Temptation

This life is a journey into eternity. During the journey of this life, those who seek eternal life and immortality must engage themselves in a spiritual battle to insure the safety of their souls. The spiritual battle involves encountering temptations to sin and achieving victory over such temptations.

We all have freedom of choice. We can choose to do good or to do evil. When we do good, we move ourselves closer to our ultimate salvation. (Rom. 2:7; 6:16,22) It is true that eternal life is a gift (Rom. 6:23), but we still must become servants of righteousness in order to obtain eternal life. (Rom. 6:22) When we do evil, we sin. Temptation precedes sin. Our regular and daily response to temptation determines the fate of our souls.

St. Mark the Ascetic said:

What repayment for all these blessings can you possibly make to Him who has called your soul to eternal life? It is only right, then, that you should live no longer for yourself, but for Christ, who died for your sake and rose again. In your struggle to acquire every virtue and to fulfil every commandment, always seek "the good, acceptable and perfect will of God" (Rom. 12:2), endeavouring with all your strength to pursue it. (Letter to Nicolas the Solitary, by St. Mark the Ascetic, The Philokalia, vol. 1, p. 153)

The spiritual tradition of the Church teaches that there are six stages of temptation: provocation, momentary disturbance of the intellect, coupling, assent, prepossession, and passion.

Provocation occurs when one receives the initial suggestion to sin. This is the first stage of temptation. This suggestion to sin may come from people or from demons. In The Shepherd, an angel tells St. Hermas that everyone has two angels assigned to him or her. One angel encourages one to do good and the other one encourages one to sin. (The Shepherd, Commandment VI) One can avoid the other stages of temptation by rejecting sin immediately after one receives the initial suggestion to sin.

If one is continually assaulted with the suggestion to sin, one should start making the sign of the Cross. This is a physical act of prayer that the demons strongly dislike. One can also start praying the Jesus prayer. This is a very simple, short prayer based on the publican's prayer in St. Luke's Gospel. (St. Luke 18:13) It is: "O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." The continual repetition of this prayer and the sign of the Cross will drive the demons away.

If the temptation is coming from people, then one must know how to respond to those who want to lure one into sin. The Jesus prayer, the sign of the Cross, and calling on the assistance of the Mother of God and the Saints might be necessary depending on how one is being tempted by others to sin. Openly confessing one's allegiance to Christ may also be necessary and might discourage others from trying to get one to sin. Jesus said, "Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in Heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in Heaven." (St. Matt. 10:32,33) In such a situation one is confronted with two choices: to openly confess one's allegiance to Christ or to deny Christ and participate in the sins others seek to involve one in. One choice is a step towards eternal life and the other is a step towards eternal damnation. (St. John 5:29) If one fears God, one will, of course, make the right choice.

In the Bible, there are several admonitions to abstain from the company of people who want to drag one into sin. (Prov. 1:10-19; II Cor. 6:14-18) We must associate with all kinds of people in this world, but it is not necessary that we adopt the interests and lifestyles of everyone. If someone wants you to go to a place where sinful activity is going on, all you have to say is no. If they ask why, you can start talking about your relationship with God and your quest for eternal life in His Kingdom.

The next stage of temptation is momentary disturbance of the intellect. At this stage, one has a thought to sin. The concept of sin is in one's mind. If one continues to dwell on this idea of committing sin, then one advances to the next stage of temptation, coupling. If one replaces the thought of sin with holy thoughts, then one avoids advancing to the next stage of temptation.

Prayer, fasting, and other ascetical labors are necessary to combat temptations when they have advanced beyond the first stage.

Coupling is the third stage of temptation. When one reaches this stage of temptation, one has already committed sin in one's heart. Coupling involves playing with the idea of committing sin, thinking about doing it and even thinking about how one will do it and possibly even avoid being caught doing it.

The fourth stage of temptation is assent. At this stage, one makes a mental decision to commit a sin.

The fifth stage is prepossession. One arrives at this stage when one has repeatedly committed a particular sin over and over again in the past. The sin becomes a habit.

One must exercise much effort to resist such sins when one has reached the fifth stage of temptation. Fasting, prayer, reading the Bible and other holy books, practicing the remembrance of death, and other ascetical practices are necessary to defeat a prepossession.

If one does not fight vigorously against a prepossession, then one will advance to the sixth stage of temptation, passion. At this stage, a particular sin dominates one's life to such an extent that one not only commits a sin by habit, but is overly preoccupied with the practice of that sin.

It is very difficult to defeat a passion. One must fast, pray, and try to continually weaken the tendency to commit such sins that have become passions. It takes a lot of help from God and a lot of asceticism in order to gain the victory in such cases.

Steve

Bibliography

The Philokalia, volumes 1-4, compiled by St. Nikodemus of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth, translated from the Greek and edited by G.E.H. Palmer, Philip Sherrard, and Kallistos Ware, published by Faber and Faber, Ltd., London, copyright 1979 by The Eling Trust

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

The Devil and His Demons

In the Nicaeno-Constantinopolitan Creed, it says, "I believe one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, and of all things visible and invisible." We Orthodox Christians believe in the existence of invisible things as well as visible things. Some of the invisible things are the angels.

Among the angels, there are holy angels who live in obedience to God and unholy ones who disobey Him. The angels consist of nine choirs: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, powers, dominions, authorities, principalities, archangels, and angels. There may be other choirs of angels, but these are the only ones that we know of and that are mentioned in the Bible.

The unholy angels are called demons. Their leader is Satan. There are different ranks among the unholy angels, just as there are among the holy ones.

Sometime before the creation of man, Satan led a rebellion against God in Heaven and got one third of the angels to follow him. (Rev. 12:3,4) Pride was the first sin. (Isaiah 14:12-15) Jesus the Son of Sirach said that "pride is the beginning of sin." (Ecclus. 10:13) It was the sin of pride that evolved into the sin of rebellion and sparked the Satanic revolt in Heaven.

