Day 22 Saturday - Mar 18, 2023; Mar 9, 2024; Mar 29, 2025
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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. -Matthew 28:19-20
When first we looked at this we remembered that as the foundational text for baptism, we always are to do baptisms “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. In our second devotion on this text we recalled how baptism was used for making disciples. Now we will put the two together.
There is an important element to the life of faith and discipleship: it leads us back to those words Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There are a lot of names for God in the Bible alone. But of all the ones revealed in the Word, I consider this the “fullest” as it carries the triune name. This means that whether we are experiencing God the Father, God the Son, or God the Holy Spirit, any manifestation of God’s persons is the God of our baptism.
If all faith leads us back to the words of our baptism, then we can realize that the words of our baptism are leading us into our whole life of faith. You can spend an entire lifetime on those words spoken once over you. The name of God has been given to you in full, that you may use it to its fullest. You may pray to a heavenly Father, in the name of the Son, with the help of the Spirit. You can seek the Spirit to establish your heart in the gospel of Jesus that he would come for you and bring you to your Father in heaven (John 14:2-3). For all that a person of faith can do with the names Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, baptism has given those names to you. It has opened up the entire Bible for your faith. It has spoken the entire work of God over your life. It has given you at the start everything you need for the journey.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and will be forever. Amen and what a gift to say it. Father, I thank you for such an intimate name to know you by. Son, I rejoice that you have made all this known in your gospel. Holy Spirit, I believe that apart from you I could not believe any of it. Thank you, O God, that the name you spoke over me I can ever call upon in prayer, praise, and all faith. I’m so glad I do not have to believe in a generic, unknown God, but one who has been made known to me, beginning with the name Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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