Часть догматическая (Еф. 1:3–3:21)

The subject of this part is the economy of our salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ. Saint Damascus writes: “The main subject (in this part) of the letter is to teach the Ephesians the doctrine of the grace of Christ. This grace is our restoration and sanctification in Him, since we have become His body and have taken Him as our head. The source of such grace is the goodness of God, forever hymned. The path to it is redemption by the blood of Christ.” The purpose that the Apostle had in depicting this economy was to bring the Ephesians into contemplation of it, and in this to give them, and in their person and all pagan Christians, an incentive to remember the great goodness of God towards them, revealed through the calling of them to participate in salvation. To achieve this more successfully, he first: A. - gives a general overview of the economy of salvation - Eph. 1:3–14 and then B. - introduces him and the Ephesians into contemplation, - Eph. 1:15–3:21. A. Review of the Economy of Salvation (Eph. 1:3–14) This review lays the foundation not only for the next section of the dogmatic part, but also for the moralizing part. Saint Paul begins it with the proclamation: “Blessed be God,” and so on. Such a grateful and laudatory appeal came from the heart of the Apostle after he surveyed in his mind the entire economy of our salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the mystery of the Divine from eternity there was meant to be a dispensation for our salvation; when the time came, the Son of God became incarnate, suffered, died, was resurrected, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father; He sent the Holy Spirit to earth, who, through the Apostles, built on it the Holy Church, the guardian of truth and grace; Those who enter its fence partake of grace, are cleansed and sanctified, working in good deeds, until they leave from here through the gates of death and enter the heavenly villages, “where Christ is sitting on the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). - This is a new and living path! - Having surveyed him, the Apostle could not resist calling out: Blessed be God! That this proclamation was precisely as a result of this review is shown by the following verses, in which it is stated, a) how the plan of our salvation has been outlined in God from eternity, v. 3–6, b) as it was fulfilled by the Lord Jesus, v. 7-10 and c) how we all become partakers of this salvation by the grace of the Holy Spirit and the tea of ​​the inheritance of eternal bliss, v. 11–14. a) Eph. 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly things in Christ. "Blessed be God!" - He begins with praise to God from the fullness of grateful feelings for the great work of salvation, the power of which he felt and the greatness of which he embraced through contemplation of the mind. The greatness of the blessings led to a feeling of the greatness of the beneficent God, which brought forth from the heart an appeal of praise to God. The blessing of God began, and on it rests all subsequent speech, which develops and defines it. The Holy Apostle sees the great work of salvation already working in people through the Gospel preaching and the grace of the Holy Spirit. The vision of this delights his spirit, and he outlines everything intelligently contemplated in an inspired speech - briefly, but comprehensively. Is there another such short-comprehensive section in Scripture! The 18 verses of the Gospel of John the Theologian are somewhat similar to it. "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". “God and Father” is a majestic expression, not only found in St. Paul, but also in the other Apostles (Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Cor. 1:3, 11:31; Col. 1:3; James 1:27, 3:9; 1 Pet. 1:3). - But what is the idea? - Some say: our God and of every creature, and the Father of our Lord. So blessed Theodoret: “It is clear that He is our God, the Father of our Lord.” – Others refer God and Father to the Lord Jesus Christ, saying that He is His God according to humanity and Father according to Divinity. So blessed Theophylact: “Here is God and Father He is one and the same Christ: God as incarnate; The Father is like God the Word.” Blessed Jerome says that one can accept another understanding of these sayings. “You can read it in two ways: “Blessed be the God and Father our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Or this: blessed is God, who is the Creator of all things, with the guidance: “Who is also the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ.” Or so that both “God” and “Father” are referred to our Lord. Blessed is the God of man accepted in incarnation and the Father of God the Word incarnate, who was with God in the beginning, not because there is another person - the accepted man, and another - the Word who received him; but because one and the same person, due to the difference in natures, is called either by high or humble names.” In view of the fact that it is not alien to the dogmas of faith to confess God the Father as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to humanity, there is no need to insist on the first understanding of both this place and all similar ones noted above. Below, in Art. 17, Saint Paul addresses his prayer directly “to the God of our Lord, the Father of Glory” (Eph. 1:17). And the Lord Himself, in a word to Mary Magdalene, confessed God the Father as His God, saying: “I will ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17). There is only one caution to be had in this regard, so as not to divide the Persons into two, according to the guidance of Blessed Jerome, but to confess one and the same Lord Jesus, for Whom there is one, God the Father is both God and Father. It was fitting for the Holy Apostle, who blesses God for the greatness and abundance of graces, to use such a turn of phrase. For the source of all of them in reality is that God the Father was pleased, God the Son deigned to be incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Ever-Virgin Mary. - God is the Lord, and appear to us. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! "Blessing Us". The Apostle's gaze rests on what actually already exists. He does not point to the general goodness of God, but to a specific great work of His goodness - that in which God blessed us with the work of our redemption already completed in Jesus Christ the Lord. With Him He has already raised us up and made us sit in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6). “With every blessing.” Here we mean the abundance, greatness, and immutability of blessings - everything that was granted to us by the incarnation of God the Word, His death, resurrection and ascension, and the descent of the Holy Spirit acting in those who believed: remission of sins, sanctification by grace, sonship to God, eternal inheritance and the top of everything - the perception and containment of God. “What else do you lack? St. Chrysostom calls out: “You have become immortal, free, son, brother, co-heir; you will reign with the Lord, and you will be glorified with Him. When He Himself is given to you, then in Him everything is given to you.” (Rom. 8:32). “He told us the gifts of the Divine Spirit, gave us the hope of the Resurrection, the promise of immortality, promised the Kingdom of Heaven, the dignity of sonship” (Blessed Theodoret). God blessed us with every blessing, and thus we ourselves became blessed, not an inaccurate blessing, but perceived as goodness received by goodness and holyness received by holiness. Blessed Jerome writes: “By nature and essentially, God alone is good, but through communication with Him He makes us good. In the same way he makes us holy, which is why he says to Israel: “You will be holy, just as I am holy” (Lev. 20:7). So He Himself is blessed, and He makes us blessed. The Giver of the Law gives blessing, and “the blessing of the Lord rests on the head of the righteous” (Prov. 10:6). “He blessed us not with just one blessing, but with every blessing - not so that everyone receives everything, but when everyone has one or more of everything, all, in parts, we possess everything (of course, the gifts of the Holy Spirit).” "Spiritual blessing". Having listed, as above, the blessings given to us in the Lord, Saint Chrysostom says: “Not a word about the physical here. The Savior also said: “You will be in a world of sorrow” (John 16:33), in order to reject every thought about the physical and direct all our attention to the spiritual. Those who cling to the physical cannot even hear about the spiritual; and he who seeks the spiritual cannot accept it unless he first leaves the physical.” Whether St. Paul had the idea of ​​contrasting the Christian blessing—spiritual with the Jewish blessing—carnal, it cannot be stated. But this expression may suggest such an idea to the reader. Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle here hints at the blessing of the Jews, for they also received a blessing, but not a spiritual one. What were they really told? “God will bless you and bless the fruit of your womb” (Deut. 7:13), and He will bless your entrance and exit.” "In the heavenly ones". “As if interpreting how our blessing is spiritual, he says: “in heavenly things.” The blessing of the Jews was earthly, and therefore physical” (Blessed Theophylact). He says this to show that we are blessed “not with a worldly, but with a heavenly blessing, not perishable, but eternal; for the glory of Christians is not on earth, but in heaven and in Christ, as the Lord says: “Where I am, there also will My servant be” (John 12:26) (Ambrosiastes). “In the heavenly,” says Saint Chrysostom, “means the same thing as not the earthly (blessings given to us), as to the Jews, to whom it was promised that they would eat the good things of the land, that they would inherit the land boiling with honey and milk, and that God would bless their land (Ps. 127; Exod. 33; Num. 13, 14; Deut. 11:27, 31). “Nothing like that is promised here.” What is being promised? - “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word... Both I and the Father will come to him and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). Also: “Everyone who has confessed Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). In another place: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for these are the kingdom of heaven... Blessed are the pure in heart: for these will see God... It is blessed to drive away righteousness for the sake of them: for to them is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3, 8, 10). You see, heaven is everywhere, and nowhere is there a word about earth or earthly things. Why is it said: “Our... life is in heaven, from where we also wait for a Savior, [our] Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). And again: “Be wise in things above, not on earth” (Col. 3:2). Some interpreters give the following meaning to the word “in the heavenly”: in the heavens, - before there was earth or any creature, - in the eternal council of God. But as deliberately noted above, the Apostle thanks God here for the fact that he saw himself truly perfect already in Christ Jesus, and he speaks about the eternal decisions of the council of God in the next two or three verses. Our holy interpreters, as their quoted words show, see in this word only an explanation of “spiritual” blessing. According to their thoughts, “in the heavenly” is the same as in the heavenly. The beginning of blessing comes from heaven, and there it receives its final completion. Blessed Theodoret, having enumerated God’s blessings to us in the Lord, says: “The Apostle called these spiritual blessings and added: “in heavenly,” because all these are heavenly gifts.” Blessed Jerome writes: “We are blessed not with earthly, but with spiritual blessings. There are also earthly blessings, such as having children, abundant wealth, being honored, and enjoying health. Earthly blessing extends even to animals; so it is said about them: the Lord blessed them and said: grow and multiply (Gen. 1:22). – Spiritual blessings are in the heavenly, because the earth is not capable of containing a spiritual blessing. Even those blessings that are promised in the law to those who keep the commandments (Lev. 26; Deut. 28), we do not see fulfilled on the prophets, “who walked in sheepskins and in goatskins, deprived, sorrowful, embittered... wandering in the deserts and in the mountains, and in dens, and in the pits of the earth” (Heb. 11:37, 38). Thus, everything must be understood spiritually and the spiritual must be sought not in earthly places, but in heavenly ones. - The question arises, how, when we were still on earth, did He bless us with a heavenly blessing? - We are called blessed by heavenly blessing, either because our life is in heaven, and we are not of this world, but, having put off the image of the earthly, we bear the image of what is heavenly and we no longer live according to the flesh, but according to the spirit, and we are laying up treasure for ourselves in heaven, where we also have a heart; or because every heavenly blessing, although it happens (is received) on earth, is sent from heaven.” Blessed... "About Christ". This word shows that an appeal of gratitude and praise came from the heart upon review of everything that the Lord has accomplished and what He has prepared for the believers. But in this alone there is truth and reality; outside of this there is charm and destruction. Whatever comes down to us from God, everything is through the Lord Jesus Christ; and our ascent to God is possible in no other way than through the Lord. “Every gift of God’s grace is in Christ. Whoever, having despised Christ, thinks to be blessed by God, let him know that he is mistaken” (Ambrosiastes). Saint Chrysostom makes a point about the superiority of the New Testament over the Old. “In Christ,” that is, through Christ Jesus, and not through Moses, is a blessing; and therefore, not only in quality, but also in the mediation of blessing, we are superior to the Jews. Moses is a servant; Christ is the Son (Heb. 3:5, 6). Let everyone keep in mind and heart that Christ the Lord is the only mediator through whom every blessing of God descends upon us; every spiritual gift is given to us through Christ and for Christ's sake. And conversely, Christ is the mediator, through whom all our thanksgiving and praise of God should ascend to God. How God through Him and in Him blesses us and gives us all spiritual gifts; so through Him and in Him, and with Him, we will thank, glorify and bless God, who abundantly blesses us. Just as God does not give us anything besides Christ the Lord, so He does not accept anything from us if we bring something not through Him. Through Christ the Lord, therefore, we will seek new gifts from God, and give thanks for what has already been given. Let us cleave to Christ both when we ask and when we give thanks. Eph. 1:4. For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. “Like”, χαθως; - “since.” The reason for what was said ahead follows. In the previous verse, God is blessed for the abundant blessings to us in Christ Jesus. Regarding this, two questions can arise: why did God now deign to be so generous to us? And: what was the need to depend on us so many Divine treasures? - The Apostle answers this in the present verse: no, not only now is it supposed to be so, but from the ages, now it has only been brought into being fulfillment. And the fact that so many spiritual treasures were poured out on us is because otherwise it would have been impossible for us to be saints. God decided to lead us again to holiness and integrity and directed everything towards this. It was necessary to justify us - and behold, the Lord took up the death of the cross for us; believers and revive everyone; it was necessary to prepare a place for those being saved, and behold, the Lord ascended into heaven - to prepare a place, so that His servants would be there too, where He Himself was. Three main points in the life of Christians: remission of sins, sanctification by the grace of the Holy Spirit and eternal bliss in the Kingdom of Christ. They contain all blessings. But all of them are aimed at making us holy and blameless. This is the center of all grace-filled New Testament institutions. “As He chose us.” The holy Apostle does not intend to dwell long on the election. It is the most important moment for everyone being saved, but here it is not fully revealed, but is remembered only for further explanation of how natural it was to burst forth from the heart of the Apostle with a God-praising blessing upon reviewing the blessings of Christ Jesus the Lord. It is not the abundance of these blessings alone that compels one to bless God, but especially the fact that they have been destined to be there from eternity. This was part of the general plan of the world. Saint Chrysostom speaks about this: “And in almost all his epistles (St. Paul) tries to show that what has been done for us is not news; but that from ancient times it was pre-depicted; and this did not happen because of a change in God’s intention, but this was exactly how it was preordained and predetermined: this is a matter of God’s long-term care.” Theodoret puts this idea of ​​pre-eternal election in relation to the Old Testament institution and writes: “Since others thought that the preaching (of the Gospel) was something new, and despised it because it appeared later than the life of the law, the Apostle admonishes about this: “as he was chosen ... before the foundation of the world.” For from the beginning, before the foundation of the world, God both foresaw and predestined everything that happens to us.” The spiritual blessing of us accomplished in time is the work of redemption accomplished by the Lord. Spiritual blessing in relation to both persons is an entry into participation in redemption. Both are in time; but their foundation is not in time, but in eternity. From eternity God determined there to be redemption; the time has come and it is done. From eternity those who are saved have also been determined; the time comes, and those who are certain receive salvation. The basis for this latter is God’s eternal election. "He has chosen us in Him." “Us” - all Christians, all those who have already believed and those who are about to believe - until the end of the world. The gaze of the Apostle embraces all saved people. What this election is is clear from the election of the people of God. Israel was chosen from among the nations - to be the people of God, dedicated to God and the work of God. But this election was temporary, although for eternal purposes, embracing all of humanity. When the goal is fulfilled, the meaning of the temporary election ends. It has been replaced by another, higher one – spiritual in purpose and eternal in meaning. Here not one tribe is chosen from all, but from all tribes one people is chosen, consisting of persons of one spirit, serving one purpose. And about this election he says that it took place before the creation of the world: time and history only fulfill that pre-eternal election. The Apostle ascends beyond the boundaries of time and sees the beginning of this election in the eternal act of God's will. Chosen “in Him,” that is, in Christ. Christ is the co-partner of all saved humanity, just as Adam is of fallen and perishing humanity. From the entire mass of those who perish in Adam, God chose us for Himself through faith in Christ Jesus. All of Adam are sinners before God and without grace. God sees them as such. This dark veil is removed, and God’s blessing extends only to that part of them that deviates under the roof of Christ. Through Christ, the most blessed, He not only sees them as blessed, but also fulfills them with blessings. In Christ God chose us. Therefore, He was first chosen. The determination of salvation through redemption in Christ was the original, completely free determination of the will of God. The first chosen one is Christ. But since He is not for His own sake, but for the sake of those who are being saved, then in His election these too are chosen. God's blessing rests all on Christ, and for His sake on all who believe in Him. Everything in them is from God through Christ. Those who are being saved need faith, grace, holiness, and for that - eternal glory. All this comes to them from Christ and through Christ. When Christ is chosen, those who are saved by Him are chosen, and all the means to salvation are chosen. How someone enters into his pre-election by deed, or enters into his inheritance, is an incomprehensible hidden mystery in God. The Apostle here only says that all such are chosen and chosen in Christ - before the foundation of the world. Through communion with Him by faith and grace in the sacraments, eternal election receives temporary fulfillment or fulfillment. In the one who works out his salvation, confirmation of real living communion with Christ is also attached to it. Along with the maturation of the certification in this communion, the certification of the eternal election in Christ in the one who is saved by the very act also matures. Chosen before the “formation of the world,” that is, from eternity, for before the foundation of the world there was no time. This expression is not found elsewhere in St. Paul. In a similar place - in 2 Sol. 2:13 - stands: “from the beginning God chose you to eat.” – Saint Chrysostom makes from the word “the composition of the world” an intimation about the image of the origin of the world. Addition καταβολη means throwing down. From the infinitely great God this world was thrown into space and time at an infinite distance from Him - according to its dignity. Or – the world is sketched out by the Word of God into space and time. Speech - and bysha, speech - and bysha. Every word that came from the mouth of God gave birth to worlds that we cannot even count. These are the words of Saint Chrysostom! “The Apostle beautifully called the creation of the world χαταβολη - a casting down from on high. The height of God is truly great and inexpressible, not in relation to place, but in relation to the boundlessness of the Divine nature; and – the distance between the creature and the Creator is great.” – All the ancient eastern commentators and Blessed Jerome make the same remark. In their time there was at times a struggle with philosophers - materialists and fatalists; That’s why they considered it necessary to do such guidance. It is not superfluous in our time. It is remarkable that, according to the contemplation of the saints, the world, no matter how huge, disappears in their consciousness before the consciousness of the greatness of the Divine. This is because, bypassing the world, they lived in God. – On the contrary, to those delving into matter, oblivious to God, the world with forces seems to be something immensely great and powerful, and obscures God in their consciousness, and, as it were, displaces Him from there. One must marvel at how the latter, “heeding their deeds, do not recognize the sly one” (“Looking at the deeds, they did not recognize the culprit” (Wis. 13:1))?! Izbra – “that we may be holy and blameless.” The immediate goal of election is holiness and integrity, which in turn become a means to the highest goal - sonship (Eph. 1:5), and this also leads to a further inheritance. Such a Goal! – But the focus of everything is holiness and purity. since they were chosen to them in Christ, and Christ is the perfecter of the entire economy of salvation, then the whole purpose of the latter is in our holiness and integrity. Man was created holy and blameless. Having fallen, he lost his holiness and integrity. Being restored from the fall, he is restored again to holiness and integrity. God did not choose saints and blameless, but He chose sinners to be holy and blameless. He who is pure and blameless in himself is holy. Anyone who has received baptism or remission of sins in repentance is clean from all filth, both in God’s view of him and in his own conscience, although it does not always happen that he possesses complete holiness in his entire nature. Therefore, he is holy because all his sins have been forgiven, and he has accepted a commitment to holiness, is endowed with grace-filled power, and is jealous to the point of his stomach to stand in goodness, no matter how strong the pressures of the contrary. This inner order is essential to the Christian spirit. It is to him that all Christians are chosen. If, therefore, holiness is not suddenly given, but requires work, sweat and struggle, then those chosen for holiness are also chosen on this narrow path to it, which is fully realized in asceticism. Christian, chosen one, saint, fighter, ascetic and worker - all titles have the same meaning. Saint Chrysostom says: “Lest you think that faith alone is enough, the Apostle also points to life. For this reason, he says, God chose us, so that we would be holy and blameless. Election serves as evidence, on the one hand, of God’s love for mankind, and on the other, of the virtue of the elect. Without a doubt, He has chosen those who deserve it. He made us saints, but we also need to be worthy of being saints. Holy is everyone who joins the faith, and blameless is he who leads a blameless life.” God chose us to be holy and blameless “before Him,” that is, before God, not only outwardly and before the eyes of people. But in the face of the all-seeing God, therefore, it is essential. “Not simple holiness,” says Saint Chrysostom, “and He does not require simple purity, but those who would prove to be such before Him. For there are saints and blameless ones, revered as such by people, who, however, in reality are like drowned tombs, or are ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing. But He does not choose such people, but those who are like the Prophet who said: “And the Lord will reward me according to my righteousness and according to the purity of my hand before His eyes” (Ps. 17:25). Do you see what kind of holiness He seeks? “Holiness before His eyes, that is, such that the eye of God can recognize.” "In Love". Interpreters put this saying in different combinations. Ecumenius refers him to the “choice”, Saint Chrysostom, Theodoret and Theophylact to the following - “first named” (from Greek - having predestined). Saint Damascus and Ambrosiastes - to “be holy and blameless.” What word to connect this saying with is determined by whose love will be understood here - Divine or human. Blessed Jerome says that one can understand here both human and divine love. If the first, it will mean that we are chosen to be holy and blameless out of love for God and neighbor; if the second, it will mean that God chose us and predestined us according to His love for us. Judging by what these verses say about election and predestination - the highest beneficial actions of God for us, which flow from God's love for us - it seems better to understand God's love here. But, taking into account that immediately before this word stands ours - holiness and innocence, the beginning of which is not precise in us - not a cold feeling of obligation to them, but living and active love, and after it it speaks of predestination to adoption, the essential feature of which is warm love for the Heavenly Father and acting according to His will not out of a sense of fear, but out of love - you are inclined to see in this word human love – ours. We must assume that both come together here. Ambrosiastes writes: “Those who are firm in the faith were chosen by God in Christ before the foundation of the world, so that they would be blameless before Him in love, that is, so that love for God would make their life holy. No one obeys another better than the one who submits to him out of love.” Saint Chrysostom says: “Having spoken about the necessity of virtue, he moves on to grace and says: “He first named (predestined) us in love.” For this (election) does not happen for good works only, but out of love (for him), and, moreover, not out of love alone: ​​then everyone should be saved; if, on the other hand, our virtue is sufficient, then the appearance of Him (the Son of God) into the world and His entire economy would be unnecessary. So, this is done not out of love alone, and not for our virtue alone, but under the condition of both together. “If it were not for the love of God, virtue would not have saved anyone.” – Or in other words: the granting of such great benefits is the fruit of love (of God for us), and not of our (only) virtue. To be virtuous, to believe and to draw closer to God is, although it is the work of the One who called, but, nevertheless, it is also ours. And to honor those who have approached so much, in order to transfer them from a state of enmity to a state of adoption, is truly a matter of abundant love.” Eph. 1:5, 6. First, Jesus gave us the name of adoption as sons into Him, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He bestows upon us in His Beloved. “First he called”, προορισας, - having predetermined - which is the same thing, for the determination of God, of course, was expressed