20 est them, into the name of God, who is the Father, Son, and Spirit, as he hath discovered himself, in his last and most glorious discovery of himself in the gospel ; you shall, I say, dip them into his name, or sprinkle his name upon them, that they may be holy, just, true, merciful, righteous, good, &.c. that is, your ministry, after vou have received the Spirit, shall have such efficacy that it shall clothe men with the name of God, and transform them into his very nature. So that this place cannot be understood of water, but instead of baptizing in material water, as John, he tells them, they should baptize into the name of God, in such sort, that they that were before sinful, corrupt, and evil men, should now be taken up into the glory of the name of God. Neither can this place be understood of a form of words, which the apostles and their successors should use in baptizing, as most men have thought and taught, seeing no place of Scripture can be named, wherein the apostles, in baptizing used this form of words, saying, “1 baptize thee in the name of the Father, Son and Spirit,” which they had undoubtedly done, if Christ had commanded it as an absolute form. And because many will presently be ready to be enraged at this assertion, I will a little cool their heat with what Zuinglius saith of this place : “ Christus lesus (saith he) baptism! formu- lam, qua uteremur, his verbis non instituit, quemadmo- dum theoligi hactenus Ja/so tradiderunt” Zuin. lib. de Bapt p. 56. tom. 2. oper. that is, “Jesus Christ did not in these words institute a form of baptism, which we should use, as divines have hitherto falsely taught:” and he affirms it upon the same grounds 1 have mentioned before. Again, if this place, “ Go teach and baptize,” be meant water baptism, Paul did very ill observe the command of Christ, who baptized but two or three believing families, at the most, with water baptism, and yet preached the word in a circuit from Jerusalem to Illyri- cum, Rom. xv 19. through many kingdoms, countries, villages, people; but 1 say, Paul, though he used not wa er baptism, yet did punctually fulfil the command of Chiist, and did teach them, and baptize them into the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=