I
The clearest revelation of the Divine Trinity is in Matthew 28:19: "Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit":
A
Into the name denotes the person:
１
To be baptized is to be baptized into the name, the person, of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, into the organic union with the processed Triune God.
２
The word into in 28:19 indicates union, as in Romans 6:3, Galatians 3:27, and 1 Corinthians 12:13.
３
To baptize people into the name of the Triune God is to baptize them into the spiritual and mystical union with Him.
４
In Matthew 28:19 there is one name for the Divine Trinity:
ａ
The name is the sum total of the Divine Being, equivalent to His person.
ｂ
To baptize believers into the name of the Triune God is to immerse them into all that the Triune God is.
B
God is three-in-one—2 Cor. 13:14:
１
In Matthew 28:19 the Lord spoke of three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
２
When He spoke here of the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, name is singular in the original text.
３
This means that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three, yet the name is one.
４
One name for three persons is really mysterious and reveals that God is three-in-one.
５
This name includes the three—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
６
Although God is uniquely one, yet there are three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
Ⅱ
As believers in Christ, we have been baptized into the processed Triune God:
A
The charge given in Matthew 28:19 was given by the Lord Jesus after He had entered into resurrection, which was the consummation of the process of the Triune God.
B
The Triune God has passed through a process that began with incarnation, included human living and crucifixion, and consummated with resurrection.
C
In resurrection Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, became the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17.
D
This Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God for the believers to be baptized into the Divine Trinity.
E
To be baptized into the person of the Triune God is to be baptized into the all-inclusive, consummated Spirit who is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God:
１
This is to be baptized into the riches of the Father, into the riches of the Son, and into the riches of the Spirit.
２
As the baptized ones, we are now in an organic union with the Triune God; therefore, whatever the Father has, whatever the Son has, and whatever the Spirit has have become ours.
F
To be baptized into the name of the Triune God is to be put into a mystical union with Him and to appropriate whatever God is into our being.
Morning Nourishment
Matt. 28:19 Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.Gal. 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
This charge [in Matthew 28:19] was given by the Lord Jesus after He had entered into resurrection, which was the consummation of the process of the Triune God. The Triune God has passed through a process that began with incarnation, included human living and crucifixion, and consummated with resurrection. In resurrection Christ, the embodiment of the Triune God, became the life-giving Spirit. Now this Spirit is the consummation of the Triune God for the believers to be baptized into the Divine Trinity.
The clearest revelation of the Divine Trinity is in Matthew 28:19. On the one hand, this verse speaks of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; on the other hand, in this verse there is only one name, the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is the completion of the process of the Triune God, a process that ends in resurrection. After the completion of this process, the resurrected Christ came to the disciples and charged them to go forth with His authority to disciple the nations and baptize them into the name, the person, of the Triune God that they may have an organic union with the Divine Trinity and be brought into the enjoyment of the Trinity for the church life. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, p. 1031)
Today’s Reading
Baptism has two aspects: the visible aspect by water and the invisible aspect by the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38, 41; 10:44-48). The visible aspect is the expression, the testimony, of the invisible aspect, whereas the invisible aspect is the reality of the visible aspect. Without the invisible aspect by the Spirit, the visible aspect by water is vain; and without the visible aspect by water, the invisible aspect by the Spirit is abstract and impractical. Both are needed.The word into in Matthew 28:19 indicates union…To baptize the believers into the name of the Triune God is to bring them into a spiritual and mystical union with Him.
According to Matthew 28:19, there is one name for the Trinity. The name is the sum total of the Divine Being, equivalent to His person. To baptize a believer into the name of the Trinity is to immerse him into all that the Triune God is. To be baptized into the person of the Triune God is to be baptized in the all-inclusive, consummated Spirit who is the ultimate consummation of the processed Triune God. This is to be baptized into the riches of the Father, into the riches of the Son, and into the riches of the Spirit…Therefore, whatever the Father has, whatever the Son has, and whatever the Spirit receives become ours.
In Matthew 28:19 to be baptized is to be baptized into the Triune God. But in Acts to be baptized is to be baptized into the Lord Jesus (8:16; 19:5). This indicates clearly that the Lord Jesus is the embodiment of the Triune God, the aggregate of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Furthermore, in the Epistles Paul says that to be baptized is to be baptized in the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). Therefore, the New Testament reveals that we are baptized into the Triune God, into the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit. This indicates that the Lord Jesus is the totality of the Triune God and that the Spirit is the realization of the Lord Jesus. We have been baptized in the Spirit, and this is to be baptized into the Lord Jesus, which is to be baptized into the Father, the Son, and the Spirit— the Triune God. As a result, we are one with the Triune God, and whatever He is and has is ours in the organic union with Him. This enjoyment of the Divine Trinity through the Spirit as the consummation of the Triune God is for the church life. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 1031-1032)
Further Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament, msgs. 96, 125