232 Dimensions of Baptism
through rebirth would not be a transformation if we should remain in the
state in which we were.'^43 It is evident to all, Gregory continues, that 'the
saving birth is received for the renewal and change of our nature'. Yet no
part of human nature in and of itself from mere baptism (here Gregory
uses baptism of the water) comes to a change. The birth from above does
not change the rational nature and intellectual faculties of a person (that
would not be a good change); rather the 'grace of rebirth' is a transfor-
mation from evil to good.^44
At this point, Gregory moves once more from the imagery of rebirth to
cleansing. 'It is evident that when nature's evil features are erased the
change is for the better.' The mystical bath washes away the soul's evil
choices, effecting a change to the better. Here I am reminded of the fre-
quency with which earlier writers connected rebirth with sinlessness.^45
Gregory says, 'But, if the bath was applied to the body, and the soul did
not cleanse itself of the stains of its passions but after the initiation the life
corresponds to the uninitiated life, even if it is bold to say it, I will say it
and will not turn away from it, in these persons the water is water, since
the gift of the Holy Spirit is in no way manifest in what occurred.'^46 If the
one baptized is the same after as before the baptism—guilty of anger,
greed, shameful thoughts, pride, envy, arrogance, injustice, adultery—
- GNO102.4-11 (PG, xlv, col. 10 IB). Gregory expresses the same concern in In
diem luminum (GNO 9.237.23-238.11 [PG, xlvi, cols. 596A-B]). Referring to Christ
as 'firstborn' (see note 55 below), Gregory makes the fact that 'through the same
manner of new birth through water and the Spirit we became brothers of the Lord' the
basis for an exhortation to imitate his purity—Deperfectione (GNO 8.1.203, 8.204.8
[PG, xlvi, cols. 277A-B]). For Gregory's persistent interest in the Christian moral life
see my article, 'Some Aspects of Gregory of Nyssa's Moral Theology in the Homilies
on Ecclesiastes', in Stuart G. Hall (ed.), Gregory ofNyssa Homilies on Ecclesiastes
(Berlin: W. de Gruyter, 1993), pp. 319-36. - GNO 102.12-24 (PG, xlv, cols. 101B-C); but In diem luminum says that upon
receiving the power of God, 'water that is nothing else than water renews a person to
an intellectual rebirth (vonTT|v avaylvvriaiv), when grace from above blesses it'
(GNO 9.227.4-7 [PG, xlvi, col. 584B]). - E.g. Hennas, Sim. 9.29.1-3 = 106.1-3; Barn. 6.11; Theophilus, To Autolycus
2.16; Irenaeus, Demonstration 3; Clement of Alexandria, Strom. 4.25.160.1-2. - GNO 102.24-103.10 (PG, xlv, cols. 101C-D). For the necessity of both Spirit
and water, note De Spiritu Sancto (GNO 3.1.105-19.106.11 [PG, xlv, cols. 1324D-
1325B]), which emphasizes the working of the Spirit (the 'life giving power' is not in
the water but in the Holy Spirit, and faith in the Lord must precede), and In diem
luminum (GNO 9 .224-25.225.14 [PG, xlvi, cols. 581A-C]), which argues for the place
of water.