If We Have Died with Christ, We Believe that We Shall also Live with Him

Cheon Seong Gyeong 2230

We believe in God who wants to realize one world, a world of one purpose. Since God is Jehovah and Lord of all nations, and the center of all centers, when we face Him from afar, we want to be His loyal subjects. We were born for this duty and responsibility. Understand that as we draw near to Him, He becomes our Father to whom we owe the duty of filial piety as His sons and daughters. That is our priority. Only when you have lived like that can you say to God, “If you want to send me to hell, send me there. If you want to send me to Heaven, send me there. Do as you please.” Nobody went to hell after living like that. (154-314, 1964.10.5)

Cheon Seong Gyeong 1359

That is how the Divine Principle of the Unification Church is: At the time of the 777 Couples Blessing, most of the American participants had master 1360 Book 9 • Blessed Family degrees, yet they packed their bags, left their nation and flew thousands of miles to receive the Blessing here in Korea. The round-trip airfare for one person to fly to Korea from the United States is about 2,000 dollars. So it would be 4,000 dollars per couple. That would be about 1.3 million Korean won. Why then would these people spend so much money just to be married here in Korea? The answer is simply that it would be of far greater value for them to be married here rather than back home in the United States. It was far better.

Ritual

5. Baptism and Purification by Ritual Bathing

Wash away, Waters, whatever
sin is in me, what wrong I have done,
what imprecation I have uttered,
and what untruth I have spoken.
    Rig Veda 10.9.8 (Hinduism)

Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
    Acts 2.38Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
    Romans 6.3-11

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

By making the indemnity condition of baptism by water, we can be spiritually born anew through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, by taking a piece of bread and a cup of wine at the sacrament of Holy Communion, we receive the precious grace of partaking in Jesus’ body and blood. All these are examples of conditions of lesser indemnity.     (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Restoration 1.1)

Baptism with water is for purifying the body, soiled by sin. It is the next stage after purifying the sexual organ by circumcision. Yet the issue remains, how to connect the people purified in this way to the path of love. (277:265, April 18, 1996)

Holy water is the water of victory, the water of sanctification. Its sanctifying power removes Satan’s blood and introduces Heaven’s lineage. (215:347, March 1, 1991)

Richard:  The Holy Water Ceremony is part the Blessing.

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