110-165 AD Martyr "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 Savior 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.' Now, that it is impossible for those who have once been born to
enter into their mothers' wombs, is manifest to all... And for this we have
learned from the apostles this reason. Since at our birth we were born without
our own knowledge or choice, by our parents coming together, and were brought
up in bad habits and wicked training; in order that we may not remain the
children of necessity and of ignorance, but may become the children of choice
and knowledge, and may obtain in the water the remission of sins formerly
committed, there is pronounced over him who chooses to be born again, and has
repented of his sins, the name of God the Father and Lord of the
universe." (Justin Martyr, "First Apology," Ante-Nicene Fathers,
vol. 1, pg. 183)
110-165 AD Martyr The
"Constitutions of the Holy Apostles" also refer to John 3:5. There,
the one who refuses to be baptized is to be condemned as an unbeliever,
partially on the basis of what Jesus told Nicodemus…. "He that, out of
contempt, will not be baptized, shall be condemned as an unbeliever, and shall
be reproached as ungrateful and foolish. For the Lord says: 'Except a man be
baptized of water and of the Spirit, he shall by no means enter into the
kingdom of heaven.' And again: 'He that believeth and is baptized shall be
saved but he that believeth not shall be damned.'" (Justin Martyr
"Constitutions of the Holy Apostles," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7,
pg. 456-457.)
110-165AD Martyr "there is no
other way [to obtain God's promises] than this-to become acquainted with
Christ, to be washed in the fountain spoken of by Isaiah for the remission of
sins, and for the remainder, to live sinless lives." (Justin Martyr,
Trypho chap. 44)
110-165AD Martyr "Those who are
convinced that what we teach is true and who desire to live accordingly are
instructed to fast and to pray to God for the remission of all their past sins.
We also pray and fast with them. Then we bring them to a place where there is
water, and they are regenerated in the same manner in which we ourselves were
regenerated. They then receive the washing with water in the name of God (the
Father and Lord of the universe) and of our Savior Jesus Christ, and of the
Holy Spirit. For Christ said, 'Unless you are born again, you shall not enter
into the kingdom of heaven"' [John 3:5]. (Justin First Apology chant 61)
115-188 THEOPHILUS "On the fifth
day the living creatures which proceed from the waters were produced, through
which also is revealed the manifold wisdom of God in these things; for who could
count their multitude and various kinds? 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." (Theophilus, "To Autolycus,",
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, pg. 101)
115AD Second Clement "For, if we
do the will of Christ, we shall find rest; but if otherwise, then nothing shall
deliver us from eternal punishment, if we should disobey His commandments. . .
. [W]ith what confidence shall we, if we keep not our baptism pure and
undefiled, enter into the kingdom of God? Or who shall be our advocate, unless
we be found having holy and righteous works?' (Second Clement 6:7)
120-205 AD IRENAEUS "As we are
lepers in sin, we are made clean from our old transgressions by means of the
sacred water and the invocation of the Lord. We are thus spiritually
regenerated as newborn infants, 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.'" Irenaeus, "Fragments From Lost Writings", no. 34,
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, pg. 574)
120-205 AD IRENAEUS "This class
of men have been instigated by Satan to a denial of that baptism which is
regeneration to God, and thus to a renunciation of the whole faith."
(Against Heresies, bk. 1, chap. 21, sec. 1, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, pg.
345.)
140-230 AD TERTULLIAN "After the
world had been hereupon set in order through its elements, when inhabitants
were given it, 'the waters' were the first to receive the precept 'to bring
forth living creatures.' Water was the first to produce that which had life,
that it might be no wonder in baptism if waters know how to give life."
(Tertullian, "On Baptism," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, page 670)
140-230 AD Tertullian "Baptism
itself is a corporal act by which we are plunged into the water, while its
effect is spiritual, in that we are freed from our sins" (Baptism 7:2).
140-230 AD TERTULLIAN "But they
roll back an objection from that apostle himself, in that he said, 'For Christ
sent me not to baptize;' as if by this argument baptism were done away! For if
so, why did he baptize Gaius, and Crispus, and the house of Stephanas? However,
even if Christ had not sent him to baptize, yet He had given other apostles the
precept to baptize. But these words were written to the Corinthians in regard
of the circumstances of that particular time; seeing that schisms and
dissensions were agitated among them, while one attributes everything to Paul,
another to Apollos. For which reason the 'peacemaking' apostle, for fear he
should seem to claim all gifts for himself, says that he had been sent 'not to
baptize, but to preach.' For preaching is the prior thing, baptizing the
posterior. Therefore the preaching came first: but I think baptizing withal was
lawful to him to whom preaching was." (Tertullian, "On Baptism,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pg. 676)
140-230 AD TERTULLIAN "Happy is
our sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early
blindness, we are set free and admitted into eternal life! A treatise on this
matter will not be superfluous; instructing not only such as are just becoming
formed in the faith... The consequence is, that a viper of the Cainite heresy,
lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a great number with her
most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to destroy baptism. Which is
quite in accordance with nature; for vipers and asps and serpents themselves
generally do affect arid and waterless places. But we, little fishes after the
example of our ikhthus, Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in
any other way than by permanently abiding in water; so that most monstrous
creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to
kill the little fishes, by taking them away from the water!" (On Baptism,
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pg. 669.)
