Baptism in the name of Jesus

{{Short description|Christian doctrine stating that baptism should be in Jesus' name only}}
The '''Jesus' name doctrine''' or the '''Oneness doctrine''' upholds that [[baptism]] is to be performed "in the name of [[Jesus in Christianity|Jesus Christ]],"<ref>{{cite web |title=Baptism in Jesus' Name|url=https://www.onenesspentecostal.com/name.htm|access-date=2022-01-09|website=www.onenesspentecostal.com}}</ref> rather than using the [[Trinitarianism|Trinitarian]] formula "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."<ref>{{cite web |title=BBC - Religions - Christianity: The Trinity|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/beliefs/trinity_1.shtml|access-date=2022-01-09|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What the Early Church Believed: God in Three Persons|url=https://www.catholic.com/tract/god-in-three-persons|access-date=2022-01-09|website=Catholic Answers}}</ref> It is most commonly associated with [[Oneness Christology]] and the movement of [[Oneness Pentecostalism]]; however, some Trinitarians also baptise in Jesus' name and interpret it as on the authority of Jesus' name which most of [[Nicene Christian|mainstream Christendom]] justifies as referencing the existence of a Trinitarian Christian deity through the [[Great Commission]] among other precepts such as instances in the Old Testament.<ref>{{cite web|title=Statement of Faith|url=https://christsforgivenessministries.org/beliefs/|url-status=live|access-date=18 October 2021|website=CFM Global|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529032155/https://christsforgivenessministries.org/beliefs/ |archive-date=2020-05-29 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web |date=2008-12-08|title=Must baptism be "in Jesus' name"?|url=https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/must-baptism-be-in-jesus-name-baptize/|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-09|website=Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry|language=en-US|quote=Let’s take a look at what is going on in the verses.  The phrase, “in the name of the Lord,” is not a reference to a baptismal formula but a reference to authority.  It is similar to hearing someone say, “Stop in the name of the Law!” We understand that the “name of the Law” means by the authority of the Law.   It is the same with baptism “in Jesus’ name.”  To baptize in Jesus’ name is to baptize in the authority of Jesus.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211161147/https://carm.org/oneness-pentecostal/must-baptism-be-in-jesus-name-baptize/ |archive-date=2021-02-11 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Damato|first=Catherine|title=The Trinity in the Old Testament|url=https://jewsforjesus.org/publications/newsletter/newsletter-jun-1987/the-trinity-in-the-old-testament|access-date=2022-01-09|website=jewsforjesus.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Roberts|first=Alastair|date=2020-03-09|title=Where Is the Trinity in the Old Testament?|url=https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/where-is-the-trinity-in-the-old-testament|access-date=2022-01-09|website=Desiring God|language=en}}</ref>

Those who ascribe to the Oneness doctrine believe that "Jesus" is the [[Names of God in Christianity|name of God]] revealed in the [[New Testament]] and that ''Father, Son, and Holy Spirit'' are three manifestations or titles of the one God.

== History ==
=== Early Christianity ===
The first baptisms in early Christianity are recorded in the [[Acts of the Apostles]]. [[Acts 2]] records the [[Apostle Peter]], on the day of [[Pentecost]], preaching to the crowds to "repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission (or forgiveness) of sins" ({{Bibleref2|Acts|2:38}}). Other detailed records of baptisms in Acts show the first apostles baptizing in the name of Jesus.<ref>{{Bibleref2|Acts|8:16}}</ref><ref>{{Bibleref2|Acts|10:48}}</ref><ref>{{Bibleref2|Acts|19:5}}</ref><ref>{{Bibleref2|Acts|22:16}}</ref> The [[Apostle Paul]] also refers to baptism into Christ Jesus.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Romans|6:3}}</ref>

