Spiritual baptism: a new life bearing new fruit

I wish this blessing to appear and become manifest in the faces and characteristics of the believers, so that they, too, may become a new people, and having found new life and been baptized with fire and spirit, may make the world a new world, to the end that the old earth may disappear and the new earth appear; old ideas depart and new thoughts come; old garments be cast aside and new garments put on; ancient politics whose foundation is war be discarded and modern politics founded on peace raise the standard of victory; the new star shine and gleam and the new sun illumine and radiate; new flowers bloom, the new spring become known; the new breeze blow; the new bounty descend; the new tree give forth new fruit; the new voice become raised and this new sound reach the ears, that the new will follow the new, and all the old furnishings and adornments be cast aside and new decorations put in their places.

Nay, rather, Christ appeared in order to illumine the world of humanity, to render the earthly world celestial, to make the human kingdom a realm of angels, to unite the hearts, to enkindle the light of love in human souls, so that such souls might become independent, attaining complete unity and fellowship, turning to God, entering into the divine Kingdom, receiving the bounties and bestowals of God and partaking of the manna from heaven. Through Christ they were intended to be baptized by the Holy Spirit, attain a new spirit and realize the everlasting life.

Water is the cause of life, and when Christ speaks of water, He is symbolizing that which is the cause of Everlasting Life.

This life-giving water of which He speaks is like unto fire, for it is none other than the Love of God, and this love means life to our souls.

By the fire of the Love of God the veil is burnt which separates us from the Heavenly Realities, and with clear vision we are enabled to struggle onward and upward, ever progressing in the paths of virtue and holiness, and becoming the means of light to the world.

Answer: The essence of baptism is purification by repentance.

… Therefore, by spirit is meant divine grace; by water, knowledge and life; and by fire, the love of God. For material water cleanses not the heart of man but his body. Rather, the heavenly water and spirit, which are knowledge and life, cleanse and purify the heart of man.

… But in the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah this symbol is no longer required, for its reality, which is to be baptized with the spirit and the love of God, has been established and realized.

The performance of baptismal celebration would cleanse the body, but the spirit hath no share; but the divine teachings and the exhortations of the Beauty of ABHA will baptize the soul. This is the real baptism.

If thou shouldst reach this lofty station thou shalt be baptised with the water of the knowledge of God, with the fire of the love of God and with the spirit of divine bounty.

Verily, I beseech God to strengthen thee with the Most Great Power, so that the Spirit may pour upon thee the teachings of the Beauty of El-ABHA, and to baptize thee with the water of life, the fire of the love of God and with the spirit of confirmation among the maid-servants.

O my friend! Thank thou God for He hath illumined thy sight with a radiance which is shining forth from the Sun of Truth; hath quickened thee, and baptized thee with the water of life and with the fire of the love of God.

Praise be to God that thou hast experienced the second birth from the darkness of the world of nature and hast been baptized with the fire of love, the water of life, and the breathings of the Holy Spirit.

The people of Baha are as thou hast stated - they must become a new creation, that is to say, they must receive a second birth, even as Christ said. The first birth was from the mother's womb; the second birth is from the womb of nature. Just as before birth from the mother's womb one had no knowledge of this natural world, likewise until one is born from the womb of nature, one can have no knowledge of the Kingdom.

The new birth is realized in this Kingdom when we become characterized by the characteristics of God, when His Name and attributes become our names and attributes.

The New Birth is when the imperfections by which we are surrounded are wholly overcome and we are completely purified from all the evil of the world.

The spirit and intelligence of man is essential, and that is the manifestation of divine virtues, the merciful bestowals of God, the eternal life and baptism through the Holy Spirit.

There are three baptisms spoken of by the prophets: the baptism of water, of spirit and of fire. The first signifies the condition when the soul receives the teachings of the knowledge of God. The second, when the soul receives the spirit; when the soul receives this baptism the spirit speaks through him, he has no need to be taught of men or to ask questions, because the holy spirit will enlighten and teach him. The third baptism is that of fire, when the soul becomes aflame with the love of God and insensible to any other attraction.

We are told in the Bible of the Baptism of Water and of the Spirit, and also of the Baptism of Spirit and of Fire, and these are Three Baptisms.

The people have not understood the meaning of baptism. In one place in the Gospels it is commanded that one must be baptized by water and spirit, and also by fire, and from these commands we can understand that the meaning is spiritual and not material. The baptism of Christians as practiced today is not the teachings of Christ! The Christians in the beginning used to baptize as a symbol of the purification of the spirit.

The Baptism of the Christians as practiced today is not the teachings of Christ. Baptism by John the Baptist was only a symbol used to signify that the hearts had been purified by repentance (they were grown people, not children).

This great power is that of the Holy Spirit. It is the divine power which transforms a stone into a diamond, which changes darkness into light, which saves man from the world of defects and enables him to attain the world of virtues. This is possible only through baptism by the Holy Spirit.

For you I want this: that you be illumined by the divine light so that you may uncover the mysteries of reality, gain an eye to witness the Most Glorious Kingdom, acquire a hearing ear to hear the heavenly call, receive baptism through the Holy Spirit, seek baptism through the fire of the love of God and the water of life.