After the creation of man, Satan developed the sin of envy. He envied man and wanted to cause his downfall. (Wisdom 2:24) He encouraged man to sin by lying to him and thus caused his death. (Gen. 3) The sin of envy produced the sins of deceit and murder. Jesus said that Satan is "a liar" and was "a murderer from the beginning." (St. John 8:44) He said that he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. (St. John 10:10)

Later, after the creation of man, some angels of the lowest order fell into the sin of lust. They saw the female offspring of man and desired to mate with them. (Gen. 6:1-4) These fallen angels, according to some ancient writers, are the ones who introduced man to the occult arts of astrology and witchcraft.* In the Hebrew text of Isaiah, the name of a female demon is mentioned. Her name is Lilith. (Isaiah 34:14, NRSV) According to a Jewish myth, she seduced Adam and became his first wife.** According to Babylonian mythology, she seduces men in desert places. In the Book of Tobit, the name of another demon is mentioned. His name is Asmodeus. He lusted after a young Hebrew woman named Sara and killed her first seven husbands before they could consummate their marriages with her. (Tobit 3:7,8; 6:12-17) So, there are male and female demons who lust after humans and even try to encourage them to lust. In demonology, these demons are called incubi and succubi. An incubus is a male demon who lusts after human women. A succubus is a female demon who lusts after human men.

St. Paul told the Ephesian Christians that we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against spiritual hosts of wickedness, that is, the demons. (Eph. 6:12) The demons are still working to cause the downfall of man. They oppose any of attempts of man to acquire the likeness of God and participate in the divine energies. They inspire people to do evil, encourage hate, and try to put man against man. They promote greed, covetousness, lust, sexual immorality, and sexual perversions. They try to undermine any work of God. They encourage the spread of heresies. Many of the modern heresies are just ancient ones taught by modern people.

We are supposed to abstain from every form of evil. (I Thess. 5:22) We need to shun sin in all of its forms. In the process of trying to abstain from evil, however, we often encounter attempts by the demons to pull us into evil. There is an ongoing warfare going on for the souls of humans.

Steve

* When, therefore, the number of men had begun to increase, God in His forethought, lest the devil, to whom from the beginning He had given power over the earth, should by his subtilty either corrupt or destroy men, as he had done at first, sent angels for the protection and improvement of the human race; and inasmuch as He had given these a free will, He enjoined them above all things not to defile themselves with contamination from the earth, and thus lose the dignity of their heavenly nature. He plainly prohibited them from doing that which He knew that they would do, that they might entertain no hope of pardon. Therefore, while they abode among men, that most deceitful ruler of the earth (II Cor. 4:4), by his very association, gradually enticed them to vices, and polluted them by intercourse with women. Then, not being admitted into heaven on account of the sins into which they had plunged themselves, they fell to the earth. Thus from angels the devil makes them to become his satellites and attendants. (The Divine Institutes, Book II, chapter XV, by Lactantius, 260-330 A.D., vol. 7, p. 64, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

These [the angels who had intercourse with human women] were the inventors of astrology, and soothsaying, and divination, and those productions which are called oracles, and necromancy, and the art of magic, and whatever evil practices besides these men exercise, either openly or in secret. (The Divine Institutes, Book II, chapter XVII, by Lactantius, 260-330 A.D., vol. 7, p. 65, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

** The New Revised Standard Version of Isaiah says:

Wildcats shall meet with hyenas, goat-demons shall call to each other; there too Lilith shall repose, and find a place to rest. (Isaiah 34:14, NRSV)

Lilith, according to ancient Jews and Babylonians, was a female demon. A Jewish myth said that she was Adam's first wife and that Adam had intercourse with her before having intercourse with Eve. Maybe some of this myth is true and some of it is false. Maybe she seduced Adam, but was not his first wife. Maybe she seduced him after he had some children with Eve. 99.99% of Adam's biography is missing from the Bible. We do not have a full, detailed account of Adam's 930 years of mortal existence.

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Forty

The ancient mathematicians thought more about the symbolism of numbers than many of us do today. They examined numbers to see what other numbers made up them. The number forty is the one I will deal with in this blog.

Forty occurs many times in the Sacred Scriptures. Both Moses and Elijah fasted for forty days. (Ex. 34:28; I Kings 19:8) During the times of Noah, it rained forty days and forty nights. (Gen. 7:4,12) Our Lord fasted for forty days, too. (St. Matt. 4:2) The ancient Israelites spent forty years in the wilderness before reaching the promised land. (Nehemiah 9:21) After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus walked on the Earth for forty days before ascending up into Heaven. (Acts 1:3-11)

Forty also occurs frequently on the Church calendar. There are forty days of Great Lent. There are forty days from Pascha (Orthodox Easter) to the Feast of the Ascension. There are forty days from the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6) to the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14). There are forty days of Advent (November 15 to December 24). There are forty days from Christmas (December 25) to the Feast of the Meeting of our Lord (February 2).

Ancient mathematicians were particularly interested in the shapes of numbers. They arranged dots or objects into patterns to see what shape each number had. Three, for example, is a triangular number. Three dots can be arranged into the shape of a triangle. The triangle is, of course, a symbol of the Holy Trinity. Four is a square number because four dots can be arranged to form a square. Eight is a cubic number. Eight dots can be arranged to form a cube. Then, there are the spherical numbers. Twenty-five is spherical. Multiply five by itself and you get twenty-five. Twenty-five ends in five — the same number that is its multiple. Thirty-six is also spherical. Six times six is thirty-six and the last digit of thirty-six is six.

Forty is 4 times 10. There are four corners of the earth and four seasons. Ten is made up of 7 and 3. Seven represents the seven days of the week. It, therefore, represents time. Seven also represents perfection. Three is the number of the Trinity. Ten is a temporal and spiritual number. There are ten commandments. The first three pertain to God. (Ex. 20:1-7) The last seven pertain to man. (Exodus 20:8-17) The fourth commandment is about the Sabbath. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. (St. Mark 2:27) It is really a commandment that pertains to man. Forty represents the journey of this life toward the eternal inheritance in the Kingdom of God because it consists of the multiples 4 and 10. Blessed Augustine wrote about the number forty in one of his letters.

