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
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.
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
In Old Testament times, Christian baptisms were not done. Christ had not been born into the world. So, the Christian Sacraments were not instituted by Him then. Although Christian baptisms were not practiced, there is still much in the Old Testament that prefigures or foreshadows baptism.
In the very first chapter of the Bible, it says:
In the beginning God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water. (Gen. 1:1,2, LXX)
Here, in these very first two verses of the Bible, we see a relationship between the Holy Spirit and water. Water is the preferred substance of the Spirit of God. "The Spirit of God moved over the water." (Gen. 1:2, LXX) Tertullian wrote:
Mindful of this declaration as of a conclusive prescript, we nevertheless proceed to treat the question, “How foolish and impossible it is to be formed anew by water. In what respect, pray, has this material substance merited an office of so high dignity” The authority, I suppose, of the liquid element has to be examined. This however, is found in abundance, and that from the very beginning. For water is one of those things which, before all the furnishing of the world, were quiescent with God in a yet unshapen state. “In the first beginning,” saith Scripture, “God made the Heaven and the Earth. But the Earth was invisible, and unorganized, and darkness was over the abyss; and the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the waters.” (Gen. 1:1,2) The first thing, O man, which you have to venerate, is the age of the, waters in that their substance is ancient; the second, their dignity, in that they were the seat of the Divine Spirit, more pleasing to Him, no doubt, than all the other then existing elements. (On Baptism, chapter 3, by Tertullian, 145-220 A.D., vol. 3, p. 670, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
Theodotus and St. Cyril of Jerusalem, likewise, affirmed the special preference that God has for water.
Now, regeneration is by water and spirit (St. John 3:5), as was all creation: “For the Spirit of God moved on the abyss.” (Gen. 1:2) And for this reason the Saviour was baptized, though not Himself needing to be so, in order that He might consecrate the whole water for those who were being regenerated. Thus it is not the body only, but the soul, that we cleanse. It is accordingly a sign of the sanctifying of our invisible part, and of the straining off from the new and spiritual creation of the unclean spirits that have got mixed up with the soul. (Excerpts of Theodotus, Excerpt 7, by Theodotus, flourished second century A.D., vol. 8, p. 44, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
But if any one wishes to know why the grace is given by water and not by a different element, let him take up the Divine Scriptures and he shall learn. For water is a grand thing, and the noblest of the four visible elements of the world. Heaven is the dwelling-place of Angels, but the Heavens are from the waters: the Earth is the place of men, but the Earth is from the waters: and before the whole six days’ formation of the things that were made, "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the water." (Gen. 1:2) (Catechetical Lectures, Lecture III, paragraph 5, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem, 318-386 A.D., vol. 7, p. 15, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
The dignity of water. Since the beginning of creation, the Holy Spirit has always had a special affinity with water. This is a picture of McKenzie Falls in Australia.
In these first two verses of Sacred Scripture the Sacrament of Baptism is prefigured.
Of the Spirit it is said: “The Spirit was borne upon the waters.” (Gen. 1:2) And well in the beginning of creation is there set forth the figure of baptism whereby the creature had to be purified. (Three Books on the Holy Spirit, Book II, Introduction, paragraph 1, by St. Ambrose of Milan, 340-397 A.D., vol. 10, p. 115, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
The Spirit of God above moved, as a charioteer, over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), and produced from them the infant world, a type of the Christian child that is drawn from the laver of baptism. (Letter LXIX, by St. Jerome, 345-420 A.D., vol. 6, p. 145, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series)
Later in this same Book of Genesis, Baptism is prefigured again by the Flood in the days of Noah.
And the flood was upon the Earth forty days and forty nights, and the water abounded greatly and bore up the ark, and it was lifted on high from off the Earth. And the water prevailed and abounded exceedingly upon the Earth, and the ark was borne upon the water. And the water prevailed exceedingly upon the Earth, and covered all the high mountains which were under heaven. Fifteen cubits upwards was the water raised, and it covered all the high mountains. And there died all flesh that moved upon the Earth, of flying creatures and cattle, and of wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the Earth, and every man. And all things which have the breath of life, and whatever was on the dry land, died. And God blotted out every offspring which was upon the face of the Earth, both man and beast, and reptiles, and birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth, and Noe was left alone, and those with him in the ark. And the water was raised over the Earth an hundred and fifty days. (Gen. 7:17-24, LXX)
St. Peter drew an analogy between Baptism and the Flood in one of His Epistles:
Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: (I Pet. 3:20,21)
In Exodus, the Sacrament of Baptism is prefigured again by the Israelites crossing the Red Sea to escape from the Egyptians.