O beloved handmaiden of the Lord! When the divine call was raised from the Kingdom of Eternity and reached the ear of the wise ones, the fire of the love of God did kindle both their soul and conscience and they did rejoice through the breeze wafting from the meadows of the Kingdom of God and gained life anew and were baptised by the fire the love of God and the spirit of life.

Those in attendance were baptized with the divine spirit and the fire of the love of God.

Glory be to God, you have been born again, you have been baptized by the fire of the Love of God; you have been plunged in the Sea of Life and regenerated by the Spirit of Love!

Give thanks to God that thou hast attained such eternal life, and strive until thou art completely reborn from the world of nature and baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Even as Jesus said: "Ye must be born again." Again He saith: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The purport of these words is that whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he verily is of those that have attained unto "life" and "resurrection" and have entered into the "paradise" of the love of God.

This is why, in Holy Scriptures, the counsels of heaven are likened to water, even as the Qur'an saith: 'And pure water send We down from Heaven,' and the Gospel: 'Except a man be baptized of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.' Thus is it clear that the Teachings which come from God are heavenly outpourings of grace; they are rain-showers of divine mercy, and they cleanse the human heart.

There are three births: first, the material; second, to be born of water; third to be born of spirit. When man first enters the spiritual world he is born of water or the truth and knowledge of GOD. He must become as a little child-unworldly, without jealousy, enmity, covetousness, love of money, desires, and to take on all the qualities of GOD, and begin to ascend the other half of the circle.

All the believers in this cycle are in the same station when they accept the Manifestation of God and His Teachings. This is the baptism of water. When the soul advances to the second stage, it receives and becomes conscious of the Divine Spirit; then the spirit speaks through it, it is inspired and can answer all questions, because man does not answer for himself, but the Holy Spirit enlightens and teaches him so long as he seeks from this source, the Ocean of Reality. … The third station is the baptism of fire. Then the soul is aflame with the fire of the Love of God and is detached from all worldly states, such as the merely intellectual perceptions. The baptism of fire frees the soul from the domination of the five senses.

The human spirit is the rational soul, that is, the one that perceives the realities of things, discovers them and encompasses them. It has brilliant effects, radiant lights, penetrating power and perfect ability, distinguished in all its conditions and concept from other spirits. It is baptized by water and spirit.

This human spirit, which is the rational soul, encompasses all things, discovers all things, and comprehends all things.

… But when spiritual people speak of the spirit, they do not mean this spirit. They mean that eternal spirit, that life of faith, that spirit of which Christ says man must be baptized with it, and until he is baptized with that spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.

There is still another power which is differentiated from that of the soul and mind. This third power is the spirit which is an emanation from the divine bestower; it is the effulgence of the sun of reality, the radiation of the celestial world, the spirit of faith, the spirit His Holiness the Christ refers to when he says, "Those that are born of the flesh are flesh, and those that are born of the spirit are spirit."

… This spirit of faith is the flame of reality, the life of humanity and the cause of eternal illumination. It inspires man to attain the virtues and perfections of the divine world.

There is, however, another Spirit, which may be termed the Divine, to which Jesus Christ refers when He declares that man must be born of its quickening and baptized with its living fire. Souls deprived of that Spirit are accounted as dead, though they are possessed of the human spirit.

… This quickening spirit emanates spontaneously from the Sun of Truth, from the reality of Divinity, and is not a revelation or a manifestation. It is like the rays of the sun.

I beg of God that thou mayest be baptized by the baptism of Baha'u'llah and become free from all the stains of the mortal world and that thou mayest take delight in the favors of God in the paradise of unity, and that thou mayest be able to become pleasing to God and mayest appear with thy face illuminated as a candle in the world of eternity.

But ye, praise be to God, are at present especially favored with this bounty, have become of the chosen, have been informed of the heavenly instructions, have gained admittance into the Kingdom of God, have become the recipients of unbounded blessings and have been baptized with the Water of Life, with the fire of the love of God and with the Holy Spirit.

The call of the Abha Kingdom penetrates swiftly like spirit through veins, arteries, hearts and souls, creating a new creation and baptizing with water, spirit and fire. A second birth takes place and a new creation is raised up.

Today the pulsating power in the arteries of the body of the world is the spirit of the Covenant—the spirit which is the cause of life. Whosoever is vivified with this spirit the freshness and beauty of life become manifest in him, he is baptized with the Holy Spirit, he is born again, is freed from oppression and tyranny, from heedlessness and harshness which deaden the spirit, and attains to everlasting life.

It is the spirit that makes man heavenly; it is the spirit that makes man recipient of the Holy Spirit's breaths; it is the spirit that discovers the realities of things; it is the spirit that has produced all these effects; it is the spirit that has established all sciences; it is the spirit that bestows eternal life; it is the spirit that unites different nations; it is the spirit that brings together East and West; it is the spirit that makes the human world divine. Therefore, those souls who are recipients of the power of the spirit are the cause of life to the world.

I hope that you may become baptized with the Fire of the Love of God and the Water of the Holy Spirit, and that each of you may become a Divine Farmer and sow in the farm of humanity the seeds of reality, irrigating them with the Waters of the Teacings of Baha'u'llah, so that the Light of Truth may illumine that country.

I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.

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