According to Oneness theologian [[David K. Bernard]], the Trinitarian formula from {{Bibleref2|Matthew|28:19}} became popularized over time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David |title=The Oneness of God |date=30 September 2000 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |page=138 |access-date=1 November 2021 |chapter=Father, Son, and Holy Ghost |url=http://www.pentecostalsofdadeville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/the-oneness-of-god.pdf |quote=Many encyclopedias and church historians agree that the original baptismal formula in early church history was "in the name of Jesus."}}</ref> The ''[[Didache]]'', a church manual dating to the first century on the other hand,<ref>{{cite book |last=O'Loughlin|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfpqBgAAQBAJ|title=The Didache: A window on the earliest Christians|date=2011-02-15|publisher=SPCK|isbn=978-0-281-06493-9|language=en}}</ref> instructs baptism to be done "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," according to the [[Great Commission]], though [[eucharist]]ic instruction states "but let none eat or drink of your Eucharist except those who have been baptised in the Lord's Name." This, according to Oneness Pentecostals, could be a reference to early century "Jesus name" baptism against the Trinitarian formula often interpreted as according to the authority of Jesus.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bernard |first1=David |title=The Oneness of God |date=30 September 2000 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |isbn=978-0-912315-12-6 |page=238 |access-date=1 November 2021 |chapter=Oneness Believers in Church History |url=http://www.pentecostalsofdadeville.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/the-oneness-of-god.pdf |quote=...an early writing called the ''Didache'' says communion should be administered only to those who are baptized in the name of the Lord, but it also mentions baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> Contrasting, Roman Catholic scholarship supports the "authority" argument.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why Don't We Baptize in the Name of Jesus? |url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/why-dont-we-baptize-in-the-name-of-jesus |access-date=2023-10-19 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref>

=== Modern Christianity ===
[[Charles Parham]], one of the central figures in the development and early spread of American [[Pentecostalism]], is recorded to have baptised new believers in Jesus name during the [[Azusa Street Revival]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=Robin |title=Howard A. Goss - A Pentecostal Life |date=2010 |publisher=Word Aflame Press |language=English|isbn=978-0757740299
}}</ref> The controversy occurred when [[R.E. McAlister]] preached just prior to a baptismal service to be conducted at the World-Wide Apostolic Faith Camp Meeting held in [[Arroyo Seco (Los Angeles County)|Arroyo Seco, California]]. He preached that pastors should stop baptising in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and only baptize in Jesus’ name because that was what the [[Early Christianity|early Church]] did; this became known as [[R.E. McAlister#"The New Issue"|"The New Issue"]]. In 1914, a year after McAlister gave his sermon over baptism, [[Frank Ewart]] and Glenn Cook rebaptised each other in the name of Jesus. This led a number of adherents to a reexamination of the doctrine of the Trinity, birthing the [[Oneness Pentecostalism|Oneness Pentecostal movement]].

== Theology ==
Most adherents of the Jesus' name doctrine assert that baptism in the name of Jesus is the proper method, and most (but not all) feel that baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is invalid because Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are not ''names'' but ''titles''.<ref name="fp123">{{cite book| last1 =Patterson| first1 =Eric| last2 =Rybarczyk| first2 =Edmund| title =The Future of Pentecostalism in the United States| publisher =Lexington Books| year =2007| location =New York| pages =123–124| isbn = 978-0-7391-2102-3}}</ref> Alternatively, the name of the Son is Jesus, so it is argued the actual name Jesus should be used; Jesus is the name of the Son, and arguably also the name of the Father and Holy Ghost.