As to the reason why this life of toil and self-control is symbolized by the number 40, it seems to me that the number ten (in which is the perfection of our blessedness, as in the number eight, because it returns to the unit) has a like place in this number [as the unit has in giving its significance to eight]; and therefore I regard the number forty as a fit symbol for this life, because in it the creature (of which the symbolical number is seven) cleaves to the Creator, in whom is revealed that unity of the Trinity which is to be published while time lasts throughout this whole world, — a world swept by four winds, constituted of four elements, and experiencing the changes of four seasons in the year. Now four times ten [seven added to three] are forty; but the number forty reckoned in along with [one of] its parts adds the number ten, [as seven reckoned in along with one of its parts adds the unit,] and the total is fifty, — the symbol, as it were, of the reward of the toil and self-control. For it is not without reason that the Lord Himself continued for forty days on this earth and in this life in fellowship with His disciples after His resurrection, and, when He ascended into heaven, sent the promised Holy Spirit, after an interval of ten days more, when the day of Pentecost was fully come. This fiftieth day, moreover, has wrapped up in it another holy mystery: for 7 times 7 days are 49. And when we return to the beginning of another seven, and add the eighth, which is also the first day of the week, we have the 50 days complete; which period of fifty days we celebrate after the Lord’s resurrection, as representing not toil, but rest and gladness. For this reason we do not fast in them; and in praying we stand upright, which is an emblem of resurrection. Hence, also, every Lord’s day during the fifty days, this usage is observed at the altar, and the Alleluia is sung, which signifies that our future exercise shall consist wholly in praising God, as it is written: “Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, O Lord: they will be still (i.e. eternally) praising Thee.” (Psalm 83:5, LXX; Psalm 84:5, Hebrew) (Letter LV, chapter XV, by Blessed Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., vol. 1, pp. 312-313, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

Another interesting feature of forty is that it is made up of the multiples of 8 and 5. Jesus arose from the dead on the eighth day, the day after the Sabbath. The eighth day in Christian symbolism is the day with no sunset. It is the eternal day that we all hope one day to see. Blessed Augustine also wrote about the eighth day.

The Lord’s day, however, has been made known not to the Jews, but to Christians, by the resurrection of the Lord, and from Him it began to have the festive character which is proper to it. For the souls of the pious dead are, indeed, in a state of repose before the resurrection of the body, but they are not engaged in the same active exercises as shall engage the strength of their bodies when restored. Now, of this condition of active exercise the eighth day (which is also the first of the week) is a type, because it does not put an end to that repose, but glorifies it. For with the reunion of the body no hindrance of the soul’s rest returns, because in the restored body there is no corruption: for “this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” (I Cor. 15:53) Wherefore, although the sacramental import of the 8th number, as signifying the resurrection, was by no means concealed from the holy men of old who were filled with the spirit of prophecy (for in the title of Psalms* we find the words “for the eighth,” and infants were circumcised on the eighth day; and in Ecclesiastes it is said, with allusion to the two covenants, “Give a portion to seven, and also to eight”) (Eccl. 11:2); nevertheless before the resurrection of the Lord, it was reserved and hidden, and the Sabbath alone was appointed to be observed, because before that event there was indeed the, repose of the dead (of which the Sabbath rest was a type), but there was not any instance of the resurrection of one who, rising from the dead, was no more to die, and over whom death should no longer have dominion; this being done in order that, from the time when such a resurrection did take place in the Lord’s own body (the Head of the Church being the first to experience that which His body, the Church, expects at the end of time), the day upon which He rose, the eighth day namely (which is the same with the first of the week), should begin to be observed as the Lord’s day. The same reason enables us to understand why, in regard to the day of keeping the Passover, on which the Jews were commanded to kill and eat a lamb, which was most clearly a foreshadowing of the Lord’s Passion, there was no injunction given to them that they should take the day of the week into account, waiting until the Sabbath was past, and making the beginning of the third week of the moon coincide with the beginning of the third week of the first month; the reason being, that the Lord might rather in His own Passion declare the significance of that day, as He had come also to declare the mystery of the day now known as the Lord’s day, the eighth namely, which is also the first of the week. (Letter LV, chapter XIII, by Blessed Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D., vol. 1, p. 310, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

Eight when multiplied by itself five times, that is, eight to the fifth power, is 32,768. 32,768 is a spherical number because the last digit is 8, its multiple. Eight times five is forty.
As for the number five, we have five senses. There are five books of Moses. There are five books of Solomon.** Christ fed five thousand people using five loaves and two fish. In the Russian tradition, the priest uses five loaves of prosphora bread to do the proskomedia before the Divine Liturgy. Five is the number that makes up the Cross.
The very form of the Cross, too, has five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails. (Against Heresies, Book II, chapter 24, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 395, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Each of us must bear his or her own cross in the hope of one day enjoying eternal life in that eighth day, the day with no sunset.

And He said to them all, If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it. (St. Luke 9:23,24)

Forty, as Blessed Augustine says, symbolizes this life of toil and self-control.

Steve

* In the titles of Psalms 6 and 11 in the Septuagint.

** Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Solomon, the Wisdom of Solomon, and the Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus). The last two books were not actually written by Solomon but are grouped with his three books due to a certain resemblance of style.

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

The Benefits of Chrismation

One may wonder why should one be chrismated. Is not baptism enough? Are there any benefits derived from the Sacrament of Chrismation? The answer to these questions can be found in the writings of the Church Fathers.

In his 21st Catechetical Lecture, St. Cyril of Jerusalem says that we are made christs when we are chrismated. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit after He was baptized. We are anointed with the Holy Chrism which represents the Holy Spirit after we are baptized.

Having been baptized into Christ, and put on Christ (Gal. 3:27), ye have been made comformable to the Son of God; for God having foreordained us unto adoption as sons (Eph. 1:5), made us to be conformed to the body of Christ’s glory. (Phil. 3:21) Having therefore become partakers of Christ (Heb. 3:14), ye are properly called Christs, and of you God said, "Touch not My Christs" (Psalm 104:15, LXX; Psalm 105:15, Hebrew), or anointed. Now ye have been made Christs, by receiving the antitype of the Holy Ghost; and all things have been wrought in you by imitation, because ye are images of Christ. He washed in the river Jordan, and having imparted of the fragrance of His Godhead to the waters, He came up from them; and the Holy Ghost in the fulness of His being lighted on Him, like resting upon like. And to you in like manner, after you had come up from the pool of the sacred streams, there was given an Unction, the anti-type of that wherewith Christ was anointed; and this is the Holy Ghost; of whom also the blessed Esaias, in his prophecy respecting Him, said in the person of the Lord, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me: He hath sent Me to preach glad tidings to the poor." (Isaiah 61:1) (The Catechetical Lectures, Lecture XXI, paragraph 1, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem 318-386 A.D., vol. 7, p. 149, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

The ointment used in chrismation should not be regarded as common ointment. It represents the Holy Spirit, but when applied to various parts of a person's body in the Sacrament of Chrismation, the Holy Spirit sanctifies a person's soul.

But beware of supposing this to be plain ointment. For as the Bread of the Eucharist. after the invocation of the Holy Ghost, is mere bread no longer, but the Body of Christ, so also this holy ointment is no more simple ointment, nor (so to say) common, after invocation, but it is Christ’s gift of grace, and, by the advent of the Holy Ghost, is made fit to impart His Divine Nature. Which ointment is symbolically applied to thy forehead and thy other senses; and while thy body is anointed with the visible ointment, thy soul is sanctified by the Holy and life-giving Spirit. (The Catechetical Lectures, Lecture XXI, paragraph 3, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem 318-386 A.D., vol. 7, p. 150, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

When one is chrismated, one becomes armed with the Holy Spirit to fight against the devil.

For as Christ after His Baptism, and the visitation of the Holy Ghost, went forth and vanquished the adversary, so likewise ye, after Holy Baptism and the Mystical Chrism, having put on the whole armour of the Holy Ghost, are to stand against the power of the adversary, and vanquish it, saying, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil. 4:13) (The Catechetical Lectures, Lecture XXI, paragraph 4, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem 318-386 A.D., vol. 7, p. 150, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

St. Ephraim the Syrian said that when we are anointed with the Holy Chrism, Christ invisibly marks us as His sheep.

Christ and chrism are conjoined; the secret with the visible is mingled: the chrism anoints visibly, — Christ seals secretly, the lambs newborn and spiritual, the prize of His twofold victory; for He engendered it of the chrism, and He gave it birth of the water. (Fifteen Hymns for the Feast of Epiphany, Hymn 3, verse 1, by St. Ephraim the Syrian, 306-378 A.D., vol. 13, p. 268, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

Since then she, that sinner, stood in need of forgiveness, the anointing was for her an offering, and by it her love reconciled her Lord. But you who are the flock, among the profane and unbelievers, the Truth by the chrism is your seal, to separate you from the strayed. (Fifteen Hymns for the Feast of Epiphany, Hymn 3, verse 3, by St. Ephraim the Syrian, 306-378 A.D., vol. 13, p. 268, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

The chrism of the meek and lowly One, changes the stubborn to be like its Lord. The Gentiles were wolves and feared, the severe rod of Moses. Lo! The chrism seals them and makes, a flock of sheep out of the wolves! And the wolves that had fled from the rod, lo! They have taken refuge in the Cross! (Fifteen Hymns for the Feast of Epiphany, Hymn 3, verse 7, by St. Ephraim the Syrian, 306-378 A.D., vol. 13, p. 268, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

We are called Christians because we are anointed with the Holy Chrism.

And about your laughing at me and calling me “Christian,” you know not what you are saying. First, because that which is anointed (christos) is sweet and serviceable, and far from contemptible. For what ship can be serviceable and seaworthy, unless it be first caulked [anointed]? Or what castle or house is beautiful and serviceable when it has not been anointed? And what man, when he enters into this life or into the gymnasium, is not anointed with oil? And what work has either ornament or beauty unless it be anointed and burnished? Then the air and all that is under heaven is in a certain sort anointed by light and spirit; and are you unwilling to be anointed (christos) with the oil of God? Wherefore we are called Christians on this account, because we are anointed (christos) with the oil of God. (To Autolycus, Book II, chapter 12, by St. Theophilus of Antioch, 115-181 A.D., vol. 2, p. 92, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Having been counted worthy of this Holy Chrism, ye are called Christians, verifying the name also by your new birth. For before you were deemed worthy of this grace, ye had properly no right to this title, but were advancing on your way towards being Christians. (The Catechetical Lectures, Lecture XXI, paragraph 5, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem 318-386 A.D., vol. 7, p. 150, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

So then, there are spiritual benefits derived from having received the Sacrament of Chrismation. When someone is chrismated, he or she is marked as one of Christ's sheep and his or her soul is sanctified by the Holy Spirit. People are made "christs" when they are chrismated. They are armed with the Holy Spirit to fight the devil after the priest chrismates them. The name, Christian, is derived from the practice of chrismation.

Steve

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

How to be Filled with the Holy Spirit

There is a popular teaching circulating among some people today about some sort of second work of grace called the filling of the Holy Spirit. These people say that after one "gets saved," he needs to be "filled with the Holy Spirit." The verse they use to support this doctrine is found in Ephesians 5:18 where St. Paul says:

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit. (Eph. 5:18)

They say that one must yield one's life to God and pray a prayer asking God to fill him or her with His Holy Spirit. The people who teach this doctrine seem to think that there is a special class of Christians who are Spirit-filled Christians and another class of Christians who are not filled with the Holy Spirit.

Of course, we should yield our lives to God. We need to be doing this on a day by day, moment by moment basis, but there is no second work of grace called the filling of the Holy Spirit.

As for praying to be filled with the Holy Spirit, there is a prayer that Orthodox pray when they are beginning their prayers. It is:

O Heavenly King, O Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, who art in all places and fillest all things, the Treasury of Blessings and Giver of Life, come and abide in us, cleanse us from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.

Every Christian who prays this prayer in faith is being filled with the Holy Spirit as he or she prays.

The dove is the symbol of the Holy Spirit. For attribute click here.

One of the things that I oppose in the teaching of this novel doctrine about being filled with the Holy Spirit is the idea that there are Christians walking around without some special filling of the Holy Spirit and there are Christians who have this special filling of the Holy Spirit after having made a decision to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

There are many fillings of the Holy Spirit mentioned in the Bible. King Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit when he prophesied. (I Sam. 10:9-13) St. Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit when he spoke to the Jewish religious leaders about Christ. (Acts 4:5-12) St. Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit when he spoke to Elymas the Sorcerer and told him he would become blind for a while. (Acts 13:8-11) St. John Chrysostom said that we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we are baptized.

See how even among the seven one was preëminent, and won the first prize. For though the ordination was common to him and them, yet he drew upon himself greater grace. And observe, how he wrought no (signs and wonders) before this time, but only when he became publicly known; to show that grace alone is not sufficient, but there must be ordination also; so that there was a further access of the Spirit. For if they were full of the Spirit, it was of that which is from the Laver of Baptism. (Homilies on the Acts of the Holy Apostles, Homily XV, by St. John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D., vol. 11, p. 94, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

He also said that we are filled with the Holy Spirit when we sing psalms to God.

“But be filled with the Spirit; speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God even the Father; subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.” (Eph. 5:18-21)

Dost thou wish, he says, to be cheerful, dost thou wish to employ the day? I give thee spiritual drink; for drunkenness even cuts off the articulate sound of our tongue; it makes us lisp and stammer, and distorts the eyes, and the whole frame together. Learn to sing psalms, and thou shall see the delightfulness of the employment. For they who sing psalms are filled with the Holy Spirit, as they who sing satanic songs are filled with an unclean spirit.

What is meant by “with your hearts to the Lord”? It means, with close attention and understanding. For they who do not attend closely, merely sing, uttering the words, whilst their heart is roaming elsewhere. (Homilies on St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians, Homily XIX, by St. John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D., vol. 13, p. 138, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

That is what St. Paul was talking about when he told the Ephesian Christians to be filled with the Holy Spirit. (Eph. 5:18) He meant to do that by singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord. (Eph. 5:19) He was not telling them they need some special second work of grace that would make them better than the average Christian.

Some of these people who teach this doctrine say that when we are filled with the Holy Spirit after having made a decision to do so, we immediately acquire the "fruit of the Spirit" mentioned in Galatians 5:22,23.

It is true that those qualities mentioned in Galatians 5:22,23 are the work of the Holy Spirit, but we ourselves often have to work with God at acquiring those qualities. We have to cooperate with God to obtain love, joy, peace, faithfulness, meekness, and all of those other qualities. They do not just come to us after we say one prayer. St. Gregory Dialogos said that those who are full of the Holy Spirit will exhibit both zeal and meekness.

Those, therefore, are to be admonished to fly what is close beside themselves, these to take heed to what is in themselves; those to discern what they have not, these what they have. Let the meek embrace solicitude; let the passionate ban perturbation, The meek are to be admonished that they study to have also the zeal of righteousness: the passionate are to be admonished that to the zeal which they think they have they add meekness. For on this account the Holy Spirit has been manifested to us in a dove and in fire; because, to wit, all whom He fills He causes to shew themselves as meek with the simplicity of the dove, and burning with the fire of zeal.

He then is in no wise full of the Holy Spirit, who either in the calm of meekness forsakes the fervour of zeal, or again in the ardour of zeal loses the virtue of meekness. (The Book of Pastoral Rule, Part III, chapter 16, by St. Gregory Dialogos, 540-604 A.D., vol. 12, part 2, p. 40, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

So then, there are actually many ways that one can be filled with the Holy Spirit. One can be filled with the Holy Spirit when he or she is baptized. One can become filled with the Holy Spirit by striving to acquire virtue. One can be filled with the Holy Spirit while singing hymns and songs of praise to God.

Yes, we do need to yield our lives to God, but that is something every Christian should be doing anyway. Jesus said:

And why call ye Me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? (St. Luke 6:46)

and:

If ye continue in My word, then are ye My disciples indeed. (St John 8:31)

Striving to live a life pleasing to God is the job of every Christian. Any Christian who is doing that is filled with the Holy Spirit. Worshipping God is something every Christian should do regularly. Any Christian who sings hymns to God is filled with the Holy Spirit when he or she is doing so. There are many times during the life of a Christian when he or she will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Anyone who gives himself over to overindulging in carnal pleasure, however, becomes a servant of carnal pleasure. St. Paul said:

So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom. 8:8)

Such people are not filled with the Holy Spirit. In the next verse, the apostle says:

But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. (Rom. 8:9)

Everyone who has been baptized and chrismated has the Holy Spirit. We are filled with the Holy Spirit from the very moment that we issue from the baptismal font. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit after being chrismated.

The apostle further adds:

Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. (Rom. 8:9)

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ, that is, the Holy Spirit, is not a Christian. Anyone who is a Christian has the Holy Spirit. There is no special class of Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit and another class that is not.

Remember from previous blogs that I have said that the Holy Spirit is God. No one can have God without having the Holy Spirit. No one can the Holy Spirit without having God. It is impossible to have one Person of the Holy Trinity without having the other Two. All Three Persons are one God and share the same essence.

Now, it is possible for the Holy Spirit to depart from a Christian. Actually, it is the sinning Christian who departs from the Holy Spirit and not the other way around although we often speak of the Holy Spirit departing from a person. The Holy Spirit, being God, is in all places at all times. So, a Christian can lapse and depart from God.

There are many examples of someone losing his relationship with the Holy Spirit in the Bible. The Holy Spirit departed from King Saul because of his disobedience. (I Sam. 16:14) King David prayed that the Holy Spirit would not leave him after he committed adultery with Bathsheba. (Psalm 50:11, LXX; Psalm 51:11, Hebrew) When a Christian returns to a life of sin, the Holy Spirit departs from him. (Wisd. 1:4,5; II Chron. 15:2; Rom. 8:13, 14)

So then, there are many fillings of the Holy Spirit. All Christians have the Holy Spirit and any Christian who returns to a life of sin, has put his soul in jeopardy and lost his relationship with God. Lapsed Christians, like non-Christians, do not have the Holy Spirit. They must repent in order to regain their relationship with God.

Steve

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

What is Regeneration?

In my blogs on baptism, I have frequently mentioned that people are regenerated when they are baptized. The question, then, may arise as to what exactly is regeneration. The answer to the question can be found in the Holy Scriptures, in the writings of the Church Fathers, and in those of other ancient Christian writers.

In St. John's Gospel, we read that our Lord told Nicodemus:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. (St. John 3:3)

We can see here that "being born again" or regenerated is essential to a person's eternal salvation. Without a new birth, one will not be able to enjoy eternal life in the Kingdom of God. This is what our Lord was telling Nicodemus.

Nicodemus asked our Lord:

How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? (St. John 3:4)

Nicodemus was asking Jesus how to be born again.

Jesus told him how. He said:

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (St. John 3:5-8)

The Lord told Nicodemus that we are born again when we are born of water and of the Holy Spirit. He was talking about baptism. When we are baptized, we are "born again." This is the teaching of the Church Fathers and ancient Christian writers.

For Christ, being the first-born of every creature, became again the chief of another race regenerated by Himself through water, and faith, and wood, containing the mystery of the Cross; even as Noah was saved by wood when he rode over the waters with his household. (The Dialogue of Justin with Trypho the Jew, Chapter CXXXVIII, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1, p. 268, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

“And dipped himself,” says [the Scripture], “seven times in Jordan.” (II Kings 5:14) It was not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified upon his being baptized, but [it served] as an indication to us. For as we are lepers in sin, we are made clean, by means of the sacred water and the invocation of the Lord, from our old transgressions; being spiritually regenerated as new-born babes, even as the Lord has declared: “Except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.” (St. John 3:5) (Fragments of the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XXXIV, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 543, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Moreover, the things proceeding from the waters were blessed by God, that this also might be a sign of men’s being destined to receive repentance and remission of sins, through the water and laver of regeneration, — as many as come to the truth, and are born again, and receive blessing from God. (To Autolycus, Book II, chapter 16, by St. Theophilus of Antioch, 115-181 A.D., vol. 2, p. 101, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

The view I take is, that He Himself formed man of the dust, and regenerated him by water; and made him grow by His Spirit; and trained him by His word to adoption and salvation, directing him by sacred precepts; in order that, transforming earth-born man into a holy and heavenly being by His advent, He might fulfil to the utmost that divine utterance, “Let Us make man in Our own image and likeness.” (Gen. 1:26) (The Instructor, Book I, chapter 12, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 234, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

But what a thing it is, to assert and contend that they who are not born in the Church can be the sons of God! For the blessed apostle sets forth and proves that baptism is that wherein the old man dies and the new man is born, saying, “He saved us by the washing of regeneration.” (Titus 3:5) (Epistle LXXIII, paragraph 6, by St. Cyprian of Carthage, 200-258 A.D., vol. 5, p. 388, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

These verily are they who are entrusted with the pangs of spiritual travail and the birth which comes through baptism: by their means we put on Christ, and are buried with the Son of God, and become members of that blessed Head. (A Treatise on the Priesthood, Book III, paragraph 6, by St. John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D., vol. 9, p. 47, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

People who are from religious traditions that do not teach baptismal regeneration may think of this as being odd. They may wonder how can the water of baptism bring about the new birth. It is not the water. It is the Holy Spirit in the water. The Holy Spirit regenerates us in the waters of baptism. The water is supposed to be consecrated by prayer before performing a baptism. This is Holy Tradition. St. Basil the Great wrote about this apostolic tradition in his book, On the Holy Spirit.

Moreover we bless the water of baptism and the oil of the chrism, and besides this the catechumen who is being baptized. On what written authority do we do this? Is not our authority silent and mystical tradition? (On the Holy Spirit, chapter 27, by St. Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D., vol. 8, p. 41, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

The prescription to do this is not found anywhere in the Bible.

Regeneration is spiritual. It happens to our souls. Jesus said:

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. (St. John 3:6)

Clement of Alexandria wrote:

And as the regeneration was conformably spiritual, so also was the nutriment of man spiritual. (The Instructor, Book I, chapter 6, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 221, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

When God regenerates someone's soul, it happens invisibly. No one can see the work of the Holy Spirit taking place in the waters of baptism. We know by faith that it does occur, because this is the true teaching of the Church. Jesus said:

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. (St. John 3:7,8)

When we are regenerated, we become children of God and we put away our former manner of life. We embrace a new life, living in obedience to God.

Truly, then, are we the children of God, who have put aside the old man, and stripped off the garment of wickedness, and put on the immortality of Christ; that we may become a new, holy people by regeneration, and may keep the man undefiled. (The Instructor, Book I, chapter 6, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 217, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Therefore, when the soul embraces the faith, being renewed in its second birth by water and the power from above, then the veil of its former corruption being taken away, it beholds the light in all its brightness. It is also taken up (in its second birth) by the Holy Spirit, just as in its first birth it is embraced by the unholy spirit. The flesh follows the soul now wedded to the Spirit, as a part of the bridal portion — no longer the servant of the soul, but of the Spirit. (A Treatise on the Soul, Chapter XLI, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 221, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

I will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to God when we had been made new through Christ; lest, if we omit this, we seem to be unfair in the explanation we are making. As many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to be able to live accordingly, are instructed to pray and to entreat God with fasting, for the remission of their sins that are past, we praying and fasting with them. Then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated. For, in the name of God, the Father and Lord of the universe, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, they then receive the washing with water. For Christ also said, “Except ye be born again, ye shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven." (St. John 3:3) (The First Apology, Chapter LXI, by St. Justin the Martyr, 110-165 A.D., vol. 1, p. 183, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Regeneration is not repentance and it is not faith. St. Peter told the Jews who witnessed the first Christians speaking in foreign languages that they had never studied:

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. (Acts 2:38)

The Jews to whom St. Peter spoke had to repent before being baptized. When they were baptized, they were regenerated.

