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
2 Cor. 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.1 Cor. 12:13 …In one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and were all given to drink one Spirit.
The Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—is a mystery, in fact, a mystery of mysteries!…Many things relating to the matter of life are not within the comprehension of men; men can only have a general idea of them. For instance, though we have life in our physical body, no one can explain it thoroughly, for life is a mystery. Furthermore, there is a spirit within us—this is even more of a mystery. What is the life of man, and what is the spirit of man? No one can give a full explanation. We are not able to comprehend such a comparatively small mystery as man, to say nothing of the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 3, “Concerning the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit,” p. 287)
Today’s Reading
The Scriptures in many instances and in many ways tell us that God is uniquely one…: First Corinthians 8:4: “There is no God but one.” Isaiah 45:5: “I am Jehovah and there is no one else; / Besides Me there is no God” [see also vv. 6, 21-22; 46:9; 44:6, 8]. In these passages God repeatedly said, “There is no God besides Me.” He did not say, “There is no God besides Us,” but, “There is no God besides Me.” Me is singular, indicating only one. These repeated declarations of God strongly prove that God is uniquely one…We must stand absolutely on the scriptural revelation and believe that God is one.In Isaiah 6:8 God said, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for Us?” God spoke of Himself on the one hand as “I” and on the other hand as “Us.” This proves that “I” is “Us” and “Us” is “I”; “I” and “Us” are identical. Then is God singular or plural? If you say that He is plural, He says “I.” If you say that He is singular, He says “Us.” This is rather mysterious and difficult to understand, so we just take the scriptural revelation as it is.
Furthermore, in Genesis 1:26; 3:22; and 11:7, God also spoke of Himself as “Us.” The unique God, in His divine words, has many times spoken of Himself as “Us.” This is really a mystery difficult to comprehend, but we must believe that this is due to the matter of the three persons of the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
The Lord said in Matthew 28:19, “Baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Here the Lord spoke clearly of the three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. But when He spoke here of the name of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, the name is in the singular number in the original text. This means that though the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three, yet the name is one. It is really mysterious—one name for three persons. This, of course, is what is meant by the expression three-in-one, or triune.
We may ask, Is this name Father, or Son, or Holy Spirit? It is difficult to answer. All we can say is that the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This name includes the three—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—and tells us that God is three-in-one. Although God is only one, yet there is the matter of the three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit.
In John 14:23 the Lord said, “If anyone loves Me…My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make an abode with him.” Also, in 17:11 He said, “Holy Father…that they may be one even as We are.” In both of these places the Lord spoke of Himself and the Father as “We.” This must also be due to the matter of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (CWWL, 1970, vol. 3, “Concerning the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit,” pp. 288-290)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1970, vol. 3, “Concerning the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit”