On Baptism 10

We have spoken, as far as our modest ability allowed, of all the things that build up the sanctity of baptism; now I will go on, as well as I can, to its remaining state, concerning certain small questions. The baptism announced by John already then raised a question, put by the Lord himself to the Pharisees: whether that baptism was heavenly or earthly? They could not answer consistently, since they did not understand because they did not believe. We, however, with what little faith we have, can with equally little understanding judge that that baptism was divine, but by commission, not also by power, because we read that John too was sent by the Lord to this office, but was human in its nature. For it conferred nothing heavenly, but ministered beforehand to heavenly things, being set over repentance, which is in man's power. In short, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, who refused to believe, did not repent either. But if repentance is a human thing, its baptism too must have been of the same nature; otherwise, if it had been heavenly, it would have given both the Holy Spirit and the remission of sins. But no one forgives sin or grants the Spirit except God alone. Even the Lord himself said that the Spirit would not come down otherwise unless he himself first ascended to the Father. What the Lord was not yet bestowing, the servant certainly could not have supplied. So we find afterwards in the Acts of the Apostles that those who had John's baptism had not received the Holy Spirit, whom they had not even heard of. So it was not heavenly, since it did not present heavenly things; indeed, the very thing that had been heavenly in John, the spirit of prophecy, failed so far, after the transfer of the whole Spirit to the Lord, that he sent to ask whether the one he had preached, whom he had pointed out as he came, was really he. The baptism of repentance, therefore, was performed as a candidate, so to speak, for the remission and sanctification that was to follow in Christ. For when he preached a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, it was declared for a remission to come: since repentance goes before and remission follows, and this is to prepare the way. But he who prepares does not himself complete; he arranges for another to complete it. He himself professes that heavenly things are not his but Christ's, saying, “He who is from the earth speaks from the earth; he who comes from above is over all”; and again, that he dipped only for repentance, but that one would soon come who would dip in the Spirit and fire: because true and steadfast faith is dipped with water unto salvation, but feigned and weak faith is dipped with fire unto judgment.