Does the Bible prescribe a baptismal formula?

Jesus Himself said we are to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".

Kilk1 said:

If Matt. 28:19's use of "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" proves it's a formula that must be spoken, then it'd seem that Acts 2:38's use of "in the name of Jesus Christ" would prove it's a formula that must be spoken. (After all, "Jesus Christ" is different than "the Son" as far as wording is concerned, which suggests that Acts 2:38 isn't merely a shortened version of a Matt. 28:19.) But two baptismal formulas would mean the verses contradict each other.

What if "in the name of" simply means "by the authority of"? This would mean there is no baptismal formula, explaining the apparent discrepancy. The phrase "in the name of" has to mean "by the authority of" in Colossians 3:17 after all, right?

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Considering it was Jesus saying “in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”, I would consider Paul to be affirming what He said in brevity rather than contradiction.

While “in the name of” does mean by the authority of, it still comprises a formula. When you see something that isn’t 100% clear, just look at the history and surrounding texts of the era. In this case, you will find that the early church considered Jesus’ words to be a formula (in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit).

Even if you don’t consider any surrounding historical texts, it would still be either a discrepancy or abbreviation when considering it to mean “by the authority of”. Is it by the authority of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit - or just the authority of Jesus Christ?

Dave L said:

In Acts they baptized believers by immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the New Covenant name for the trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is also the Name of the Son of Man in whom dwells the trinity.

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Amen there is no other name

The name of Jesus Christ ....

“Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭124:8‬ ‭KJV

Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭45:21-23‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. The Lord sent a word into Jacob, and it hath lighted upon Israel.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭9:6-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,... full of grace and truth...And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.


For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.”
‭‭John‬ ‭1:1-4, 14, 16-18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:9-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“God...., Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭1:1-3‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.”
‭‭John‬ ‭17:1-4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭5:20‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭4:10, 12‬ ‭KJV‬‬

baptism....

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭2:38‬ ‭KJV

Jesus Christ is the manifestation of the father, son and Holy Ghost , his name is the only name. We're baptized into Christ Jesus. We pray in his name. We thank god in his name. He is the one, the only one who can offer us salvation and eternal life. There is no other name

“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭19:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

prayer ...

“And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”
‭‭John‬ ‭16:23-24‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭KJV‬‬


“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭8:12‬ ‭KJV‬‬


Look at the power in his name ...


"And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭16:18‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:2-3‬ ‭KJV

Dave L said:

In Acts they baptized believers by immersion in water in the name of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the New Covenant name for the trinity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is also the Name of the Son of Man in whom dwells the trinity.

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PaulCyp1 said:

Jesus Himself said we are to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".

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what is the name though?

Jesus name is the name were given representing the father, son and Holy Ghost. The father isn't a name, the son, or Holy Ghost isn't a name......they only name given for salvation is Jesus Christ. When we are baptized it's because we believe in the messiah ...the manifestation of The fullness Of God revealed to mankind in the gospel.


the three remember are one father , word, Holy Ghost these three are one. The only name manifested to mankind is Jesus who is Christ.

Kilk1 said:

If "in the name of" means "stating the names," there's a discrepancy even if the absence of the Father and Holy Spirit is due to abbreviation. Namely, if we're looking at an exact formula, do we refer to the Christ as "the Son" or as "Jesus" when stating said formula?

Defining "in the name of" as "by the authority of," however, eliminates any discrepancy. Being baptized in Jesus' authority means the same as being baptized in the Son's authority; these are two ways of saying the same thing. And since Matt. 28:19 also mentions that our baptism's authority is shared by the Father and Holy Spirit in addition to the Son, our baptism is in all three. As you would say, Acts would be an abbreviation of Matt. 28:19.

Just looking at the Scriptures themselves, isn't baptizing by the authority of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit all that's required? (I'm looking at what the Bible requires, not what's traditional. I have no problem with, and in fact even supportive of, the baptizer telling the baptizee that the baptism is in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit.)

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To clarify, just because I believe what Jesus taught should be used as a “formula” doesn’t negate “in the name of” also meaning “by the authority of”.

Kilk1 said:

I apologize, as my last question may have been confusing. My questions was not, "Do you notice that the word 'baptized' is stated before the phrase 'remission of sins'?" Such a question sounds condescending, and I wasn't intending to ask such. Rather, my question was, "Would you agree that the Greek word eis (1519) in Acts 2:38 places baptism before the remission of sins?" In other words, whenever the original Greek says something like, "Do A eis B," the "A" part not only is stated before B but chronologically comes before B.

