Matthew 28:19-20
19 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, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Keywords:
The word disciple in Greek is Matheteuo (math-ayt-yoo’-o) Strong’s 3100. It means to make a person be a follower of Jesus Christ and teach or instruct them in the Word of God.
The word baptize in Greek is baptizo (bap-tid’-zo) Strong’s 907. It means that a person is submerged in the water as a ceremonial act.
In the great commission of Matthew 28, Jesus not only instructs the Apostles but all those who would believe in Him through their message to go out and make disciples by explaining to them the person of Jesus (John 8:24) and His relationship with the Father and the Holy Spirit and the meaning of the cross and the resurrection.
If you notice very carefully in verse 19, to be a follower of Jesus Christ, one has to also believe and accept the Trinity or else how can one be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? The word name in verse 19 is in a singular form which is describing three persons as having the same name. What name would that be? The name Yahweh. We know that those three persons are one as the singular word suggest.
The Trinity basically is a way to reveal that all three are Yahweh as clearly seen in John 1:1 which says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Without the Trinity, you will get three different gods or an obscure view of Jesus Christ.
A person who professes faith in Jesus also has to believe in what the Lord said about the Father and the Holy Spirit or else if they don’t believe it, then how will they believe the rest of what the Scripture reveals.
What is the significance of a ceremonial baptism? The answer is found in Romans 6:3-5 which says, 3 Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life. 5 For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection.
When you are dipped in the water it means that your old self has died, and when you are raised up from under the water it means that you are a new man in Christ to live a life in righteousness doing the Lord’s will.
How does Matthew 28:19-20 connect with Romans 6:3-5? The connection is seen that all three are the one God and in Romans 6 it says that we are baptized into the one true God who is Christ. Whoever rejects the revelation of Jesus Christ pertaining to the manifestation of God cannot be saved. Why? Because their theology concerning the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit becomes untrue and you will turn out to be worshiping a false god and end up rejecting the deity of Christ.
In the baptism of Jesus Christ, the Scripture affirms that God exists as three persons which all three are the one true God as seen in Matthew 3:16-17 which says, 16 After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. 17 And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him!
We must believe what Scripture reveals to us concerning who God is even if we don’t truly understand all the details. To decide not to believe in a doctrine even though it is clearly revealed is very unwise. If you reject any main doctrine of the person of God, you are then worshipping a false god and are not saved.
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