and [[Gregory Thaumaturgus]].<ref name="patristics5"/>

Commenting on Matthew 28:19, Gerhard Kittel states:

{{blockquote|This threefold relation [of Father, Son and Spirit] soon found fixed expression in the triadic formulae in 2 Corinthians 13:14<ref>{{bibleref2|2 Cor.|13:14|KJV}}</ref> and in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6.<ref>{{bibleref2|1Cor|12:4–6||1 Cor. 12:4–6}}</ref> The form is first found in the baptismal formula in Matthew 28:19 Did., 7. 1 and 3.&nbsp;... [I]t is self-evident that Father, Son and Spirit are here linked in an indissoluble threefold relationship.<ref name="kittel3"/>}}