140-230 AD TERTULLIAN "How mighty
is the grace of water, in the sight of God and His Christ, for the confirmation
of baptism! Never is Christ without water: if, that is, He is Himself baptized
in water; inaugurates in water the first rudimentary displays of his power,
when invited to the wedding; invites the thirsty, when He makes a discourse, to
Himself being living water; approves, when teaching concerning love, among
works of charity, the cup of water offered to a poor child; recruits His
strength at a well; walks over the water; willingly crosses the sea; ministers
water to his disciples. Onward even to the passion does the witness of baptism
last: while He is being surrendered to the cross, water intervenes; witness
Pilate's hands: when He is wounded, forth from His side bursts water; witness
the soldier's lance!... True and stable faith is baptized with water, unto
salvation; pretended and weak faith is baptized with fire, unto judgment."
(Tertullian, "On Baptism," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, pg. 673, 674)
140-230 AD TERTULLIAN "The
prescript is laid down that 'without baptism, salvation is attainable by none'
chiefly on the ground of that declaration of the Lord, who says, 'Unless one be
born of water, he hath not life.'" (On Baptism, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol.
3, pg. 674-675)
140-230 AD TERTULLIAN "What more
disgraceful than immodesties? If, moreover, even from a 'brother' who 'walketh
idly' he warns the Thessalonians to withdraw themselves, how much more withal
from a fornicator! For these are the deliberate judgments of Christ, 'loving
the Church,' who 'hath delivered Himself up for her, that He may sanctify her
(purifying her utterly by the laver of water) in the word, that He may present
the Church to Himself glorious, not having stain or wrinkle' - of course after the
laver - 'but that she may be holy and without reproach; thereafter, to wit,
being 'without wrinkle' as a virgin, 'without stain' (of fornication) as a
spouse, 'without disgrace' (of vileness), as having been 'utterly
purified.'" (Tertullian, "On Modesty," 217 AD, Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 4, pg. 94)
140-230 AD TERTULLIAN This is in
agreement to the context of the words of John the Baptist when he prophesied of
the baptism of fire. Referring to Jesus, John said, "I indeed baptize you
with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I,
whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy
Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean
out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn
up the chaff with unquenchable fire" (comment on Matthew 3:11-12).
150-200 AD CLEMENT "Being
baptized, we are illuminated; illuminated, we become sons; being made sons, we
are made perfect; being made perfect, we are made immortal... This work is
variously called grace, and illumination, and perfection, and washing. Washing,
by which we cleanse away our sins; grace, by which the penalties accruing to
transgressions are remitted; and illumination, by which that holy light of
salvation is beheld, that is, by which we see God clearly." (Clement of
Alexandria, "The Instructor," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, pg. 215)
150-200 AD CLEMENT "But when the
time began to draw near that what was wanting in the Mosaic institutions should
be supplied, as we have said, and that the Prophet should appear, of whom he
had foretold that He should warn them by the mercy of God to cease from
sacrificing; lest haply they might suppose that on the cessation of sacrifice
there was no remission of sins for them He instituted baptism by water amongst
them, in which they might be absolved from all their sins on the invocation of
His name." (Clement, "Recognitions of Clement," Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 8, pg. 88)
150-200 AD CLEMENT "Now God has
ordered every one who worships Him to be sealed by baptism; but if you refuse,
and obey your own will rather than God's, you are doubtless contrary and
hostile to His will. But you will perhaps say, 'What does the baptism of water
contribute towards the worship of God?' In the first place, because that which
hath pleased God is fulfilled. In the second place, because, when you are
regenerated and born again of water and of God, the frailty of your former
birth, which you have through men, is cut off, and so at length you shall be
able to attain salvation; but otherwise it is impossible. For thus hath the
true prophet testified to us with an oath: 'Verily I say to you, That unless a
man is born again of water, he shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.'
Therefore make haste; for there is in these waters a certain power of mercy
which was borne upon them at the beginning, and acknowledges those who are
baptized under the name of the threefold sacrament, and rescues them from
future punishments, presenting as a gift to God the souls that are consecrated
by baptism. Betake yourselves therefore to these waters, for they alone can
quench the violence of the future fire; and he who delays to approach to them,
it is evident that the idol of unbelief remains in him, and by it he is
prevented from hastening to the waters which confer salvation." (Clement,
"Recognitions of Clement," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8, pg. 155)
150-200 AD Clement "This work is
variously called grace, and illumination, and perfection, and washing. Washing,
by which we cleanse away our sins. Grace, by which the penalties of our sins
are canceled. And illumination, by which that holy light of salvation is
beheld, that is, by which we see God clearly." (Clement Instructor bk. 1,
chap. 6)
150-200 AD CLEMENT "We are washed
from all our sins, and are no longer entangled in evil. This is the one grace
of illumination, that our characters are not the same as before our washing...