by Divine utterance; Moreover, to name what is what is the same as to assign and determine what to. Our predestination to sonship, according to the Apostle, preceded our election to holiness; for he says: God chose us to holiness, calling us in advance to sonship, - therefore, after calling us to this. This suggests the idea that the course of eternal predestination regarding the arrangement of our salvation was as follows: having deigned to save man, God deigned to choose the means for this - the incarnation of His Only Begotten Son - God the Word. As a result of this, all those who were saved were to become sons of God. But in order to be sons of God, one must be holy, just as the Son of God is holy. Why, having decided to adopt us, God chose us to holiness. Without holiness it is impossible to be sons of God. As soon as this last was put in place, the first was required as an inevitable condition. But in reality, both are inseparable. At the same time, just as in the determination to work for God according to faith, the beginning of holiness and integrity is placed, so the sign of sonship to God is placed on the forehead of the spirit. – “For adoption as sons by Jesus Christ” – through Jesus Christ. Adoption is mediated by Jesus Christ. Believers become one spirit with the Lord. As He is the Son, they are also sons. He alone is Son by nature, and these are received into sonship for the sake of the Only Begotten Son. “The little ones... received Him, and gave them the realm to become children of God, who believe in His name” (John 1:12). This adoption is not just the name of sons, but also birth from God (John 1:13). As a result of this birth, they are led by the Spirit of God, and they cry out about Him: Abba Father! (Rom. 8:14, 15), accepting in it the obligation to be conformed to the image of the Son of God (Rom. 8:29). “Do you notice,” says Saint Chrysostom, “how there is nothing without Christ and nothing without the Father? - He predestined, He brings. He (St. Paul) affirms this, exalting what happened, as in another place he says: “Not exactly, but we also boast in God our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:11). Great blessings, of course, are bestowed, but they become much more valuable because they are bestowed through Christ; because to us slaves God did not send any of the slaves, but His Only Begotten (Son).” Blessed Jerome writes: “About the Son of God, that is, about our Lord Jesus Christ, it is not said that he was named or predestined; because He is always with the Father, and the will of the Father in no way preceded His existence. There is always the Father, there is always the Son; for, having one nature, They are co-eternal. And about us, before we began to be, it was thought about how we should be, and then we received being itself in order to become what we were predestined to be. - From here it is self-evident that although God has already predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ, we cannot become sons of God until we have accepted faith and the knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ. He is by nature a Son, and we by adoption. He was never not the Son, and we, before being sons, were predestined to be so, and then we already received the Spirit of sonhood when we believed in the Son of God.” He predicted sonship - “according to the good pleasure of His will.” This is where the final basis of our predestination to salvation lies! God predestined us to be sons, because His Holy will was so favorable. There was no determinative need for either man or anything created other than man. This is the fruit of the immediate unconditional advice of the will of God. “Hey, Father, how quick is your favor before You,” confessed our Lord and Savior (Matthew 11:26). Benevolence means a decision of the will to do something willingly, with pleasure, lovingly (Jerome). “According to the good pleasure of His will,” that is, because he had a strong desire, or, perhaps, in other words, because this was his main desire. Ευδοχια (benevolence) everywhere means the main desire (the basis of other desires)... By it the Apostle means the first desire, a strong desire, a desire with lust, an irresistible desire... This means that God strongly desires, strongly wants our salvation. Why does He love us so much and where is the source of His grace? The source is His grace alone, because grace comes from goodness. That is why He foreordained us for adoption, desiring and greatly desiring this, in order to reveal the glory of His grace” (St. Chrysostom). Election to holiness and adoption are here contemplated by the Apostle as pre-time acts of God's love for us. God decided to save us through His Only Begotten Son incarnate. As a result of this, it was necessary to accept those being saved into sonship, make them saints, and provide them with everything necessary for this. The essence of predestination to salvation is the adoption of those who are saved to God the Father through Jesus Christ, after their sanctification by the grace of the Spirit. But as Saint Paul wrote to Christians who were already chosen and sanctified, he at the same time points out what was in them, explaining this temporal from the pre-temporal. How much consolation and spiritual joy should the consciousness of such favor from God pour into the soul?! God chose us to holiness, predestined us to fellowship with Himself, to sonship with Himself. One is inseparably connected with the other in the present dispensation of salvation, but it is connected by the good pleasure of God, and not by any necessity. God could choose us to holiness, but at the same time he could not want to adopt us. The latter is a matter of God’s good will, spoken, however, along with the determination that our salvation will be accomplished through the Only Begotten Son of God. This is the riches of grace. It was God's will to save us or leave us perishing. By definition - to save, to save in one way or another - was also in the will of God. Everything that is created for this purpose is created by God according to the good will of His will. But when God determined to save us through the death of His incarnate Son, then the entire system of salvation, its entire economy, had to be legitimized already at the request of this initial definition - that everything constitutes a plan for the economy of our salvation, predetermined in pre-time, fulfilled in time and having to appear in all its greatness in eternity. The pre-temporal determination of God's advice on salvation was the fruit of God's completely free benevolence, which came from love. But through this free decision of the will of God, the pre-temporal plan for the economy of salvation formed the basis of the flow in time - the existence and events of the material and immaterial world. With all this, or for this very reason, the blessings, along with the fulfillment of that plan, poured out on humanity, can be assimilated by each person only by free faith. And laudatory appeals to God should also flow freely from the chest, in the consciousness of the greatness of the salvation being assimilated. In reality, adoption is accomplished through communication with the Son of God by the grace of the Holy Spirit, Who is the implementer of the work of salvation in people. How is this done? – Through the word of the Gospel about Christ, followed by faith, grace, fellowship with Christ and sonship in Him. The word of the Gospel, which descended to earth, walks on earth. It is heard by the entire mass of humanity; but some are eaten, others are abandoned. Those who hear the word and follow it by faith will be nourished. How this inner attention and inclination occurs is the secret of a spiritually grace-filled life. No one will come to Christ unless the Father draws him. But the Father also draws the one who gives Him his hand. For God could create us without us, but He cannot save us without us. Freedom and grace are wonderfully combined in the dispensation of salvation. And we are also predestined. Immediately upon birth, this favor of God's goodness greets us. God hopes that we will prove to be fully worthy of such mercy and will be zealous to be saints in order to correspond to our destiny as sons of God. As much as it is glorious to endure such an appointment, it is just as shameful and bitter not to respond to it. – Now both are not obvious to everyone. But both will be clearly revealed to God, the Angels and Saints, and to the whole world on the day when God will judge everyone and reveal the heartfelt counsels of everyone. What a great blessing we have in our hands and how bitter it is to suffer the loss of it?! "To the Praise of the Glory of Grace". This is the final goal of the entire economy of our salvation! – The glory of grace here is the same as glorious grace, the thought in this expression is the same as in our usual speeches: a glorious thing! nicely done! Glorious grace is complete, complete grace, leaving nothing more to be desired. When a little man gives a gift, the little gift does its work; and when the king gives, then a small gift does not correspond to the point: a royal gift is expected from him. So grace comes from God - Divine. God has blessed us in a Divine way. – What else can we expect? He accepted us into His sonship and in order to worthily bear this title - the highest - He commands us holiness, towards the achievement of which He arranged everything. Praise for glory is that feeling that involuntarily erupts from the heart at the sight of an excellent thing or deed. God has shown such complete grace to us that everyone who understands it cannot refrain from praising both the grace and the One who graciously Himself cannot help but cry out: glorious grace! Such are all the works of God. They are not made so that they will be praised, but they are made so that they exude praise. What is meant here is not this kind of praise, but the complete perfection of the work, and praise is a consequence, the amazement involuntarily generated in the soul when seeing the perfection of a thing or deed. This is the bliss of intelligent creatures. For the feeling of perfection in our surroundings is the sweetest feeling. – Saint Chrysostom says: “For this purpose He gave us the name of adoption, in order to show the glory of His grace. - “To the praise of the glory of grace”; what does it mean? Is it that He needs everyone to praise Him, that we, the Angels, Archangels and all creation, praise and glorify Him? - No! The Divine does not need this. So, why does He want us to praise and glorify Him? - In order to through this make our love for Him warmer. He does not require service, glorification, or anything else from us; He desires our salvation alone and does everything for that. In fact, he who glorifies and reveres the grace revealed in Jesus Christ will be more attentive and diligent (towards his salvation).” “He also graces us.” The first thought with these words is that he showered us with grace. He gave us the grace of grace, a cup full and overflowing. Such “excessiveness of good deed (once realized) and the tongue of the ungrateful moves towards gratitude (and praise)” (Theodorit). This thought is given to us by the word “grace”; but the Greek saying forces us to look further, beyond grace, to what is given by grace; that is, to spiritual perfection, imparted by grace to those who have received grace, as a result of which they become amiable, attractive, so beautiful that it is pleasant to look at them. This is how the most merciful God makes everyone in Christ Jesus. Saint Chrysostom says: “He did not say: the grace that he bestowed on us is εχαρισατο, but the grace with which he graced us is εχαριτωσεν ημας, that is, he not only delivered us from sins, but also made us dear to Himself. Let’s imagine: if someone, taking a sick man, covered with ulcers, bent over with old age, dejected by illness and poverty and exhausted by hunger, suddenly transformed him into a handsome young man, whose appearance would attract the hearts of everyone, his cheeks shone with beauty, his eyes, with every wave of them, cast the rays of the sun; then I would leave him forever at this blooming age; then he would clothe him in a diadem and all the royal decorations: this is exactly how God transformed our soul, making it beautiful, attractive and amiable, so that the Angels, Archangels and all other powers (heavenly) desire to see such a soul. So He made us dear and desirable to Himself: and “the king will desire,” it is written, “your kindness” (Ps. 44:12)! Notice what bitter truths we previously expressed (deplorable speeches about the state outside of Christianity) and what gracious verbs we now broadcast! We marvel not at earthly treasures, not at what is here, but at heavenly (goods) and at what is in heaven. - About a child who, despite the beauty of his face, can still speak pleasantly, don’t we say: what a sweet child he is! These are the true ones. Listen to what speeches they say when they are communicants of the sacraments. What could be more desirable than those lips that, uttering wondrous speeches, partake of the mystical meal with great grace and boldness, with a pure heart and undefiled lips? What could be more desirable than those words with which we deny the devil and are united to Christ? What is more desirable than this confession - before the font and after the font? “Let us think (at the same time) how much we have corrupted (the grace) of baptism, and let us sigh in repentance, so that we may receive it again.” “Give grace to the Beloved,” that is, Your Only Begotten Son, who became incarnate for our salvation. Christ the Lord - the prototype of our perfection - is in the highest degree the object of God's love, in whom He rests with His complete good pleasure (Matthew 3:17). Only to the extent that we are one with Him in faith and fidelity, and God sees us in Him, are we also dear to God. But we are in Him in no other way than by becoming a new creature, having been created anew in His image. Therefore, in the word “about the Beloved” one can see the entire economy of salvation. This is why God made us dear to Himself, because He sent His Beloved Son to us, who, having come and accomplished everything on earth, ascended into heaven, from where He sent the Holy Spirit, who revived the whole universe, by the dispensation of the Holy Church in the midst of its Church, in which it is still working miraculously - for the blessing and salvation of us. All who enter into this order established by God are kind to Him. There is no other way for God to look favorably on us. Everything is in Christ and through Christ, in His Holy Church. Let us briefly imagine the spiritual blessings in heaven mentioned above in Christ. The top of everything is adoption; the condition for this is holiness and integrity; the producer is Christ the Lord by the grace of the Holy Spirit; the inexact beginning of everything is the good will of God; motivation - love; the goal is the glory of grace. How many sacraments of God are indicated in a few words! But that's not all. b) Eph. 1:7. O Him, the imams, deliverance through His blood, and the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. How did you “grace” - make you kind? – Through redemption by blood and forgiveness of sins. Created in the image of God, we were naturally beautiful. But sin came and darkened this beauty. Redemption removes this alien veil, and the beauty of our nature appears in its natural light. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Master’s death has made us worthy of love. For through her, having laid aside sinful defilements and freed ourselves from the slavery of torment, we perceived the features of the Divine image.” “Deliverance” - ατολυτρωσις - the redemption of the captives themselves for a certain price. Christ the Lord redeemed us from the captivity of the prince of this world, in which we were held for the sin of our ancestors, and the price that He gave for the ransom is His blood. To whom was the price of blood paid for our redemption? – Christ the Lord paid it to the eternal justice of God, which could not free us from guilt and punishment for sin until satisfaction was given to it. Following satisfaction with the truth of God and the return of peace with God, the power of Satan over us fell. Grace came and destroyed the satanic fortress - sin. His power was attached only to this sin and because of it. It was not natural, but accidental, a predatory takeover. “And the remission of trespasses” we have by the same blood as redemption; the same and the other “according to the riches of grace.” – We have been redeemed from hereditary sinfulness, guilt and anger, and we have received remission of sins that we ourselves have committed. Or this: redemption is a universal action of God, and the remission of sins is the application of this atonement to every believer. Everyone is redeemed through the remission of his sins, by faith in the Only Begotten Son of God crucified for the sins of the whole world. His blood cleanses us from all sin and thereby completes redemption in us. This is how the eternal blessing is carried out in us and what causes the glory of grace. The Apostle says: in Him we have deliverance and remission of sins. Christ the Lord is the continually beating living source of redemption and remission of sins. The work done once on the cross remains eternally active in His person. From which we have an everlasting Intercessor in Him, and He intercedes for us, eternally alive, or as having found eternal redemption. On earth, the continuation of the work of Jesus Christ occurs through the Church, which is the dispenser of the gifts of redemption, remission of sins and rebirth. In all this there is a wealth of grace - an inexhaustible treasury of all mercies from God, acquired by the blood of the Lord. “It’s not only amazing here,” says Saint Chrysostom, “that he betrayed His Son, but also that the Beloved Son was slain. Great abundance of love. Gave up the Beloved for the Hated! – Look how He values ​​us! If, when we were still enemies, He sacrificed the Beloved for us, then why, one might ask, will He not grant us when we are worthy, through grace, of reconciliation with Him?.. There is nothing so great as the shedding of the Divine Blood for us; - that God did not spare His Son, this is more important than adoption and other gifts. The remission of sins is undoubtedly a great work, but it becomes even greater when it is accomplished by the blood of the Lord. That this is far above all, see how strongly Paul expresses himself here, saying: “according to the riches of His grace...” "According to the Riches of Grace". There could be no other way to arrange our redemption and salvation. That it was created by the blood of the Son of God is according to the riches of grace, and together for the sake of the riches of grace. The more the Apostle deepens in the contemplation of what has been given to us in Christ Jesus the Lord, the more uncontrollable his language becomes in depicting and glorifying the abundance of God’s mercies revealed in Him. For sinners there is no greater benefit than the consciousness that all sins have been forgiven. This confidence alone in pardon and in being accepted back into the love of God the Father is for him an everlasting wealth of grace. Sins are forgiven to the repentant and the believer because the blood of the Son of God washes them and makes the sinful soul white, like snow. Only the sins of the repentant and the believer are not imputed, but are blotted out in him. For the basis of his moral structure is a decision as firm as death - to walk according to the will of God holy and blameless. He who approaches the Lord in the sacrament of baptism or repentance, if he fulfills all the conditions properly, becomes completely holy and blameless. The remnants of sinful damage in him are no longer his, although they are in him; for they are not favored, they are rejected, they are persecuted. These are branches doomed to dry up on the tree of man’s newly revived life in Christ, for the reason that the juices that can nourish them are not allowed to reach them. We have been redeemed and forgiven all by the blood of the Son of God. Praise be to the grace of God: for what is more worthy of praise than this?! Listen to this and delve deeper into these mysteries. See how much God loves you, and love Him yourself, who loved you so much. And glorify Him not with words, but with deeds, demonstrating in yourself the action of His glorious grace. We were bought at a great price. Having been bought so dearly, do not sell yourself for nothing, do not give yourself up again into captivity - do not humiliate the grace that saves you, and do not insult it by treating it unworthy of it, you, who are obliged to glorify it with everyone. Eph. 1:8. He has also increased in us all wisdom and understanding. And everything that has been mentioned so far, redemption and remission of sins, adoption and the granting of holiness and purity, and all this is already great wealth. I would say after this: this is what has been done for you, learn this, and you will be saved and receive eternal bliss. But the goodness of God was not content with this, but found an opportunity to increase this wealth of grace. This is what Saint Chrysostom says: “And that is wealth, but it is much more. The wealth already existed, but He multiplied it even more, that is, poured it out in an indescribably abundant way.” After this, our holy father adds with movement: “It is impossible to imagine in words what has been done to us and for us. We have been given wealth, immense wealth, wealth that is not human, but Divine, so that the word is completely powerless to utter it.” What was this increase? - “In all wisdom and understanding.” “That is (in the fact) that He made us wise and reasonable in true wisdom and in true reason” (St. Chrysostom). By these words we can generally understand all Divine revelation, everything that the Lord wanted to reveal to us about creation, providence, redemption and future hopes (Blessed Jerome). The multiplication of grace in this can be expressed this way: this is what has been done for you! Believe, here is grace for you, here are the rules of life: live this way by faith, with the help of grace, and you will be saved. And don’t bother about what is and what will happen and what will happen. It's none of your business! That's how they would be saved. But God was pleased to multiply this grace, enlightening our minds with bright concepts about everything, from the beginning to the last days of the century and about eternity itself. He told us everything clearly and definitely. We do not walk in darkness, like others, but in the light of the Divine mind. Ambrosiastes writes that wisdom and understanding are appendages of grace. “To the blessings counted (that is, holiness, sonship, redemption) is added the gift of wisdom and understanding in spiritual things.” We could be left to walk in the darkness of faith; but we have been given the light of knowledge about everything, and especially about how to save our soul and how it is saved by going through different degrees of spiritual perfection. This can be considered an excess of grace. But it is better, understanding by the increase of grace that not only grace is communicated to us from above, but also knowledge, wisdom and reason, to understand by this not the entire area of ​​knowledge communicated to us, but only its expansion. Having knowledge of God and Divine things is necessary for those who are being saved, therefore it is not an excess of grace, but a necessary part of it. When God decided to save us by His grace, then this definition should have included the gift of knowledge, or revelation in the enlightenment of the mind. But in the field of knowledge there are objects that need to be known, as conditions of salvation, and there may be those that are reported only for the completeness of knowledge, as if to decorate or complete the house of wisdom represented by Divine revelation. – All knowledge, Divine, is immense. God revealed the smallest part of it, the most necessary part, to us about Himself and His works. But he did not limit himself to this necessary thing, but also said that we must honor the increase of His grace to us. What exactly is it? – What is spoken about next is the headship of all things in Christ Jesus. The Apostle’s mind was full of this contemplation; admiration for this contemplation prompted him to write the letter itself; To it, as to the final limit, he reduces all speech. Eph. 1:9. Having told us the secret of Your will according to Your good pleasure, put it first in Him. Here and below is an explanation of how the increase of grace is revealed in the communication of wisdom and reason to us: by the fact that God was pleased to tell us “the secret of His will.” “Or, in other words, He revealed to us what was in His heart” (St. Chrysostom). “The Apostle called His hidden will the secret of His will” (Theodoret). “No one would have guessed this most secret will, but God was pleased to reveal it.” And if He revealed, then He showed His abundant favor and love for those to whom He revealed, for secrets are revealed only to those close and sincere. Saint Chrysostom cries out: “Oh, how great is love and trust!” What secret is this? – The one that God has appointed to lead all things in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Son of God came, became incarnate, suffered, died, rose again, ascended into heaven and became, like the God-man, the head of everything - both heavenly and earthly. Of these actions of the incarnate Son of God, all are almost obvious by themselves, so that there is nothing special in saying about them - everything is clear from the incarnation to his sitting at the right hand of the Father. What is not obvious? – The head of everything in this is the God-man seated at the right hand of the Father. This is precisely the secret hidden in God, which could not have been revealed without damage to the work of salvation, and which God revealed only due to the abundance of His grace, and with this discovery increased the already great wealth of His grace. The Apostle is predominantly occupied with this mystery throughout his entire epistle: he understands it here too. Saint Chrysostom says: “The secret is that man is planted in grief.” - But this is what makes the leadership of everyone complete. "According to His good pleasure." This or the same thing is expressed in the words above: “according to the good pleasure of His will.” There was no need to tell this secret. It was God's grace alone that allowed him to say it. Saint Chrysostom says: “It was His strong and heartfelt desire - to somehow tell us the secret of His will.” – God has ordained to grant us so many good things in the Lord Jesus Christ. All together they express or constitute God’s favor towards us. According to this fullness of goodwill, He also spoke the secret of His will about the leadership of everyone in Him - according to that law of goodness, about which the Apostle speaks elsewhere: “How... does not He also grant us all things with Him?” (Rom. 8:32). Or, since such good will has already been said in this same paragraph (for everything goes on one point), then here it is permissible to read it this way: in relation to, or on the subject of, His good will, which God ordained in the Lord from the beginning, from the beginning. What God decided to accomplish through the Lord for our salvation is almost obvious, and happened with the eyes of everyone. The mystery of God's will in all this goodwill towards us is that at the end of everything should come from this, having been predestined from the beginning, the final goal of all this was hidden in God. It was this secret regarding all goodwill towards us that He told - out of the abundance of grace, that is, that all this is happening in order to “lead all things” in the Lord. Eph. 1:10. In view of the fulfillment of times, lead everything about Christ, who is in heaven and who is on earth in Him. “Looking” - οικονομια - housebuilding in general, the structure of the entire flow of affairs around the house, in which everything is directed towards one goal - well-being. The Lord has a special economy in organizing the salvation of the human race. The plan of how and when something should be done was ordained in the Divine Council from eternity; this or that comes to fulfillment when its time comes. This coming of time is called here by the Apostle “the fulfillment of times” - πληρωμα των καιρον, - and in the Epistle to the Galatians - πληρωμα του χρονου, - the end of summer. This expression can mean the time of any special Divine order in the arrangement of our salvation; but for the Apostle this means exclusively the coming to earth of the Only Begotten Son of God, as He directly indicates in the Epistle to the Galatians: “When the end of the year had come, God sent His Son” (Gal. 4:4). And here is the same idea, only it is not about the message of the Son of God, but about the meaning that it has in the circle of everything that exists. “The Apostle calls the fulfillment