What are the blessings of baptism?

First: The death of the old man. Baptism washes away our sins and slays our physical lusts; or we can say that it ends the old man’s deeds. But as for the flesh, it is in itself good and holy . St. John Chrysostom says, “I want this flesh to die to sin. I do not seek that the flesh dies, but to not sin again. Just as a dead man has his body above the possibility of sin,

1290 Jean Daniélou, The Bible and the Liturgy (Darton, Longman & Todd, 1956): Ch. 6.

1291 Origen, Homilies on Joshua 6.4 (FOTC 105:71–73).

1292 Origen, Homilies on Joshua 1.4 (FOTC 105:30).

so he who ascends from the waters of baptism will be saved from sin. Therefore, if you have died in this water, you should remain dead to sin.”¹²⁹³

Second: Crossing from the death of sin to life in God. The effect of baptism is not limited to the negative work of washing away sins, but extends also to the positive work of living in God. St. Jacob of Sarug says, “Baptism is a door that brings us back to heaven, through which man passes, to be with God. Baptism is a new vessel carrying the dead, by which they cross over into the land of the immortal. Baptism is placed in the world for the new world, in which man travels from the death to the land of life.”¹²⁹⁴

Third: Baptism is the seal ( sphragis ) of the spirit. Baptism is the seal that shows that a person is a member of the Church, is united with Christ and has accepted the Kingdom of God. St. Paul says, “Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us , and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee” (2 Cor. 1:21–22); and “In Him you also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” (Eph. 1:13). Many Fathers spoke about baptism as a seal of the soul, such as St. Clement of Rome,¹²⁹⁵ The Shepherd of Hermas,¹²⁹⁶ Tertullian,¹²⁹⁷ and St. John Chrysostom.¹²⁹⁸

St. Ephrem the Syrian says, “As the shepherd seals his herd with a unique mark to recognize them, which shows that they belong to him, so does the Holy Spirit on those who belong to Him in baptism by the ointment of the holy oil that they receive during baptism.”¹²⁹⁹ The soldier in the Roman army was marked with a sign ( signaculum ) on his hand bearing the abbreviated name of his commander.¹³⁰⁰ That is why the Church Fathers saw baptism as a mark that seals the spiritual soldiers of Christ, carrying on their hearts and bodies the stamp of their great spiritual leader Jesus Christ and His Holy Name.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem says, “Now your name is engraved, and you are called to enter the camp.” As we are immersed in the waters of baptism, we come out bearing the seal of God, the image of our Creator and His attributes in us. We are not only embodying Christ our God, but Christ’s life becomes our life, His death our death, His resurrection our resurrection, His attributes our attributes, His glories our glories, and His Father our Father.

Fourth: Baptism is a new birth. St. John starts his Gospel with the words, “In Him was life … to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of

1293 St. John Chrysostom, In Epis . Ad Rom Homily 2. 1294 St. Jacob of Sarug, A Homily on the Baptism of Christ and Holy Baptism . 1295 St. Clement of Rome, Epistle 7.6.

1296 The Pastor of Hermas (or Shepherd of Hermas) Book 3, Similitude 9.16 (ANF 2:49).

1297 Tertullian, On Modesty 9 (ANF 4:83).

1298 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Second Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians 3.7 (NPNF I/12).

1299 St. Ephrem the Syrian, Enchir. Patr . 712.

1300 F. J. Doelger, Shragis , Poderborn, 1911: pp. 32, 33.

God (John 1:4, 12–13). Christ spoke clearly about this new birth by saying, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). It is for this reason that Christ began his service by being baptized Himself, to assure us that no one can enter the Kingdom of God and His service except through the new birth, that is baptism. Our new status attained in baptism — that is, being the children of God — occupied the minds of the disciples, the apostles, and the whole Church, since it is the strength of any Christian in his spiritual life. That is why the apostles did not cease referring to this honor from time to time: “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:26–27; see also Rom. 8:15–16; 1 Pet. 1:23).

St. Augustine says, “Whilst there are two births, then, he understood only one. One is of the earth, the other of heaven; one of the flesh, the other of the Spirit; one of mortality, the other of eternity; one of male and female, the other of God and the Church. But these two are each single; there can be no repeating the one or the other. One makes us children of the flesh, the other makes us children of the Spirit. One makes us children of death, the other makes us children of the resurrection. One makes us children of this age, the other makes us children of God. One makes us children of the curse and wrath, the other makes us children of blessing and love. One chains us with the original sin and the other loosens us from the bonds of every sin.”¹³⁰¹

Fifth : In baptism, the Lord broke the heads of Satan. Through baptism, we receive the power to resist Satan.