In the same way, therefore, we also, repenting of our sins, renouncing our
iniquities, purified by baptism, speed back to the eternal light, children to
the Father." (Clement of Alexandria, "The Instructor,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 2, pg. 216-217.)
150-200 AD CLEMENT "When he had
given them these and such like precepts, he made proclamation to the people,
saying: 'Since I have resolved to stay three months with you, if any one
desires it, let him be baptized; that, stripped of his former evils, he may for
the future, in consequence of his own conduct, become heir of heavenly
blessings, as a reward for his good actions." (Clement, "Recognitions
of Clement," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8, pg. 132)
181 AD Theophilus of Antioch
"Moreover, those things which were created from the waters were blessed by
God, so that this might also be a sign that men would at a future time receive
repentance and remission of sins through water and the bath of regeneration all
who proceed to the truth and are born again and receive a blessing from
God" (To Autolycus 12:16).
190 AD Irenaeus of Lyons "`And
[Naaman] dipped himself . . . seven times in the Jordan' [2 Kgs. 5:14]. It was
not for nothing that Naaman of old, when suffering from leprosy, was purified
upon his being baptized, but [this 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'" (Fragment 34).
200 AD CYPRIAN "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.' But if regeneration is in the washing, that is,
in baptism, how can heresy, which is not the spouse of Christ, generate sons to
God by Christ?" (Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 388)
200 AD Cyprian of Carthage "While
I was lying in darkness . . . I thought it indeed difficult and hard to believe
. . . that divine mercy was promised for my salvation, so that anyone might be
born again and quickened unto a new life by the laver of the saving water, he
might put off what he had been before, and, although the structure of the body
remained, he might change himself in soul and mind. . . . But afterwards, when
the stain of my past life had been washed away by means of the water of rebirth,
a light from above poured itself upon my chastened and now pure heart;
afterwards, through the Spirit which is breathed from heaven, a second birth
made of me a new man" (To Donatus 3)
200 AD HERMAS "And I said, 'I
heard, sir, some teachers maintain that there is no other repentance than that
which takes place, when we descended into the water and received remission of
our former sin.' He said to me, 'That was sound doctrine which you heard; for
that is really the case.'" (Hermas, "The Shepherd," Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 2, pg. 22)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE "Aurelius of
Utica said: Since the apostle says that we are not to communicate with other
people's sins, what else does he do but communicate with other people's sins,
who holds communion with heretics without the Church's baptism? And therefore I
judge that heretics must be baptized, that they may receive forgiveness of
their sins; and thus communion may be had with them." ("The Seventh
Council of Carthage Under Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 569.)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE "Caecilius of
Bilta said: I know only one baptism in the Church, and none out of the Church.
This one will be here, where there is the true hope and the certain faith. For
thus it is written: 'One faith, one hope, one baptism;' not among heretics,
where there is no hope, and the faith is false, where all things are carried on
by lying." (The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian, September, 258
AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 565)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE "Marcellus of
Zama said: Since sins are not remitted saved in the baptism of the Church, he
who does not baptize a heretic holds communion with a sinner." ("The
Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian,", Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5,
pg. 570)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE "Nicomedes of
Segermae said: My opinion is this, that heretics coming to the Church should be
baptized, for the reason that among sinners without they can obtain no
remission of sins. ("The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 567)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE "Novatus of
Thamugada said: Although we know that all the Scriptures give witness
concerning the saving baptism, still we ought to declare our faith, that
heretics and schismatics who come to the Church, and appear to have been
falsely baptized, ought to be baptized in the everlasting fountain; and
therefore, according to the testimony of the Scriptures, and according to the
decree of our colleagues, men of most holy memory, that all schismatics and heretics
who are converted to the Church must be baptized; and moreover, that those who
appeared to have been ordained must be received among lay people. (The Seventh
Council of Carthage Under Cyprian, September, 258 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol.
5, pg. 565)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE "Victor of
Gor said: Since sins are not remitted save in the baptism of the Church, he who
admits a heretic to communion without baptism does two things against reason:
he does not cleanse the heretics, and he befouls the Christians."
("The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian," Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 568)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE "Victoricus
of Thabraca said: If heretics are allowed to baptize and to give remission of
sins, wherefore do we brand them with infamy and call them heretics?"