of times the time determined by God (for the coming of the Lord to earth)” (Theodoret). Saint Chrysostom, having said that the fulfillment of times was His coming, or the dispensation itself, adds: “Notice how clearly he (the Apostle) expresses himself. Showing that the beginning of our salvation, the proposal, the first desire and aspiration is in the Father, and its fulfillment in practice is through the Son, he nowhere, however, calls Him (the Son) a servant. - Father wanted it. The son fulfilled his wish. But if the Father had not willed, the Son would not have acted, just as if the Son had not acted, the Father would have been deprived of will, for the Father and the Son have everything in common. “All my essence is Yours, and Yours is Mine,” says the Son (John 17:10). The Apostle mentions this fulfillment of times here not in order to particularly focus on it, but only for the sake of completeness in depicting the entire work of organizing salvation in the Lord. Having said that God showed the abundance of His grace to us, revealing to us the mystery of His will - the main hidden goal of all the good will laid down in the Lord Jesus Christ, now He shows what this secret is and what this hidden goal of God is - precisely that, by virtue of Divine economy, or the eternal order of God about the fulfillment of the due time, to lead everything in Christ. But when reading these words, it is never too much for us to dwell on the thought they express. She introduces us to the secrets of the wisdom of God, the contemplation of which is always edifying. Saint Paul points here to the predetermined time of the appearance of the Son of God on earth, expressing together that this time has already been fulfilled in the appearance of Jesus Christ - God incarnate. Humanity and, in particular, the people of God have already lived through the period of time that Divine Providence has determined to prepare them for the acceptance of redemptive powers. All history before Christ the Lord was of a pedagogical nature. Everything there tended to prepare humanity for the greatest work of God revealed in Christ. The experiences of five and a half thousand years were sufficient to convince man that he could not expect salvation from his efforts and his wisdom. He cannot reach it either through the law, as Judaism showed, or through human efforts, as paganism showed. This is how the consciousness of one’s powerlessness was formed - a feeling of need for deliverance from the outside, in the search and aspiration of a Deliverer from above. This is the predetermined fruit of the course of events - the fulfillment of times... Saint Chrysostom depicts it this way: “The fulfillment of times was His (the Son of God) coming. So, when He did everything through the Angels, Prophets and the Law, and did not have time at all, on the contrary, He was still in danger (to repent) that in vain He created man, that in vain He brought (to being) one who was too successful in evil; when everyone perished indiscriminately, and perished in greater numbers than in the flood, then He found a means to save man in grace, in which it turns out that He did not create him foolishly or in vain. “So people were saved then when most of them should have perished.” The plight of man has reached its extreme limits. – And the Lord came; and was received like rain by the thirsty earth. With His appearance, preparation for Him ended, and a new era of the spiritual life of mankind began, which the holy Apostle characterized by the leadership of everyone in Christ. Humanity rightly considers this moment of the fulfillment of times to be the main point of its history, from which it looks back and sees ahead. The entire flow of events gravitates towards it, like the periphery towards the center, all the radii of the circle of time converge towards it. “To lead all things that are in heaven and on earth in Him.” – This is the goal of all God’s favor towards us, the final limit to which the economy of our salvation extends – a mystery, by the revelation of which the Lord increased His grace to us, already very complete! Christ the Lord is from all eternity the predestined head of humanity to be saved. But just as sin introduced discord and disintegration among the creatures of earth and heaven, then, destroying sin, the Lord takes away the wall of separation, reunites everything, returns it to peace in Himself and becomes the head of earthly and heavenly things (Col. 1:20). “Even in heaven” - Angelic world; “even on earth” – the human race and the material world. These three worlds were initially in perfect obvious harmony and formed one Kingdom of God. Man's sin, his falling away from God, upset this harmony. Man, according to his idea, should be the center of the worlds - the entire region of created existence - both the Angels and the material world. With his fall, the center of the union was gone, and everything went into disarray. The world, the forces and elements of which combines everything in itself, has been drawn into decline in its own person, and it sighs, according to the Apostle, for deliverance (Rom. 8:22). But the Angels themselves fell behind because man took a completely different path. In Christ Jesus now everything is brought back to union and the original harmony of creatures is restored. And He introduces life-giving forces into the world through His human body, and holds it all within Himself and penetrates it - with its own forces - from Himself. And He attracts Angels to Himself through the human spirit, giving them scope to act and thereby pleasing them. By sin they were fenced off and constrained, as if they were surrounded by a fence in their own area. Now, in the face of the Lord, the door to the realm of man and nature is again opened for them, and they enter everywhere, rejoicing in the return of the full circle of their good activities, to which they were destined from the beginning. But the complete leadership of all things will be accomplished or revealed in power and glory at the end of the ages. Now it is only seeded in the face of the Lord and is destined to mature during the events of the world and humanity, until the end of the world. Since this subject is of the first importance, we will make more extensive extracts about it from the holy fathers. Saint Chrysostom says: “Heavenly and earthly things were separated from one another and did not have one head. This head should only be God, the Creator and Provider, but in reality this is not what happened, because people rejected obedience.” Then, having explained the other words contained in this verse, Saint Chrysostom again returns to “lead” and says: “What does “lead” mean? This means connecting. In our country, a table of contents - ανακεφαλαιωσις - is usually called a presentation in brief terms of what needs to be talked about for a long time; or an abbreviated summary of everything that has been discussed at length. So, this word can also mean the following: He took charge of what had been taking so long (the economy of our salvation) in Himself, that is, he shortened it, or, to put it briefly—with observance, however, of the truth—he embraced both that and added new things.” - All the prophecies and prototypes were fulfilled in Him (extensively - Blessed Jerome), and the law ceased. New beneficial forces were laid down, which, like leaven, began to penetrate, revive and recreate everything. But this is not the main thought of Saint Chrysostom. The main thing is the reunion of creatures. “But there is something else,” he says, which is also meant by this word. In Christ according to the flesh, God laid one head for everyone, for Angels and men, that is, he gave one (supreme) principle to both Angels and men, to some - Christ according to the flesh, to others - God the Word. As if someone said about a church that one thing in it was rotten, the other was strong, and he would restore it, that is, make it stronger, laying the strongest foundation; So here too I brought everyone under one head. Only then is unity possible, then only will there be this perfect union, when everything, having some necessary connection, will be brought under one chapter.” Blessed Theodoret complements this thought by introducing nature into the restorative action that took place in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ: “To lead all things...” He sets this out more clearly in his Epistle to the Romans; for he says: “the whole creation... groans and suffers even to this day” (Rom. 8:22); and again: “For the creature longs for the revelation of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19). He says the same thing in the Epistle to the Hebrews: “for he will taste death for everyone except God” (Heb. 2:9). “God's nature alone needs nothing; Every creature needed the healing of the economy. For God also created the elements, created for the use of people, to be subject to corruption; because even a mortal man could commit a crime. Yes, and the invisible forces grieved, probably seeing the deceit prevailing among people. For if they rejoice “in one sinner who repents,” as the Lord said (Luke 15:7), then it is obvious that they are sick, seeing the opposite. But the incarnation of the Only Begotten, crushing death, showing the resurrection and giving guarantees of the general Resurrection, dispelled this gloomy cloud. Therefore the Apostle calls this sudden change of things “leading.” For by the economy of the Lord Christ, human nature is restored and clothed in incorruption, the visible creation, freed from corruption, receives incorruption, and the hosts of invisible forces will already be in joy, because “sickness and sorrow and sighing have fled away” (Is. 35:10). This is what the divine Apostle teaches in the words he expounds. For he did not simply say: heaven and earth: but “even in heaven and on earth.” And, showing the mystery of the economy, he added: “in Him,” that is, in Christ.” Cornelius Alapide quotes the words of Blessed Augustine: “In Christ, what is “in heaven” is restored, by the fact that what fell in the angels (fallen) returns from people (who are saved in the Lord); what is “on earth” is also restored - by the fact that people, predestined to eternal glory, are renewed, freed from old damage” (From Enchirid. LXII). And St. Gregory the Great: “People are elevated for humility to the place from which the apostate angels fell for pride. Now both people and Angels are convened into one house, under one head. This house was ruined through Adam's sin. One wall remained intact: these were Angels, and the other fell: these were people who fell away from the company of Angels and fell under the yoke of demons. Christ has now restored this fallen wall again, and through this he has restored the whole house. He restored the community of Angels and people, and the house became whole again, as it was before the fall” (Moral, lib. XXXI, cap. XXXV). And Saint Irenaeus: “Headed in Christ; because human nature contains all the elements and forces. Why is man called the small world? When God the Word took on human nature, then he united everything that exists, as if in abbreviation, in Himself, and returned it to Himself, their Creator” (lib. III, cap. VIII). Thus heaven and earth—all things—are harmoniously united in Christ Jesus. Then everything flowing in time has its focus in Him. And therefore He is the key to understanding the secrets of the world and world government. Entering into the contemplation of this and admiring it, Saint Paul cried out: Blessed be God! - and from the beginning of the speech until now, concisely but fully depicted the whole picture of this Divine favor towards us in Christ and all the abundance of blessings poured out in Him on us. Next, He descends from heaven and shows how people on earth - Jews and pagans - have entered and are entering under the beneficial currents of these gracious blessings. Let us conclude this section - about the blessings of God, v. 3–10, - with the admonition of Saint Chrysostom: “So, having been vouchsafed so much gift, so much honor, so much love for mankind, let us not disgrace the One who has done good; Let us not make so much grace in vain; We will show you angelic life, angelic virtue and a pattern of life. And I ask and pray that all this will not be for us to judge and condemn, but to receive blessings, which may we all be worthy of the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory and power.” Eph. 1:11, 12. In Him we were created and heirs, having been before the naming by the insight of God, all acting according to the advice of His will, as if we were to be to the praise of His glory, having first trusted in Christ. Verses 11–14 indicate the movement of the work of salvation on earth - how the economy of this salvation, foreordained from the ages by the Lord Jesus Christ in its manifestation and completion, affected Jews and pagans, and in what form and sense both were introduced into the possession of those prepared for salvation. Verses 11 and 12 contain one thought and refer to the same persons, who are signified by the words “we” and “to us.” Since they are represented as having previously trusted in Christ, then, obviously, by them should be understood the Jews. These two verses show how they became participants in salvation. In verse 13, other persons are introduced, signified through “you.” From this comparison it is clear that by “you” the holy Apostle means pagans. Based on the idea that verses 11 and 12 speak of the Jews, the word “heirs are created” - εκληρωθημεν - we must give the following meaning: we have entered into an inheritance, or, as if by right of inheritance, we have been accepted into the inheritance of God, into the kingdom of those who are being saved in Christ, brought into the possession of that to which from ancient times pre-elected and intended. The Apostle's heritage is primarily participation in the Kingdom of the Messiah. The Jews were already pre-elected to participate in this, and those who, having believed and accepted the Messiah, thereby fulfill the condition for entering His Kingdom, naturally enter into it, as if into a predetermined destiny, or are accepted by Christ as His natural inheritance. Having indicated this advantage of the Jews with the word “heirs were created” - introduced into the inheritance - the Apostle further indicates the basis for such their election and purpose. The basis is in the free decision and determination of God, who acts entirely according to the advice of His will; and the goal is for them to be the first to serve for the glory of the appeared Messiah - the Savior - as they served, being the place of the appearance of the Savior and the point of departure in glorifying Him. For where did the Savior appear? - Among the Jews. Where was His saving activity revealed, or where did He accomplish the economy of salvation? - Among the Jews. Where did His glorification begin and come from? - From the Jews, the first heralds of the Gospel or preaching about the Savior - the holy Apostles. They appeared as such as a result of God’s preliminary election to this work from among all nations. This election was then followed by special orders from God to prepare them for the proper fulfillment of their destiny. That is why they first trusted in Christ, looked forward to Him; and, when He came, they served as the basis for the development of the Kingdom of Christ and as a tool for attracting other nations into it. The election of the Jewish people to this work depended on the will of God. It pleased God - and he chose. Although it is possible to point out certain traits in the character of the Jews, by which one can judge that they were better suited than others for this task; but together we can believe that any people, in their place, if so many direct benefits of God were done for them, would turn out to be suitable for that. The Apostle does not indicate anything like that, but says only: according to the insight of God, - according to the Greek. προθεσιν, - according to the proposal, decision, determination of the will of God. God was so pleased. Did the Jews fulfill this purpose? - Done. Among them the first Church flourished. And she has already sent out her branches throughout the universe. That Christ was not accepted by the entire people, this may not have been part of the purpose. The chick, having been born in the egg, selects from it everything that is good for itself. Some remains and shells are then scattered here and there, and the chick flies freely across the face of the earth. So it was with the people of God. Everything from him entered the Kingdom of Christ, the Church; worthless things are scattered across the face of the earth. Blessed Theodoret writes: “Having predestined us in the beginning, He predestined us to life, He who creates everything that (and how) He pleases. The Apostle indicates more clearly to what lot we are predestined: “that we should be to the praise of His glory.” For everyone, looking at us who have believed in the Lord, sings songs to Christ, the author of these blessings.” “Praise of glory” - the glorious deed accomplished by Jesus Christ. They were the first to proclaim about Him. It can be said that even hitherto unbelieving Jews are in praise of the glory of Jesus Christ, for they have prophetic books that proclaim about Christ. The first glorified Christ by faith, and these glorify Christ by unbelief, without noticing it and without even wanting to. They fulfill, against their will, God’s destiny. The glory of God in general from the work of salvation accomplished by the Lord is said above, in Art. 6; here it is more specifically indicated how the Jews served and should have served for this glory, through the glorification of Christ the Lord by their faith. They managed to do this because they trusted in Christ and looked forward to Him. The Gentiles, on the contrary, lived “without hope” (Eph. 2:12). For the first time they began to be revived by the hope of salvation through the acceptance of the Gospel preaching coming from the Jews. Here for the first time they heard about the Savior, in Whom they felt the need, but about Whom they knew nothing before, and therefore could not have any definite hope in Him. Saint Chrysostom dwells primarily on how God does everything according to eternal plans: “Since he who chose is God, it is not by chance that we owe the election, but received the inheritance by insight. He provided for us before He made us heirs. Amazingly Divine foreknowledge, seeing everything before fulfillment! - In addition, pay attention to how the Apostle tries to explain everywhere that all things worked out because this is how they were predestined from ancient times and that everything was done by Him (the Lord) in accordance with this predestination... He predetermined everything from time immemorial and, besides this, did nothing. He acted to the end according to the advice of His will. This means that He also called the pagans not because the Jews (not all Jews) did not obey Him; He was not brought to this or forced by the latter..." Eph. 1:13. In Him and you, having heard the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, in Him and believing, you were marked by the Holy Spirit of promise. “In Him - through Him and for His sake, clinging to Him, uniting with Him and becoming one with Him and in Him - you too” - pagan Christians, who previously knew nothing about Christ, but who heard about Him for the first time in the preaching of the Gospel, having believed in Him, were accepted into the same fellowship with us, who previously trusted, in blessings in Him: which is evidenced What serves is that you too are sealed with the Holy Spirit. We, Jews, have already been chosen and appointed for this purpose, to be a part of Christ, and you, although not directly appointed, but as you believed, were accepted into the same part; and Christ has placed His seal on you too - the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that everyone, both heavenly and earthly, would know that you already belong to Him, and not to anyone else. So you too are not disadvantaged in any way compared to us; you also received what we did, for the sake of your faith and obedience to the Gospel. “The word of truth” is the teaching of Christ, the word about faith in Him, which is undoubtedly true and contains the first and most necessary of all truths - how to be saved, which, having accepted with the heart, even if he knew nothing else, will possess the truth of life, which has the true path to lead him to true bliss. “The gospel of salvation” is the gospel of salvation, explains the content of the “word of truth.” This was the whole sermon. The apostles said to everyone: you will perish and remain in destruction if you continue as you are. If you want to be saved, here is the only way for you: believe in the Lord Jesus Christ Crucified. “What else did the sermon contain but the gospel of salvation, that is, that He no longer destroys those worthy of destruction” (Saint Chrysostom). Instead of “our salvation”, that is, of all people, others read “yours” - Ephesians. The thought will be: yours as well as ours. Or closer, the Apostle leads them to remember how they believed. Hearing the sermon, they realized that they were definitely perishing, they felt their destruction, and at the same time the fact that there was nowhere for them to be saved, as in the Lord Jesus Christ; and this sermon became for them an indication of the only salvation, to which they clung with all their strength. And for everyone, saving faith begins to show its power when he appropriates the common salvation of all in the Lord for himself not by reasoning, but by feeling. "In Nemzha and believed". It is not enough to hear, it is necessary to believe. Faith is the door to receiving all blessings from the Lord. Just as He ascended into heaven and sent down the Holy Spirit into the world, so He immediately fills those who cling to Him with faith through the sacraments with the Holy Spirit. The path is this: first hearing, then faith from hearing, finally, sealing by the Spirit in baptism and laying on of hands, or anointing. These are the degrees by which those who were far away are near and are introduced into the inheritance of Christ. "Marked by the Spirit". About the Jews he said: heirs were created, entered into the inheritance of blessings in Christ, or into the inheritance and part of Christ; and about the pagans - “signified by the Spirit.” And this is one thing with that. For being sealed by the Spirit meant that they too were accepted into the part of Christ; just as the Jews were worthy of blessings in Christ, or to join the part of Christ, otherwise it was impossible, except through the outpouring of the Spirit, according to the promises - to pour out the Spirit on them and through this make them new. Theodoret writes: “Not only did you hear, but you also believed. That is why they were honored with the grace of the All-Holy Spirit. “You are marked” is similar to the prophetic saying: “The light of Your countenance is marked upon us, O Lord” (Ps. 4:7); that is, how they received the gift of the Spirit as a seal.” – Saint Chrysostom says: “Great providence shows this imprinting (by the Spirit). Just as if someone marked those who were given to him by lot with a well-known sign so that later he could recognize them, so God, having separated (them) for the acceptance of faith in Him (Christ), sealed them (with the Spirit as a sign of belonging to Him, and) as an inheritance of future blessings... The Israelites also received the seal, but through circumcision, like the dumb; We too were sealed, but as children, by the Spirit.” In receiving the Holy Spirit, by whom love is poured into our hearts and faith becomes life-giving, in receiving the Holy Spirit, whose presence, in the first times, was evidenced by obvious, wondrous actions of grace, a Christian, both for himself and for others, receives a sign, a seal, a confirmation that he is Christ’s (Rom. 8:16). Blessed Jerome writes: “The sign of God is that, as the first man, he was created in the image and likeness of God, and in the second re-creation he who is vouchsafed the Holy Spirit is marked by Him in that he takes on the image of Him who created him. I believe that this means that the Holy Spirit makes holy the one on whom it is poured out: the spirit of wisdom makes him wise, the spirit of understanding makes him wise, the spirit of counsel makes him wise, the spirit of counsel makes him counsel, the spirit of strength makes him strong, the spirit of knowledge makes him knowledgeable, the spirit of piety makes him pious, the spirit of the fear of God makes him God-fearing, working out his own salvation with fear and trembling.” "By the Spirit of Promise". Why did Saint Paul call Him that? - And because He Himself was promised, both by the prophets and by the Lord, and because it serves as a guarantee of future promises. Saint Chrysostom says: “What does “by the Spirit of promise” mean? - It means that we received Him according to the promise. There were two promises: one through the prophets, the other through the Son. I said, through the prophets; listen to what Joel says: “I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your old men will see dreams, and your young men will see visions” (Joel 2:28). Listen then to what Christ says: “You will receive the power that the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the last of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Ecumenius and Theophylact, having expressed the same thought, add - Ecumenius: “He is also called the Spirit of Promise either because He promises countless benefits, or because through His sealing you will receive or be made worthy of the promise.” Theophylact: “Or else (He is the Spirit of promise) that the Spirit confirms the promise of future benefits. Having been given, He thereby certifies in the future. That’s why it’s called collateral.” Eph. 1:14. This is the betrothal of our inheritance, for the redemption of provision, for the praise of His glory. Before this the Apostle spoke especially about the Jews and especially about the pagans. Now he unites both in speech by the unity of the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is equally given to both and makes them homogeneous. We, he says, have received the Spirit as an inheritance; you are sealed by Him by calling. Both we and you became anointed by the Holy One - Christians. The anointing of the Spirit is a distinctive feature of Christians, an advantage that nothing in the world can give except faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through His Holy Sacraments. But this is not all that the Lord is pleased to distinguish His faithful. This is still a deposit; and what will happen after that?! The Apostle extends his gaze to the future and sees in the gift of the Spirit only a deposit towards receiving the full eternal inheritance. Just as in everyday transactions, a deposit means that the bargain has taken place, the purchase has been decided, and the deposit has been given to certify that everything else will be paid, so God has been pleased to enter into a Covenant with us, with the promise of eternal bliss to those faithful to the Covenant, giving the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Christ; For then we believe in Christ, then we cleave to Him and sacrifice everything for Him, so that we may have eternal life in Him. Saint Chrysostom says: “Although it was necessary to believe Him as God (which will give eternal life), the Apostle does not really insist on this, but conducts research as if about a person. As in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 6:18), he says: “Yes, two things are immutable, in them it is impossible to lie to God, strong consolation of the imams,” so here, too, what has already been given is presented as proof of the fulfillment of the promise of future benefits. That is why he calls the Holy Spirit the betrothal (pledge) of our salvation. Collateral is used to secure everything. He bought us our salvation and so far has only given us a deposit. Why didn’t he give everything right away? – Because we, on our part, did not fulfill everything. We believed - this is only the beginning - and He gave the guarantee (that is, the beginning). And when we show faith in deeds, then everything will be presented to us.” The same thing is imprinted in the moral structure of a Christian. For the Spirit of God pours out love, in which faith receives living activity; labors of love instill a feeling of God’s favor, from which the trust of all-round eternal blessing is born (Heb. 11:1). On the other hand, the Spirit of God brings peace to the soul, which nothing else can give and which is the true foreshadowing and foretaste of eternal bliss. Saint Chrysostom continues: “Those who have partaken of the grace of the Holy Spirit, without a doubt, know that it is the guarantee of our inheritance. Such was Paul, who here was still anticipating what was there (that is, in heaven) - who strove and wanted to leave this world, and sighed because he, having transferred his whole mind there, looked