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A Treatise on Re-Baptism by an Anonymous Writer

Anonymous

Section 3

About this work

Author: Anonymous

3. And to these things thou perchance, who art

‹ Section 2 Section 4 ›

bringing

in

some

novelty

,

mayest

immediately

and

impatiently

reply

,

as

thou

art

wont

,

that

the

Lord

said

in

the

Gospel

:

“

Except

a

man

be

born

again

of

water

and

of

the

Spirit

,

he

cannot

enter

into

the

kingdom

of

heaven

.

”

Whence

it

manifestly

appears

that

that

baptism

alone

is

profitable

wherein

also

the

Holy

Spirit

can

dwell

;

for

that

upon

the

Lord

Himself

,

when

He

was

baptized

,

the

Holy

Spirit

descended

,

and

that

His

deed

and

word

are

quite

in

harmony

,

and

that

such

a

mystery

can

consist

with

no

other

principle

.

To

which

reply

none

of

us

is

found

either

so

senseless

or

so

stubborn

as

to

dare

,

contrary

to

right

or

contrary

to

truth

,

to

object

,

for

instance

,

so

to

the

doing

of

things

in

their

integrity

,

and

by

all

means

in

the

Church

,

and

the

observation

of

them

according

to

the

order

of

discipline

perpetually

by

us

.

But

if

,

in

the

same

New

Testament

,

those

things

which

in

that

matter

we

come

upon

as

associated

,

be

sometimes

found

in

some

sort

divided

,

and

separated

,

and

arranged

,

and

ordered

just

as

if

they

were

by

themselves

;

let

us

see

whether

these

solitary

instances

by

themselves

may

not

sometimes

be

such

as

are

not

imperfect

,

but

,

as

it

were

,

entire

and

complete

.

For

when

by

imposition

of

the

bishop’s

hands

the

Holy

Spirit

is

given

to

every

one

that

believes

,

as

in

the

case

of

the

Samaritans

,

after

Philip’s

baptism

,

the

apostles

did

to

them

by

laying

on

of

hands

;

in

this

manner

also

they

conferred

on

them

the

Holy

Spirit

.

And

that

this

might

be

the

case

,

they

themselves

prayed

for

them

,

for

as

yet

the

Holy

Spirit

had

not

descended

upon

any

of

them

,

but

they

had

only

been

baptized

in

the

name

of

the

Lord

Jesus

.

Moreover

,

our

Lord

after

His

resurrection

,

when

He

had

breathed

upon

His

apostles

,

and

had

said

to

them

,

“

Receive

ye

the

Holy

Ghost

,

”

thus

and

thus

only

bestowed

upon

them

the

Spirit

.

Notes

10
John iii. 3, 5.
11
John xx. 22.