Herein lies a problem. How does one really gain an understanding of the sacraments? For example: Baptism is the act of immersing an individual into water. Variants of immersion are sprinkling or pouring a cup of water over the individual. The officiator of the ceremony says a few word (prayers). After which, the individual is "baptized." A rather simple ritualistic procedure. HOWEVER; it isn't that simple. Though the above describes the physical actions to some degree, it says nothing of the purpose and meaning of those actions. This is were the metaphysical side of the sacraments must also be examined. Herein lies the duality of each sacrament. This metaphysical side of the sacraments is commonly called mystical theology, or the study of the mysteries of Christ.

This duality of the sacraments is where the true meaning is discovered. The mysteries of Christ go far beyond our limited sight or understanding. The mysteries of Christ are bestowed by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:5 and Acts 2:38 begin to show the role of the Holy Spirit and his interactions as part of the Trinity. Upon examining the role of the Holy Spirit, one can learn of how the Holy Spirit interacts between humanity and Jesus. Given that each sacrament is a duality, we begin to unfold the purpose of this duality be actually looking at the sacraments.

The Sacrament of Baptism is the means by which we are allowed to share in the Divinity of Christ and His Father. For Jesus says "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3) and "I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Within these two passages, Jesus tells us how we are baptized and brings to light the duality of this sacrament. By Christ's definition of baptism, when we are born, we are born of flesh only (John 3:6). Jesus tells us we must be born of water, a physical element, and of the spirit, the meta-physical element. Without both, we are not truly baptized (John 3:5, Acts 8:36). The spirit means the Holy Spirit. Acts 1:5 is just one of many illustrations of this aspect. Further evidence of this are listed in Acts 2:38, Acts 8:13, Acts 11:16, 1st Corinthians 12:13, and John 1:33. The usage of water, a physical element, does in essence have a meta-physical side, thus a duality.

Water is a perfect physical element to use because of these factors: it may be a spiritual tool for cleansing the baptized individual by washing the spirit of the Original Sin. The second reason water is the best tool or medium is simply due to the amount of it on the Earth. Water is also a separator of continents, thus the effect in this manner is we are separated from our previous life or personal sin. Water can also be viewed as death then life or re-birth. When one plunges into water, this plunge can be viewed or symbolized as death. After the plunge, when the person rises above the water, they are resurrected or re-born. Thus the baptized individual is born of the Holy Spirit and their physical body is re-newed.

The second sacrament is the Sacrament Confirmation. The dictionary states that confirmation is a Christian rite conferring the gift of the Holy Spirit. The dictionary lists the physical aspect of Confirmation, but says nothing of the spiritual part. Here again, we must research to to understand the meta-physical properties of this sacrament. What is meant by "conferring the gift of the Holy Spirit?" How does one confer or give a gift that is unseen? The bible addressed this issue many times. Jesus and the Apostles laid hands on the individual in question. This confirmed or re-affirmed the individual's faith. Through-out the gospels, Jesus made no secret about the faith of his followers and they must remain steadfast in their beliefs. The Sacrament of Confirmation does just that, it allows the individual to openly re-affirm their faith, physical, and through the laying of hands having their spirit re-newed.

Confirmation is also strengthening of the faith, meta-physically speaking. Those that have lost their way of faltered in faith have this opportunity to re-new their faith and re-join Christ's fold. As Jesus is the shepherd, we are his sheep. All too often, one of His sheep will wander and get lost along the way. One can imagine the relief of a sheep as the shepherd snatches him back from the jaws of the wolf. For many of GOD's children, Jesus has done just that, snatched their souls from the fangs of Satan, thus re-mewing their faith and putting them back in the LORD's flock.

The fourth sacrament is the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist is a spiritual communion with GOD. Jesus said "I myself am the living bread that has come down from heaven" (John 5:51). The last supper is also clear evidence of a spiritual communion with GOD (Luke 22:19, Mark 14:22, Mat 26:26) when Jesus says to His Apostles to eat the bread for it was His body to drink the wine for it was His blood. The Eucharist's perhaps the most spiritual sacrament covered thus far.

The Eucharist is also explicitly dualistic. The physical and meta-physical components work together. The physical aspect of the Eucharist is the literal bread and wine. These symbols mean the body and blood of Christ. The transformation or transfiguration is the bridge or link between the physical and meta-physical. The bread and wine are meaningless without the spiritual guidance and the reverent remembrance of our LORD. The transfiguration takes place physically during a full liturgical ceremony or Mass. In the Epiclesis, the presiding priest asks the Holy Spirit to bless, consecrate and transform the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. The actual word differ from liturgy to liturgy, but the end effect is the meaning of the bread and wine are altered mystically or meta-physically.