("The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian," Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 568)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE Dativus of Badis
said: We, as far as in us lies, do not hold communion with heretics, unless
they have been baptized in the Church, and have received remission of their
sins." ("The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 567)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE Felix of Bagai
said: As, when the blind leads the blind, they fall together into the ditch;
so, when the heretic baptizes a heretic, they fall together into death. And
therefore a heretic must be baptized and made alive, lest we who are alive
should hold communion with the dead. ("The Seventh Council of Carthage
Under Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 567)
200-258 AD CARTHAGE Nemesianus of
Thubunae said: That the baptism which heretics and schismatics bestow is not
the true one, is everywhere declared in the Holy Scriptures, since their very
leading men are false Christs and false prophets, as the Lord says by Solomon:
'He who trusteth in that which is false. he feedeth the winds...' And in the
Gospel our Lord Jesus Christ spoke with His divine voice, saying, 'Except a man
be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.' This
is the Spirit which from the beginning was borne over the waters; for neither
can the Spirit operate without the water, nor the water without the
Spirit." ("The Seventh Council of Carthage Under Cyprian,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 566.)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "But as often
as water is named alone in the Holy Scriptures, baptism is referred to, as we
see intimated in Isaiah: 'Remember not,' says he, 'the former things, and
consider not the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, which shall now
spring forth; and ye shall know it. I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the dry place, to give drink to my elected people, my people whom
I have purchased, that they might show forth my praise.' There God foretold by
the prophet, that among the nations, in places which previously had been dry,
rivers should afterwards flow plenteously, and should provide water for the
elected people of God, that is, for those who were made sons of God by the
generation of baptism.... Christ... cries and says, 'If any man thirst, let him
come and drink. He that believeth on me, as the Scripture saith, out of his
belly shall flow rivers of living water.' And that it might be more evident
that the Lord is speaking there, not of the cup, but of baptism, the Scripture
adds, saying, 'But this spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him
should receive.' For by baptism the Holy Spirit is received... As also, in
another place, the Lord speaks to the Samaritan woman, saying, 'Whosoever
drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever drinketh of the water
that I shall give him, shall not thirst for ever.' By which is also signified
the very baptism of saving water, which indeed is once received, and is not
again repeated.." (Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 360)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "But if the
baptism of heretics can have the regeneration of the second birth, those who
are baptized among them must be counted not heretics, but children of God. For
the second birth, which occurs in baptism, begets sons of God." (Cyprian,
"The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 393)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "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.' But if regeneration is in the washing, that
is, in baptism, how can heresy, which is not the spouse of Christ, generate
sons to God by Christ? For it is the Church alone which, conjoined and united
with Christ, spiritually bears sons; as the same apostle again says, 'Christ
loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify it, cleansing
it with the washing of water.' If, then, she is the beloved and spouse who
alone is sanctified by Christ, and alone is cleansed by His washing, it is
manifest that heresy, which is not the spouse of Christ, nor can be cleansed
nor sanctified by His washing, cannot bear sons to God." (Cyprian,
"The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 388)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "For he who
has been sanctified, his sins being put away in baptism, and has been
spiritually re-formed into a new man, has become fitted for receiving the Holy
Spirit; since the apostle says, 'As many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ.' (Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 387-388)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "Moreover, Peter
himself... has commanded and warned us that we cannot be saved, except by the
one only baptism of one Church. 'In the ark,' says he, 'of Noah, few, that is,
eight souls, were saved by water, as also baptism shall in like manner save
you.' In how short and spiritual a summary has he set forth the sacrament of
unity! For as, in that baptism of the world in which its ancient iniquity was
purged away, he who was not in the ark of Noah could not be saved by water, so
neither can he appear to be saved by baptism who has not been baptized in the
Church which is established in the unity of the Lord according to the sacrament
of the one ark. (Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene
Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 389)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "Peter...
said, 'In the ark of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by water; the
like figure whereunto even baptism shall save you;' proving and attesting that
the one ark of Noah was a type of the one Church. If, then, in that baptism of
the world thus expiated and purified, he who was not in the ark of Noah could
be saved by water, he who is not in the Church to which alone baptism is
granted, can also now be quickened [made alive] by baptism. Moreover, too, the
Apostle Paul, more openly and clearly still manifesting this same thing, writes
to the Ephesians, and says, 'Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it,
that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water.'"
(Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg.
398)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "Since,
therefore, from the preaching and testimony of Christ Himself, the Father who
sent must be first known, then afterwards Christ, who was sent, and there
cannot be a hope of salvation except by knowing the two together; how, when God
the Father is not known, nay, is even blasphemed, can they who among the
heretics are said to be baptized in the name of Christ, be judged to have
obtained the remission of sins?" (Cyprian, "The Epistles of
Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 383.)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "What then,
say they, will become of those who, coming from the heretics, have been
received without the baptism of the Church?... But they... should be baptized
with the baptism of the Church, that they may obtain remission of sins, lest by
the presumption of others they remain in their old error, and die without the
completion of grace." (Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 395)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "Wherefore
baptism cannot be common to us and to heretics, to whom neither God the Father,
nor Christ the Son, nor the Holy Ghost, nor the faith, nor the Church itself,
is common. And therefore it behooves those to be baptized who come from heresy
to the Church, that so they who are prepared, in the lawful, and true, and only
baptism of the holy Church, by divine regeneration, for the kingdom of God, may
be born of both sacraments, because it is written, 'Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.'"
