Daily Worship, Spirit and Word Oct. 3, 2024

Part Twelve - God’s words in our mouths

What does it mean to baptize in the name of The Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” (Matthew 28:18–20, NKJV)

When you do something in someone else’s name, you are acting under their authority and with their authority as if they were doing it themselves. Christ Jesus gave the disciples “power of attorney”. They were commanded to baptize in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. This means that all authority was vested in Christ Jesus as He said in verse 18. Christ Jesus had the authority of The Father and Holy Spirit as well as Himself. (That statement may only mean something to certain people.)

Christ Jesus exercised all authority by authorizing His disciples. We may disagree about the extension of that authority onto future disciples, but let me say that I believe that what Jesus gave to His twelve, He meant for them to give to us. See the prayer of Jesus in John 17:20-26.

Now, as to the authority of believers, we read, “Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:18–20, NKJV)

Jesus spent a lot of time teaching the disciples about how to speak and live by faith, which, in one of it’s highest forms is ‘the submitting to’ and ‘the exercising of’ God’s authority in the earth. Read Luke 7:1-10.