Matt. 28:19 doesnt prove much.......
Matt. 28:19 doesnt prove much.......
Reckon you didn't read the links I provided?
That may force a possible paradigm break! It could crush one's formerly held assumption or point of view. A student of truth however ought always be quest-ioning, asking, seeking, knocking, researching all assumptions, perspectives, points of view, for better more accurate information, as well as be open to 'progressive revelation', spiritually or intuitively speaking. We have to be careful that we don't make our 'figurative constructs' to be eternal truths in themselves, besides what eternal truth, value or relational meaning the passage is meaning to communicate. The latter is most important, the concepts being merely 'instrumental'.
God is Spirit. - he is the source of all forms and in-formation of course, but not necessarily limited to or constrained to form. Hence his incorporeal, infinite, omnipresence always transcends and encompasses all forms, limitations and dimensions, and in this sense we can clearly see how Jesus spoke to, loved and worshipped his God and Father, drawing us into an intimate sonship with God as well, one of the main reasons he came to us, to reveal 'God-love' and adopt us into sonship.
The fact of
God and
God's Son (or sons), anointed by the Spirit, we too as sons of God (elohim){whether angels or mortals}, shows the eternal primacy of the Father-God, we being his 'offspring', and Jesus is certainly and definitely God's Special and Unique SON, no matter how much we deify his human personality by some
doctrinal prefiguration or
transformative amalgamation of human and divine natures. On this note, I'm pretty flexible and can entertain a more Unitarian
or Trinitarian perspective, or some other interesting Christology, since I hold whatever has significant eternal value or meaning about Jesus in the
totality of his constitution, role, office and legacy.
'Christ' also 'figuratively' is the 'image' and 'prototype' of so much more about the 'New Man' and 'New Creation', which we ARE in him, at least in Paul's Christology, and as Christ's body we interpret this 'figuratively', the being "in Christ" being a spiritual relationship in the deepest part of our psyche and spirit, affecting our own individual transformation and ultimate ascension in glory. 'Christ in us, the hope of glory'.
The link you provided on Matt. 28: 19 is good, since its well known to some of the problems with using this passage as a 'Trinitarian proof text'. Its possible that the earliest texts may not have included the Trinitarian formula at all, but only spoke of the disciples going forth to baptize
in the name of Jesus. Or Jesus saying 'baptizing them
in my name'.
Here is Brother Kel's page on this passage
- the scriptural proof supports more of baptizing beleivers
in Jesus Name, and while some may become dogmatic over this issue, I don't see a problem from a Trinitarian POV if an assembly baptizes using the Trinitarian formula, just as long as one's basic Christological knowledge includes the fundamental faith of trusting in the testimony of Jesus, being the Christ, the Son of God, which is fundamental gospel, while any doctrinal add-ons of a God-head are more non-essential, figurative, conceptual teachings one can play with intellectually. No matter,....'God' is ever ONE,....his Name is One...and there is One Word, One Voice of God, One Christ-Son who is a collective of sons as well, figuratively speaking, a mystical body of spirit-born souls generated by God, making up the invisible church, the ecclesia.