(Cyprian, "The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg.
384)
200-258 AD CYPRIAN "Widely
different is the faith with Marcion, and, moreover, with the other heretics;
nay, with them there is nothing but perfidy, and blasphemy, and contention,
which is hostile to holiness and truth. How then can one who is baptized among
them seem to have obtained remission of sins, and the grace of the divine
mercy, by his faith, when he has not the truth of the faith itself? For if, as
some suppose, one could receive anything abroad out of the Church according to
his faith, certainly he has received what he believed; but if he believes what
is false, he could not receive what is true; but rather he has received things
adulterous and profane, according to what he believed. This matter of profane
and adulterous baptism Jeremiah the prophet plainly rebukes, saying, 'Why do
they who afflict me prevail? My wound is hard; whence shall I be healed ? While
it has indeed become unto me as deceitful water which has no faithfulness.' The
Holy Spirit makes mention by the prophet of deceitful water which has no
faithfulness. What is this deceitful and faithless water? Certainly that which
falsely assumes the resemblance of baptism, and frustrates the grace of faith
by a shadowy pretense. But if, according to a perverted faith, one could be
baptized without, and obtain remission of sins, according to the same faith he
could also attain the Holy Spirit; and there is no need that hands should be
laid on him when he comes, that he might obtain the Holy Ghost, and be sealed.
Either he could obtain both privileges without by his faith, or he who has been
without has received neither. But it is manifest where and by whom remission of
sins can be given; to wit, that which is given in baptism." (Cyprian,
"The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 381)
200-258 AD Cyprian, said of his own
baptism, "Considering my character at the time, I used to regard it as a
difficult matter that a man should be able to be born again.... Or that a man who
had been revived to a new life in the bath of saving water could be able to put
off what he had formerly been-that he could be changed in heart and soul, while
retaining his physical body.... For as I myself was held in bonds by the
innumerable errors of my previous life, from which I did not believe that I
could by possibility be delivered, so I was disposed to acquiesce in my
clinging vices, and because I despaired of better things, I used to indulge my
sins as if they were actually a part of me, inherent in me. But later, by the
help of the water of new birth, the stain of former years was washed away, and
a light from above-serene and pure was infused into my reconciled heart. Then
through the Spirit breathed from heaven, a second birth restored me to a new
man." (Cyprian To Donatus sec. 3, "The Epistles of Cyprian,"
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 276)
203 AD Tertullian "Happy is our
sacrament of water, in that, by washing away the sins of our early blindness,
we are set free and admitted into eternal life. . . . [But] a viper of the
[Gnostic] Cainite heresy, lately conversant in this quarter, has carried away a
great number with her most venomous doctrine, making it her first aim to
destroy baptism--which is quite in accordance with nature, for vipers and asps
. . . themselves generally do live in arid and waterless places. But we, little
fishes after the example of our [Great] Fish, Jesus Christ, are born in water,
nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water. So
that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine,
knew full well how to kill the little fishes--by taking them away from the
water!" (Baptism 1).
203 AD Tertullian "[N]o one can
attain salvation without baptism, especially in view of the declaration of the
Lord, who says, `Unless a man shall be born of water, he shall not have
life'" (Baptism 12:1).
215 AD Hippolytus "And the bishop
shall lay his hand upon them [the newly baptized], invoking and saying: 'O Lord
God, who did count these worthy of deserving the forgiveness of sins by the
laver of regeneration, make them worthy to be filled with your Holy Spirit and
send upon them thy grace [in confirmation], that they may serve you according
to your will" (The Apostolic Tradition 22:1).
217 AD Hippolytus "The Father of
immortality sent the immortal Son and Word into the world, who came to man in
order to wash him with water and the Spirit; and He, begetting us again to
incorruption of soul and body, breathed into us the Spirit of life, and endued
us with an incorruptible panoply. If, therefore, man has become immortal, he
will also be God. And if he is made God by water and the Holy Spirit after the
regeneration of the laver he is found to be also joint-heir with Christ after
the resurrection from the dead. Wherefore I preach to this effect: Come, all ye
kindreds of the nations, to the immortality of the baptism" (Discourse on
the Holy Theophany 8).
221 AD The Recognitions of Clement
"But you will perhaps say, `What does the baptism of water contribute
toward the worship of God?' In the first place, because that which has pleased
God is fulfilled. In the second place, because when you are regenerated and
born again of water and of God, the frailty of your former birth, which you
have through men, is cut off, and so . . . you shall be able to attain
salvation; but otherwise it is impossible. For thus has the true prophet
[Jesus] testified to us with an oath: `Verily, I say to you, that unless a man
is born again of water . . . he shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven'" (Recognitions of Clement 6:9).
