“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” Matthew 28:19.

So when we were given the above command by the lord, what does it mean?

What the Lord is telling us here, is to go and teach the Nations of the Earth who the true God is, based on His Gospel. It is not to go and be sinking people into the River that would not bring the required change that the world needed neither can it affect the hearts of men just as we have seen before.

If God the Father is not intending to use that method in saving His people I wonder why we think it can work for us, I wonder why we think it is something we must be proclaiming and claiming to be the source or avenue of salvation.

I wonder why we make people who have been genuinely converted fill guilty and to be having doubt about their salvation because they never observed a religious ritual to testify or bear witness in the public as to their inner conviction? People of God there are more to what we call baptism.

BAPTISM INTO THE NAME OF THE FATHER, SON AND HOLY GHOST.

What does it really mean to be having the Nations baptized into the above titles?

The quickest way to get the answer to the above question is to look at the life of Moses.

“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea” 1 Corinthians 10:1-2

The word says Israel as a Nation was baptized unto Moses, so how was that done?

We can quickly see this from the Amplified translation, what it really means to be baptized into Moses from the same passage;

“For I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, that our forefathers were every one of them under and protected by the cloud (in which God’s Presence went before them), and every one of them passed safely through the (Red) Sea. And every one of them (allowed himself too) to be baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, (THAT IS, THEY WERE THUS BROUGHT UNDER OBLIGATION TO THE LAW, TO MOSES AND TO THE COVENANT, CONSECRATED AND SET APART TO THE SERVICE OF GOD);” AMP

Did you see what it means to be baptized into Moses?

They were brought under obligation to the law. That is true obedience to the laws of God through Moses, as the Apostle of the Old Testament. Even so are we to bring the Nations into obedience to the laws of Christ as the Apostle of the New Testament, and that precisely is what it means for us to baptize the Nations into Christ.

Paul himself threw some light on what it means to be baptized into a person’s name when he spoke thus to the Corinthians;

“Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?” 1 Corinthians 1:13.

In the words of ‘Barnes’ commenting on the above verse about the question of Paul, he said;

“To be baptized into, or unto any one, is to be devoted to him, to receive and acknowledge him as a teacher, professing to receive his rules, and to be governed by his authority.–Lockes.—by been baptized into Christ,– they had been solemnly and entirely devoted to the service of the only Saviour.

“Did I ever,” was the implied language of Paul, “baptize in my own name”? Did I ever pretend to organize a sect, announcing myself as a leader? Have not I always directed you to that Saviour into whose name and service you have been baptized?” It is remarkable here ”Paul simply was saying, he has no claims to be regarded as a religious leader among them”

The implication of all this is that, to be baptized into a person’s name is to be obligated to that individual as your leader to whom you can take instructions from or otherwise. Not necessarily being dipped in water or otherwise.

So Jesus was asking us to go get the Nations obligated to His life and teachings, to build their faith in Him as they believe. That is what baptizing the Nations stands for scripturally speaking.

To be continued…