The next sacrament is the Sacrament of Penance. Penance is the act of confessing one's sins. This sacrament's duality is a little less obvious to many then the other sacraments. The physical aspect is that of an individual telling of their sins to a "confessor", a priest or bishop. Penance is also Biblical in nature as listed in James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another." John 1:7-9 illustrates, along with many other written biblical passages, one must be free of sin in order to by worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. This precept is where the duality of this sacrament begins to unfold. The meta- physical aspect of the Sacrament of Penance is thusly stated: in order to be free of sin, we must contritely (whole heartily) confess our sin and try not to repeat it. For it is written in the Bible, "Be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:14, 1 Peter 1:16). In order to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, we must free ourselves or personal sin and the Original Sin of Adam. Freeing ourselves from personal sin is obvious, the Bible clearly and explicitly tells us what we must do.

But how do we free ourselves from the Original Sin? This is less obvious and in many ways, purely meta-physical in this day and age and perhaps then too. It is purely meta-physical because Jesus walked the Earth almost two thousand years ago. GOD the Father tells us through John, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). This is the answer to freeing ourselves from Adam's Original Sin. Here we must move to a deeper meta-physical level. When GOD created Adam, he created the First Man. When Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary and of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:30-35), He is the re-birth of our race. That is, Jesus is the second Adam or in essence, the re-birth or humanity. By believing and accepting Christ, the Son of the Living GOD, we also accept His inheritance of holiness. Jesus never sinned, therefore in His Father's eyes, we too have not sinned. This is an impossibility within human nature and that is why Jesus died on the cross for us and why we must repent our daily sins contritely. Jesus died for our sins, past, present, and future. This is NOT a blank check though. Jesus dying for us does NOT give us permission to break every law and commandment GOD and Jesus set down. We only inherit this wondrous gift if we follow Jesus' footsteps and strive to live our lives as He taught us by the Scriptures. The crucifixion of Jesus is how GOD gave us a way to enter into the Eternal Life of His Kingdom. In John 3:16, GOD is saying Jesus, His only begotten son, died so that we, His children, may be freed from the Original Sin. We must be blameless at the coming of our LORD (1st Thessalonians 3:13).

The fifth sacrament is Holy Unction. The term Unction is defined as "the act of anointing as a rite of consecration or healing." Where the Sacrament of Penance is mostly meta-physical in nature, the Sacrament of Holy Unction is an equal combination. Throughout Jesus' ministries, He healed or cast out many variety of sickness (Mark 3:15), palsies (Matthew 9:2-8), leprosy, and more (Luke 7:22). When Jesus walked the Earth, people would ask of Him for a healing (Luke 7:7) or touch His robe (Luke 8:44). In the above listed cases except the last, Jesus touched each of the sicken individuals, hence the physical aspect. The last case though, illustrates the grace of the Holy Spirit. Merely by faith alone, the centurion's servant was healed. In today's atmosphere, scientists and doctors tend the physical aspect of caring for the sick while the church and its parishioners tend to the spiritual healing. Prayers by the people carried up to the altar of GOD by the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13) are the spirituality of the Holy Unction, the meta-physical aspect.

The Sacrament of Holy Orders was, like the other sacraments, established by Jesus. Jesus chose His Apostles (Mat 4:19, 4:21) to do the ministries of GOD (1st Corinthians 4:1). Holy Orders are special calling to which the Holy Spirit fills the individual (Acts 13:9). This sacrament is mostly meta-physical in nature. The calling to be a presbyter (priest) can only be accomplished by the Divinity of the High Priest, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1). The Holy Spirit is given by the laying of hands (Acts 8:18) upon the called individual. Though the laying of hands is physical, the true nature of the Holy Orders is solely the work of GOD The Father, Jesus and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Anyone can lay hands on another human being, mumble or say some rhetoric, but this does not mean the person who was laid hand on has a divine calling to serve Jesus and His Father as a priest. One must experience being filled by the Holy Spirit after having been called to serve as a witness of Christ.

The final sacrament, the Sacrament of Marriage, or Holy Matrimony, was instituted by GOD the Father at the dawn of the Human race (Genesis 2:21-24) and re-affirmed by Jesus at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1). Marriage is a special gift by GOD where two souls shall be of one flesh (Genesis 2:24). This sacrament that is both physical and meta-physical. Unfortunately, the physical tends to be followed more then the meta-physical leading to an unsanctified marriage which may violate the laws of GOD the Father (Exodus 20:2-17) and Jesus (Matthew 5:1-7:29). A fully sanctified marriage with have GOD as its center, not the physical attraction. Jesus speaks of this when he speaks of adultery (Matthew 5:27-32). The Holy Spirit fills both individuals thus leading them to the unity or ones described in Genesis 2:24. This process takes several years to blossom just as a plant take several months or years to bear fruit. A fully sanctified marriage is a very fruitful and rewarding one. The Sacrament of Marriage is the oldest sacrament listed in the Bible and was instituted by GOD the Father Himself.

The sacraments are graces of divinity from GOD, the Father, and Jesus, His only begotten Son to help us on our way to earning the rewards of Eternal Life. The Holy Spirit is the bestowers of these gifts. For each sacrament, the Holy Spirit interacts according to the LORD's will and that of GOD, the Father. By understanding the meta-physical role the Holy Spirit fill, we gain a better understanding of the true meaning of the sacraments according to GOD's divine will.