240 AD Testimonies Concerning the Jews
"That unless a man have been baptized and born again, he cannot attain
unto the kingdom of God. In the Gospel according to John: 'Except a man be born
again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God [John
3:5] . . . ' Also in the same place: 'Unless ye eat the flesh of the Son of
man, and drink His blood, ye shall not have life in you' [John 6:53]. That it
is of small account to be baptized and to receive the Eucharist, unless one
profit by it both in deeds and works" (Testimonies Concerning the Jews
3:2:25-26).
250 AD Ignatius of Antioch "Let
none of you turn deserter. Let your baptism be your armor; your faith, your
helmet; your love, your spear; your patient endurance, your panoply"
(Letter to Polycarp 6).
253 AD Cyprian: "Moreover, Peter
himself, showing and vindicating the unity, has commanded and warned us that we
cannot be saved, except by the one only baptism of one Church. "In the
ark," says he, "of Noah, few, that is, eight souls, were saved by
water, as also baptism shall in like manner save you." In how short and
spiritual a summary has he set forth the sacrament of unity! For as, in that
baptism of the world in which its ancient iniquity was purged away, he who was
not in the ark of Noah could not be saved by water, so neither can he appear to
be saved by baptism who has not been baptized in the Church which is
established in the unity of the Lord according to the sacrament of the one
ark." (Cyprian, Epistle 73:11)
253 AD Cyprian of Carthage
"[When] they receive also the baptism of the Church . . . then finally can
they be fully sanctified and be the sons of God . . . since it is written,
`Except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into
the kingdom of God'" (Letters 71[72]:1).
256 AD Council of Carthage VII
"And in the gospel our Lord Jesus Christ spoke with his divine voice,
saying, `Except a man be born again of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God.' . . . Unless therefore they receive saving baptism in the
Catholic Church, which is one, they cannot be saved, but will be condemned with
the carnal in the judgment of the Lord Christ" (VII Carthage).
256 AD Cyprian of Carthage "[I]t
behooves those to be baptized ... so that they are prepared, in the lawful and
true and only baptism of the holy Church, by divine regeneration, for the
kingdom of God . . . because it is written `Except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God'" (72[73]:21).
260-315 AD METHODIUS "For thus
will it be most certainly agreed that the Church is formed out of His bones and
flesh; and it was for this cause that the Word, leaving His Father in heaven,
came down to be 'joined to His wife;' and slept in the trance of His passion,
and willingly suffered death for her, that He might present the Church to
Himself glorious and blameless, having cleansed her by the laver."
(Methodius, "The Banquet of the Ten Virgins," 260 to 312 AD,
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 6, pg. 319)
340 AD Aphraahat the Persian Sage
"From baptism we receive the Spirit of Christ. At that same moment in
which the priests invoke the Spirit, heaven opens, and he descends and rests
upon the waters, and those who are baptized are clothed in him. The Spirit is absent
from all those who are born of the flesh, until they come to the water of
rebirth, and then they receive the Holy Spirit. . . . [I]n the second birth,
that through baptism, they receive the Holy Spirit" (Treatises 6:14:4).
345 AD CYRIL "For all things
whatsoever thou hast done shall be forgiven thee, whether it be fornication, or
adultery, or any other such form of licentiousness. What can be greater sin
than to crucify Christ? Yet even of this Baptism can purify. For so spake Peter
to the three thousand who came to him, to those who had crucified the Lord,
when they asked him, saying, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' For the
wound is great. Thou hast made us think of our fall, O Peter, by saying, 'Ye
killed the Prince of Life.' What salve is there for so great a wound? What
cleansing for such foulness? What is the salvation for such perdition?
'Repent,' saith he, 'and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus
Christ our Lord, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost.' O unspeakable lovingkindness of God! They have no hope of being
saved, and yet they are thought worthy of the Holy Ghost. Thou seest the power
of Baptism!" (Cyril of Jerusalem, 348AD, "On Baptism," Nicene
and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7, pg. 16)
345 AD CYRIL "The Lord... has
granted repentance at Baptism, in order that we may cast off the chief - nay
rather the whole burden of our sins, and having received the seal by the Holy
Ghost, may be made heirs of eternal life." (Cyril of Jerusalem, "On
Baptism," Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7, pg. 16)
345 AD CYRIL "When going down,
therefore, into the water, think not of the bare element, but look for
salvation by the power of the Holy Ghost: for without both thou canst not
possibly be made perfect. It is not I that say this, but the Lord Jesus Christ,
who has the power in this matter: for He saith, 'Except a man be born anew'
(and he adds the words) 'of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God.' Neither doth he that is baptized with water, but not found
worthy of the Spirit, receive the grace in perfection. Nor if a man be virtuous
in his deeds, but receive not the seal by water, shall he enter into the
kingdom of heaven." (Cyril of Jerusalem, "Catechetical Lectures,"
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7, pg. 15.)
