Baptism gives the Bride of Christ the name of her Husband Jesus
The only time that God took on a clear-cut single name was when God became a Man and called Himself Jesus.
The first perfect man was Adam and God made a bride for him, called woman.
The second perfect man was Jesus but He is called the last Adam because He is the last perfect man. There would never be another perfect man after him.
I CORINTHIANS 15:45 "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit."
Being a Man, Jesus is also looking for a Bride.
Marriage involves a woman taking on the name of her husband.
How does that affect us?
There is only one event whereby a person can take on the name of Jesus, and that is water baptism.
If we do not take on His name, then we will not be invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb in Heaven, while the saved church world goes into great Tribulation.
The saved foolish virgins of Matthew Chapter 25 mistakenly took on the titles of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They were fooled into thinking that titles are a name. Like the Egyptians who followed Pharaoh, they follow titles to their deaths.
Who is our Moses Who can rise up from the threatening waters of death?
The Bridegroom Jesus is coming for the Bride, those who can see that the three Persons of the Trinity cannot have one name.
But the Bride are able to see that Jesus is God above us as the Father, He is God with us as the Son, and most importantly, He is God in us as the Holy Ghost.
Jesus is above us, with us, and in us. Thus, He gives us total protection.
That is the true attribute of a Husband, protecting His Bride who carries the single name of her Husband, Jesus.
Moses, surprisingly, gives us a preview of the water baptism.
This demonstrates the vital difference between the water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ (A name and a title. Christ is a title to tell us which Jesus we are referring to) and a baptism based only on a title that has no name.
Baptism in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is just pretending that three titles are a name.
That is just like a person saying, "In the name of the King".
The person has not told us what the King’s name is, because King is not a name, King is a title.
A title just tells us who the person is.
The title shows the rank or position of the person but gives no information about the person’s name.
I CORINTHIANS 10:2 "And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;"
The depth of the Red Sea opened up a narrow channel for the Jews to pass through.
They walked through this narrow channel of dry land with water piled up above their heads on both sides of them. If God had not held back the water they would be totally buried under the water. (Symbolic of baptism by total immersion).
Paul claimed that this represented the water baptism.
The significance is that a huge amount of water was available.
This event is not symbolic of sprinkling some water on a person’s head.
The Israelites came out alive because they were baptized unto the name of Moses.
The name is of critical importance because the name reveals the main characteristic of the Person.
EXODUS 2:10 "And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water."
The name Moses means that he will come out of the water alive.
In baptism, instead of being covered by earth, water covers us as a symbol of burial.
But Moses was the Deliverer because he would come out of the water, symbolizing the resurrection from the dead.
Thus, Moses acted out the most important portion of the future ministry of Christ.
This event is important as it links the water baptism unto Moses to the idea of a vital name. A name that can be drawn out of the water of death in a resurrection of life.
Only Jesus could perform that.
The Father and the Holy Ghost, if they are the titles of separate Persons, cannot die and be buried. So, they are not part of this event.
The Egyptians were also keen to follow their baptism as they plunged into the opened waters in the name of Pharaoh. But it was a baptism of death.
Why, because Pharaoh is a title. All the Egyptians perished as they ended up being drowned. A preview of the saved foolish virgins who miss the Coming of the Lord and are killed in great Tribulation.
This deep-sea event is a warning to us. A title is no substitute for a name.
Warning. We must not desire the death of others, as the Egyptians wanted to kill their religious opponents but ended up dying themselves.
Baptism by sprinkling or baptism in the name of three titles, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost will take us to our deaths in great Tribulation.
Consider the actual baptisms that took place in the New Testament.
First, Peter the great fisherman, pulled in the Jews on the Day of Pentecost.
Peter was the apostle who had the keys to open the Door to Heaven.
Jesus spoke to Peter, saying:
MATTHEW 16:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
The first step to Heaven was repentance. Repentance is the only way to wash away sin. That saves us from Hell. Then we can get to Heaven.
The second step was baptism in the name of Jesus Christ in order for the Bride to take on the name of her Husband. We cannot be part of the Bride in Heaven, unless we have His name.
The Bride will be closest to Jesus so they will be in the best part of Heaven.
Acts 2:38 "Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
Repent first, before getting baptized. So, babies cannot get baptized.
The name is Jesus. The title Christ tells us which Jesus.
Then Philip preached to the Samaritans (part Jew and part Gentile).
Acts 8:12 "But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women."
Again, the name of Jesus Christ is linked to their water baptism.
But Peter was the apostle who had the keys to open the Door to Heaven. So, Peter had to be called to pull in the Samaritans.
ACTS 8:14 "Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John:"
ACTS 8:15 "Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:"
ACTS 8:16 "(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)"
See. When the apostles preached Jesus, they baptized in the name of Jesus.
Lord is also a title that specifies that Jesus is God.
Thomas said, My Lord and my God.
JOHN 20:28 "And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God."
Thus, Lord Jesus tells us precisely which Jesus we are referring to. Because His name is Jesus.
The name of "Jesus Christ" is Jesus. Christ is the title.
The name of "the Lord Jesus" is Jesus. Lord is a title.
The name of the "Lord Jesus Christ" is Jesus. Lord and Christ are titles.
Thus, there is no difference between the "name of Jesus Christ", the "name of the Lord Jesus", and the "name of the Lord Jesus Christ". Because, in each case, the name is Jesus.
Peter, as the fisherman with the keys, also pulled in the Gentiles.
ACTS 10:36 "The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:)"
Thus, Jesus Christ is Lord.
ACTS 10:48 "And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days."
Since Jesus Christ is Lord, the name of the Lord is Jesus.
Peter’s second Key bound John the Baptist’s baptism*** But one problem area remained. The baptism of John the Baptist.
John the Baptist did not baptize in a name.
But Peter’s new baptism mentioned the name Jesus that the Bride had to take on in order to belong to her Husband.
John had left the scene but what about those who had been baptized by him?
Was John’s baptism still valid? No, because John’s baptism had no name.
A Bride cannot be without the name of her Husband.
Paul spoke to a group of John’s converts at Ephesus.
ACTS 19:4 "Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
John the Baptist warned the people that Jesus would take over after him.
John’s baptism was an in-between step. It depended on what Jesus would do when He came along after John. John was just preparing the way for Jesus.
Jesus in turn gave the keys to the kingdom of heaven (that represents an understanding of the seven Gentile church ages as described in Matthew Chapter 13) to Peter.
Peter had to open the Door to Heaven for the Gentile people.
Peter had to bind something before he could loose something.
MATTHEW 16:19 "And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
MARK 1:4 "John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins."
The blood of Jesus had not yet been shed. Thus, God temporarily accepted John’s water baptism as a valid repentance.
Peter had to stop the baptism of John the Baptist as it was no longer valid once the blood of Jesus had been shed.
HEBREWS 9:22 "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission."
Peter loosed the idea of repentance for remission of sin to get into Heaven, and then followed that by baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.
That enables the Bride to take on the name of Jesus as their Husband.
Then they belong to Christ, just like a bride belongs to her husband.