Baptism of Christ
"The Baptism Of Christ" by William Blake
The importance of the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord is made abundantly clear by the Gnostic Creed of Our Church as published by +Jean Bricaud. It states:
“I believe… in His only son, the divine logos, the prototype of man, the second tridyname, Christ, spiritual and physical light, born of the treasure of light, true God like the Father and consubstantial to Him, without whom nothing was made. Who became incarnate on earth in the person of Jesus the Savior and the star of the Pleroma, came down here below for us, taking on a soul and a body like our own in the breast of blessed Mary. Who was manifest in Jesus from the time of his baptism to the time of his passion;”
Therefore, the Baptism of our Lord is a celebration of the realization of the presence of the Aeon Christ and of His Divine Light in this world. Christ is in our midst and with him also his salvific redemptive force. This is a truly a time to rejoice! For it is through that force that all will be redeemed in this world, and that “all beings will finally enter into the bosom of the Pleroma, where harmony, Justice and Grace reign in all the Aeons.”
However, in addition, it is also interesting to note here that the Gnostic Creed affirms that the Christ was manifested at the time of Jesus' baptism and not fully manifested at his birth. This is because for Gnosticism the Baptism of Jesus, the Son of Man, was the culmination of a life of piety and mystical training. John the Baptist is the symbol of this training in an ancient esoteric spiritual tradition before him. Through these mystical efforts Jesus' Divine Spark was united to that of the greater Aeon Christ, and he became a fully realised Son of God. It is therefore doubly a time to rejoice, because a man very much like us showed us that we also can attain to the loftiest heights of spiritual development.
With regards to baptism the creed also states: “I confess the two baptisms and the three other Mysteries for the remission of sins.” The first of these Gnostic sacraments of Baptism is further explained in Bricaud’s Catechism: “The Baptism of water washes the outer stains from the soul of the sinner; it produces a certain change in the spirit which gives the means of becoming a new man, a perfect child of God, and prepares the receiving of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. One undertakes to renounce Satan, all his pomp’s and vanities and works; 2. To believe in the mission of Christ the Saviour, to study and practice the doctrine which he taught;…”
Therefore, the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord is a privileged time to reflect on the meaning of ones own baptism as a Gnostic. We must also become, like Jesus, a Christ, and by doing so truly become new persons. As Christ is the prototype of Man, i.e., the Adam Kadmon, so are we. But we can only fulfill this True Nature if we truly know in our hearts and minds that “we are gods, the Sons and Daughters of the Most High.”
The Baptism of Water is therefore at the same time the first step in our reintegration into the Pleroma and the sacrament which seals us for this Great Work. Baptism must therefore be a symbol of our constant commitment to do this work. It must at the same time also remind us that we truly possess the power of Christ to do away with the works of the Demiurge and of his Archons, and we must exercise this power every day of our lives. Above all else we must choose to wield it!
Let us not forget that we are Christians in the sense that the Christ is our Salvation, but also that we are Christians in the sense that we take him as our example, an example which, because our Baptism has confirmed, affirmed and strengthened the Divine Spark within us, we are truly dignified to follow.
Let us therefore, on this truly Glorious Day of the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord the Christ and as one Gnostic Community and One Universal Gnostic Church, renew our own baptismal commitments. Let us wield the power of Gnostic Christians and renounce all the pomps, vanities and evils of this world. Let us daily confess our sins and purify ourselves from all their negativity, and by doing so stand firm in our True Nature’s as Sons and Daughters of God and by doing so restore ourselves to the full Dignity of our Stations in the Glorious Pleroma of God! Amen
“I believe… in His only son, the divine logos, the prototype of man, the second tridyname, Christ, spiritual and physical light, born of the treasure of light, true God like the Father and consubstantial to Him, without whom nothing was made. Who became incarnate on earth in the person of Jesus the Savior and the star of the Pleroma, came down here below for us, taking on a soul and a body like our own in the breast of blessed Mary. Who was manifest in Jesus from the time of his baptism to the time of his passion;”
Therefore, the Baptism of our Lord is a celebration of the realization of the presence of the Aeon Christ and of His Divine Light in this world. Christ is in our midst and with him also his salvific redemptive force. This is a truly a time to rejoice! For it is through that force that all will be redeemed in this world, and that “all beings will finally enter into the bosom of the Pleroma, where harmony, Justice and Grace reign in all the Aeons.”
However, in addition, it is also interesting to note here that the Gnostic Creed affirms that the Christ was manifested at the time of Jesus' baptism and not fully manifested at his birth. This is because for Gnosticism the Baptism of Jesus, the Son of Man, was the culmination of a life of piety and mystical training. John the Baptist is the symbol of this training in an ancient esoteric spiritual tradition before him. Through these mystical efforts Jesus' Divine Spark was united to that of the greater Aeon Christ, and he became a fully realised Son of God. It is therefore doubly a time to rejoice, because a man very much like us showed us that we also can attain to the loftiest heights of spiritual development.
With regards to baptism the creed also states: “I confess the two baptisms and the three other Mysteries for the remission of sins.” The first of these Gnostic sacraments of Baptism is further explained in Bricaud’s Catechism: “The Baptism of water washes the outer stains from the soul of the sinner; it produces a certain change in the spirit which gives the means of becoming a new man, a perfect child of God, and prepares the receiving of the fullness of the Holy Spirit. One undertakes to renounce Satan, all his pomp’s and vanities and works; 2. To believe in the mission of Christ the Saviour, to study and practice the doctrine which he taught;…”
Therefore, the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord is a privileged time to reflect on the meaning of ones own baptism as a Gnostic. We must also become, like Jesus, a Christ, and by doing so truly become new persons. As Christ is the prototype of Man, i.e., the Adam Kadmon, so are we. But we can only fulfill this True Nature if we truly know in our hearts and minds that “we are gods, the Sons and Daughters of the Most High.”
The Baptism of Water is therefore at the same time the first step in our reintegration into the Pleroma and the sacrament which seals us for this Great Work. Baptism must therefore be a symbol of our constant commitment to do this work. It must at the same time also remind us that we truly possess the power of Christ to do away with the works of the Demiurge and of his Archons, and we must exercise this power every day of our lives. Above all else we must choose to wield it!
Let us not forget that we are Christians in the sense that the Christ is our Salvation, but also that we are Christians in the sense that we take him as our example, an example which, because our Baptism has confirmed, affirmed and strengthened the Divine Spark within us, we are truly dignified to follow.
Let us therefore, on this truly Glorious Day of the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord the Christ and as one Gnostic Community and One Universal Gnostic Church, renew our own baptismal commitments. Let us wield the power of Gnostic Christians and renounce all the pomps, vanities and evils of this world. Let us daily confess our sins and purify ourselves from all their negativity, and by doing so stand firm in our True Nature’s as Sons and Daughters of God and by doing so restore ourselves to the full Dignity of our Stations in the Glorious Pleroma of God! Amen