350 AD Cyril of Jerusalem "If any
man does not receive baptism, he does not have salvation. The only exception is
the martyrs, who, even without water, will receive baptism, for the Savior
calls martyrdom a baptism [Mark 10:38]. . . . Bearing your sins, you go down
into the water; but the calling down of grace seals your soul and does not
permit that you afterwards be swallowed up by the fearsome dragon. You go down
dead in your sins, and you come up made alive in righteousness"
(Catechetical Lectures 3:10, 12).
350 AD Cyril of Jerusalem "Since
man is of a twofold nature, composed of body and soul, the purification also is
twofold: the corporeal for the corporeal and the incorporeal for the
incorporeal. The water cleanses the body, and the Spirit seals the soul. . . .
When you go down into the water, then, regard not simply the water, but look
for salvation through the power of the Spirit. For without both you cannot
attain to perfection. It is not I who says this, but the Lord Jesus Christ, who
has the power in this matter. And he says, `Unless a man be born again' and he
adds the words `of water and of the Spirit' `he cannot enter the kingdom of
God.' He that is baptized with water, but is not found worthy of the Spirit,
does not receive the grace in perfection. Nor, if a man be virtuous in his
deeds, but does not receive the seal by means of the water, shall he enter the
kingdom of heaven. A bold saying, but not mine; for it is Jesus who has
declared it" (Catechetical Lectures 3:4).
360 AD Athanasius "[A]s we are
all from earth and die in Adam, so being regenerated from above of water and
Spirit, in the Christ we are all quickened" (Four Discourses Against the
Arians 3:26[33]).
375 AD Basil the Great "This then
is what it means to be `born again of water and Spirit': Just as our dying is
effected in the water [Rom. 6:3, Col. 2:12-13], our living is wrought through
the Spirit. In three immersions and an equal number of invocations the great
mystery of baptism is completed in such a way that the type of death may be
shown figuratively, and that by the handing on of divine knowledge the souls of
the baptized may be illuminated. If, therefore, there is any grace in the
water, it is not from the nature of water, but from the Spirit's presence
there" (The Holy Spirit, 15:35).
379 AD Basil the Great "For
prisoners, baptism is ransom, forgiveness of debts, the death of sin,
regeneration of the soul, a resplendent garment, an unbreakable seal, a chariot
to heaven, a royal protector, a gift of adoption" (Sermons on Moral and
Practical Subjects 13:5).
381 AD Ambrose of Milan "Although
we are baptized with water and the Spirit, the latter is much superior to the
former, and is not therefore to be separated from the Father and-the Son. There
are, however, many who, because we are baptized with water and the Spirit,
think that there is no difference in the offices of water and the Spirit, and
therefore think that they do not differ in nature. Nor do they observe that we
are buried in the element of water that we may rise again renewed by the
Spirit. For in the water is the representation of death, in the Spirit is the
pledge of life, that the body of sin may die through the water, which encloses
the body as it were in a kind of tomb, that we, by the power of the Spirit, may
be renewed from the death of sin, being born again in God" (The Holy
Spirit 1:6[75-76]).
381 AD Ambrose of Milan "The
Church was redeemed at the price of Christ's blood. Jew or Greek, it makes no
difference; but if he has believed, he must circumcise himself from his sins
[in baptism (Col. 2:11-12)] so that he can be saved . . . for no one ascends
into the kingdom of heaven except through the sacrament of baptism. . . .
`Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God'" (Abraham 2:11:79-84).
381 AD Ambrose of Milan "The Lord
was baptized, not to be cleansed himself but to cleanse the waters, so that
those waters, cleansed by the flesh of Christ which knew no sin, might have the
power of baptism. Whoever comes, therefore, to the washing of Christ lays aside
his sins" (Commentary on Luke 2:83).
381 AD Ambrose of Milan "You have
read, therefore, that the three witnesses in baptism are one: water, blood, and
the Spirit (1 John 5:8): And if you withdraw any one of these, the sacrament of
baptism is not valid. For what is the water without the cross of Christ? A
common element with no sacramental effect. Nor on the other hand is there any
mystery of regeneration without water, for `unless a man be born again of water
and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God'" (The Mysteries 4:20).
381 AD Council of Constantinople I
"We believe . . . in one baptism for the remission of sins" (Nicene
Creed).
382 AD Gregory of Nyssa "[In] the
birth by water and the Spirit, [Jesus] himself led the way in this birth,
drawing down upon the water, by his own baptism, the Holy Spirit; so that in
all things he became the first-born of those who are spiritually born again,
and gave the name of brethren to those who partook in a birth like to his own
by water and the Spirit" (Against Eunomius 2:8).
387 AD John Chrysostom "[N]o one
can enter into the kingdom of Heaven except he be regenerate through water and
the Spirit, and he who does not eat the flesh of the Lord and drink His blood
is excluded from eternal life, and if all these things are accomplished only by
means of those holy hands, I mean the hands of the priest, how will any one,
without these, be able to escape the fire of hell, or to win those crowns which
are reserved for the victorious? These [priests] truly 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" (The Priesthood 3:5-6).