For an adult or teenager converting to Christ, repentance comes first along with faith in Christ. Then, baptism follows. It is in baptism that one experiences the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit.

The Ethiopian eunuch in the Book of Acts had faith in Christ before he was baptized by St. Philip the Deacon.

And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same Scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. (Acts 8:34-38)

So, it is possible to have faith in Christ and not be regenerate.

The children of Orthodox Christians are baptized shortly after they have been born. The 110th Canon of the Council of Carthage (419 A.D.) says:

Likewise it seemed good that whosoever denies that infants newly from their mother’s wombs should be baptized, or says that baptism is for remission of sins, but that they derive from Adam no original sin, which needs to be removed by the laver of regeneration, from whence the conclusion follows, that in them the form of baptism for the remission of sins, is to be understood as false and not true, let him be anathema.

For no otherwise can be understood what the Apostle says, “By one man sin is come into the world, and death through sin, and so death passed upon all men in that all have “sinned” (Rom. 5:12), than the Catholic Church everywhere diffused has always understood it. For on account of this rule of faith (regulam fidei) even infants, who could have committed as yet no sin themselves, therefore are truly baptized for the remission of sins, in order that what in them is the result of generation may be cleansed by regeneration. (Canon CX, Council of Carthage, 419 A.D., vol. 14, p. 496, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

As little babies, they are incapable of repentance and faith. They are not incapable of being regenerated, however.

So, repentance is not regeneration. Faith in Christ is not regeneration either. Repentance and faith in Christ are necessary for a person's salvation. The baptized children of Orthodox Christians need to be instructed in the Orthodox faith and they need to understand what sin is and repent when they sin. People outside the Church need to repent and have faith in Christ before they can be baptized. Regeneration, however, happens in the consecrated waters of baptism.

The Orthodox Church does not view the Fall of Man as being a total and complete fall, leaving man totally incapable of doing any good at all. Unregenerate men and women can still do good. Tertullian wrote:

Just as no soul is without sin, so neither is any soul without seeds of good. (A Treatise on the Soul, Chapter XLI, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 221, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

However, unregenerate people cannot climb to the heights of spiritual sanctity that the Saints have reached. Regeneration makes one a child of God and enables one to advance further up the ladder of spiritual perfection. Jesus said:

For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. (St. Matt. 5:20)

and:

Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in Heaven. (St. Matt. 7:21)

We must advance spiritually in order to gain admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Without regeneration, one can only advance to a certain level of goodness and go no higher.

The Pharisees were capable of doing good, but they were unregenerate. Jesus said:

Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. (St. Matt. 23:25,26)

It is possible to be outwardly good and inwardly evil. It is also possible to be good and have no relationship with Christ. St. Lydia of Thyatira worshiped God and was a good woman, but she was unregenerate. After she heard the Gospel preached by St. Paul, she believed in Christ and was baptized. She was unregenerate until she had been baptized.

And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us. (Acts 16:13-15)

St. Paul taught that we are regenerated when we are baptized.

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word. (Eph. 5:25,26)

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. (Titus 3:4,5)

Baptism is not a work, by the way. It is a gift. St. John Chrysostom wrote the following text about baptism:

But, if you will, let us discourse about the name which this mystic cleansing bears: for its name is not one, but very many and various. For this purification is called the laver of regeneration. “He saved us,” he saith, “through the laver of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” (Titus 3:5) It is called also illumination, and this St. Paul again has called it, “For call to remembrance the former days in which after ye were illuminated ye endured a great conflict of sufferings” (Heb. 10:32); and again, “For it is impossible for those who were once illuminated, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and then fell away, to renew them again unto repentance.” (Heb. 6:4) It is called also, baptism: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:27) It is called also burial: “For we were buried” saith he, “with Him, through baptism, into death.” (Rom. 6:4) It is called circumcision: “In whom ye were also circumcised, with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh.” (Col. 2:11) It is called a cross: “Our old man was crucified with Him that the body of sin might be done away.” (Rom. 6:6) It is also possible to speak of other names besides these, but in order that we should not spend our whole time over the names of this free gift, come, return to the first name, and let us finish our discourse by declaring its meaning; but in the meantime, let us extend our teaching a little further. (Instruction to Catechumens, First Instruction, by St. John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D., vol. 9, pp. 160-161, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series)

Notice that he called baptism a "free gift."

Regeneration of the soul is essential to our salvation. Tertullian wrote:

Every soul, then, by reason of its birth, has its nature in Adam until it is born again in Christ; moreover, it is unclean all the while that it remains without this regeneration (Rom. 6:4); and because unclean, it is actively sinful, and suffuses even the flesh (by reason of their conjunction) with its own shame. (A Treatise on the Soul, Chapter XL, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 22o, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

When we are regenerated, our souls are renewed and cleansed. They are enabled to live the kind of life that God wants us to live and to reach greater heights of holiness and righteousness in life.

There is another regeneration — regeneration of the flesh. Baptism also is an aid in the regeneration of the flesh which will take place at the general resurrection of the dead when Jesus Christ returns to judge the world. In the writings of Clement of Alexandria and Tertullian this connection between baptism and the regeneration of the flesh is made.