There are a number of [[Nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarian]] scholars who claim that the development of baptism "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" is a post-Apostolic Age interpolation and corruption and that the "Trinitarian" clause in Matthew 28:19 was added in the 2nd/3rd century.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Singular "Name" of Matthew 28:19 is Not Theologically Significant|url=https://www.onenesspentecostal.com/Matthew28_19SingularName.htm|access-date=2022-01-09|website=www.onenesspentecostal.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Ritchie|first=Steven|date=2016-10-22|title=The DIDACHE – Can We Trust It?|url=https://www.apostolicchristianfaith.com//post/2016/10/22/the-didache-can-we-trust-it|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-09|website=Apostolic Christian Faith|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130234012/https://www.apostolicchristianfaith.com/post/2016/10/22/the-didache-can-we-trust-it |archive-date=2020-11-30 }}</ref> They cite as evidence that no record exists in the [[New Testament]] of someone being baptised with the Trinitarian formula, using literal interpretation. While this view supports those who baptise in Jesus' name, this point is not heavily contested. Those who assume the authenticity of Matthew 28:19, explain the command is correctly fulfilled by baptising "in ''the name'' of Jesus Christ."

== Views ==
The views of [[mainstream Christianity]] to Jesus' name baptism is varied. The [[Roman Catholic Church]] states that only Trinitarian baptisms are valid.<ref>{{cite web |title=A New Response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Validity of Baptism|url=https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20080201_validity-baptism-miralles_en.html|url-status=live|access-date=9 January 2022|website=www.vatican.va|quote=Baptism conferred in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit conforms to the command of the Lord found at the end of Matthew’s Gospel: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19). The Church has no right to change what Christ himself has instituted. Therefore, any Baptism is invalid when it does not contain the invocation of the Most Holy Trinity, with the distinct expression of the three Persons with their respective names.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309093639/http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20080201_validity-baptism-miralles_en.html |archive-date=9 March 2012 }}</ref> While it does consider other baptismal formulae to be acceptable, since they were accepted by theologians of the past, the key requirement is that the baptism must have been performed by a church which (or, a person who) believes in the Trinity. [[Pope Nicholas I]] wrote to the Bulgarians that a person is not to be [[rebaptism|rebaptised]] who has already been baptised "in the name of the Holy Trinity or in the name of Christ only".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02258b.htm |title=Catholic Encyclopedia - see section on "form" |website=New Advent |access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref>

[[Martin Luther]] in his ''[[Prelude on the Babylonian Captivity of the Church]]'' describes disagreements over the wording of the baptism as "pedantry," arguing that baptism "truly saves in whatever way it is administered, if only it is administered not in the name of man, but in the name of the Lord." On baptisms specifically in the name of Jesus, Luther notes, "it is certain the apostles used this formula in baptizing, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles," citing Acts 2:38; 10:48; and 19:5.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Annotated Luther, Volume 3: Church and Sacraments|author=Erik H. Herrmann|editor=Paul W. Robinson|date=1 August 2016|publisher=Fortress Press|page=66|isbn=1451465092}}</ref> Among other Trinitarian or mainstream Christians (specifically [[Protestantism|Protestants]]), ''The Baptist Standard Confession of 1660'' declares baptisms in the name of "Jesus Christ" to be valid (both statements by Luther and Baptists predating Oneness Pentecostal theological underpinnings as Trinitarians, by their understanding on Jesus' authority in contrast with Oneness theology).<ref>{{cite web|author=Sam Hughey |url=http://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/tsc.htm |title=The Baptist Standard Confession of 1660 |website=The Reformed Reader |access-date=15 May 2014}}</ref>

==Notable adherents==
*All [[Oneness Pentecostalism|Oneness Pentecostals]], who adhere to a [[Nontrinitarianism|nontrinitarian]] view of the [[Godhead in Christianity|Godhead]], baptise using the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of a confessing believer's sins.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pawinc.org/ |title=Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc |access-date=2013-01-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117151910/http://www.pawinc.org/ |archive-date=2013-01-17 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Baptism]]
* [[Oneness Christology]]
* [[Nontrinitarianism]]
* [[Oneness Pentecostalism]]
* [[United Pentecostal Church International]]
* [[Swedenborgianism]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.onenesspentecostal.com/name.htm Baptism in Jesus' Name]

{{Apostolic Church}}

[[Category:Oneness Pentecostalism]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Christology]]