Man, with
respect to that formation which was after Adam, having fallen into
transgression, needed the bath of regeneration. Therefore, the Lord said to
[the blind man] after He had smeared his eyes with the clay, “Go to Siloam and
wash.” By this means, He restored to him both confirmation and that
regeneration that takes place by means of the bath. …
[Scripture]
says, “And he dipped himself seven times in the Jordan.” It was not for nothing
that Naaman of old, when suffering from Leprosy, was purified upon his being
baptized. Rather, this was a symbol for us. For 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 spiritually regenerated as newborn babies, just
as the Lord has declared: “Unless a man is born again through water and the
Spirit, he will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
No comments:
Post a Comment