with different eyes. He who does not justify faith by works excludes himself from the words (promises). If we all partook of the Spirit as we should partake, then we would see heaven and our future state there.” "For the Deliverance of Supply". In these words one can see an explanation of the previous thought about the Spirit as the guarantee of inheritance. The words themselves are dark. Let's compare them with the Greek ones to derive a decent concept. “Supply” gives the idea of ​​what God has decided to supply the believers, what to give them in Christ, what to bless them with. The Greek word means care, protection, care for someone, so that he feels good. “Supply” - περιποιησιν - the Apostle of God calls care and concern for us” (Theophylact). Modern Greeks use this word to mean treating - doing everything so that the guest is completely satisfied with everything. What is future bliss if not the endless supper of the Lord with His faithful? There He will satisfy them with everything, satisfy them with everything, make them happy and happy. Having accepted this word in this meaning, let us adapt the first one to it - “deliverance”. In Greek it is απολυτρωσις, which means payment, repayment, and through that “deliverance.” They pay for the slave and thereby free him from slavery. Thus the Lord also delivered us, paying our debts for us. Let's take its own meaning in the present place - payment. Εις απολυτρωσιν περιποιησεως - for the deliverance of supplies - will be - to ensure that everything that God has decided to supply the faithful and bless them in the future will be delivered to them, rewarded - meaning: if they faithfully work in the work for which they are called and armed with the forces of grace. Nothing will be wasted, everything will be rewarded. There is something to work for: everything will be rewarded. And what will be repaid, judge by the pledge. If the pledge is such, what will be the best good, the receipt of which is evidenced by the pledge? – Theodoret writes: “By this the Apostle showed the greatness of what was expected. For if this grace, by which miracles were performed, the dead were raised, lepers were cleansed, demons were cast out, and other similar things were accomplished, constituted only a guarantee, then it is clear that believers will receive much greater grace.” - Blessed Jerome says to the same thought: “The merits of the purchased item are judged by the deposit. If this is the nature of the heritage, what is the heritage itself? The Russian translation of these words also approaches this: “for the redemption of the inheritance” - without adding: “His”. – By destiny we can mean both God’s destiny and ours. God's portion is all who believe and live by faith. Our destiny is eternal bliss. We think that here it is closer to understand our destiny, with the following thought: the Holy Spirit was given to us so that, with His help, working in pleasing God, we could buy ourselves eternal bliss. Just as they give money to another poor person so that he can become rich by going into business, so the gift of the Spirit, like a talent, is given to us so that through its proper use we can acquire everything possible here and prepare more there. What is this matter? – In cleansing the heart from passions and decorating it with all sorts of virtues. In receiving the Spirit in holy baptism and confirmation, only the seed of spiritual life is relied upon. This must be followed by the work of bringing the Spirit into all areas of our being, like leaven into all the mixture. This cannot happen mechanically in a free being. The point of freedom is not to agree to the bad, no matter where it appears in us, and to desire the good, no matter what part it takes to accomplish it. Following these directions of freedom, grace goes inside and accomplishes what freedom only seeks, but cannot accomplish. Thus, finally, grace penetrates the whole nature of man and makes him spiritual, bright, pure, fit to enter the Kingdom of glory, where nothing unclean will enter. In whom this is accomplished to any degree, he has, therefore, redeemed his lot. Since he could not have achieved this without the grace of the Spirit, it goes without saying that grace is given so that everyone can redeem their lot. In this sense, Saint Chrysostom also says: “Perfect deliverance will take place in the future life, for now we live in the midst of the world, and many worldly things come into us, and we deal with the wicked. When there are no sins or human passions, when the wicked are no longer together with the saints, then complete deliverance will come, but now only a pledge has been given. - However, even now we must move away from earthly things, because our fatherland is not on earth; and now we must be free from what is here, for we are still strangers.” One can understand here God's destiny. God's portion is all believers, both Jews and Gentiles. How many of them should go to God’s inheritance is predetermined from above. The apostles, filled with the Spirit, walked around the world and recruited those worthy to enter it. Every believer was imprinted with the Spirit and entered into God’s inheritance with this sign. Here the same thing happened and is still happening, what happens when some owner decides to gather a flock of sheep for himself; his attorneys go and buy them, putting the owner’s stamp on every sheep they buy. When the number is reached, the purchases end: the herd is considered complete, corresponding to the owner’s intentions. So it is in relation to the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ. It is His inheritance - and, according to His word, it consists of sheep. The apostles were sent to purchase; after them, their successors continue the same work. When everything is fulfilled, those about whom the Lord said: “You too it is fitting for Me to bring...” (John 10:16) will be brought, and the spiritual flock will become complete according to destiny, then the end of everything. The purpose of the present order of things will be fulfilled. Nevertheless, the grace of the Holy Spirit, who abides on earth in the Church, accomplishes everything - and she abides for the redemption of God’s inheritance. "To the praise of His glory." The Apostle began with the blessing of God, but, dissatisfied with this, he repeated three more times that everything done for us is done to excite us to Praise of God (Eph. 1:6, 12, 14). This is one thing we can repay to God for His ineffable mercies; This is what God requires of us. It naturally comes from the heart when it comes to a sense of the blessings of God after tasting them, or assimilating them by deed itself. So, let us glorify, thank and praise the Most Merciful God. Let us not be insensitive. For God is zealous for His glory (Nahum. 1:2). Saint Chrysostom extracts from this frequent repetition of Praise of God confirmation of the unshakable firmness of our hopes and the certainty of the fulfillment of the promise. He says: “To the praise of His glory” - he constantly repeats this for what? - In order to completely convince those listening. If He had redeemed us for ourselves, as the Apostle says, then our redemption would not yet be certain. If He did this for Himself, that is, to show His goodness, then this already serves as a basis, or, as it were, a guarantee that what was promised will happen as promised. We see that the Israelis often use similar expressions: “do unto me in Thy name’s sake” (Ps. 109:21). Elsewhere, God Himself says: “For my sake I will create” (Isa. 48:11). And Moses cries out: “Do for us in Thy name’s sake,” if for no other reason. So He most effectively convinces and encourages those who hear, teaching them that God, for His own goodness, will fulfill all that He promises. - But let us not give in to carelessness. Of course, He does everything for His own sake; but, however, it also requires appropriate actions from us. If He says that “only those who glorify Me will I glorify, and those who disparage Me will be dishonored” (1 Samuel 2:30), then we must understand that something is required on our part. The praise of His glory is to save enemies, but these enemies, after they have become friends, must remain friends; if they again return to their previous state of enmity, then everything will be useless and in vain for them. There is no other bathhouse of re-existence; there is no secondary cast; but there is “a certain terrible expectation of judgment and fire of jealousy, to destroy those who want to resist” (Heb. 10:27). This is precisely what awaits us if we, who have always been at enmity with Him, having been awarded forgiveness, and after that do not cease to be at enmity, revel in lusts and become worse than before.” With this the holy Apostle ends his review of the entire economy of our salvation and all the blessings to us from above in Christ Jesus our Lord. He began from the counsel of God in beginningless eternity and went on to indicate the ineffable inheritance in endless eternity. – And he combined all this in one point, concisely, but expressively, completely, comprehensively. B. Raising the Ephesians to Contemplation of the Dispensation of Salvation (Eph. 1:15–3:21) The apostle had this intention - to impress on the minds of the Ephesians all the greatness of the economy of our salvation in the Lord, so that, realizing the greatness of God's good deed to them in calling them to participate in this salvation, they would remember this, and for this they would thank and glorify God. Leading to this, he: I. prays that God will give them the Spirit of wisdom to see the greatness of the economy in the greatness of the blessings given and promised to them - (Eph. 1:15-19); II. indicates it in the exaltation of the Perfecter of our salvation - (Eph. 1:20-23); III. and in exaltation with Him and in Him and all who believe in Him - (Eph. 2:1-10); IV. for the Ephesians and in their person for all the Gentile believers, it is also especially special in that it made them, who were far away, close - (Eph. 2:11-22). V. Which feature the Apostle strengthens with the idea that it was a hidden, now only revealed mystery, of which he is a minister - (Eph. 3:1-13). VI. And he concludes again with a prayer that the Ephesians may remain participants in the blessings of salvation, and through this they will be even more elevated to understand the greatness of the mysteries of salvation - (Eph. 3:14-21). It is not difficult to notice that these points are in accordance with the content of the previous review of the economy of salvation. I. The apostle prays that God will give them the spirit of wisdom to see the greatness of the economy in the greatness of the blessings given and promised to them (Eph. 1:15-19) Eph. 1:15–16. For this reason, having heard your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, making remembrance of you in my prayers. Having surveyed the greatness of the blessings in Christ Jesus our Lord, having briefly depicted the entire economy of salvation, Saint Paul, in the delight of his heart from this contemplation, wants to introduce the Ephesians into it. Although he does not say: go deeper, but prays to God that He Himself will enlighten their minds with the knowledge of all this; but this goes without saying, for to receive spiritual benefits there is only one law, spoken by the Lord Himself: “seek and you will find” (Matthew 7:7). He seems to be saying to them: raise your mind to think about this and remain in remembrance of it; I pray that the Lord will enlighten and even more enlighten you. A solid beginning has already been made for this: you have already become partakers of these blessings through your faith and life according to faith, expressed in love for all the saints, for which I thank the Lord. "For this sake." For what? - If we take into account only what is immediately ahead, then - for the sake of the fact that they were sealed by the Holy Spirit and received the betrothal of their hope in Him. But since this last thing for the Apostle stands in inextricable connection with the previous one, as the top of all good things in the Lord, we can say that for the sake of everything that it was pleasing to the all-generous God to do for our salvation. Saint Chrysostom says: “For this sake,” that is, for the sake of future benefits that await the faithful and piously living. However, we must equally thank God for everything that He has done for the human race before this and what He will do hereafter—we must therefore thank Him for the faith of believers.” Saint Paul gives thanks not for these blessings in general, but for the fact that the Ephesians were vouchsafed them. Since they were worthy of this for their faith, promoted by love, then the abundance of the Ephesians by them is what he places here as the arouser of his feelings of gratitude for the Ephesians. “Hearing,” he says, “your faith and love... I never cease to thank God.” “For having believed, you were sealed with the Spirit, and in Him you received a guarantee of future blessings and perfect deliverance, and you have received that the right of those who believe and the right of the living is set aside” (Theophylact). “Hearing your faith and love...” “Everywhere Saint Paul unites and unites faith and love, like some kind of wondrous duality” (St. Chrysostom). If only I had heard about faith, perhaps I would not hasten to give thanks, for although faith leads to God, having been united with Him heartily, it does not come from Him alone, but dissolved in love. And there is never only true faith, just like love. Faith is one leg, love is the other. Just as you cannot walk on one leg, you cannot live like a Christian and receive Christian blessings without faith and love. – Love “for all the saints,” that is, for all Christians, and not only for the Ephesians or those around them. Love, poured into the heart of Christians by the Spirit, loves all people; but he loves Christians as members of a single body, feeling akin to them, feeling a living union with them in Christ. But, no matter how natural it is in Christians, it can, however, be weakened and extinguished by selfish aspirations. Why is her presence with faith a sign of both the rational dispensation of believers and the special grace of God, for everything comes from her. Why does St. Paul say: “about Christ Jesus,” which should refer to both faith and love. The Lord Jesus Christ is an inexhaustible source of both faith and love for all who cling to Him. Faith here is the feeling of a heart resting in Christ, and confident in all His help and intercession, faith resting in the bosom of Christ. I heard about faith and love; but he thanks not for faith and love, but for what is given for faith and love, “for the fact that, for their sake, they are obviously among those who are being saved, and will undoubtedly be awarded the blessings allocated to believers and lovers” (Ecumenius). The Apostle says: “I also” give thanks, and thereby puts himself among others who give thanks. Who are the others? – Ephesians and other Christians. Having true faith and love, the Ephesians tasted with their hearts all the good things about the Lord - joy of the heart and sweet burning of the spirit from the grace of God, warmed by confidence in God's favor and adoption as sons to Him. Such an internal system could not help but be revealed in their bright state in external affairs and life. Seeing this, other Christians could not help but rejoice and thank God. The Apostle also adds his voice to their song of gratitude, showing humility that he does not set himself up as the primary thanker and instigator of others to give thanks. The apostle knew about the faith and goodness of character of the Ephesians, having lived with them for so long, and what he says: “hearing”, this makes it clear that since he left them, not only have they not changed, but they keep everything in them and succeed in building their salvation on that, as on a solid foundation. Blessed Theodoret writes: “From this (from what he said “hearing”) others concluded that the Apostle wrote this epistle without yet seeing the Ephesians. But it should be known that he also wrote a letter to the Corinthians, having heard unpleasant things about them. For he says: “I will be told... about you, my brethren... from Chlois, for there is zeal in you” (1 Cor. 1:11). Therefore, just as there, having heard something unpleasant, he writes with sorrow, so, having heard something joyful about the Ephesians, he praises them.” Hearing about the good condition of the Ephesians and seeing what they will be honored with for this, the Apostle rejoices with them, and, considering their good as his own, thanks God. This is like an Apostle; His apostolic, fatherly heart for his converts prompted him to do this. “There was nothing with which the apostolic compassion could be compared,” says Saint Chrysostom, “that would be similar to that complicity and that tender love with which Blessed Paul was filled, who in all his prayers remembered entire cities and peoples. “I thank God for you, remembering you in my prayers.” This is how he usually wrote to everyone. Imagine how many he had in his thoughts. It was difficult to even remember, there were so many people for whom he prayed, thanking God for everyone, as if he himself had received the greatest blessings they received.” Likewise, everyone should thank God for others, seeing their progress in faith and love. We must thank God for their spiritual perfection, and not envy them, seeing in their perfection the glory of the Church. We must grieve and lament the impoverishment of such people, and pray to God that they do not dwindle in the Church, but multiply, so that those who strongly believe, those who are well-versed in the faith, and those who act greatly in faith will always prevail in it. “I remember you in my prayers.” Every time I pray, I remember you; and every time I remember you, I thank God for you, that He gave you to believe and live by faith, so that here you can be partakers of all the blessings of the Lord, and in the future life. But the Apostle thanks for one thing, and asks for another. What exactly is stated in the following verses - so that God would lead them deeper into the contemplation of the mysteries of salvation in the Lord. But thanksgiving alone is already a petition. The one who thanks appreciates the gift; whoever values ​​the gift will use it properly; he who knows how to use gifts disposes the Giver to pour out even more favors on him. You can limit your entire prayer to thanksgiving, in the faith that both what is given and what is not given is all according to God’s good will towards us. He only knows that it is good to give one thing, but it is better not to give another. Such a one stands reverently before the Generosity with always grateful feelings, for there is not a moment when we do not take advantage of His mercies, and he does not dare to ask for more, without interfering with the secrets of God’s favor towards us. So in relation to yourself. Expressing good wishes to others and praying to the Lord for them is not inappropriate even in such a mood. This is the fruit of love and God’s love is irritated, therefore it is quickly heard and fruitful. But even then, let it be known that the one who asks for others does not become the cause of the gift, but only his assistant. The gift is still from the favor of God and is conditioned by the proper disposition of those receiving. When these latter have no friend, all heaven will not beg anything for them. For there is nothing to invest what is asked for. God already wishes everything good for everyone, and what not everyone has is no longer from Him. Eph. 1:17. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. What does the Apostle pray for for the Ephesians, gratefully remembering them in his prayers to God? - That God would grant them more and more profound knowledge of God and knowledge of the secrets of the economy of salvation. They already knew, having accepted the preaching of the Apostle and believed, but there is no end to Christian knowledge, not because of the complexity of the objects, but because of the multiplicity of the sides of the same objects, the knowledge of which is accepted by faith in the beginnings of salvation. Expressing his good will for growth in Christian knowledge, the Apostle indicates the productive forces of this knowledge - the grace of the Spirit and the heart (Eph. 1:17, 18), and its objects, which can be titled as follows: what is the meaning and what is the power of Christianity (Eph. 1:18, 19). Although the productive forces of knowledge already indicate the objects of this knowledge, the Holy Apostle specifically designates them. It is not enough to say in praise of another that a person knows a lot and has a great mind; one must define the objects of knowledge and the direction of the mind. "Yes, the God of our Lord". After the resurrection, the Savior Himself said to Magdalene: “I will ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God” (John 20:17), and so St. Paul calls God the Father the God of our Lord, taking into account His human nature. Although there is one Person in the Savior - the Face of God the Son incarnate, let humanity not be absorbed in thoughts by His Lordship of the Divinity, and He Himself often deigned to speak of Himself as if of a man, and the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostles to do so. “This is said in a divisive sense,” writes Theodoret, “about the indivisible God-man, Who, after His incarnation, could not help but recognize Himself as a man, being at the same time God.” “The God of our Lord, that is, as a person similar to us in the flesh,” interprets Theophylact. Or: “The God of the perceived man,” as Blessed Jerome puts it. Based on this thought, some interpret the words that follow: “Father of glory,” without departing from the Lord, namely, that God the Father is called here as the Father of our Lord in Divinity, since our Lord, as God the Son, is “the radiance of glory and the image of the hypostasis” of the Father (Heb. 1:3). So Blessed Theodoret: “The Apostle called the same one both God and Father of Jesus Christ, His God as a man, and His Father as God; since he called the nature of God “glory.” So in the Epistle to the Hebrews he said: “Who is the radiance of glory” (Heb. 1:3), that is, the nature of God.” Blessed Jerome and Ecumenius understand this in agreement. Theophylact cites the opinion of Saint Gregory the Theologian: “Gregory the Theologian by glory means the Divinity of the Only Begotten, so that one and the same Christ is both God and Father: Christ, as a man, He is God, and His glory, that is, Divinity, is the Father.” Others, at the word “Father of Glory,” move their thoughts away from the Lord Jesus Christ and focus on the glory of the Divine in general. The Father of Glory is an eastern expression, and means the most glorious, the very glory, which in combination with the previous one will be: the God of our Lord is glorious - great, immense and ineffable in perfections, for the glory of God is the fullness of the greatness of the Divine, God's endless perfections. In other places God is called the God of glory (Acts 7:2) or the King of glory (Ps. 23:7), as the God of all, full of glory and majesty. But just as we know God most from His Works, we ascend to the comprehension of His glory from the knowledge of His glorious works. The Father of glory in this regard will be the source of all the glorious things that we know in the works of God, God, who always does only the most glorious, the most perfect, the best, and also intends only the most glorious things in the future. God is the Father of glory, as He has revealed and continues to reveal His glory to rational creatures in His glorious deeds, creation, providence, redemption, establishment of a gracious Kingdom and preparation of eternal glory for believers. Saint Chrysostom says: “Father of glory,” that is, the Father who has given us great blessings. He always calls Him the God of glory for the benefits that come from Him, as, for example, when he says: “The Father of generous gifts and the God of all joy” (2 Cor. 1:3), and as the Prophet also said: “The Lord is my strength and my refuge” (Ps. 17:3)! “Father of glory” - the Apostle does not find such a union with which he could fully depict the blessings prepared by God, and everywhere he calls them glory, as a word meaning for us all kinds of greatness. Ecumenius does the same thing: “Judging by the subjects he is talking about, the Apostle calls God differently: sometimes the God of bounties, sometimes the God of peace, sometimes the God of powers. Here he calls Him the Father of glory, because He bestowed the greatest glory and honor on the human race (and all kinds of spiritual benefits), which He calls by the common name glory. He calls Him Father of this glory, and, as it were, Creator and Organizer.” So, since the Apostle prays here for the gift of the knowledge of God, wonderful and glorious, both in Himself and in His works - in the light of the unapproachable living One, Whom no one has seen and cannot see, and, therefore, can know as it should, except for those to whom He wills to reveal it - He called Him the Father of glory. “Yes...he will give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.” – The first productive force of Christian wisdom, the Spirit is the gift of wisdom and revelation from the Holy Spirit, implanted in the pure hearts of believers. Wisdom can be an understanding of Christian truths, an outline of which was made by the Apostle above, and revelation can be an insight into the mysteries of faith. Or revelation means how Christian knowledge or wisdom is given: the light shines within, and it becomes clear, but no matter how much one racks their brains, there is little fruit. The Spirit of wisdom is the source, the teaching power, and revelation is the image of communication, teaching from the Spirit. There are moments when God is pleased to reveal to the eyes of the mind one or another secret of faith; although it is previously known in words and rational concepts, it is not in understanding with the heart and not in co-dissolution with the mind. “Into the knowledge of Him,” either God or the Lord Jesus Christ; but since They are inseparable, then both of them - that is, God in Himself and in deeds - especially in the matter of salvation, which was discussed before. “But didn’t the Ephesians know?” – They knew, but knowledge has different degrees, and spiritual objects have different sides. There are sides to them that are closer and more obvious to us, and there are more distant and hidden ones. The first are comprehended at the first announcement of the Gospel; the latter are revealed later as one progresses in the Christian life and purifies the heart. And now - the beginnings of knowledge can be read from the Gospel and the Apostolic Writings, but true Christian knowledge still has one source - the gracious Spirit of wisdom. No one can delight by himself what is given only by this Spirit. Saint Chrysostom says: “May he give you” (the Spirit of wisdom), that is, may he elevate and enlarge your mind, because otherwise it is impossible to know this. For “a natural man does not receive the Spirit of God: for he has foolishness” (1 Cor. 2:14). This means that in order to understand the spiritual, to see the hidden, spiritual wisdom is also needed for this. The Spirit reveals everything, explains the very mysteries of God. The knowledge of the mysteries of God belongs to the Spirit alone, Who “testeth the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10); and neither an Angel, nor an Archangel, nor any other created power will give, that is, will deliver this gift to you. If this is the fruit of revelation, then all speculation is unnecessary. Because he who has gone deep into the contemplation of God and who has come to know Him will not doubt anything, will not say: this is possible, but this is impossible; will not speculate on how this or that could have happened. – If we knew God as we should, if we also learned this from the Holy Spirit, from Whom we should learn, then we would no longer doubt anything. – He who is taught the knowledge of God from the Holy Spirit will neither doubt the promises nor show disbelief in what has already happened. That is why he prays for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to be given to them.” Eph. 1:18. The eye of your heart is enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints Eph. 1:19 and some prosperous majesty... The second productive force in the matter of Christian knowledge is a pure heart, in which the eyes of seeing are opened by the action of the grace-filled gift of wisdom and revelation. Whoever is vouchsafed this will have enlightened eyes of his heart. Saint Paul prays that God may grant them to the Ephesians. The spirit of wisdom and revelation and the purified heart are different: the one is from above from God, the other is from us. But in the act of forming Christian knowledge, they are inseparably combined and only together give knowledge. The heart, no matter how you cleanse it (if you can without