And the angel of God that went before the camp of the children of Israel removed and went behind, and the pillar of the cloud also removed from before them and stood behind them. And it went between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel, and stood; and there was darkness and blackness; and the night passed, and they came not near to one another during the whole night. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the Lord carried back the sea with a strong south wind all the night, and made the sea dry, and the water was divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry land, and the water of it was a wall on the right hand and a wall on the left. And the Egyptians pursued them and went in after them, and every horse of Pharao, and his chariots, and his horsemen, into the midst of the sea. And it came to pass in the morning watch that the Lord looked forth on the camp of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and troubled the camp of the Egyptians, and bound the axle-trees of their chariots, and caused them to go with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch forth thine hand over the sea, and let the water be turned back to its place, and let it cover the Egyptians coming both upon the chariots and the riders. And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the water returned to its place toward day; and the Egyptians fled from the water, and the Lord shook off the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the water returned and covered the chariots and the riders, and all the forces of Pharao, who entered after them into the sea: and there was not left of them even one. But the children of Israel went along dry land in the midst of the sea, and the water was to them a wall on the right hand, and a wall on the left. So the Lord delivered Israel in that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead by the shore of the sea. (Exodus 14:19-30, LXX)
St. Paul wrote about the analogy of the Red Sea and Baptism in one of his epistles.
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. (I Cor. 10:1)
Another event that prefigured the Sacrament of Baptism was the cleansing of Naaman (Naiman) the Syrian from leprosy in the Jordan River.
And the King of Syria said to Naiman, Go to, go, and I will send a letter to the King of Israel. And he went, and took in his hand ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the King of Israel, saying, Now then, as soon as this letter shall reach thee, behold, I have sent to thee my servant Naiman, and thou shalt recover him from his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the King of Israel read the letter, that he rent his garments, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to recover a man of his leprosy? Consider, however, I pray you, and see that this man seeks an occasion against me. And it came to pass, when Elisaie heard that the King of Israel had rent his garments, that he sent to the King of Israel, saying, Wherefore hast thou rent thy garments? Let Naiman, I pray thee, come to me, and let him know that there is a prophet in Israel. So Naiman came with horse and chariot, and stood at the door of the house of Elisaie. And Elisaie sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash seven times in Jordan, and thy flesh shall return to thee, and thou shalt be cleansed. And Naiman was angry, and departed, and said, Behold, I said, He will by all means come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of his God, and lay his hand upon the place, and recover the leper. Are not the Abana and Pharphar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not go and wash in them, and be cleansed? and he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and said to him, Suppose the prophet had spoken a great thing to thee, wouldest thou not perform it? Yet he has but said to thee, Wash, and be cleansed. So Naiman went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the word of Elisaie: and his flesh returned to him as the flesh of a little child, and he was cleansed. (II Kings 5:5-14, LXX)
Naaman dipped himself in the Jordan River seven times and was made whole. When we are baptized, our fallen natures are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and we are enabled to live the kind of lives that God wants us to live.
St. Irenaeus saw this incident of Naaman dipping himself three times in the Jordan as prefiguring the Sacrament of Baptism.
“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 from the Lost Writings of Irenaeus, Fragment XXXIV, by St. Irenaeus of Lyons, 120-202 A.D., vol. 1, p. 574, Ante-Nicene Fathers)
In His discourse with Nicodemus, Jesus Christ told him how to be born again.
Nicodemus saith unto Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? Jesus answered, 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. (St. John 3:4-6)
Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born of water and the Spirit in order to be born again. Jesus was talking about a spiritual rebirth. To be "born of water and of the Spirit" means to be baptized in water. Everyone is born a fleshly birth of his or her mother, but only in the waters of baptism can one be assured of experiencing the spiritual rebirth which is brought about by the Holy Spirit. The baptismal water is the chosen substance of the Holy Spirit for effecting the spiritual rebirth of people, just as it was His chosen substance in the beginning when He was creating the universe. The Holy Spirit is present in the waters of baptism and it is in those waters that he regenerates the fallen natures of those being baptized.
In a later blog I am going to talk about what happens in an Orthodox Christian baptism. For now, I just wanted to show that baptism was prefigured in the Old Testament and that water is the chosen substance of the Holy Spirit for this Sacrament.
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