388 AD Gregory Nazianz "Such is
the grace and power of baptism; not an overwhelming of the world as of old, but
a purification of the sins of each individual, and a complete cleansing from
all the bruises and stains of sin. And since we are double-made, I mean of body
and soul, and the one part is visible, the other invisible, so the cleansing
also is twofold, by water and the spirit; the one received visibly in the body,
the other concurring with it invisibly and apart from the body; the one
typical, the other real and cleansing the depths" (Oration on Holy Baptism
7-8).
390 AD CRYSOSTOM "In the Law, he
that hath sin is punished; here, he that hath sins cometh and is baptized and
is made righteous, and being made righteous, he liveth, being delivered from
the death of sin... For in Baptism the sins are buried, the former things are
blotted out, the man is made alive, the entire grace written upon his heart as
it were a table." (John Crysostom, "Homilies on Second
Corinthians," 390 AD, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, vol. 12, pg. 307)
400 AD The Apostolic Constitutions
"Be ye likewise contented with one baptism alone, that which is into the
death of the Lord [Rom. 6:3, Col. 2:12-13] . . . [H]e that out of contempt will
not be baptized shall be condemned as an unbeliever and shall be reproached as
ungrateful and foolish. For the Lord says, `Except a man be baptized of water
and of the Spirit, he shall by no means enter into the kingdom of heaven.' And
again, `He that believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believes
not shall be damned'" [Mark 16:16] (Apostolic Constitutions 6:3:15).
419 AD Augustine "Those who,
though they have not received the washing of regeneration, die for the
confession of Christ--it avails them just as much for the forgiveness of their
sins as if they had been washed in the sacred font of baptism. For he that
said, `If anyone is not reborn of water and the Spirit, he will not enter the
kingdom of heaven,' made an exception for them in that other statement in which
he says no less generally, `Whoever confesses me before men, I too will confess
him before my Father, who is in heaven'" [Matt. 10:32] (The City of God
13:7).
75 AD The Letter of Barnabas
"Regarding [baptism], we have the evidence of Scripture that Israel would
refuse to accept the washing which confers the remission of sins and would set
up a substitution of their own instead [Jer. 22:13; Is. 16:1Letter of Barnabas
11:1)
80 AD Hermas "'I have heard,
sir,' said I, 'from some teacher, that there is no other repentance except that
which took place when we went down into the water and obtained the remission of
our former sins.' He said to me, 'You have heard rightly, for so it is'"
(The Shepherd 4:3:1)
CONSTITUTIONS "Let him,
therefore, who is to be taught the truth in regard to piety be instructed
before his baptism in the knowledge of the unbegotten God, in the understanding
of His only begotten son, in the assured acknowledgment of the Holy Ghost....
Adore God, the Lord of the whole world, and thank Him for His creation, for His
sending Christ His only begotten Son, that He might save man by blotting out
his transgressions, and that He might remit ungodliness and sins, and might
'purify him from all filthiness of flesh and spirit,' and sanctify man
according to the good pleasure of His kindness, that He might inspire him with
the knowledge of His will, and enlighten the eyes of his heart to consider of
His wonderful works, and make known to him the judgments of righteousness, that
so he might hate every way of iniquity, and walk in the way of truth, that he
might be thought worthy of the laver of regeneration, to the adoption of sons,
which is in Christ, that 'being planted together in the likeness of the death
of Christ,' in hopes of a glorious communication, he may be mortified to sin,
and may live to God, as to his mind, and word, and deed, and may be numbered
together in the book of the living. " (Constitutions of the Holy Apostles,
Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 7, pg. 475-476)
FIRMILIAN "But indeed you are
worse than all heretics. For when many, as soon as their error is known, come
over to you from them that they may receive the true light of the Church, you
assist the errors of those who come, and, obscuring the light of ecclesiastical
truth, you heap up the darkness of the heretical night; and although they
confess that they are in sins, and have no grace, and therefore come to the
Church, you take away from them remission of sins, which is given in baptism,
by saying that they are already baptized and have obtained the grace of the
Church outside the Church, and you do not perceive that their souls will be
required at your hands when the day of judgment shall come." (Firmilian,
"The Epistles of Cyprian," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 5, pg. 396)
PHILIP "Nicanora having thus
spoken, the Apostle Philip, along with Bartholomew and Mariamme and those with
them, prayed for her to God, saying: Thou who bringest the dead to life, Christ
Jesus the Lord, who hast freed us through baptism from the slavery of death,
completely deliver also this woman from the error, the enemy; make her alive in
Thy life, and perfect her in Thy perfection." ("The Acts of
Philip," Author unknown, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8, pg. 498)
THEODOTUS "Now, regeneration is
by water and spirit, as was all creation: 'For the Spirit of God moved on the
deep.' And for this reason the Savior 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." ("Excerpts of Theodotus," Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8,
pg. 44)
Source: Jeff McFadden, One Baptism (2006),
14-31