grace), will not give wisdom; but the spirit of wisdom will not come unless a pure heart is prepared for its dwelling. Heart - here not in the usual sense; but in the sense of the inner man. There is an inner man in us, according to the Apostle Paul, or a hidden man of the heart, according to the Apostle Peter. This is the God-like spirit breathed into the primordial. He remains indestructible even after his fall. Its actions are the fear of God, which is based on confidence in the existence of God with the consciousness of complete dependence on Him, conscience and dissatisfaction with anything created. – These manifestations of the spirit are visible in people at all levels of their education and throughout the entire earth. The purpose of the spirit, as its functions make it clear, is to keep a person in relation to God and the Divine order of things, in addition to everything that surrounds him and flows around him. In order to fulfill such a purpose as it should, he must naturally have knowledge of God and the Divine order, and that better being, the sense of which is evidenced by dissatisfaction with all created things. It must be assumed that it was in the primordial state before the fall. His spirit clearly saw God and everything Divine - as clearly as someone with sound eyes sees the thing in front of him. But with the fall, the eyes of the spirit closed, and he no longer sees what was natural for him to see. The spirit itself remains, and there are eyes in it, but they are closed. He is in the same position as someone whose eyelids would grow together. The eye is intact, longs for light, seeks how to see it, sensing that it exists; but the fused eyelids prevent him from being open and directly entering into communication with the light. That the spirit is in such a fallen position is palpably obvious. – Man wanted to replace the vision of the spirit with speculation, abstracted by the most constructive mental structures, with idealization, but nothing ever came of it. Evidence of this is all philosophical metaphysics. Having reviewed them all, we will only receive confirmation that there is something higher, better, more perfect than what the eye sees and which can be reached through the operations of the mind, and what it is is beyond the reach of the mind. About this we have only fortune-telling, which does not represent spiritual, Divine things in the form in which they exist in themselves. Everyone has a spirit, but everyone has it closed and clogged to varying degrees, depending on the predominance of bodily and mental aspirations and skills over it, according to their instructions and passion. Divine grace, calling to salvation in the Lord, acts directly on the spirit. And he, strengthened by the influence of grace, comes into motion, rises above the soul and body, draws them after him and makes it so that a person decides with his whole being - to be with the Lord and walk according to His will. Grace reaches the spirit through the word of the Gospel. Then, when in a person what should be accomplished by his spirit awakened by grace is accomplished, then, according to the institution of God on earth for our salvation, he is made worthy of the sacraments - baptism or repentance - and the grace of God dwells in him, dissolves with his spirit, combining into one. From the minute of the first action of grace on the spirit, its eyes begin to open, and after receiving grace in the sacraments, they become completely open. See how a newly baptized person or one who has just repented has a vivid relationship with God; how sensitive his conscience is, how correctly he evaluates everything present and, bypassing it, sees with aspiration only the invisible future. The spirit began to see the spiritual, the Divine, just as one whose eyelids have been separated by surgery and his eyes are open begins to see his surroundings. But physical vision has degrees, much less spiritual. Exercise of vision allows you to see more and more; view wider and wider, further and further. So in the spirit, the first outline of the spiritual, adopted in the catechumen, in the general outline, becomes more and more clear, details are seen, objects in the first glance are noticed that were hidden by others. Someday he will reach the point where he can see everything and walk in this vision as in paradise?! Everything that our spirit can see, with its utmost effort and with the most abundant action of grace, is all revealed to us in the apostolic and prophetic writings. It is open: but not everyone suddenly sees it as soon as he opens the Bible. The perception of one or the other, even in words often read and pondered, produces the guiding grace of the one being saved. But if our spirit, under the influence of grace, saw everything that is possible to see in our present state, all this will be compared with what and how it will be seen in the future, only vision, similar to looking through a dark glass. “It was not revealed that we would be” (1 John 3:2). We deliberately present this entire history of spiritual vision so that it can be more precisely determined what Saint Paul wishes for the Ephesians, praying that God would give them enlightened eyes of the heart. He wants them to be raised to a clear vision of the spiritual, Divine order of things (the economy of salvation), as much as is possible for us on earth, for he wants them to see what he himself sees - but there is and will not be a higher vision than the Apostles. Saint Paul wants the Ephesians to see three things with the enlightened eyes of their hearts: 1) what is given to Christians immediately after following their voice of calling, and in general here on earth; 2) what glorious and rich wealth awaits them in the future; 3) how much power God expected for the establishment of salvation by faith and the education of believers. So from Blessed Theodoret: “I beg that the vision of your mind (spirit) will be illuminated with mental light, and you will be able to both know what we are called to (1) and foresee the greatness of the promised blessings (2). But, speaking in carnal language and being unable, as he would like, to glorify the Master and show the greatness of the gifts, the divine Apostle collects together many names, intensifying, as far as possible, to express this. Therefore, he puts together the expressions: “the hope of the title, the wealth of the glory of the property, the good will of the will” and other similar things. He said: “the abounding majesty of power,” imagining in his mind the dishonor of the cross and thinking about what it had done. For this he added: “according to the power of His power and strength,” and so on.” (3). All these are objects that no one can know and contain in a soul-saving way, except those in whom the grace of God makes the eyes of the heart (the inner man) enlightened. Blessed Theophylact writes: “The eyes are enlightened... as if to lead...” that is, may he give them the gift of being enlightened through the Spirit. For unless the Spirit reveals the hidden mysteries, it is impossible for others to learn them in any way. For He alone, and no one else, neither Angel nor Archangel, “tests all the depths of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). “But a spiritual man does not receive the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. 2:14). So, when the secrets are revealed to us by the Spirit, then we enter the state of knowledge of God, our eyes are enlightened, and we are no longer wavered by doubts, but see everything as it is.” - That is, then the apostolic benevolence is fulfilled over us: “so as to guide you.” “What is the hope of a calling” and “what is the riches of glory” can be attributed to the same thing, that is, the future glorious state of believers. But it is also possible to distinguish, relating the “hope of the calling” to what is immediately promised to those who are called to the preaching of the Gospel, and is immediately given upon believing and accepting the sacraments of baptism and confirmation, and relating the wealth of glory to the future glorification of believers. What is promised to those called if they follow the call? – Forgiveness of sins, the grace of the Holy Spirit for the acquisition of holiness and sonhood as a pre-election to eternal bliss. All this is given immediately as soon as someone follows the calling, and can rightly be called the hope of the “call,” in contrast to the hope of glory, signified here by the riches of the glory of inheritance in the saints. Here the same thing happens as with an owner who calls workers and gives them something else before starting work, as soon as they agree to work for him, certifying that full payment will be made at the end of the work. So the Lord calls you to work with Him - to live according to His will, and immediately gives forgiveness of sins, grace and adoption. Whoever works as he should, will receive a full payment in another life, or a full reward, which will no longer be according to work, but according to the breadth of God’s mercy, which will use work only as a reason to enrich those who worked with endless benefits. The Apostle calls these endless blessings the “wealth of glory” of inheritance, or the rich glory of inheritance, or, as St. Chrysostom expresses, “...inexpressible glory. Indeed, whose word is able to imagine the glory that the once saints will be awarded? - Of course it’s a draw. In order to understand this, for this the human mind truly needs grace - it needs to perceive at least a small ray (of spiritual light).” It is called heritage because it is prepared for those who are adopted (Theophylact). This also confirms the certainty of receiving it, for the son, while still a son, is undoubtedly the heir, and will receive the inheritance as an undisputed accessory. One must only preserve in oneself, or behind oneself, the quality of sonship to God. That is why the Apostle added: “in the saints.” Those who are called, if they remain holy and blameless and through this maintain the dignity of the sons of God by grace, will undoubtedly inherit rich and ineffable glory in eternity. Eph. 1:19. And how the majesty of His power abounds in us who believe, according to the working of the power of His strength. “Advanced” – surpassing measure, word, comprehension of the mind, immeasurable, ineffable, incomprehensible. The majesty of power does not mean one multitude or magnitude of power, but also that this great power is majestic, divine, representative, most luminous, magnificent. And such and such a power God revealed to us, believers, or instilled in us, believers, is the third object beheld by the enlightened eyes of the heart after seeing the benefits of Christianity and the rich glory awaiting Christians in the future. Look at Christians. They have everything there; here there is only inconvenience, sorrow and suffering. What a weak and humiliated faith, some might think! “It seems so from the outside, but in the spirit there is no stronger faith.” And the feeling of such power is given to an enlightened heart. It feels strength in itself, in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the entire community of Christians, or in the Church of Christ. Turning to the Lord is accomplished as a sign of the power of God, which has an impressionable effect on the human spirit. Keeping the faithful in faith is also accomplished by God’s power, which is often clearly revealed. The Lord said: “no one will snatch them away from My Hand. My Father is the greatest of all” (John 10:29). The presence of a special power among Christians was initially so palpable that it terrified everyone around. The more this power is revealed to the heart, the stronger the faith. Why take away this, or see more and more, is what the Apostle to the Ephesians desires. The majesty of power was revealed by God in the dispensation of our salvation, for for this the Son of God became incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, rose again and sat down at the right hand of God the Father and received all power in heaven and on earth; For this purpose, the Holy Spirit descended and through the Apostles established the Church of God, in which it operates continuously and will not cease to act until the end of the century. The majesty of His power also appears in the conversion of people to faith in Christ the Lord, when He makes idolaters worshipers of the true God, drunkards sober, fornicators clean, proud humble, angry people meek; when he takes a rough, carnal, brutal heart and makes it tender, spiritual, angelic (Jerome). This power, manifested in the dispensation of salvation, in the calling to faith and in the preservation of believers, is what Saint Paul points out here, praying that God would allow the Ephesians to fully comprehend it and contain it in their hearts. “Before this, the Apostle mentioned what is to come (“the wealth of the glory of the property”); now he speaks of what has already happened, so that this last one can confirm that first thing. What is this? – The very thing that we believe; for truly the great power of God is proof that we, so wild and bestial, have believed in God and are philosophical about heavenly things” (Ecumenius, Theophylact). “The immeasurable greatness of His ineffable power is shown to us believers. How? - So that we, whose all feelings were killed by passions and whose very thoughts were buried in them, He resurrected and revived, making us worthy to receive the light of faith. Truly in this is the power of His strength. Therefore, the Apostle prays to bring this to the Ephesians with the spirit of wisdom. For as soon as we understand how we have been blessed, we will value the gift more highly, and we will have greater gratitude to the Benefactor” (Photius in Ecumenium). “It is much more difficult to awaken faith in souls than to raise the dead. How so? I'll try to make this clear. Listen, in fact, Christ said to the dead man: “Lazarus, come out” (John 11:43) - and the dead man obeyed. Peter said to Tabitha: “Tabitha, arise” (Acts 9:40) - and she did not contradict. The Lord will speak on the last day - and everyone will rise, and will rise with such speed that those still alive will not warn the dead, and all this will happen and end in the shortest possible time, in the blink of an eye. But this is not the case when it comes to converting to faith. But what about it? – Listen again to what the Lord says: “How many times have your fellow children desired... and you have not desired” (Luke 13:34). Now do you understand what is more difficult? That is why the Apostle proves everything by faith. Indeed, it is much more difficult, even for human reasons, to convince human freedom than to create nature. The reason for this is that God wants us to voluntarily become good. Thus, the Apostle quite rightly sees “the majesty of the power of God abounding in us who believe.” When the prophets did not have time to do anything, when the Angels, Archangels, when all creation, visible and invisible, were unable to help human salvation, then God Himself deigned to appear, thereby showing that in the matter of turning to faith, Divine power is needed” (St. Chrysostom). “According to the working of the might of His strength.” “Power”, – κρατος in God, – omnipotence, “fortress”, – ισχυς – strength; the power of the fortress will be strong sovereignty, or omnipotent, or the almighty power of God. “Action” - ενεργεια - the manifestation of this power in action. “According to the action of the power of the fortress” - according to the action of the all-powerful omnipotence of God. What does Saint Paul want to say with these words? - This will be decided based on what we refer to these words. If we attribute them to those directly in front - “those who believe in us”, then we get a thought that explains how we believed. Namely: in the arrangement of our salvation, God revealed His omnipotent omnipotence. The knowledge of such a manifestation of the power of God for our sake, influencing the heart, arouses faith, and remembering this supports faith, warming it constantly. It will be: “in us who believe” according to the impact on our mind and heart of His excessive power demonstrated by God in the dispensation of our salvation. The following verses explain exactly how this power is manifested. If we relate these words to “some prospering majesty of power,” then we get a thought that explains how this majesty of power can be seen. It is evident from the action of the sovereign fortress of God. The third thing that the holy Apostle begs the Ephesians to see with the enlightened eyes of their hearts is the withdrawal of the immeasurable majesty of the power expended on the believers. How can they come to see this? – Judging by the manifestations, or following the manifestations of His sovereign strength, “what He did...”, manifested in the resurrection and seating at His right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ and in His heading of the Church. Ecumenius cites the words of Blessed Photius the Patriarch, explaining in detail this Apostolic saying. “The words: “by action...” and so on. or it means that our resurrection from spiritual death and the resurrection of Christ and our God from bodily death are a matter of equal power and effect. “Or by the action...” he says, showing the reason for our excitement - that is, the reason why we believed and were resurrected from spiritual death. For the action... “the strength that she did in Christ, raising Him,” and so on. was the reason that we believed and arose from the former delusion. He rose again because he died; died because he became incarnate; He became incarnate in order to adopt us as sons of God. And all these are the actions of Him who raised Him from the dead. So, “according to the work” he says to say: because of the work of the power of His strength. For by it and through it we believe and are saved. “Or,” saying this, he explains, “the great majesty of His power abounds in us who believe,” by the fact that, having raised Christ and seated Him at His right hand, He planted our firstfruits above all Principality and Power and Authority and Dominion. For in this the majesty of power is truly revealed, in order to elevate the earthly nature above the heavens, to make it worshipable from the incorporeal ranks. Having thus understood the meaning of the Apostolic saying, we will make all subsequent speech clear.” The latter understanding is closer to the flow of speech. The Apostle explains in what way the excessive power of God is revealed, and points out how from these manifestations, as from traces, one can ascend to the vision of this power with full eyes. And isn’t the Apostle’s main intention to stop the attention of the Ephesians on this and to direct their minds to the contemplation of this? “He wants to convey to them what he himself contemplated.” What he himself contemplated, he briefly outlined at the beginning, blessing God for all blessings in Christ - for choosing us before the foundation of the world to holiness and integrity, and for adopting Himself as sons, and especially for the wondrous leadership of everyone in the Lord. Now he expresses a strong desire for the Ephesians to enter into the same contemplation, and asks God to open the eyes of their hearts - to see the high dignity of Christianity, the ineffable benefits prepared for believers - especially the immeasurable power revealed in the arrangement of our salvation. – Having mentioned this manifestation of power, he further explains how exactly it is manifested - in the person of Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:20-23), - and in the person of all believers (chap. 2 and 3). II. This greatness indicates the exaltation of the Finisher of our salvation (Eph. 1:20–23) Eph. 1:20, 21. This is what He did in Christ, raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in those who are in heaven, above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is called, not only in this world, but also in the world to come: and put all things under His nose... Expounding his contemplation, he spoke of how God has blessed us in the Beloved, especially through the leadership of all in Him. Introducing the Ephesians into the same contemplation, he points out to them the immeasurable greatness of God’s power. Perhaps for their weak minds it was easier to ascend this way to contemplation and the abundance of God’s grace. The Apostle speaks here about the resurrection of the Lord, His sitting at the right hand of the Father with the conquest of everything heavenly and earthly, and His leadership of the Church - only in the sense that all this manifests the sovereign strength of God. It is primarily from this side that our interpreters look at this separation (vv. 20–23). Blessed Theodoret writes: “It is obvious that the Apostle said all this about Christ as a man. For this led him to amazement. It is not at all surprising for God to co-seat with God, and for the Son to co-reign with the Father, because with the identity of nature comes the communion of power. And that the nature received from us receives the same honor as the One who received it and there is no difference in worship, but in the worship of the visible nature the worship of the invisible Divinity is given - this is beyond any miracle. That is why the divine Apostle, amazed at this, first hymns about the “prospering majesty of power”, and then “the action of the power of the fortress”, and seeks names that could express the extraordinary nature of the matter. For he says: first he raised Him from the dead, clearly as a man, then he seated Him, and, showing the greatness of his honor, he added: “at His right hand.” The royal palace also indicates: “to the heavenly ones,” and then to the subjects: “above all superiors and powers,” and, having counted all the known names of the invisible Powers, he added that if we do not know others, we will find out later, in the future life, then they are all subjugated to Him. He also added prophetic testimony: “subdue everything... under His nose” (Ps. 8:7). And the Prophet said this about Christ as about a man, for he says: “What is a man, that you remember him? or son of man, because you visit him? (Ps. 8:5). Saint Chrysostom says: “Do you see what He did? - He resurrected Christ. And this is no longer an unimportant matter; but look, what else did He do? – He seated Him at His right hand. What word can adequately depict this? He suddenly raised the being from the earth to such a height. Truly, the incomprehensible greatness of His power! - And look where He brought Him? – He seated Him “in the heavenly places,” above all created nature, above all principality and power. Therefore, truly, the Spirit of grace is needed, an enlightened mind is needed to know Him, in a word, revelation is needed for this. Imagine how great the distance is between man and the Divine nature: meanwhile, from this (human) littleness He elevated Him to this (Divine) honor. Not one, not two, not three degrees need to be passed for this. That is why the Apostle not only said: above, but above. Above the Higher Powers there is only God. And to such and such a height He raised those who exist from us - He raised the humiliated to the last degree of power, beyond which there is no other higher dignity. The Apostle says all this about the One who rose from the dead, and not about God the Word; he speaks about Jesus, who came from us. It is truly great and wonderful that He raised Him up from the depths of the earth - made Him “above all others, not just in this world, but also in the future: and put all things under His nose.” He didn’t just say: he did it above everyone else, in order to prefer it to them, he didn’t use this word in the sense of comparison; but gave Him such honor as a master has before his servants. Oh, truly wonderful things! Through the fact that God the Word took on our nature, all created power became serviceable to man. - But perhaps there is someone higher than Him, who, although he has no subordinates, but who has greater dignity? – Here, too, this is not applicable: “all,” asserts the Apostle, “subdue all under His nose.” And he not only conquered, but completely conquered his subordinates, so that there could be no greater subordination. That is why the Apostle said: “under His nose.” These two extracts fully explain the meaning of verses 20 and 21. - It remains to explain some sayings. The resurrection and seating at the right hand are spoken of here as acts of manifestation of the ineffable power of God in the dispensation of salvation. The Savior remained humble on earth; ended his earthly life in humiliation. This was necessary according to the economy of salvation. But don’t look at this, but look at the height to which He was raised through this humiliation. The more humiliated He was seen on earth, the more obvious was the power of God's strength in exalting Him above all. Resurrection stands, as it were, at the transition to that. Being seated at the right hand is the endowment of the full omnipotent power of the Savior, as the God-man. The resurrection and seating at the right hand refers here to God the Father; but it is the inseparable action of the Divinity - the Most Holy Trinity. And the Son Himself participates in Him as much as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. - Seating at the right hand is endowment with Divine, all-powerful power. Even in the incarnation, God the Son did not cease to be the Almighty, just as he was the Creator of everything. The Apostle wants to say that human nature was also introduced into this omnipotence in the person of Christ the Lord, being glorified in the resurrection. Not as God the Lord became above all and the Lord of everything, for he never ceased to be so, but as the God-man. The face of the Savior is one. And in his very incarnation He was the Almighty and like a man. But in order to introduce human nature into this sovereignty, it was necessary first to glorify Him by resurrection. Man is a small world. He concentrates all created forces in himself. In glorified humanity in the person of the God-man, these forces became the reins of government and together the channels for the passage of the Savior’s restorative forces into all areas of the world. All this is a necessary consequence of the incarnation of God the Word. When this was decided in the council of God, then everything should have come by itself. The Principles, Powers, Powers and Dominions, over which human nature has risen in the Lord, are not earthly authorities - kings, high priests - as some might have thought, but heavenly ones. The Apostle does not list all the angelic ranks - for this is not what we are talking about - but some, giving through them the same to be understood about all the others. He seems to say: above these, but also above all others, above everything that exists except God, as the words show: and above “every name that is called, not only in this world, but also in the future.” The name here is a virtue, as we say: a man with a name. The Apostle understands everything that has a name, that stands out from a number of others. Above all this is the Savior, seated at the right hand of the Father. The idea is also immediately visible that He became above everything known to us - Principalities, Authorities, Dominions, Powers (and Thrones, as He adds in the letter to the Colossians - Col. 1:16), and above everything that is now unknown to us, which will be revealed to us later - here, or in the next century (St. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Ecumenius, etc.), in general, above everything that anyone might name. Eph. 1:22. And submit everything under His nose. It means either that he not only became above all, but also became the Lord of everything, as if to strengthen only the same thought already expressed in being seated at the right hand of the Father; or that He also put all that is visible under His feet. In previous words I spoke about the invisible world, but here about the visible, physical world. This may be suggested by borrowing this expression from the psalm, which speaks of the exaltation of man in creation above all creatures (Ps. 8:7). Everything was submissive to man on earth. In his fall he lost this power. In the restoration of the fallen, it returns to him, as many experiments have shown. But in the Restorer it became inherent not only in relation to the earth, but also in relation to the entire visible world. It became so necessary due to the wondrous economy of salvation through the incarnation of God the Word. Eph. 1:24. And Him I have given as the head above all the Church, which is His body, fulfilling all things in all. Another might have thought: let man in the face of the Lord become above all; What does that matter to us? - The fact that God, having so exalted our nature in the person of the Savior, did not tear Him away from us, but gave Him as the head of the Church, which is His body. If the dignity of the head is reflected in the body, then the exaltation of the head is the exaltation of the body, that is, of all of us, believers, who make up the body of the Church. What inspiration for those who realized this?! - Saint Chrysostom calls out at this: “Ah! and where did He exalt the Church? Having lifted her, as if by some machine, He raised her to a great height and seated her on the same throne: for where the head is, there is the body.” “Above all” – υπερ παντα. By παντα we mean all classes of beings, we can say this: everything is subjugated to Him; but He is the head only of the Church. Bypassing all other creatures, God made Him the head of only the Church, brought Him into a living union only with the Church. Or υπερ παντα - the same as in another place: “above all these” (in the meaning of επι). Having listed the virtues, the Apostle concluded: “Over all these [acquire] love” (Col. 3:14). So it is here. God exalted humanity in the person of the Savior; but above all, He gave Him as the head of the Church. Saint Chrysostom says: “What do the words “above all” mean? - Either that Christ is above everything visible and contemplated (spiritual), or that the highest of all the benefits He has shown is that He made His Son the head, leaving no Angel, Archangel, or anyone else higher. God honored us not only with the advantage that He raised up the mountain of what is from us (that is, Jesus Christ), but also with the fact that He prepared for the entire human race to follow Him, have the same as He, and inherit His glory.” Above in the word: “to lead all things” (Eph. 1:10) the idea was given that the order of being, upset by the fall, or the order of all classes of beings, was restored in the person of the Savior-God-Man. In Him everything found a center of mutual union. And He became the all-powerful head. since verses 20–23 stand in parallel with verses 7–11, the Apostle probably kept the same thought in his mind when he said: “To him I will give the head above all the churches.” By virtue of the Incarnation He is the head of the Church; but since God became incarnate, He is the head of all things, but in such a way that above all headship He is still primarily the head of the Church. The words: “which is His body” indicate the living union with Him of all believers who make up the Holy Church. Just as the members of our body with the head form one living organism, led by the head, so believers, who are embodied in Christ as the head through baptism, form with Him one bodily-spiritual organism. “Or you do not know,” says the Apostle in another place (1 Cor. 6:15), “that your bodies are the fruits of Christ.” Those who are baptized into Christ are clothed and become one spirit with Him. He acts in them - both in the aggregate and in parts, and moves everything as the head - a creative and life-giving force. Otherwise, this cannot be according to the dispensation of salvation that the Trinitarian God was pleased to accomplish. - We fell away. God the Word will accept humanity in order to reunite it with God again. In Himself it already consists in comprehensive communion with the Divine. People enter into this communication through Him, uniting with Him internally and essentially. This union of everyone with Him adds member by member to Him. The number of those united with Him grows around His members, which, having been filled with Him, a single creative and life-giving principle, unite within themselves, forming a union completely similar to the union of members in the body. Those who truly believe in the Lord are necessarily a body, and His body. “The fulfillment of all things in all.” These words are somewhat dark and give different thoughts. – To whom should “fulfillment” be attributed – to the Church or to the Lord? – It can also be referred to the Lord, for we are talking about Him. It can also be attributed to the Church, because it is mentioned directly ahead. If we relate it to the Lord, then the thought will be the same as in another place, in the words: “For in him dwells all the fulfillment of the physical Divinity” (Col. 2:9). Execution here in Greek is το πληρωμα, as in our place. Instead of “Divinity” in our text there is “who fulfills all things in everyone.” For this is characteristic only of God. – There will be such a thought: God gave such a head to the Church, which is above all, for it itself is the fullness of the Divine, the fullness of the One who fills everything with Himself. If we relate it to the Church, then the thought will be twofold, judging by who we understand as fulfilling all things in everyone - God the Father or the Lord Jesus Christ. – If God the Father or the Divinity in general, then the thought will be: God fills everything, but does not fill the souls and hearts of fallen people, for they have closed themselves to Him. By faith in the Lord Jesus Christ they are opened, and the Divinity enters into them and fills them. All believers make up the Church and, having been filled with God, make it filled with Him. This is how Blessed Theodoret understands: “The Apostle calls the Church a collection of believers; he called it the body of Christ and the fulfillment of the Father; because the Father filled her with all gifts, and in her, according to the prophetic word, he lives and walks (Lev. 26:12). This will happen in all accuracy in the future life. This is what the Apostle taught us in his letter to the Corinthians. For having said: “the last enemy shall be destroyed by death”, and: “subdue all things under His nose” (1 Cor. 15:26, 27), he finally added: “that God may be all things in all” (1 Cor. 15:28). - God is in this life in everyone, since His nature is indescribable, but not everything is in everyone, because some are wicked, others are lawless, but God dwells in those who fear Him and in those who trust in His mercy. In the future life, when mortality ceases, immortality will be granted, and there will be no more place for sin, God will be “all in all.” If we mean “who fulfills” the Lord Jesus Christ, then the words: “the fulfillment of him who fulfills all things in all” will be a continuation of the same thought as contained in the words: “who is His body,” explaining it, giving it further movement and application. Saint Chrysostom says: “So that you, having heard the word “head”, do not accept Him in the sense of only power, but in the proper sense - do not consider Him only the boss, but see in Him the actual head, the Apostle adds: “who fulfills all things in all.” The Apostle considers the title of the chapter insufficient to show the kinship and closeness of the Church to Christ.” – To show kinship and closeness... that is, to show that in the Church and Christians everything is Christ’s. She is full of Christ; He fills it entirely, in all its composition and in all its members in parts - both in it and in its members He fulfills everything. In this case, these words can be translated as follows: “Even His body is His fullness, fulfilling all things in all” (its members). His is the light of knowledge inherent in the Church, with which He fills the witches. His is holiness, with which He fulfills the zealots of holiness. His are the benefactors, for which He fills the benefactors with love. His are all other spiritual gifts visible in the Church, for He fills with them those believers who are capable of receiving them. In the Church there is “all things and Christ in all” (Col. 3:11). This thought takes on a special connotation if fulfillment is understood as replenishment or replenishment. In this case, the words of the Apostle will suggest that the Church complements Christ. How is this? – Here is Saint Chrysostom’s solution to this: “But what do his last words mean (that is, “fulfillment”, etc.)? – They mean that the Church is the fulfillment of Christ, just as the head is complemented by the body and the body is complemented by the head. You see, the Apostle does not neglect any comparison, he uses every turn of phrase to present God’s glory. Fulfillment, he says, that is, as the head is replenished by the body, for the body is made up of all members and each member is necessary. You see, the Apostle represents that for Christ, as the head, all members are needed... His body is completely composed of all members. And that means: only then will the head be fulfilled, when the perfect body is built.” So it is with Ecumenius and Theophylact. The latter writes: “Christ is fulfilled and, as it were, replenished with members through the believers; it is replenished by hand in a merciful person, by foot in one who goes out preaching or visits the weak; every other member in other believers." The Church is the fulfillment of Christ, perhaps, just as a tree is the fulfillment of the seed. What is combined briefly in the seed appears in full development in the tree. And Christ the Lord said about Himself: “if a grain of wheat falls on the ground...he dies, he produces much fruit” (John 12:24). After His death, resurrection and ascension, in what abundance believers began to cleave to Him, but until then He seemed to be alone. And indeed, humanity, saved and deified in the Lord Jesus Christ, and one, combines everything. But since it is not such for itself, but for people, then while it is alone, it still seems to be incomplete, since that for which it is such has not yet been fulfilled. The cleaving of believers to Him fulfills what it is for, and thereby completes Him. Since believers are the Church, it turns out that the Church is the completion of Christ, His head. In Himself He is complete and all-perfect, but He has not yet fully attracted humanity to Himself. It gradually communicates more and more with Him, and through this, as it were, replenishes Him, allowing His work to come through this to the fullness of fulfillment. It is impossible to ignore without attention the guidance that Saint Chrysostom makes from this place: “Let us honor the head,” he says, let us think, of what head are we the body? We are the body of the head to whom everything is subject. In accordance with this head, we must be the best of the Angels; and the highest Archangels, as being awarded a higher honor than all of them. For God did not take nature from Angels, as the Apostle says about this in the Epistle to the Hebrews, but “from the seed of Abraham” (Heb. 2:16). Not Power, not Beginning, not Dominion, not any other power, but ours He accepted nature and exalted it. And what do I say: exalted? He made Him His garment, and not only exalted Him, but also brought everything under His nose. - Let us honor the closeness of kinship; Let us fear lest anyone be cut off from this body, lest anyone fall or be found unworthy of Him. If someone were to put a diadem, a golden crown, on our head: tell me, what would we not do to show ourselves worthy of these soulless stones? Here it is not a diadem that covers our head, but Christ Himself has become our head, which, without a doubt, is much higher - and we do not attach any value to this?! Angels, Archangels and all the heavenly Powers revere our head, and we, Her body, will we not honor Her? What hope of salvation remains for us after this? Imprint this royal throne in your mind, always remember the abundance of honor. This, one might say, should frighten us more than Gehenna. For even if there were no Gehenna, then for us, who were awarded such a great honor and then found ourselves unworthy of it, deprivation of this honor should be the highest punishment, incomparable torment. - Imagine, next to whom your head will sit (this alone is completely enough for everything)? at whose right hand is it located? She will sit above all Principality, and Power, and Power. – But since we started talking about the Body of the Lord, then, perhaps, let us remember the Body that is sacrificed (in the sacrament of Body and Blood). As we partake of it and drink His Blood, let us firmly remember that in the sacrament of communion we partake of a Body in no way different from the Body that sits on the mountain and Whom the Angels worship, which is near the incorruptible power - it is this Body that we eat. Oh, how many paths to salvation are open to us! He made us His body, gave us His Body, and all this does not distract us from evil? O delusion! oh great humiliation! oh shamelessness! “Be wise on things above,” it is commanded, “where Christ is seated at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1, 2), and some of us are concerned about wealth, others are wallowing in passions!” III. And in exaltation with Him and in Him all those who believe in Him (Eph. 2:1–10) The exaltation of those who are saved together with the Perfecter of salvation is revealed in their spiritual revival, in their resurrection and in their seating at the right hand of God in the person of the Lord Savior (Eph. 2:1-10). This is also the second manifestation of the sovereign strength of God, testifying to the abundant greatness of His power in the arrangement of our salvation. Having begun to speak about this power (Eph. 1:19), the Apostle showed how it is manifested in the face of the Savior, in His resurrection, sitting at the right hand of the Father and His heading of the Church. Now he continues to indicate the same power in those who are being saved, in their spiritual quickening, and through this in their resurrection and seating at the right hand of God with Christ. These latter are accomplished by virtue of the former, which have their final goal in them. The manifestation of the overwhelming greatness of power in the person of Christ the Savior would have been of no use if it had not been for the transfer of the same power to those who believe in Him. Why did it have to be followed by revival, resurrection and glorification of those who cling to Christ by faith? Great is the power of God in the dispensation of our salvation, the Apostle seems to say, judging by the sovereign strength revealed, firstly, in the Lord Jesus Christ and, secondly, in those who believe in Him (Eph. 2:1-10). In the first there is the foundation of the latter; the latter is the natural fruit and requirement of the former. Both together are a mirror of the prospering majesty of the power of God. The Apostle’s thoughts related to this can be briefly expressed as follows: God showed great power in the Lord, and not only in Him, but in the fact that He revived you (vv. 1, 2) and us (3), both of us dead (4-6). But as it was necessary to explain why we were dead and to characterize the features of our deadness, the Apostle introduces subordinate clauses for this purpose, which round out and complete the speech, so that the manifestation of the power of God in our revival in Christ would be clearer; so it is fair to see in these verses an image of a bitter state in sin and a bright state in grace-filled revival, in the manifestation of the riches of God’s grace through goodness for us (7-10). Eph. 2:1. And you who are dead in your sins and your sins. The particle connects this speech with the previous one; “This is also what he did for Christ, raising Him up...” Now he continues: “This is also what he did, that he also revived you.” – “You” depends on “you being made alive” by Christ (Eph. 2:5). Between them stands an explanatory speech depicting the deadness of sin. Blessed Theophylact writes: “I said above that God raised the Lord Jesus Christ and placed him above all others. Now he says that he also revived and resurrected you who were dead (not by physical, but by spiritual death); so with the same power He raised the Lord from bodily death, and us from spiritual death - sinful, although it is more important to revive the soul than to resurrect the dead. By “you” he means the pagans, putting them forward, since sin raged more unhindered in them and revealed all its corruption. Then he adds himself, that is, the Jews, to the same category of the spiritually dead (3). Finally, he unites both of them together: “and bring us to life who are dead” (5). “The transgressions of the dead and the sins...” Although a distinction can be made between transgressions and sins, this does not provide any special valuable concepts and is always subject to arbitrariness. It is enough to know that both sin and transgression - any violation of the will of God, whether expressed in the conscience or depicted in the written law - produces spiritual death. “Examples of sin, death,” says the same Apostle in another place (Rom. 6:23). By this death the Apostle firstly calls the pagans dead. They were alive in body, alive and soul, they acted, reasoned, succeeded in the arts, in everyday and civil order. But they were dead in spirit, dead to God and to living to please Him. Their sins separated them from God, and they became dead. Sin, as soon as it becomes a ruler over a person, kills his spirit. Just as bodily death is the cessation of bodily life, so with the entry of sin into a person, the root of inner life is cut off - the life of the spirit, which is from God. In a sinner given over to sin, sensual inclinations and spiritual passions increasingly take precedence over the highest spiritual demands and suppress them to the point that the light of spiritual life finally goes out. At the same time, bodily life also withers due to the violation of the integrity of human life and the suppression of its proper relationship to the supreme source of being and life. Hence illness, suffering and early death. Thus, sin kills not only spiritually, but also physically—and not just an individual, but often an entire race, as long as it diligently works against sin. (Hence the suppression of childbirth.) All this is all the more bitter because there is nothing to apologize for, especially for us now. Saint Chrysostom writes: “There is bodily death, and there is spiritual death. To be subjected to the first is not sinful or scary, because it is (now) natural; having appeared as a result of the Fall, bodily death later became as if necessary for our nature, although it too will soon be abolished. Another spiritual death, since it occurs from our will, exposes us to responsibility and has no excuse.” Eph. 2:2. In them you sometimes walk through the age of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit, who now operates in the sons of disobedience. Having pointed out the sinful deadness of the Ephesians in their first state, he now exposes the producers of this sinfulness, so that, as Saint Chrysostom notes, he would not sadden them too much by pointing out the gloomy state in which they previously spontaneously kept themselves. “Do you notice the meekness of the Apostle Paul with which he exhorts his listeners, without in the least frightening them? Having told his listeners that you have reached the extreme degree of evil (for to be dead is precisely the extreme degree of evil), so as not to sadden them too much (since people are usually embarrassed if their previous crimes are shown to them, be they disastrous crimes or do not contain anything particularly dangerous), he now points them to the helper who helped them reach such a degree of evil, and to the strong helper; and he does this for the purpose so that they do not think that they alone are to blame for everything.” Or does he introduce these forces here - the producers of sin, in order to show the greatness of the power and wealth of the goodness of God who saves them, saying, as it were: see in what hands you were! But God pulled you out of them and brought you into a better life. Saint Damascus writes: “You, says the Apostle, pagans, held in death for sin, in which you lived under the evil devil, who ruled over you through evil thoughts, God honored you with mercy and grace, and converted your deadness in sin into life through communion with Christ.” To this we can add from Theodoret: “The Apostle said this, reminding the Ephesians of God’s good deed, namely, that he made them worthy of salvation when, due to sin, they were still dead and under the power of the devil.” Sins killed and kept you dead because you walked in them. The love of sin was the dominant direction of your free activity. Although you were under the influence of strong enemies - the world and the devil, you still walked in sins, they acted on you, tempted you, but did not force you. You yourself followed their pernicious suggestions. Theodoret writes: “The devil, having lost his dignity, became a teacher of evil and wickedness; however, he does not rule over everyone, but only over those who do not accept Divine broadcasts.” The first productive force of sin is “the age of this world.” This age, this world are equivalent in the New Testament Scripture. They stand together here, perhaps to more fully express their harmfulness. “A Century” is actually a period of time, a long series of years, and hence the general flow of time and that which is in time. “The world” is a collection of decaying customs and people who submit to them. “The Age of Peace” is the course of worldly customs that have been established for a long time, harmful to the soul, ruling over all peace lovers, on which they all walk, albeit reluctantly, like a cart rides along a deepening rut, from which there is no opportunity or strength to turn off. A distinctive feature of this walk is concern for one temporary thing, without attention to another life, concern for the establishment of happiness on earth, without attention to the requirements of the moral law and the instillations of the fear of God. That is why the world lies in evil. Or the world and the age are synonymous with sinfulness, subjection to sin, the tyranny of sin. Blessed Theophylact writes: “The Apostle calls the age of this world a depraved life, a life in sins, for the sake of the fact that real life is replete with sins.” The Apostle wants to point out: this is the yoke under which, the bonds in which you were held—“sometimes,” that is, before you clung to Christ by faith. Now, being with Christ, you are no longer conformed to this age (Rom. 12:2) - you have the strength to resist the pressure of its corrupting influence, for you have accepted new principles and new strengths to walk according to these principles, contrary to previous customs. Do you see the sovereign power manifested against you?! Another productive force of sin is the devil, whom the Apostle calls “the prince of the power of the air,” the prince of “the spirit working in the sons of disobedience.” Saint Paul did not stop at pointing to one age or world, but goes further to the very source of sin. The field, the stage on which sin is revealed, is the world; the one who sets everything in motion in him is the devil. Whoever walks in the age of the world walks after the devil, whom the Lord called the prince of peace and the age (John 12:31, 14:30). The Apostle called him “the prince of the power of the air”: “the prince of power” - the prince of power, “the prince of the air” - living in the air. Or by the word “power” one can understand the rank of evil spirits, just as among the holy Angels there is a rank called “power”. Generalizing this name, we can understand by the word power collectively all spirits, or the kingdom of evil spirits, whose prince is Satan, and who all live in the air with their prince. Further in this letter the Apostle calls them “spirits of wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). Cast down from heaven, they have no firm support on earth and hover homeless and absent-mindedly in the air, from where they carry out all sorts of random attacks on people and carry away those who succumb to evil. This well expresses the instability and inconstancy of satanic power, and perhaps its ephemerality, that is, that it is all dreamy, based not on anything substantial, but on deception, charm, and ghosts. Saint Chrysostom says: “according to the prince of the power of the air.” The Apostle says this in order to show that the devil dwells in the heavenly realms, that the spirits of the air are incorporeal forces that help him in his actions.” You walked, says the Apostle, according to the prince of the powers of the air. Our popular proverb expresses this well: dance to whose tune. He suggested - you followed his suggestions. Since it can only inspire evil and sin, then, walking along it, you only became more and more entangled in sins and, consequently, delved further and further into sinful death, which always follows in the footsteps of sin. Due to such self-willed submission to him, he became the prince of sinners. “He is a prince because people subordinated themselves to him” (Theophylact). “Because human nature has almost completely surrendered to him and everyone serves him voluntarily and self-willingly. No one heeds Christ, although He promises a thousand blessings, but everyone obeys Him, although He does not promise anything of the kind, but, on the contrary, sends him to Gehenna. He rules in this age, he has more servants than God, and people obey him more willingly than God; there are a few exceptions; and all this comes from our negligence and carelessness” (St. Chrysostom). “The spirit that works in the sons of disobedience.” It would be expected: “according to the spirit”, as before: “according to the prince.” You walked in sins according to the prince of the powers of the air, that is, according to the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Some interpreters understand this, and they like this understanding so much that they would be ready to correct the very speech of the Apostle. Such an attempt can be called not entirely legible and completely unnecessary. The word "spirit" depends on the word "prince", as does the word "power". The prince of the power of the air, he is also the prince of the Spirit acting in the sons of disobedience. This signifies the source of the spirit of opposition to the truth, which the Apostle encountered everywhere in his preaching career, not excluding the Ephesians themselves. Satan and his spirits settled him in the souls of the pagans and constantly supports him with his influence. By this spirit we can generally understand the evil principle emanating from Satan and operating in the unfaithful, the spirit of lies and self-deception, with some kind of deceptive confidence opposing all the convictions of the truth. Or, just as by the word “power” one can collectively understand all evil forces, one can also understand by the word “spirit”, standing like it in the same grammatical combination, collectively all evil spirits who, under the leadership of their prince, influence people with their corrupting breath and, accustoming them to passions and vices, make them stubbornly disobedient to the truths aimed at liberating them from those passions, and through that from power the very spirits who inflame passions. The sons of disobedience are stubborn opponents of the Gospel truth. The word son, in connection with virtue or vice, means a person devoted to that virtue or vice, to mean that he is filled with one or the other, as they say about a son: the spitting image of his father. Satan is the enemy of God, all truth and all good. And those who oppose the truth of the Gospel are his sons, like stubborn opponents, like Satan himself. The Greek word is απειθειας, which means sons of lack of conviction, who cannot be convinced by anything. Whatever you tell them, they stubbornly resist all conviction and all evidence. But disbelief in one presupposes disbelief in the other. Therefore, although the word of the spirit operating in the sons of disobedience indicates influences from outside, here, however, there is nothing compelling. But Satan offers, persuades, persuades. They agree and stand their ground... and the spirit of resistance came out. Saint Chrysostom says: “You see that he attracts people to himself not by force, not in a tyrannical way, but through persuasion? Pointing to opposition (απειθεια), the Apostle seems to want to say (by contrast) that the devil entices everyone with flattery and persuasion.” “Now” means either this age, before the future restoration of all things, or now, when the preaching began and the Gospel began to spread throughout the earth. This spirit had been active before, but no matter how much it was disturbed, it did not reveal its presence. The heralds of Christian truth began to press him, he raised his voice, and tries to retain his power by inciting opposition to the truth, disobedience to faith. The apostles saw this kind of opposing force everywhere. Saint Paul presents this as a sign of spiritual deadness, or the deadening power of sin, and its producers operating in the pagans. With all this, the Apostle makes clear how great the power is that defeated these forces of sin, broke the bonds of sin, pulled them out of the deadness of sin and gave them true life. Truly, this also reveals the action of the sovereign fortress of God, who saves everyone who wants to be saved. Eph. 2:3. In them, we all sometimes live in the lusts of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and thoughts, and by nature we are children of wrath, just like others. “In these we are all...” “We are all” – Jews; there was no exception, spiritual deadness from sins was everywhere. “In them”, - εν οις, - what to refer to? – The name closest to the front is “sons of disobedience.” If we include them, it will be: among them, among them, that is, sons of disobedience; to which, in confirmation, the Greek also