Do you agree that baptism chronologically comes before the remission of one's sins? Thank you for your time! And again, I apologize for the confusion.

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Thank you for clarifying. Yes, the word "baptise" precedes remission. However, it is obvious that baptism does not regenerate people. Baptism is a consequence of being born again, not the means. It is important, yes. I was born again for about 2 years before I got baptised. I was on a warship when I got saved. The man who led me to the Lord did not practice believer's baptism. I knew nothing about it until I started going to a Baptist church. Once I realised that it was necessary, I asked to be baptised. The thief on the cross next to Jesus was not baptised. He was saved. I wonder how many people have repented on their deathbed and gone to heaven but without being baptised? If a Muslim accepts Christ and is murdered for it, will God reject him because he did not get baptised?

Kilk1 said:

I don't think the Bible says whether the thief on the cross was ever baptized or not but is silent either way. Nonetheless, I agree that God, as the source of salvation, chooses who obtains it. Also, since the people were "cut to the heart" in Acts 2:37 (NKJV) before being baptized, you're right that the heart change comes first.

Since baptism is "for [eis] the remission of sins" (v. 38), does this place remission of sins after baptism, considering what eis means? If so, the penitent heart would be first (v. 37), then baptism done out of a believing heart (v. 38), and then the remission of sins (also v. 38).

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The thief on the cross died before he could be baptised. His sins were forgiven, as we've said.

Peter’s message at Pentecost was to “Call on the Name of YAHWEH” for salvation. Read Acts 2:21. (it is an OT teaching and quote from Joel 2:32)
Peter then told those who wanted to obey his message, to be baptized in the Name of JESUS. Read Acts 2:38.
Baptism was a ceremony to “Call on the Name of YAHWEH” for salvation.
JESUS is YAHWEH in the flesh.
Read Acts 22:16. It explains that the reason for baptism is to “Call on the Name of YAHWEH” for salvation. To “Call on the Name of JESUS” is “Calling on the Name of YAHWEH” for salvation.
JESUS is English for YESHUAH(Hebrew) and means YAHWEH sour Savior.

I would also like to say that JESUS was not teaching a baptism formula in Matthew 28:19.
The Apostles were being taught who JESUS is/was.
The revelation of who JESUS was started with knowing He was the Messiah, the Christ.
Then the revelation grew as they knew JESUS was the Son of God.
Then the revelation was complete with the knowledge that JESUS was the “Fullness of the Godhead Bodily.”
That is why a Thomas called JESUS “My Lord and my God!”
The Apostles would have never “Called on anyone except YAHWEH for salvation.”
There is no Savior except “YAHWEH”JESZuS is YAHWEH in the flesh. When we see JESUS, when we know JESUS we know the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Kilk1 said:

Oh, okay. Is your belief that it should be said as a "formula" not something you're saying is directly taught by the Scriptures; yet, it's something that makes sense to say because we're baptizing "by the authority of," etc.?

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I believe that Jesus taught us the way to baptize - and I believe that the way we are to baptize also indicates the authority. We are directed to say whose authority we are baptizing in. In the other scriptures, it was about the authority, not the formula. For example, there were multiple types of baptism happening in Acts - so the apostles were specifying the Christian baptism - not other types of baptism. Since Jesus said to “baptize in the name of”, it is necessary to do that. However, it also describes the truth of the baptism - baptizing by the authority of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Full disclosure: for assistance with interpreting scripture, I do use surrounding historical documents and teachings of the early church. The Didache (very early - first century) affirms my interpretation of both formula and authority.

Kilk1 said:

He could have been baptized at some point in his life, or not; we aren't told. Of course, it isn't a huge deal; after all, he didn't believe that God raised Jesus from the dead either (since He hadn't died yet), even though we must believe this (Romans 10:8-10). While we're saved by Jesus--and thus anyone He chooses to saves will be--we're under a new covenant after Jesus died (Hebrews 9:15-17), and what we're told today is what matters.

My specific question was this: Since baptism is "for [eis] the remission of sins" (v. 38), does this place remission of sins after baptism, considering what eis means? If so, the penitent heart would be first (v. 37), then baptism done out of a believing heart (v. 38), and then the remission of sins (also v. 38).

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I don't believe it is possible to be so prescriptive. Paul came across some disciples in Ephesus. They had been baptised by John. Paul baptised them in the name of Jesus. Then they received the Holy Spirit baptism. They were already disciples, they just lacked some knowledge. I was in a similar position. I knew that my sins were forgiven well before I was baptised in water!