There are many that utilize the following verse to support their acceptance of the Trinity.
They triumphantly announce,
"SEE! This is proof of the Trinity! There it is right from the pages of the New Testament!"
I would like to first point out to those claiming that verse 19 supports the Trinity that they should consider the immediate context of the verse instead of practicing the typical "context shredding" common in Christian and counterfeit Messianic circles. Let's look at the context.
Note in verse 18 another clear statement by Yeshua that his power had been GIVEN to him. Common sense (something Trinitarians lack) dictates that the one giving and the one being given are separate entities, thus proving the giver (God) and one given (Yeshua) are NOT the same - Yeshua is NOT God. Those that consider Messiah to be God discard common sense and reason as they choose to accept the "unexplainable mystery" even though a very explainable and FAR more Biblical alternative exists.
As a side note, did you notice the translator's notes immediately following the verses? They were referenced with the "b" over the word "teach" in verse 19 and within them was the statement, "... make...Christians of all nations." What a bogus note!!! There is NOTHING in the Greek word that says anything about making "Christians of all nations." N-O-T-H-I-N-G! YESHUA WAS NOT A "CHRISTIAN" AND DID NOT TELL HIS FOLLOWERS TO MAKE "CHRISTIANS" OF ALL NATIONS! Yeshua was a Torah (Law) observant Jew! This represents a typical example of GROSS BIAS in translation and "study notes" found throughout most Christian based Bibles! In fact, the TRUE teachings of Yeshua were - and are - JUDAIC! What Yeshua was commanding was for his disciples (talmidim) to make students (disciples, talmidim) of Hebraic truth! I couldn't let that grotesquely biased translator note slide by without rebuking the sickening bias it promotes, which is VERY common within the Christian-ruled Bible translation community.
Now on to verse 19 - the "proof" verse used by Trinitarians.
Verse 19 is the only verse in the New Testament that talks of "Father, Son and Holy Ghost" together. If anyone knows of another please inform me. 1 John 5:7 has been proven by most scholars to be a corrupting addition to the Scriptures, a point I elaborate upon in my New Testament commentary of that verse. Only the most ultra-biased reject that fact. Thus, there appears to be no verse but this one that even hints at a "trinity". However, that "hint" is only arrived at by assumption. Furthermore, as you will see as you continue reading, this "Triune formula" of baptism mysteriously stands alone among the other baptism formulas of the New Testament. Hmmm. Could we be victims of verse tampering?
Let's look at a few other baptism formulas.
YESHUA TAUGHT:
"And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:47 KJV)
PETER OBEYED YESHUA'S INSTRUCTION.
"…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yeshua Messiah for the remission of sins…" (Acts 2:38 KJV)
SAMARITANS
"… only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Yeshua." (Acts 8:16 KJV)
GENTILES WERE COMMANDED
"And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." (Acts 10:48 KJV)
PAUL RE-BAPTIZED THE EPHESIANS
"When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Yeshua." (Acts 19:5 KJV)
Now let's investigate what history records. When, how, and for what purpose was the baptismal formula changed?
BRITANNICA ENCYCLOPEDIA, 11TH edition, Vol 3, Pg 365-366
The baptismal formula was changed from the name of Jesus Christ to the words Father, Son, & Holy Ghost by the Catholic Church in the second century.
BRITANNICA ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vol 3, Pg 82
Everywhere in the oldest sources it states that baptism took place in the name of Jesus Christ.
CANNEY ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, Pg 53
The early church always baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus until development of Trinity doctrine in the 2nd century.
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vol 2, Pg 263
Here the Catholics acknowledged that baptism was changed by the Catholic Church.
HASTINGS ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, Vol 2, Pg 377
Christian baptism was administered using the words “In the name of Jesus.”
HASTINGS ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, Vol 2, Pg 378
The use of a Trinitarian formula of any sort was not suggested in early Church history.
HASTINGS ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION, Vol 2, Pg 389
Baptism was always in the name of Lord Jesus until the time of Justin Martyr when Triune formula was used.
Interesting? So, who is this Justin Martyr fellow?
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vol 8
Justin Martyr was one of the early Fathers of the Roman Catholic Church.
Well, I guess that shows good ole Justin was true to his Roman Catholic faith. More...
NEW INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA, Vol 22, Pg 477
The term “Trinity” was originated by Tertullian, a Roman Catholic Church Father.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION AND ETHICS, (1951), II, 384, 389
The formula used was ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ’ or some synonymous phrase; there is no evidence for the use of the triune name… The earliest form, represented in the Acts, was simple immersion….in water, the use of the name of the Lord, and the laying on of hands. To these were added at various times and places which cannot be safely identified, (a) the trine name (Justin)….
INTERPRETERS DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE, (1962) I, 351
The evidence … suggests that baptism in early Christianity was administered, not in the threefold name, but ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus’.
A HISTORY OF CHRISTIAN THOUGHT (Otto Heick), (1965), I, 53
At first baptism was administered in the name of Jesus, but gradually in the name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
In other words, "gradually" the truth was crushed by the Roman church and replaced by it's own "truth."
HASTINGS DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE, (1898), I, 241
[One explanation is that] the original form of words was ‘into the name of Jesus Christ’. Baptism into the name of the Trinity was a later development.
A HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH, Williston Walker, (1947), Pg 58
The Trinitarian baptismal formula … was displacing the older baptism in the name of Christ.
THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE, (1957), I, 435
The New Testament knows only baptism in the name of Jesus …, which still occurs even in the second and third centuries.
CANNEY’S ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGIONS, (1970), Pg 53
Persons were baptized at first ‘in the name of Jesus Christ’ … or ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus.’… Afterwards, with the development of the doctrine of the Trinity, they were baptized ‘in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BIBLICA, (1899), I, 473
It is natural to conclude that baptism was administered in the earliest times ‘in the name of Jesus Christ,’ or in that ‘of the Lord Jesus.’ This view is confirmed by the fact that the earliest forms of the baptismal confession appear to have been single – not triple, as was the later creed.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA, 11TH edition, (1910), Vol 2, Pg 365
The Trinitarian formula and triune immersion were not uniformly used from the beginning… Bapti[sm] into the name of the Lord [was] the normal formula of the new Testament. In the 3rd century baptism in the name of Christ was still so wide spread that Pope Stephen, in opposition to Cyprian of Carthage, declared it to be valid.
So, the inevitable conclusion is that VERY early in the development of the "church" the "fathers" of the church took it upon themselves to create a baptismal formula that incorporates their pagan Trinity ideology. To deny this is to deny clear facts.
I rest my case. I you wish to accept the "triune formula" of the questionable verse 19, so be it. The facts are on my side.
A more serious point in these verses, and the primary point Yeshua would have intended, was his statement in verse 20, "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Yeshua taught obedience to the Torah of YHVH, whom he worshipped as his God. He taught fear of, reverence for, and steadfast faith in HIS God - the ONE true God that Yeshua, himself, affirmed in reciting the Shema.
Deuteronomy 6:4,5 - 4 Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. The New American Standard Bible, (La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation) 1977.
4 Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. Tanakh, The Holy Scriptures, (Philadelphia, Jerusalem: Jewish Publication Society) 1985.