وجبـــــــة روحيـــــ(†)ــــــــــة يوميـــــــــة

[Mary Naeem]

إشفي جروح القلب يا يسوع

[Mary Naeem]

فحنانك حان موعده
(مز 13:102)

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

What is the position of water in salvation and the second birth?

(a) Although the word 'water' is not mentioned in the phrases: "brought us forth by the word of truth" and "having been born again... through the word of God", yet it is mentioned plainly in the Lord's saying: "...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John.3: 5). In this verse, it is clear that rebirth is from water. The water meant is real water and not symbolic.

(b) This is clear when Cornelius and his Gentile followers accepted the faith and were joined to the Church. In this case righteous persons were called to the faith by God: An angel appeared to Cornelius and Peter saw a vision; a Divine command. Then St. Peter preached to them the word of God and the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message (Acts 11: 1) and they spoke in tongues.
Was that sufficient for their second birth? Could St. Peter tell them: "Blessed is this second birth to you all"? Obviously this was not the case, as St. Peter, after he had witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, said: "'Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptised who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10: 47,48).
The writer of the Book of Acts comments immediately on this event by saying: "...the Gentiles had also received the word of God" (Acts 11: 1),
. Here the importance of water goes alongside the importance of the word, and the word ‘water’ does not mean ‘the word’ as some interpret it in the Epistle to the Ephesians (Eph.5: 26).
(c) Another clear example is the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. When he believed, the Holy Bible says: "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptised?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptised him" (Acts 8: 36-38).
This was a baptism of water, exactly the same as the baptism of Cornelius and his followers; baptism of actual water was necessary immediately after the preaching of the Word. In this case the water was not the word. If the eunuch were born of the word and washed by the word what then was the need for water?
Concerning this, I would like to speak about an important subject: The importance of water and its symbols in the Holy Bible.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



Although the word 'water' is not mentioned in the phrases: "brought us forth by the word of truth" and "having been born again... through the word of God", yet it is mentioned plainly in the Lord's saying: "...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John.3: 5). In this verse, it is clear that rebirth is from water. The water meant is real water and not symbolic.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



This is clear when Cornelius and his Gentile followers accepted the faith and were joined to the Church. In this case righteous persons were called to the faith by God: An angel appeared to Cornelius and Peter saw a vision; a Divine command. Then St. Peter preached to them the word of God and the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message (Acts 11: 1) and they spoke in tongues.
Was that sufficient for their second birth? Could St. Peter tell them: "Blessed is this second birth to you all"? Obviously this was not the case, as St. Peter, after he had witnessed the descent of the Holy Spirit on them, said: "'Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptised who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?' And he commanded them to be baptised in the name of the Lord" (Acts 10: 47,48).
The writer of the Book of Acts comments immediately on this event by saying: "...the Gentiles had also received the word of God" (Acts 11: 1),
. Here the importance of water goes alongside the importance of the word, and the word ‘water’ does not mean ‘the word’ as some interpret it in the Epistle to the Ephesians (Eph.5: 26).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



Another clear example is the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch. When he believed, the Holy Bible says: "Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptised?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptised him" (Acts 8: 36-38).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



This was a baptism of water, exactly the same as the baptism of Cornelius and his followers; baptism of actual water was necessary immediately after the preaching of the Word. In this case the water was not the word. If the eunuch were born of the word and washed by the word what then was the need for water?
Concerning this, I would like to speak about an important subject: The importance of water and its symbols in the Holy Bible.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



The importance of water and its symbols in the Holy Bible


In order to understand why water was chosen for washing and renewal in the Sacrament of Baptism, we should remember that ever since the beginning, in the story of creation, there has been a association between water and life.
The Holy Bible says: "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Gen.1: 2). And God said: "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens" (Gen.1: 20). Thus life sprang out of water and we can see the connection between water, life and the Spirit of God.

We also read in the Old Testament that God likens Himself to water when He reproached the people saying: "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer.2: 13). This correlation is also mentioned in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: " 'He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' By this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive" (John.7: 38,39).
These words are similar to the Lord's words about Himself in His discourse with the Samaritan woman about living water, when He said that He is the Giver of living water. He said: "But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John.4: 10-14).
Therefore, water is a symbol of life and sometimes of the Holy Spirit Himself. How beautiful are the Divine Inspiration's words in the First Psalm about the virtuous man: "He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season" (Ps.1: 3). The fruit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The connections between water, life and the Holy Spirit in the Holy Bible commence from Genesis (Gen.1: 2) and continue until the end of the Book of Revelation: "I will give the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts" (Rev.21:6), "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Rev.22: 1) and "...let him who thirsts come. And whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev.22: 17).
In the crossing of the Red Sea, the water symbolised life and death together; death of the servile man and life of the free man who came up out of the water.
On Maundy Thursday, the water symbolised purification. That is why, after washing the feet of His Apostles, the Lord said: "...and you are clean" (John.13: 10). The Psalmist says:
"I will wash my hands in innocence" (Ps.26: 6). This cleansing is the washing of the new birth with the word; the cleansing which we receive in the bath of the new birth and the cleansing obtained in baptism referred to by the Apostle's words: "...and our bodies washed with pure water" (Heb.10: 22).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III


In order to understand why water was chosen for washing and renewal in the Sacrament of Baptism, we should remember that ever since the beginning, in the story of creation, there has been a association between water and life.
The Holy Bible says: "And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Gen.1: 2). And God said: "Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens" (Gen.1: 20). Thus life sprang out of water and we can see the connection between water, life and the Spirit of God.
.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III


We also read in the Old Testament that God likens Himself to water when He reproached the people saying: "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer.2: 13). This correlation is also mentioned in the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: " 'He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' By this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive" (John.7: 38,39).