Sixth: Angels rejoice in our baptism . St. Cyril of Jerusalem says: “Angels shall dance around you, and say, Who is this in white, Leaning upon her beloved? For the soul that was formerly a slave has now adopted her Master Himself as her kinsman and He accepting the unfeigned purpose will answer: Behold, you are fair … Your teeth are like a flock of shorn sheep, which have come up from the washing. Every one of which bears twins and none is barren among them.”¹³⁰²

Seventh: In baptism, we put on Christ. St. Paul says, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Gal. 3:27). We put on Christ not as an outer clothing, but we unite with Him and partake in His nature without losing our human nature. St. John Chrysostom says, “We do not take this in the literal sense as a work of love but as a fact. The incarnation made our unity with Christ and our communion in deification a real fact.”¹³⁰³

Eighth: We are embedded in Christ . Tertullian says that through baptism, “man will be restored for God to His ‘likeness,’ who in days bygone had been conformed to ‘the image’

1301 St. Augustine of Hippo, Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 11 (NPNF I/7:77) amended.

1302 St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures 3.16 (NPNF II/7:18).

1303 Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, God is My Holiness (Arabic): p. 52.

of God.”¹³⁰⁴ This likeness is achieved by the unity of the soul with her Savior, where it is embedded into Him as a branch in a tree to bear fruits in Him. The Lord used the parable of the vine and the branches (John 15) to proclaim that He is the mystery of our lives.

Ninth: We enjoy the mystery of the true Passover and not merely the symbolic one. We do not believe that baptism is just a symbol of Passover, but rather a true communion in the mystery of Christ’s Passover, so we accept by faith “the work of God who raised Him from the dead” (Col. 2:12). In baptism, we are brought to the risen life and are seated with Him in the heavenly places (Eph. 2:4–6). St. John Chrysostom says, “For baptism is the cross. What the cross then, and burial, is to Christ, that baptism has been to us, even if not in the same respects. For He died Himself and was buried in the flesh, but we have done both to sin … For if you have shared in His death and burial, much more will you in resurrection and life.”¹³⁰⁵

Tenth: We enjoy membership in the one body of Christ. St. John Chrysostom say, “Before yesterday you were captives, but now you are free citizens of the Church; lately you lived in the shame of your sins, but now you live in freedom and justice. You are not only free, but also holy; not only holy, but also righteous; not only righteous, but also sons; not only sons, but also heirs; not only heirs, but also brothers of Christ; not only brothers of Christ, but also joint heirs; not only joint heirs, but also members; not only members, but also the temple; not only the temple, but also instruments of the Spirit. Blessed be God, who alone does wonderful things! You have seen how numerous the gifts of baptism are. Although many men think that the only gift it confers is the remission of sins, we have counted its honors to the number of ten.”¹³⁰⁶

Eleventh: The sanctification of the life of the bride. If in baptism we receive membership in the body of Christ, then the soul becomes the holy bride of Christ and will hear the voice of her Bridegroom telling her, “Then I washed you in water; yes, I thoroughly washed off your blood, and I anointed you with oil … You were exceedingly beautiful and succeeded to royalty. Your fame went out among the nations because of your beauty, for it was perfect through My splendor which I had bestowed on you” (Ezek. 16:9–14). St. Jacob of Sarug says, “Baptism is the bride of the King who conceives and gives birth for Him. She is supported by the Only Begotten Son through the Spirit of His Father. She is the fiancée of the Sun by whom all the creation is nourished, and the world is called to light with love.”

Twelfth: Spiritual enlightenment. In our contemporary rites, before the celebration of the glorious Feast of the Resurrection (the Christian Passover), we read the gospel of the man born blind on the Sunday before Palm Sunday, since baptism is the way by which our inner vision is opened by Christ’s (the Light of the World) entrance into our inner Jerusalem that we may enjoy the mystery of the true Passover as a mystery for our personal enlightenment.

1304 Tertullian, On Baptism 5 (ANF 3:672).

1305 St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Romans 6 (NPNF I/11:405) amended.

1306 St. John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 3.5–6 (ACW 31:57).

Considering this fact, we understand the words of St. Paul in Heb 6:4–6: “For those who were once enlightened,” who were baptized and fell, can never be renewed again, meaning, they will not be baptized again, because Christ was crucified once and so baptism cannot be repeated. For this reason, the Feast of Theophany is also called “The Feast of Lights,” and for this same reason those who were baptized used to carry candles, lanterns, or torches after they emerge from the baptismal font. St. Justin Martyr says, “And this washing is called illumination, because they who learn these things are illuminated in their understandings.”¹³⁰⁷