Short answer
No. The verse names the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost together. The Trinity is the Christian belief in one God in three persons. But naming three together does not make them one God. Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, charges Timothy "before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels". No one thinks the angels are God. A Christian encyclopaedia that defends the Trinity admits this verse alone does not decisively prove it. The Bible also uses one "name" for many people. Every baptism in Acts that names a name is in the name of Jesus alone. And in the verse just before, Jesus says all power "is given" to him. No one gives God (﷾) power. Islam's answer: God (﷾) is One, and Jesus was His messenger.
Full explanation
How Christians read the verse
Baptism is the washing ritual by which a person joins the Christian community. Christians read Matthew 28:19 as Jesus commanding baptism into one name, singular, that belongs to three: the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. They take it, with the blessing that closes 2 Corinthians, as the clearest sign of the Trinity in the Gospels.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
Named together is not one being
Paul names God, Jesus and the elect angels together in one solemn charge. No Christian concludes that the angels are part of God. McClintock and Strong's Cyclopaedia is a large Christian encyclopaedia that argues for the Trinity. Even it grants that Matthew 28:18-20, taken by itself, would not decisively prove that the three are persons, or equal, or divine.
“I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.”
Though it defends the Trinity, the article grants that Matthew 28:18-20, taken by itself, would not decisively prove the personality of the three named, or their equality or divinity.
One "name" for many
The Bible uses a single "name" for many people. Adam is the name of both the man and the woman. Jacob speaks of "the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac": one name for two men. Any sons Joseph had later were to be called after the name of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh: one name for many brothers. The demons answer "My name is Legion: for we are many". The Bible also gives the Father and the Son a name each. Proverbs asks what is his name, and what is his son's name. Revelation speaks of the Lamb's name and his Father's name.
“Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”
“The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
“And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.”
“And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.”
“Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?”
“I saw, and behold, the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him a number, one hundred forty-four thousand, having his name, and the name of his Father, written on their foreheads.”
| Verse | The words | Who the name covers |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis 5:2 | “called their name Adam” | The man and the woman |
| Genesis 48:16 | “the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac” | Two men |
| Mark 5:9 | “My name is Legion: for we are many” | Many demons |
| Revelation 14:1 | “his name, and the name of his Father” | The Lamb (Jesus) and his Father: a name each |
So “in the name”, singular, does not make the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost one being. In Acts the apostles baptized in the name of Jesus alone.
How the apostles baptized in Acts
Acts is the New Testament book that tells the story of the first Christians. Every baptism in it that names a name is in the name of Jesus alone. This covers Peter at Pentecost, the Samaritans, Cornelius's household and the disciples at Ephesus. Paul speaks of being baptized into Christ. He also asks the Corinthians whether they were baptized in the name of Paul. No baptism anywhere in the New Testament is recorded with the threefold words.
“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.”
“(For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)”
“He commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay some days.”
“When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
“For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
“Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?”
The verse as Eusebius quoted it
Eusebius of Caesarea, the first great church historian, quotes the verse again and again in works written between about 300 and 336. He gives it as "make disciples of all the nations in my name", with no Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The scholar F. C. Conybeare collected these quotations in 1901. He argued that this was the reading in Eusebius's manuscripts. In other writings Eusebius also quoted the verse with the three names. These run from his letter to his church after the Council of Nicaea (a gathering of bishops) in 325. They go on to his books against Marcellus about 336. The case on this page does not depend on this reading. Even with the three names, the verse does not say the three are one God.
“He said to His disciples: "Go, and make disciples of all the nations in My Name, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you,"”
Collects the places where Eusebius quotes Matthew 28:19, and shows that in works written between about 300 and 336 he repeatedly gives it as "make disciples of all the nations in my name", without the threefold formula. Conybeare argues that this was the reading of the manuscripts Eusebius used, and also lists the later places, from 325 on, where Eusebius gives the longer form.
Power given to him
The verse just before opens with Jesus saying that all power "is given" to him. God (﷾) is not given power by anyone. The one who receives authority is the one sent, not the One who sends. This is Islam's answer: God (﷾) is One, and Jesus was His messenger.
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”
Verse by verse
Matthew 28:19 — Gospel of Matthew, chapter 28, verse 19
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:”
Cited for
"In the name", singular, shows that the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost share one divine name and so are one God.
The response
The Bible uses one name for many: Adam for man and woman, Legion for many demons. It also gives the Father a name and the Son another. Proverbs asks "what is his name, and what is his son's name". And the apostles, obeying Jesus, baptized in the name of Jesus alone.
Where it lands — A singular "name" covers many in the Bible, so the word does not make three into one God.
2 Corinthians 13:14 — Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 14
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
Cited for
Paul's closing blessing names the three together, so the early church thought of God as three in one.
The response
Paul also names God, the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels together in one charge. Naming together shows who is involved. It does not show that they share one being.
Where it lands — The same form of words includes angels elsewhere in Paul, so it does not show a Trinity.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Jesus commands baptism into the one name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Putting the Son and the Spirit beside the Father in one divine name shows that the three are one God.
Matthew 28:19 says 'in the name', singular.
Rebuttal
The verse does say "name" in the singular. But the Bible uses one name for many, such as Adam for man and woman, or Legion for many demons. It also gives the Father and the Son a name each. And every baptism in Acts that names a name is in the name of Jesus alone.
The one name is shared by the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. So, they say, the three are one God.
Rebuttal
The verse does name the three together. But Paul also names God, Jesus and the elect angels together, and no one takes the angels to be God. A Christian encyclopaedia that defends the Trinity admits that this verse alone does not decisively prove it.
Paul's blessing in 2 Corinthians 13:14 joins the Lord Jesus Christ, God and the Holy Ghost in the same way.
Rebuttal
Paul does join the three in this blessing. But his usual greeting gives grace "from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ": two, not three. And he names God, Jesus and the elect angels together in one charge.
The Islamic perspective
Being named together is not being one God. The apostles baptized in the name of Jesus, and Jesus himself said his power was given to him.
Paul names God, Jesus and the elect angels together, and no one takes the angels to be God.
A Christian reference work that defends the Trinity makes an admission. It says Matthew 28:18-20 alone would not decisively prove that the three are persons, equal, or divine.
The Bible uses one "name" for many people, and gives the Father and the Son separate names.
Every baptism in Acts that names a name is in the name of Jesus alone. None uses the three names.
Eusebius, in works written between about 300 and 336, repeatedly quotes the verse as "in my name" without the threefold formula. From 325 on he also quotes the longer form with the three names.
In the verse before, Jesus says all power is given to him.
Power that is given is received from another, which does not fit the all-powerful God (﷾).