And the wretched creatures are not ashamed at having bestowed the greatest pains about this little oyster, when they might adorn themselves with the sacred jewel, the Word of God, whom the Scripture has somewhere called a pearl, the pure and pellucid Jesus, the eye that watches in the flesh, — the transparent Word, by whom the flesh, regenerated by water, becomes precious. (The Instructor, Book II, chapter 13, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 267, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Now it would not at all have been consistent that any rule of holiness and righteousness should be especially enjoined for the flesh, if the reward of such a discipline were not also within its reach; nor could even baptism be properly ordered for the flesh, if by its regeneration a course were not inaugurated tending to its restitution; the apostle himself suggesting this idea: “Know ye not, that so many of us as are baptized into Jesus Christ, are baptized into His death? We are therefore buried with Him by baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised up from the dead, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” (Rom. 6:3,4) And that you may not suppose that this is said merely of that life which we have to walk in the newness of, through baptism, by faith, the apostle with superlative forethought adds: “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of Christ’s death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.” (Rom. 6:5) (On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Chapter XLVII, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 580, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

The use of the word, regeneration, in reference to the resurrection of the dead can be found in the New Testament. Jesus used the word, "regeneration," in reference to the resurrection of the dead when speaking to His apostles. He said:

Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit in the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (St. Matt. 19:28)

Whence also the resurrection is actually spoken of as regeneration, according to the words of the Lord: “Verily I say unto you, that ye which have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (St. Matt. 19:28) (Seven Books on the Incarnation of the Lord against Nestorius, Book V, chapter 7, by St. John Cassian, 360-436 A.D., vol. 11, p. 585, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

Illumination accompanies regeneration. When one is illumined, one is able to know God.

Straightway, on our regeneration, we attained that perfection after which we aspired. For we were illuminated, which is to know God. (The Instructor, Book I, chapter 6, by Clement of Alexandria, 153-217 A.D., vol. 2, p. 215, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

And inasmuch as man, with respect to that formation which, was after Adam, having fallen into transgression, needed the laver of regeneration, [the Lord] said to him [upon whom He had conferred sight], after He had smeared his eyes with the clay, “Go to Siloam, and wash” (St. John 9:7); thus restoring to him both [his perfect] confirmation, and that regeneration which takes place by means of the laver. And for this reason when he was washed he came seeing, that he might both know Him who had fashioned him, and that man might learn [to know] Him who has conferred upon him life. (Against Heresies, Book V, chapter 15, paragraph 3, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 543, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

To sum up, spiritual regeneration is a work of the Holy Spirit that occurs in baptism. It is not repentance and it is not faith in Christ. It is possible to be a good person and be unregenerate. We need to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit in order to advance spiritually to the heights of holiness and righteousness that God call us to.

Steve

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Two Other Baptisms

In the third chapter of St. John's Gospel, our Lord speaks about the baptism with water when He tells Nicodemus: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God." (St. John 3:5) Whenever one speaks of baptism, one usually thinks of this type of baptism. There are two other baptisms in addition to this one: the baptism with blood and the baptism with tears.

The baptism with blood is a far nobler form of baptism than the baptism with water. It is the baptism that martyrs receive from their persecutors. Tertullian spoke of this type of baptism in his work, On Baptism.

We have indeed, likewise, a second font, (itself withal one with the former,) of blood, to wit; concerning which the Lord said, “I have to be baptized with a baptism” (St. Luke 12:50), when He had been baptized already. For He had come “by means of water and blood” (I John 5:6), just as John has written; that He might be baptized by the water, glorified by the blood; to make us, in like manner, called by water, chosen by blood. (St. Matt. 20:16; Rev. 17:14) (On Baptism, chapter 16, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 677, Ante-Nicene Fathers)

Tertullian was talking about martyrdom. Martyrs are baptized in their own blood. Tertullian wrote about some catechumens who had never finished their catechetical instruction, but were martyred before they could be baptized. These catechumens were from Carthage in North Africa. They were Saturus, Revocatus, Saturninus, Secundulus, and Felicitas. St. Perpetua was also martyred along with them. Felicitas was pregnant when she was martyred. So, her unborn child received the baptism with blood along with her. Tertullian tells about their martyrdoms in The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas.

The second type of baptism is one that is experienced after one has received water baptism. It is called the baptism with tears. We all sin even after we have been baptized. We need to continue to experience God's forgiveness and His mercy. The way we do this is by repentance. True repentance brings not only pardon from the guilt of our sins, but also a change of heart and a change of life. When we repent we stop committing the sins we have repented of or at the very least, we start making a determined effort using various ascetical disciplines to stop committing those sins. St. John of Damascus defined repentance in these terms.

Repentance is the returning from the unnatural into the natural state, from the devil to God, through discipline and effort. (An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith, Book II, chapter 30, by St. John of Damascus, 645-750 A.D., vol. 9, part 2, p. 43, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)

The one who says to God, "Forgive me," but has no desire to change really has not repented. The one who says to God, "Forgive me," makes an effort to change, but then returns to his old sins is not much better. He is like the one who receives the Word of God on the rocky soil.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. (St. Luke 8:13)

He believes he needs to change the way he lives and asks God to forgive him, but he stops believing the Word and falls back into his old sins. His faith in God or rather his faithfulness to God is shallow and has no root.

The Greek word translated "faith" in the New Testament is pistis. Pistis also means "faithfulness." To believe in Jesus Christ means not to merely believe certain things about Him to be true, but also to trust Him and be faithful to Him. We exhibit our faith in Him and our faithfulness to Him by how we live our lives.

The goal in repentance is to be healed of sin, not to merely obtain pardon from God. Getting God to pardon us of our sins is the easy part of salvation. God loves us and wants to forgive us. Becoming healed of our sins is usually the more difficult part of salvation. It often requires discipline and effort.

St. Paul told the Philippian Christians: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (Phil. 2:12) Repentance is just one of the many things we must do to work out our salvation. When we repent we are baptized with our tears.

So, there are these two other baptisms in addition to water baptism: one received by martyrs and one received by baptized Christians when they repent.

Steve

Bibliography

Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts, D.D. & James Donaldson, LL.D., volumes 1-10, Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts

Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, edited by Philip Schaff, D.D., LL.D. & Henry Wace, D.D., volumes 1-14, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., Peabody, Massachusetts