Baptismal meditation

Jesus said, Go therefore and disciple all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I’ve commanded.

One of the great sins of Manasseh was an assault on the “Name” of Yahweh. Back in the days of Moses, Yahweh promised to choose a place within the land and set His “Name” there, and told Israel that once He did that, the place of His Name would become the one place for sacrificial worship. That is what the temple became, as the Lord promised Solomon to “set His name there.”

What does it mean to have the “Name” of Yahweh in the temple? There are various possibilities, but in the light of the New Testament, we can say that the “Name” refers to the Second Person of the Trinity. Throughout the New Testament, the apostles preach the “name” of Jesus, heal and do miracles in His “name,” and call people to believe on His “Name.” Christians are to pray in the Name of Jesus, act for the sake of Jesus’ Name, because Jesus does all He does in the Father’s Name and He makes known the Father’s Name. We have life in the Name of Jesus, because there is no other name under heaven by which we may be saved. The Jewish leaders forbid the apostles to continue speaking in Jesus’ Name, but the apostles instead consider is a glory to suffer for the sake of His Name. Paul is a specially chosen instrument to bear and to suffer for the Name of Jesus. According to the apostles, the Name of God – His presence, His character, His revelation – is Jesus. Judah’s palace was the house of Yahweh’s human son, the Davidic king; next door, in the temple, His only-begotten Son was enthroned above the cherubim in the glory of the Spirit.

Baptism is done in this powerful Name. In Matthew, Jesus said to baptize in the Triune Name, and throughout Acts the apostles are said to baptize in the “Name of Jesus.” Paul confronts the Corinthians by saying that they have been baptized in the Name of Jesus and not in the name of Paul, and reminds the Corinthians that they were washed, sanctified, and justified “in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Baptism means becoming associated with the Name, having the Name attached to us, beginning to bear the Name of Jesus.

Against the Old Testament background, we see that baptism in the Name means that through baptism we become temples of the living God. The Name of God dwells with us and is in us. We are the place where God has chosen to set His Name. We are consecrated as temples of the living God because the Name of God, which is Jesus, dwells with us through His Spirit. Today, through this washing and through the work of the Spirit, Judah becomes a temple of God.

That is a great privilege, but comes also with great responsibility and great danger. Sinners who do not bear the Name are still sinners. But someone who bears the Name and continues in sin, or acts in unbelief, or wanders away from the Lord has greater responsibility. Putting an Asherah in the house of Asherah was idolatry; but putting an Asherah in the house of Yahweh was far worse, an abomination that ultimately brought desolation to the land of Judah.

So, as you remind Judah of his baptism, remind him that he is a temple of the Spirit, that the living God dwells in him, that he bears the Name of Jesus. Remind him of the great privilege he has to bear the Name of His Lord, and to be consecrated as a holy place. And remind him too that His baptism is a sign that he is not his own, but a temple of the Spirit, bought with a price, bearing the Name of Jesus, called to glorify God in His body.