But see, my brothers: the voice sounds and passes, the word remains. See what I say. Behold, I said "God"; first, I conceived in my heart what I would say, then those two syllables sounded and passed. Does what I conceived in my heart pass with those syllables? Again, when I said "God," it happened in your heart to think of God; in my heart, it preceded that I would say it, and in your heart, the thought of God was made when you heard those two syllables. Those two syllables fulfilled their service and passed; yet what I had conceived in my heart did not pass: it was in me, and after those two syllables were spoken, it remained in me; and what was made a thought in your heart, when those two syllables touched your ear, remained in your heart even after they passed. Therefore, brothers, the ministry of the man John was like a voice passing. He rightly received baptism, but the baptism of John was transitory and was called the baptism of John. The baptism of Christ and the baptism of John, but the baptism of John was like a passing voice, the baptism of Christ remaining and remaining forever, just as the word remains.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
And as much as we progress in God, so much more are voices diminished, the Word grows within us. But why do we have voices, if not to understand something? If the fullness of understanding were in us, voices would not be needed. If we could see our thoughts, would a tongue be necessary for us to converse with each other? Therefore, there will be a time when we will see the Word, as it is seen by angels, and your voices will not be needed. For it will not be necessary to preach the Word when we see it itself. All temporal things will pass away, because voice is from flesh, from grass; but the glory of flesh is like the flower of grass: the grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Therefore, as much as we progress in understanding, so much the less will there be need for voices through which we are led to understanding; hence John himself said: He must increase, but I must decrease. As the Word increases, the voice diminishes. What is it for the Word to increase? It is not that the Word itself increases, but we grow in it, we progress in it, we are magnified in it, so that we no longer need voices. This appeared also through the very births of the Word and the voice. The Word was born on the eighth day before the Kalends of January, from which the day begins to grow longer; the voice was born before the Word of God, when the day begins to decrease. He must increase, but I must decrease. And their very sufferings showed this: John diminished, struck in the head, Christ increased, elevated on the cross.
About the disciples baptized in the baptism of John (Acts 19:1-7).
Thus, let us celebrate the birth of the voice in honor of the Word, and neither focus on nor be deceived by the sophistries of vain men, who do not understand what they speak. For John had a baptism, and it is found in the Acts of the Apostles that those who only had John's baptism were baptized - for certain disciples were found having John's baptism and were ordered by the Apostle Paul to be baptized because they only had a temporary baptism, since they had the baptism of the voice, not yet of the Word; for now you seek John's baptism and do not find it: for the voice sounded and passed by, but the baptism of Christ remains today. Therefore, because of the mystery itself, the Apostle Paul ordered those who had John's baptism to be baptized, hence the heretics wanted to draw an argument for rebaptism, whose error we lament and whose liberation we rejoice in. Let us, therefore, briefly reply to this.
Of the baptism of John and of unworthy ministers baptizing.
Therefore, you think that a man who has received the baptism of Christ ought to be rebaptized because the Apostle Paul commanded that men who had the baptism of John should be baptized, and so you argue: "If after John the Baptist, about whom the Lord said: Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist, if after him the apostles baptized, how much more ought one to be baptized after heretics!" I respond: You think an injury is being done to John the Baptist because people were baptized after him, if they are not baptized after heretics. And I too lament this injury, but I reply to you thus: If people were baptized after John, should they not have been baptized after Optatus? What are you saying to me here? Who was John? "Among those born of women, no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist." Do you have any presbyter or drunkard with you - I do not want to say "usurer", I do not want to say "adulterer" - but in the meantime, what abounds and what is publicly done, you have a drunken presbyter with you. "Okay." Why do you not rebaptize after him? If you baptize after John who did not drink wine, should you not baptize after a drunkard? Here surely he is confused and has nothing to say. So what? Listen to me.
The baptism of heretics is not to be repeated.
And Paul commands those who had the baptism of John and did not have Christ's to be baptized. But why do you not baptize after a drunk? Because the baptism is given by Christ alone. For it is Christ's baptism: let the sober give it, let the drunk give it, it is Christ's, it belongs neither to the sober nor to the drunk. This baptism was given by Peter: it is Christ's; it was given by Judas: it is Christ’s. For it is not called Peter’s baptism because Peter gave it. Why? Just as it was said to be the baptism of John, it was not said so for those baptized by Peter, by Paul, by John the Evangelist, or by Judas, it was not called the baptism of Peter, the baptism of Paul, the baptism of Judas; but for those baptized by Peter, by Paul, by John, by Judas, it is Christ’s baptism. However, the disciples of John whom he baptized were of John, because John received this dispensation and pre-ministry: the voice before the word. Therefore, you do not want to baptize after a drunk, nor do I after a heretic.
On the baptism of Christ administered by unworthy ministers.
And if perchance you think that a heretic does not enter the kingdom of heaven, the drunkard enters, the apostle Paul made it clear saying: Now the works of the flesh are evident; which are fornications, impurity, lust, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, bursts of rage, dissentions, heresies, envies, drunkenness, carousings, and things like these; of which I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. There he listed heresies, where the drunkards, and concluded: Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Set before me a heretic and a drunkard: if he persists in heresy, he does not enter the kingdom of heaven; so too a drunkard, if he persists in drunkenness, does not enter the kingdom of heaven. Teach me. Both give baptism according to which? Both are outside the kingdom of heaven, but they give the thing of the kingdom of heaven. A herald pronounces the sentence, but does not liberate innocence. The judge liberates, who commanded the herald what to say. Sometimes the herald is guilty, and the innocent is freed through him. The guilty herald says: "I have ordered to release," and through the guilty, the innocent is freed. Why? Because the voice of the herald is the sentence of the judge. The drunkard baptizes: it is ministry; the heretic baptized: it is ministry. The gift of baptism is the gift of Almighty God. Certainly, if he baptized in the name of Donatus, it must be that he be baptized again. However, if I recognize there the baptism of Christ, if I recognize the words of the Gospel, if I recognize the form and character of my king, although you were a deserter and could be convicted and put to death through the character, come to the camp with the character of the Lord: you can earn pardon, the character for you cannot be changed.