“The Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages.” - True Christian Religion §791
Kempton New Church

Week 3
Day 4

    Listen:

Baptism and Confession of Faith

Then Jesus, being baptized, came up straightaway out of the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon Him. Matthew 3:16

The Third Use of Baptism

He who believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe shall be condemned. (Mark 16:16)

TCR 684 The third use of baptism, which is the final use, is that man may be regenerated. This is the essential use for the sake of which baptism exists, and thus the final one. This is because the true Christian knows and acknowledges the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. He, being the Redeemer, is also the Regenerator. (That redemption and regeneration make one may be seen in the third section of the chapter on Reformation and Regeneration.) This is also because a Christian possesses the Word, in which the means of regeneration are plainly described, those means being faith in the Lord and charity toward the neighbor. This is identical with what is said of the Lord, that:

He baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:8-11; Luke 3:16; John 1:33).

“The Holy Spirit” means the Divine truth of faith, and “fire” the Divine good of love or charity, both proceeding from the Lord.... By means of these two, all regeneration is effected by the Lord.

The Lord Himself was baptized by John (Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9; Luke 3:21, 22). He did this not only that He might institute baptism for the future, Himself setting the example, but also because He glorified His Human and made it Divine, as He regenerates man and renders him spiritual.

TCR 685 From what has been said now and before it can be seen that the three uses of baptism cohere as a unit, like first cause, mediate cause (which is the efficient cause), and last cause, which is the effect and the end itself, for the sake of which the former exist. For the first use is that the man may be called a Christian; the second, following from this, is that he may know and acknowledge the Lord the Redeemer, Regenerator and Savior; and the third is that he may be regenerated by Him; and when this is done man is redeemed and saved.

As these three uses follow in order, and are conjoined in the last, and consequently in the conception of the angels they cohere as a unit, so when a baptism is performed, or read of in the Word, or mentioned, the angels who are present do not understand baptism, but regeneration. Therefore, by these words of the Lord: “He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned” (Mark 16:16), the angels in heaven understand that he who acknowledges the Lord and is regenerated will be saved. And for this reason baptism is called by the Christian churches on earth the laver of regeneration.

Let every Christian know, then, that he who does not believe in the Lord, even though he has been baptized, cannot be regenerated. Also, that baptism without faith in the Lord has no effect whatever, may be seen above, in the second section of this chapter (n. 673).

Every Christian is well aware that baptism involves purification from evils and thus regeneration, for when he is baptized in infancy, the priest with his finger makes the sign of the cross, as a memorial of the Lord, on his forehead and breast, and afterwards turns to his sponsors and asks whether he renounces the devil and all his works, and accepts the faith; to which the sponsors, in the place of the infant, answer, “Yes.” The renunciation of the devil, that is, of the evils that are from hell, and faith in the Lord, are what effect regeneration.

TCR 686 It is said in the Word that the Lord God our Redeemer baptizes with the Holy Spirit and with fire, which means that the Lord regenerates man by the Divine truth of faith and the Divine good of love or charity.... Those who have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, that is, by the Divine truth of faith, are distinct in the heavens from those who are regenerated by fire, that is, by the Divine good of love. Those who have been regenerated by the Divine truth of faith walk in heaven in raiment of white linen, and are called spiritual angels; but those who have been regenerated by the Divine good of love walk in crimson raiment, and are called celestial angels.

Questions
  1. How are the three uses of baptism similar to the three baptisms by water, by the Holy Spirit, and by fire? How are these three baptisms different?
  2. Some have taken the Lord’s words in Mark 16:16 to mean that those not baptized are condemned. Notice that the Lord does not say this. But how should we in the New Church understand these words?
  3. Baptism is called a sacrament of repentance (AR 573). How do the states of repentance, reformation and regeneration relate to the three uses of baptism, especially the baptism of an adult?
  4. Does the baptism of an infant also involve repentance? Notice the questions the parents are asked.
  5. Notice that the word devil is also used in the questions in the baptism service described. Why might it be useful to say devil instead of hell in general?
  6. Why is the third use of baptism called the final use, and how is this present in the sacrament itself, even of an infant?
previous next