fits. lived - ανεστραφημεν, in fact - rotated. But it cannot be said about the Jews in general that they moved among the sons of disobedience. Their distinctive feature is to live apart from everyone; how they behaved, not only in their own land, but also when they lived in dispersion. Therefore, I think, it is better - εν οις - to be classified as παραπτωμασι - sins. It produces spiritual deadness from two reasons - from transgressions and sins. Further applying this principle to the pagans and Jews, to the former he says: εν αις, - that is, αμαρτιαις; - in them - that is, in sins; applying it to the Jews, he says: εν οις - that is, παραπτωμασι - “in them”, that is, in sins. This is how Blessed Jerome understands this combination. – “In them” should refer to “sins”. Above, he displays two subjects - transgressions and sins. Referring then to sins, he said: “Sometimes you walk in them,” but regarding sins he did not say anything in explanation or application; now he says: “In them we all live” - that is, in sins - so that it would not seem that, out of pride, he excludes himself (the Jews) from the number of sinners. It is remarkable that, speaking of the sinful deadness of the pagans, the Apostle explains that they were kept in sins, or drawn into them, by the charms of the world and the machinations of the prince of this age. Bringing the Jews under the same deadness, he says that these were mired in sins, because they lived in the lusts of the flesh, were not drawn to them by an outside force, but by their corrupted will fell into sins, doing the will of the flesh and thoughts. The idea is given that neither the world nor the devil had such power over the people of God as they showed over the pagans. In fact, all the orders of personal, family, church and civil life among the Jews were established according to destiny from above. All were sanctified by the will of God and led to improvement of character and closer proximity to God. The pernicious customs of the world could force their way into their midst only in a Tatish, illegal way; whereas among the pagans these customs formed the essence of their life - they degenerated from passions, passions fed and inflamed. Likewise, the prince of the world lost power over the Jews as soon as they accepted the sign of God’s election, as a result of which they became God’s inheritance. The prince of the world with customs could enter the circle of the Jews only at the call of them themselves, when they, having overthrown the yoke of the good will of God, voluntarily surrendered themselves to their alien yoke. The Apostle points to this, saying that we were all in sins, living in the lusts of the flesh. The world and the prince of this age had no power over us, but we ourselves were mired in sins, living in lusts, we were our own enemies, our lusts replaced for us the corrupting power of the world and its prince. “But if it was possible to think this way about the Jews, shouldn’t it be all the more true to judge Christians this way?!” – There would be no place among us for the world and the devil if it weren’t for our addiction to lust. By the lusts of the flesh or lustful flesh we mean generally the sin-loving aspirations of the heart, the distinctive feature of which is self-indulgence - the disposition of the soul, according to which it does everything only to please itself, contrary to the demands of conscience and the suggestions of the fear of God, publicly and definitely presented. Self-indulgence has two types of manifestation - the will of the flesh and thoughts, of course sinful; in other words: carnal passions and spiritual passions and inclinations. Creating the will of the flesh and thoughts, that is, whatever the flesh desires and whatever the soul conceives to please itself, we did all this, or one thing, that is, we followed the demands and attractions of the passions and inclinations of the body and soul - selfish. Saint Chrysostom says: “We all lived without thinking about anything spiritual - all of us, because it cannot be said that at least anyone was an exception in this case. But lest anyone suspect that this is being said with the intention of slandering the flesh, and lest he think that her guilt in this is too great, see how the Apostle warns all such suspicions and thoughts; “doing,” he says, “the will of the flesh and thoughts,” that is, (self-willingly), being carried away by lusts and pleasures.” Theodoret in the word “thoughts” sees how sin is first born in sinful thoughts, and then through the combination of the will with them and is produced by deed through the body. “The Apostle,” he writes, “showed that not only the flesh, but also the soul itself deserves accusation; because initially it accepts within itself an inclination for the worse, and then, with the help of the flesh, it puts into action what is conceived by the mind.” But, who will think, why doesn’t he call himself “dead”, as he called the pagans? – This goes without saying. If they are in sin, then they are dead, for where there is sin, there is spiritual death. But beyond that, below he directly ranks the Jews among the spiritually dead when he says: “and we who are dead in our sins,” where he includes both Jews and pagans under us. “And by nature the children of wrath run away.” since, by doing the will of the flesh and thoughts, we wallowed in sins, for this we were subject to the wrath of God. “We irritated God, angered Him, and became only the subject of God’s wrath, and nothing else,” says Chrysostom. Theodoret writes the same thing: “The Apostle said, “by the nature of children of wrath,” that is, worthy of wrath and extreme punishment. Thus he called the Antichrist “the son of destruction” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), that is, worthy of destruction.” According to Ekumenius and Theophylact, they became children of wrath, as doing deeds worthy of wrath. Basil the Great, in short rule 268, says: “Someone is a child of wrath because he has made himself worthy of wrath. For just as the Apostle called those who are worthy of the Lord and do the works of light and day the sons of light and the sons of the day (1 Thessalonians 5:5), so the words should be understood: “Being children of wrath.” “The word – “by nature” stands instead of – truly, truly – αληθως και γνησιως” (Ecumenius, Theophylact). "Likewise and others". “This means that no one was free (from anger), but all of us, according to our deeds, were worthy of the wrath of God” (St. Chrysostom). Sin made everyone equal, as St. Paul depicts this at greater length in his Epistle to the Romans, collecting various indications of this from the Old Testament Scriptures (Rom. 3:10–18). What a gloomy picture of the state of sin! The sinner is spiritually dead, under the tyranny of the devil, possessed by the spirit of the world, drawn by the unbridled movements of the flesh, enslaved by spiritual passions, troubled by sinful thoughts, and for all this he is a son of wrath, and, therefore, a dowser of eternal punishment. Delivered from such a misfortune, how can one not glorify the sovereign fortress of the Redeemer, who by His grace resurrects the sinner from the death of sin and introduces him into the bright life of pleasing God and holiness. Eph. 2:4, 5. But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love, with which He loved us, and brought us to life as dead sinners, co-living with Christ: by grace you are naturally saved. After a digression rich in truths in verses 2 and 3, the Apostle returns to the interrupted speech: “and you dead...” to say, what - “you”? - But before saying this, the great destructiveness of sin - self-willed and therefore inexcusable - forced us to point out the source of mercy for such indecent people, which is what the Apostle does, beginning his speech: “But God is rich in mercy.” Then the turn of the extra speech prevented him from saying “you”, but demanded “us”, since everyone was recognized as sinners requiring revival - not only the Greeks - “you”, but also the Jews - “we”. This is why the holy Apostle unites both under “us”; “and us that exist” - both of them... “bring to life.” “But God is rich in mercy...” Such as we were - slaves of the world, the devil and our lust, dead to God and angered by Him - what could we expect except punishment, punishment and execution. But that’s not what happened: not only were we not punished as we deserved, on the contrary, we were rewarded with such graces that even the most selfish benevolence could not imagine: “revive, resurrect, plant.” – Where does such generosity come from? - From the boundless benevolence of God, and not only from this, but especially from the fact that God loves us, people, very much. Just as another merciful person helps everyone in need, but helps those whom he loves more willingly and generously, so God would have spared us because He is rich in mercy, as He is merciful, but His love for us increased this generosity to an overabundance. Saint Chrysostom writes: “He does not simply say: being merciful, but “rich in mercy.” In a similar way, in another place it is said: “According to the multitude of Your compassions, look upon me” (Ps. 69:17), and again: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your great mercy” (Ps. 50:3). – Here the Apostle points to the source of God’s love for us. All our deeds were worthy not of love, but of anger and the most severe punishment; This means that if He loved us, it was only because of His great mercy.” “For much love, love us with it.” God loves all his creatures, but shows his predominant love for man. In creation he honored him with his Divine image and made him lord over all creatures; and when he fell, he did not abandon him, but everything, both heaven and earth, moved to restore him, and restored him with a wondrous dispensation of salvation, according to which man becomes greater than what he was in creation. Truly all this is the abundant love with which God loved us. Loved from all eternity. Even when the plan of the universe was built, let us speak humanly, then God especially loved man, for he was placed there as the center in which it was pleasing for God to concentrate everything, so that through him he could then beneficially influence everything else. From here comes the persistence and inexhaustibility of God’s benefits and gifts to man. Ambrosiastes writes: “This is God’s love for us, that since He created us, He does not want us to perish. For He loves the work of His hands. Then he created it in order to love what was created.” It would be expected that the Apostle would remember here the majesty of the power of God, since this is discussed throughout the entire department, and He points to mercy. But that in restoring us the great power of God was revealed, this was made clear by the course of speech. In these same words, the Apostle goes further and indicates how this great power reached us when our guilt blocked its access to us. “And we who are dead have sinned...” speaks of spiritual death. Sin, having entered into us, kills our spirit. The soul remains life-giving, but everything is pleasing to sin; and the thoughts of the mind, and the feelings of the heart, and the enterprises of the will, and the body moves nimbly when it hurries to satisfy its lusts. But activity according to God is forgotten, there is no sympathy or desire for it, and neither hand nor foot in the body wants to move along it. – God delivered us from such deadness through Christ... “make us alive through Christ.” In this revival of us through the Lord Jesus Christ, we must distinguish two moments: the first is when humanity is revived in the person of the God-man, and the second is when every believer becomes a participant in this revival. In the person of the Savior, humanity is revealed as newly revived, in all the power of this word, in His resurrection and ascension. In Him was laid the foundation for revival and for all who were then to cleave in faith and love to the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him, all were potentially quickened and then personally quickened, quickened and having to be quickened until the end of the age, so that these latter are nothing other than the fulfillment of the first; that is the seed, and these are the tree that has grown or is growing from it, and the tree that overshadows the entire universe with its branches. This personal revival of each person - by faith and rejection of all ungodly and vicious life - is accomplished in baptism. In this grace-filled sacrament a person dies to a sinful life and comes to life, receives zeal and strength, for spiritual life, becomes a participant in the revival of Christ, and continues to walk in newness of life (see Rom. 6). What kind of revival does the Apostle have here, of course? - since he says: “come to life,” then, rightly, he meant quickening in the face of Christ the Lord; But since he says: “Give us alive who are dead,” pointing to himself and the Ephesians, actual persons who have already participated in the revival of Christ, there is no doubt that he was pointing to real revival, the foundation of which is laid in the revival of Christ, the latter confirming the first. The Apostle is not writing a theory, but depicting the economy of salvation, perfect in deed and demonstrating its power in deed. Therefore, in the word: “come alive,” one cannot distinguish whether this is understood only in the person of Christ the Lord or in those who believe in Him. Both, for both had already taken place and were in action, and although they could be distinguished mentally, they merged in action: the revival of the believers was Christ's revival - in application. After “revive,” in order, it should be “resurrect and plant,” as a further movement of the manifestation of God’s power in the economy of our salvation. But the Apostle interrupts his speech and draws the attention of the Ephesians to the contemplation of God’s immeasurable grace towards them. He seems to say to them in between: note, you have been saved by grace. The purpose of the first part of the epistle is to introduce the Ephesians, and with them all the pagans, into the knowledge of the great mercy of God shown to them by the fact that they too are accepted into the communion of good things in the person of the Savior for us, along with the Jews, who, by the right of the ancient election of their people, enter into this communion as an inheritance. Having finished his speech about the power of God in the dispensation of salvation, he immediately reminds them of this (v. 11 ff.). “By grace you have been saved.” Two verses later he repeats the same thing again, and after another two he expresses himself more forcefully: “Yes, you remember...” It was so desirable for him to plant this truth in their minds! - And we can believe that with this goal he himself was in motion from contemplating the greatness of God’s grace and said this out of an uncontrollable feeling of amazement: “by grace is the nature of salvation,” - “by grace is the nature of salvation,” - but remember what you were and what you have become now. – Let us remind ourselves in passing that this speech is also addressed to us (Russians), for we too are from the pagans. Blessed Theophylact writes: “The Apostle inserted these words in the middle of his speech out of deep amazement, struck by the ineffability of the gift of God.” The meaning of the words is obvious. You, says the Apostle, did not imagine anything that could attract the favor of God to yourself. He Himself, moved by His love, looked favorably on you and led you into the fence of salvation. Judging because you were dead in sin, you should have been thrown further from His presence, as dead corpses are thrown away. “It is by grace, and not for your labors and efforts, that you were saved” (Ecumenius). “As for deeds, you were worthy of any punishment. Grace saved” (Theophylact). But by saying: you, the Apostle does not exclude the Jews from the same law of salvation by grace. He only tries to impress this truth especially on the Ephesians, and he considers everyone to be saved by grace: both Jews and pagans. Theodoret does not distinguish the person, but generally understands this place, saying: “We were not called to salvation for our valiant life, but because of the love of Him who saved us.” Eph. 2:6. And rise with Him, and make us sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. In “co-revival” it was possible not to distinguish between the revival of Christ from the revival of believers through Him, for the sake of their unification in reality and in power, but in “resurrection and planting” it is impossible not to distinguish this. In the person of Christ the Savior we have been resurrected and seated in heavenly places, but in fact this has not yet been accomplished, but will be accomplished in due time. But it will definitely happen; so since Christ has risen, consider that we have also risen, and since He is seated in the heavenly places, then consider that we have already been seated. “Because He has risen, and we have risen through hope; since He is co-seated with the Father, and we share in this honor; because our head will sit together, our firstfruits will reign together. He clothed himself with our nature” (Theodoret). First the Apostle showed that God showed the majesty of power in that He raised Christ and seated Him at His right hand (Eph. 1:20). Now this manifestation of the power of God strengthens, showing that in Christ Jesus we have all been raised up and made to sit in heavenly places. Whoever lifted a heavy piece of magnet would show his strength; but if he had at the same time lifted all the pieces of iron adhering to him, he would have shown even greater strength. So it is here. Great power was revealed in the resurrection and seating at the right hand of Christ the Lord; but even greater power in this is revealed by the fact that together with Christ and in Christ, all those who have clung and have clung to Christ by faith have been resurrected and seated in heavenly places. “Rise up and plant.” These words also show the closest union of believers with Christ, as members with a head, and especially the purpose of humanity glorified in Christ. Everything that was accomplished in Him was accomplished not for Him, but for the human race. Why, when He rose for the sake of man, we can say that our race was resurrected in Him, and when He sat down at the right hand of the Father, we can say that our race was planted in Him heavenly. Christ is the opportunity, the source, the power. What is with the believers - that is, the realization of this opportunity, the drinking from this source, the filling of this power - the saved humanity - the Church - is the development or revelation of Christ - the fulfillment of Him. The Apostle does not say that God has to resurrect us through Christ and seat us in heavenly places, but that He has already raised us up and seated us. The Apostle sees everything that in due time will happen to the redeemed human race as already accomplished in Christ at one time. Christ, as the founder of redeemed humanity, is the prototype, fulfilled in the lives of the saints and destined to be fulfilled until the end of the world. The grace-filled life of those who are being saved is the comprehensive application of everything that is in Christ Jesus, as the fullness of everything. What was accomplished in Him was accomplished for the sake of all, and is accomplished by deed in all who follow Him by faith. In the first Adam we all sinned and died; Adam's sin and death, in time, only developed and were applied through the sins and deaths of his descendants. In the same way, in the second Adam we are resurrected and seated in heaven. In believers then only the application finds what is united in Christ. The resurrection and ascension of Him as the head, in us, His members, reveals its effect. This begins here spiritually, in the rebirth or co-revival of Christ, and will end at the end of the ages with the general Resurrection and glorification, according to judgment, of all who are found worthy of it. What a Christian will receive in strength and perfection during the restoration of all kinds, he already possesses even now, although in the first fruits, as if in a seed, or in foundations. He lives - by virtue of communion with the risen and glorified Lord - His life while still on earth, and, although under the cross, still here he anticipates the bliss of future glorification; From now on he is a citizen of the heavenly kingdom. It's recorded there. And faith gives him a solid foundation of hope when it inspires him: Christ, my head, has risen, and I, too, am His member, will rise again. Christ, my head, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father in glory; I too will ascend there, partake of the glory of my head, and rest with Him and in Him. For His word is not false, saying: “Where I am, there also will My servant be” (John 12:26). Saint Chrysostom says in conclusion: “Do you see the overwhelming “greatness of His power in us believers”? He gave life to those who were dead, who by nature were children of wrath. Do you see the “hope of the calling”? “Rise up with Him and make us sit down” (God). Do you see the glory of His heritage? - Yes, you will say that He resurrected us, this is clear, but how does the Apostle prove that He “seated us in heaven in Christ Jesus”? - The same thing that proves that He resurrected us. No one would ever have rebelled if the head had not been resurrected, and when our head was resurrected, we were also resurrected. In exactly the same way He made us sit down. When the head sits, the body sits together: that is why the Apostle added: “in Christ Jesus.” How did you plant it? “If we endure with Him,” says the Apostle, “we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). If we died together, we will come to life together. “Truly, one needs the gift of the Spirit and revelation to understand the depth of these mysteries!” Eph. 2:7. May He show in the times of the future the exceeding riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. As before, the Apostle set the goal of the entire economy of salvation or the entire eternal plan of God for this to be “the praise of the glory of grace” (Eph. 1:6); so in the implementation of this plan he sees no other goal than the manifestation of the “wealth of grace.” “The centuries to come” are the same as the future age, after the second coming of Christ, - the time of the ripened Kingdom of Christ. And now this wealth of grace is visible to those who have eyes to see, but not everyone sees it, not only among the unbelievers, but also among the believers. And then this ineffable wealth will openly appear before the eyes of everyone, in all its greatness and splendor. “It was not revealed that we shall be” (1 John 3:2), and We cannot comprehend the full breadth of God’s goodness towards us in Christ Jesus. Only everyone, including the Apostles, and not just other believers, see it. “Riches of grace” means the treasury of Divine gifts to us, and “be good to us in Christ Jesus” - indicates the way of opening this treasure for us. About Christ Jesus the Heavenly Father said: This is My beloved Son, in whom all My good pleasure rests. This favor through the Lord Jesus extends to all who believe in Him. He who rests favor on Christ Jesus rests it on those who cling to Him. This favor is the goodness shown to us in Christ Jesus, as a result of which all the riches of grace are poured out on us. She is the key to God's treasury. Is it not enough that what is already happening now? – Forgiveness of sins, the grace of the Holy Spirit, overcoming passions, advancement in virtues, sanctification, sonship, the shining of extraordinary gifts – is this not enough? But all this is now manifested in meager vessels, piecemeal and under the cover of external disturbances in the surrounding area. Then not only this will appear in all glory, but also many other things, which we cannot even imagine, and will appear in the entire body of believers. In this century, a building is being built invisibly - an amazing beauty, covered, however, with protective coverings. When all this, which prevents us from seeing the beauty of the building, is accepted in the coming century, the beauty of the building will amaze both human and angelic minds, which will then see all the wealth of grace dependent on the construction of such a building. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The greatness of the hoped-for blessings is now completely unknown to the unfaithful, but the faithful also see, “like a mirror in fortune-telling” (1 Cor. 13:12). Because “they walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7); but then they will see face to face. Then the faithful and the unfaithful will see from us the venerable nature and the co-reigning saints received for all creation. “If we die with Him,” says the Apostle, “we will also live with Him; if we suffer, we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:11, 12). Saint Chrysostom sees this manifestation of the wealth of grace in the planting of believers with Christ, as the flow of speech demands. He says: “Since before he spoke about Christ, and in everything that was said there was nothing directly related to us (what, you say, in fact, do we benefit from the fact that Christ has risen?); then, having previously shown that this should also apply to us - because the Savior is united with us - now He speaks about what actually applies to us. “And raise us up, dead through sins, and bring us to rest.” So, believe that He has seated us with Him, being convinced of this truth by what was said before, that is, by what was said about the head, and by the fact that He wants to show His goodness to us. How, in fact, will He reveal it if this is not the case, that is, if He did not sit us down with Him? - “He will appear in the times to come.” What will it reveal? - That the blessings prepared by Him are both great and completely worthy of faith. Now these benefits seem unrealistic to the unbelievers, then everyone will recognize them. If you want to know how He made us sit down, listen to what Christ Himself says to the disciples: “You will sit down... on the double throne, judging the foolish tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). And in another place: “to sit on My right hand, and on My left hand... is not given, but for Him it was prepared from the Father” (Matthew 20:23). So it's already prepared. And the Apostle said well: “I will show mercy to us in Christ Jesus.” To sit at the right hand is an honor, the highest of all honors, beyond which there is no other honor. By saying this, that is, by showing kindness to us, the Apostle shows that we too will sit down. To sit with Christ is truly indescribable riches, this truly abounding majesty of His power! If you had thousands of souls, would you really not lay them down just to receive such an honor? If you had to go into the fire, shouldn't you be completely prepared for this test? Christ Himself says: “I will, that where I am, they also may be with me” (John 17:24). For such an honor, if you had to be cut every day, you would have to endure this with joy. Think about where He will sit? – “Above all principality and power” (Eph. 1:21). Think about who you will sit with? - With Him. But who are you? - Dead, a child of anger - by nature. What did you do wrong? - Nothing. Now is truly the time to exclaim: “Oh, the depth of the wealth and wisdom and mind of God!” (Rom. 11:33). Eph. 2:8. You are saved by grace by nature through faith: and this is not from you, it is the gift of God. In verses 8-10, Saint Paul proves, or explains, why through the glorification of those who believe in the Lord Jesus, nothing else will be revealed, but only the riches of grace. Because it is grace alone that elevates a person to such a state that makes a person suitable for such a high honor as being seated with Christ. He calls this state here salvation and says: therefore, in our salvation, the wealth of grace will appear, because you are saved, put in a position to use this gift - grace. Following this, he explains that salvation is definitely achieved by grace. For salvation, faith and a holy, virtuous life are needed. But faith is also from God (v. 8), and by Him we are created for good works through rebirth and grace (v. 10). Faith and virtue make Christians saved, pure, holy, pleasing to God, and thereby fit to be united with Christ. Since they are created in a Christian by grace, it is obvious that through this planting one wealth of God’s grace will appear. “Salvation comes by grace,” you Ephesians say. All are saved by grace, no matter who is saved; but the Apostle turns to the Ephesians because he now had in mind to impress this truth more strongly on them. His general reasoning comes from “we”; and since the Ephesians need something more to focus on, he speaks exclusively as if to them. He had already spoken these same words above (v. 5), but there they burst out as if by accident from his heart, like an appeal, with the goal, perhaps, of arousing feelings of thanksgiving. Here there is a calm speech, in the form of, perhaps, moral edification and a lesson, “let no one boast.” By salvation we can understand both the economy of salvation and each person’s personal salvation. The economy of salvation, that is, God's eternal counsel about it and its fulfillment - the fact that the Son of God came to earth, became incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, was resurrected, ascended into heaven and sat at the right hand of God the Father, sent down the Holy Spirit and established the Church on earth - the receptacle of all saving means concentrated in the Word of God and the sacraments - all this is an independent work of God's grace. The man had no means or motivation for this on his part. Each person’s personal salvation begins with the preaching of the Gospel. The preachers were sent by God and were guided by God where to go and what to say. All this is also a matter of grace. When a sermon is preached, to listen or not to listen, listening - to listen or not to listen, listening - to agree and want to believe, or to disagree and not want, is a matter of freedom. But further, as soon as agreement is expressed in the heart and the desire for salvation by faith is formed, faith itself is impressed and transformed into a living, unshakable faith again by the influence of God’s grace on the heart. After this, grace is infused into the heart through the sacraments and becomes the imprecise and guiding principle of life by faith. Thus, the dispensation of salvation is all accomplished by the grace of God; Each person’s personal salvation is also all from grace; from a person there is only consent to faith and the desire to be saved in this way. And this is by the nature of a free creature. Everything else is accomplished by grace, for consent and desire, in themselves, will lead to nothing if all-effective grace does not come. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The grace of God has vouchsafed us these blessings, and we have brought only faith; but Divine grace is also instrumental in that. For we did not believe of our own accord, but, being called, we approached; “And the Lord did not demand purity of life from those who came (as a condition for their acceptance), but, having accepted faith alone, He granted remission of sins.” Saint Chrysostom, closer to moral correction, expresses the same truth, saying: “So that the greatness of good deeds does not overwhelm you, see how he humbles you, saying: “by grace you are saved by nature.” But, in order not to destroy your participation, he also adds what is required of us: “through faith.” Then again, as it were, he destroys this free participation of ours when he says: “and this is not from you.” And faith, he teaches, is not from you. If Jesus Christ had not come, if He had not called us, how could we believe? “How can they believe,” it is said, “if they do not hear” (Rom. 10:14)? Thus, faith, according to the teaching of the Apostle, is not our property, but the gift of God. Faith is not sufficient for salvation, but in order not to save us without any of our participation, God requires it from us. He said that faith saves, but not by itself, but through God: God wills, and faith saves.” The last thought of Saint Chrysostom is expressed more clearly by Ecumenius and Theophylact, saying that faith in itself does not have any special power, but has it because God was pleased to combine this power with it. It pleases God that we be saved by faith—faith saves. God's gift is that we are saved through faith. Ecumenius writes: “Therefore this is the gift of God, because faith in itself would not be able to save if God did not want to save through faith. So, the fact that we believe is a gift of God, and the fact that we are saved through faith is also a gift of God.” Blessed Theophylact, having said that faith is the gift of God, because if the Lord had not come and called, we would not have believed, then adds: “Or else: he does not call faith the gift of God, but that to be saved by faith, that is the gift of God. For even though faith is ours, how could it alone save, if God did not deign to accept us for its sake, so that we would not be completely indifferent to the matter of our salvation, but would appear as bringing something of ourselves.” Eph. 2:9. Not from works, but no one will boast. Confirms that God was pleased to arrange this image of salvation through faith and our calling to faith in salvation according to His sole goodness, and not for any of our deeds. What works brought the Son of God down to earth? - It was not works, but our idleness that brought Him down. What actions did the Ephesians demonstrate that they were called to faith? God sent the Apostle, equipping him with the gifts of grace. By the power of the gracious word and miracles, he converted them to faith and brought them into the enclosure of those being saved, with all the advantages assigned to them here and ready for them in the future. The Ephesians offered nothing of their own for such mercy, except obedience to faith, completed, however, by grace. And not only the Ephesians, but also not every other people, and not every private person is introduced into the rank of those being saved, not for any deeds, but by the grace of God alone. What have we (Russians) done to deserve that we belong to the saving Church of God? Each of us is born in the fence of faith, and immediately upon birth becomes a member of the body of the Church. Behold the great grace of God! What kind of cases do we represent?! - None. Work is required after this. When someone is called and has received grace, then all that remains for him is to do. So the arrangement of salvation and the calling to it is another matter, and life according to calling and grace is another matter. In the first, no works are involved, but in the second, only works are required: faith has already done its job, now do it, and you will be holy and blameless, for this is the essence of Christianity. The words of the Apostle: “not by works, lest anyone should boast” refer to the first point, and the following words, that “we were created for good works, that we might walk in them” (Eph. 2:10) - to the second. Saint Damascus writes: “And in works, salvation does not come from them; believers are given a share in salvation without them.” Ecumenius: “Not because (God arranged for us to be saved by faith) because he did not want us to be saved by works, but because no one could be saved by works, but only by faith.” “So, you ask,” cries Saint Chrysostom, “the Apostle himself forbade gaining justification by works? - No way! He only says that works will not justify anyone, and he says this in order to show the grace and love of God. God does not reject those who have works from Himself, but He saves those who would perish even with works by grace, so that after this absolutely no one has the right to boast.” Eph. 2:10. For we are a workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has first prepared, that we may walk in them. I just said: “not from works” - how does he say here: “created for works”? – Salvation has been arranged for us and we are called to receive it not for any works, but by grace alone. But we are called not to do nothing on our part, but to work out our salvation, being rich in good deeds ordained by God for us, or excelling in every virtue; although this is not by their own strength, but by the power of grace, by which they were recreated for such deeds, and received the opportunity, with its help, to accomplish them and improve through them. That is why the Apostle combines this position with the previous one through “for” - for, - showing in this the basis why he considers the glorification of believers to be a manifestation of the wealth of grace. For both faith and good works, two conditions for acceptance into the Kingdom of glory, are both of grace. Blessed Theodoret writes: “The Apostle said here: created, meaning rebirth, that is, God called us by ineffable goodness, we obeyed and, having believed, received salvation. But just as before baptism He did not demand active virtue from us, so after baptism He commands us to take care of it. For this is what the words mean: “Let us walk in good works.” “For we are creation.” Just as in the beginning God breathed His breath into the body formed from dust, and man became man, so now in those who have grounded us with passions and lusts - who have become non-humans, by calling to faith, He breathes in the Spirit of grace, and we become human again. Without spirit, a person is not a person. But after the fall, the spirit is clogged with passions and lusts and all kinds of sins. The Spirit of grace descends, revives the spirit of man, and the man is again a man, only with a different name, a Christian man, as if anointed with the Spirit of grace. “Create in Christ Jesus,” that is, by faith in Christ Jesus, according to the grace-filled economy of salvation established by the Lord Jesus Christ. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). This is accomplished in baptism, in the font of which old age is buried, and instead of it, renewal of life is accepted in order to walk brightly in it, as the risen Lord is bright (Rom. 6). He who is baptized in Christ puts on Christ, and just as, according to the word of the Lord, without Him no one can do anything truly good, so having put on Him, he cannot help but do good. “For good deeds.” Just as a leaf, flower and fruit are evidence of the life of a tree, so doing good is evidence of revival in Christ. Holiness and every virtue are the characteristics of the newly born, or newly created, the spirit of their life. A Christian bears an obligation to this in his conscience and is jealous to be faithful to it. Grace descends through the sacraments, but their companion in the soul is readiness for all good, expressed in baptism by renunciation of Satan and his works and union with Christ, and in repentance - a vow not to sin again. The grace that descended in the sacrament makes this readiness strong and fruitful. Why is he faithful to his calling and vow and rich in good deeds? The works of asceticism are inextricably linked with this, according to the law that he who is obliged to the goal is also obliged to the necessary means. The blessed one consciously maintains holiness as a norm of life. But grace, having come, dwells in the heart and drives out sin from there; it does not, however, suddenly drive it out of man’s entire nature. He remains here as a tempter, acting from outside, in relation to the heart. He is expelled by a struggle with him, freely, although with the help and under the guidance of grace. Where there is struggle, there are also feats of all kinds - self-straining, in the form of constraining the occurrence of sin as temptations, and strengthening goodness as an antidote to it. That is why “those who are like Christ are flesh crucified with passions and lusts” (Gal. 5:24). Asceticism is inseparable from Christianity. Its laws will permeate the entire charter of the Church. All this is because Christians were created to do only good things. “What God has prepared beforehand.” How are things going? – He ordained them for us, believers, according to the idea of ​​a new life, and established ways to receive strength to create them, with which he invests everyone who approaches the Lord with faith and is sanctified by the holy sacraments. This preparation is from God, not from us. “Yes, we wear them.” Grace, or rebirth, imposes an obligation to constancy in goodness. Then the new birth, then the infusion of grace to walk in good works - and only in good works. But are we walking? Grace is in us, and without grace we cannot do anything good, but we still walk in goodness. The tool is given, but we must use it ourselves. They are given arrows and a bow, but they themselves will not shoot at the enemy. Take it, adjust it as it should, and shoot. Just as in faith, consent to faith and the desire to believe are required in order for grace to imprint faith in the living heart, so in doing good, the intention of good is required (which is also instilled by grace), consent to do it and the desire to do it with the appropriate personal effort and cry for help, so that grace, having arrived in time, will help to accomplish the planned and decided good in deed, to do it impeccably, overcoming all obstacles from the outside and inside. This is the law both for each private matter and for the whole of life. So, for a Christian to be rich in good deeds is an essential matter. There are systems of belief in which good deeds are placed in the shadows, and asceticism is completely excluded - all out of fear that they might not contribute some merit to the cause of salvation. But it’s as if you can’t exert all your effort on both without a thought of merit, but with a consciousness of obligation. How much this teaching weakens moral strength and virtue, and leads from internal purity to external goodness, those who lived among such people know experimentally. Sedate behavior there replaces moral kindness; All internal impurity, in their opinion, is covered by faith. What to do, they say? I see another law... and they refuse any opposition to it. It is heard that their first horse guide (Luther) often spoke his wise words: sin more, but believe more, and do not doubt that you will be saved. However, he did not explain how it is possible to have faith while working through the passions, when the beginning of faith demands: let us deny ourselves and take up the cross. Let us listen to what Saint Chrysostom says in this regard.” “So that having heard that our salvation is accomplished not by works, but by faith, you do not remain careless, look at what the Apostle says further: “For we are a workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works...” Note, this is preached by the same Apostle (that is, who previously only spoke about salvation through faith). Here he hints at re-creation. Indeed, our salvation is a second creation: through redemption we are precisely brought from non-existence to being. In the state in which we were before, that is, in the state of the old man, we were dead; now they have become what they were not before. This means that the work of our rebirth is truly a creation, and, moreover, a creation that is much superior to the first. By this creation we are called to life, and by this we are created capable of a good life. - “Let us walk in good deeds, which we have already prepared beforehand,” that is, constant virtue is required of us, continuing continuously until the last hour of life. If we, having taken a journey to the royal capital and completed most of it, suddenly became lazy and stopped without finishing the journey, what benefit would this journey bring us?! In the same way, what benefit will the hope of the calling bring to us, who participate in this hope, if we do not walk worthy of Him who called? We, called to good deeds, must remain in them until we complete all good deeds. Without a doubt, we are not called to do one good deed, but to always be virtuous. Just as we must use all five senses properly, so we must also perform all the virtues. If someone is chaste but not merciful, or merciful but covetous, or even though he does not take what belongs to others, he does not give away his own, for such a person everything is in vain. One virtue alone does not give us the right to boldly present ourselves to the throne of Christ; For this, many, varied virtues are needed, virtues of every kind, or rather, all virtues: listen to what Christ said to His disciples: “As he walked... teach all tongues... to observe them often, according to all the commandments given to you” (Matthew 28:19, 20). And in another place: “If anyone destroys these little commandments... he will be called in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19). This means we need to keep all the commandments.” IV. For the Ephesians and in their person for all the Gentile believers, it is also especially special in that it made them, who were far away, close (Eph. 2:11-22) Such is the greatness of the economy of salvation in general for everyone; for the Ephesians, and in their person and for all the pagan believers, it was also manifested in this additional feature that they, having sometimes been “far away,” by virtue of it became “near” (Eph. 2:13). To more fully impress this on their souls, the Apostle depicts: a) how far they were - v. 11–12; b) how they became close - v. 13–18, and c) how close they became - art. 19–22. d) How far away were the pagans? Art. 11–12. The holy Apostle had already said before that they were dead in sins and made alive by Christ, which constitutes the inner strength of life in Christ. Now depicts the external order of relationships in the spiritual, grace-filled economy of salvation. According to the hidden plans of Divine providence for our salvation, one people was chosen, to whom the promise of Christ the Savior was entrusted, and accordingly, its entire life was organized - church, civil, and family - by which it was isolated from all other nations. The seal of election was circumcision. Those who were circumcised were thus among God’s own, and all others were, as it were, strangers. They knew the One True God, were in His favor, undoubtedly knew that Christ the Savior would appear among them, and were blessed with comforting promises. The pagans had nothing of the kind; they were without God, without Christ, without promises. This is how bitter your condition was, says the Apostle to the Ephesians. Eph. 2:11, 12. Remember also that you, who are sometimes pagans in the flesh, have spoken of uncircumcision from the recommended circumcision in the flesh, made with hands, as if you were without Christ at the time, alienated from the life of Israel and alien from the covenant of promise, having no hope and having no god in the world. “Remember the same.” “Again the Apostle reminds the Ephesians of the former in order to show the greatness of God’s good deeds” (Theodoret). It reminds us because “when we move from great poverty to the opposite state or are awarded some even greater honor, then, enjoying the glory of our new position, we usually all remember reluctantly” (St. Chrysostom). Saint Paul was afraid that the pagans, due to their number in the Church and their external advantages, would begin to treat the Jews with contempt, and he commands them to remember that they were in God’s order in the dispensation of the salvation of all, so that, remembering this, they would not tower over the Jews and would not be alienated from them. Turning to the Jews where necessary, he reminds them that they certainly had advantages, but for a time: now all that is no longer important. He tried in every possible way to smooth out the unevenness of Jews and pagans, so that everyone would be filled with the same brotherly spirit, through the unity of all in Christ. “As you are sometimes like the Gentiles...” The meaning of the other words of verse 11 is simple: you are uncircumcised if you are put in relation to the circumcised Jews. Why did the holy Apostle choose to use such a paraphrase? – Because circumcision served as a door to participation in the promises of the people of God. Meaning to indicate what the pagans were deprived of when they were alienated from the Jews, he points to the original beginning of the division between them - circumcision and uncircumcision. But with the words: “verbal uncircumcision from recomago circumcision,” he simultaneously makes it clear that this difference did not exist, and especially now is no longer anything significant. This is an external sign. The Jews shunned the pagans, as if they were uncircumcised, considering them therefore unclean and God-rejected; For this reason, the pagans treated the Jews unfavorably and, although they sometimes agreed to believe in the God of Israel, they could not put up with circumcision. The Apostle now instills in them (meaning, perhaps, to humble the Jews as well): the uncircumcision spoken of from the recommended circumcision is not so important if you look at it outwardly, but what is important is what was connected with it; very sensitive deprivations were associated with it. “You are sometimes pagans in the flesh...” Blessed Theodoret “in the flesh” refers to “verb” as “uncircumcision” in the flesh, and after “pagans” he puts a punctuation mark. The thought is that “circumcision belongs to the flesh, and uncircumcision also belongs to the flesh.” "Glagolemia uncircumcision". “Circumcision and uncircumcision are a carnal idiom (distinguishing feature). The carnal is not essential; that’s why he said: “glagolemy” (Saint Damascus). “From the recommendation of circumcision”: “The honor was only in words and the advantage from circumcision applied only to the flesh, because neither uncircumcision nor circumcision mean anything (any more)” (St. Chrysostom). "In the flesh of one made with hands". Circumcision was done by someone else's hands and did not go further than the flesh. His heart remained uncircumcised even with him. Therefore, looking from the outside, this did not add or subtract anything spiritually. “The Apostle knew true circumcision, in which unclean desires that enter the heart are circumcised. But if this is true circumcision, then true uncircumcision will be uncleanness of the heart” (Saint Damascus). “As if there were no time without Christ.” “At the time” - before the coming of Christ, and closer - until the acceptance of the faith of Christ. For those who do not believe in Christ still suffer the same spiritual deprivations. It is these deprivations that Saint Paul lists here in order to more clearly imagine what benefits they have now been granted. Outwardly, it is not great that they did not have circumcision, did not mingle with the people of God and did not know the order of their life, but what was connected with this is terrible. “Do not think,” he says, that there is any difference (importance) in the fact that you have not received circumcision and are uncircumcised; This is not scary, but this: to be without Christ, to be alienated from the life of Israel (and the first does not apply to life), to be outside the covenant of promise, to have no hope and to be godless in the world, which is exactly what the pagans were - this is scary. Previously, the Apostle spoke about heavenly things (how, having been dead, they were made alive by Christ); now he speaks about earthly ones, since the Jews highly valued them” (St. Chrysostom). But the Jews were also without Christ before? - Without Christ, only because He has not yet come; but He was so undoubtedly promised to them, and they so undoubtedly looked forward to Him, that it was as if they already had Him by deed. The whole structure of the legal faith was permeated by Christ. He was the body, but the law was a shadow (Col. 2:17). The Jews therefore had the hidden Christ. This hiddenness was clarified more and more by the prophets, so that faith in the coming Christ the Lord constituted the spirit of piety of the Jewish people. Christ was everything to them: they only expected the best from Him. The pagans did not have this advantage. They only realized that everything was bad with them; but how and who would correct it, they did not know, although others, through some kind of insight, guessed about it. Therefore, Christ appeared among the Jews, of whom was the first Church and the Gospel was preached by them. This is the strength, advantage and significance of the Jews for all mankind. "The alienation of the life of Israel". Life - πολιτεια - orders of life established by God Himself. Israel was given commandments that showed how to please God and how to purify themselves in case of breaking the commandments and angering God. Everything was sealed by the obvious will of God, so that those who lived like this could not help but be sure that they were God’s and were under His protection and favor. The order of life of Israel was significant because it showed that Israel is the kingdom of God, in which God is king. And He tangibly reigned in them, showed wondrous signs and preserved this people for the great goal of saving the human race in Christ Jesus. The pagans were alienated - απηλλοτριωμενοι - from this life. This expression hints that initially they too were destined to belong to it. And the pagans belonged to the same tree of humanity - as it was organized by God, after the fall and after the flood - they accepted the initial promises, but then broke off. They, like a foolish son, fled from their father’s house with a small inheritance seized, and God left them to walk in self-willed ways. Alienated - alienated themselves. Who's to blame? The Apostle makes it clear: now God forgives you for your self-will and returns you to Himself. "Stay Away from the Covenant of Promise". – The Mother of God in her song magnifies God for finally remembering “mercy, like a word to the father – Abraham and his seed” (Luke 1:54, 55). – These graces were promises, secured by special covenants. There were covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, with all the people at Sinai, with the prophet David. They are all covenants of promise. God demanded loyalty from the people, and He Himself promised them constant protection, protection and preservation. But the essence of the promise was the promise of the coming of the Messiah, or His appearance among them. For His sake, the promise of protection and protection was given, and it was actually revealed, because otherwise the Messiah would not have appeared among them. That this is exactly the case is evident from the fact that as soon as the Lord came and the beginning of the formation of the new Israel began, the ancient one was scattered: its protection was stopped, as no longer necessary, and it ceased to be a special people, but wanders around the world, as a witness to the truth, by its very opposition to the truth. The pagans were alienated from life, taking with them the first promises and commandments of Noah, and they were “strangers” from the promises. Here they no longer had any part, for they were given apart from them, although at the end it was hinted about them that they too would come to the mountain of God and the house of God on the top of the mountains and would beg that they too be taught the law of the living God. But the rumor did not reach them; this was said for the spiritual revival of the same Israel, to whom the main promise was given. “He has no hope.” since they did not participate in the promises, they themselves could not nourish the hope that was aroused by the promises. This is not what we are talking about. The Apostle does not mean the hope that the Israelites had as a result of the promise of the Messiah coming in the name of the Lord, but the general hope with which someone feels secure in the sense of their relationship to God, from Whom is all. This word even in Greek is without a member, to indicate that what is meant here is not any special hope, but every kind. A life without hope is a joyless life. The pagans were in a hopeless situation. The feeling let them know this through the tightness of their hearts that tormented the entire pagan world. In some, this vague tension reached certainty. For example, someone tried to achieve knowledge of the truth, but he would be beaten and beaten and give up, because she did not show her face, and no road to her was visible under her feet. Some people set out to correct their character, but they get beaten and beaten and give up, because everything falls out of their hands, and there is no success and is not expected. Same with everything else. Such people could definitely know that they were in some kind of hopeless situation, while others carried it in an indefinite feeling, expressed by a general tightness. They definitely did not know God, they did not know His laws of providence, they did not know how to please Him and cleanse themselves from sins before Him. And here death is a formidable event for those who vaguely imagined whether they would live after death and, if so, how they would be there. There is uncertainty and obscurity everywhere: the pagans look like someone mired in a quagmire, ready to swallow him up. But you can’t live without hope. He who loses all hope usually takes his own life. How did the pagans stay alive? “We created hopes for ourselves, albeit illusory and deceptive. And doesn’t the Apostle mean that the pagans did not have true hope, hoping to receive true and lasting good? - This is probable, because he calls them godless because they did not know the true God, but did not serve the existing gods by nature. "And godlessness in the world". “Although the pagans worshiped the gods, they were, however, godless, because the idols to which they bowed meant nothing” (St. Chrysostom). - Man cannot exist without God. Having lost the knowledge of the true God, the pagans invented their own and, honoring them, calmed down. But, in essence, they served the dream, not God. They did not know the true living God and were out of communication with Him. No matter how many other gods you invent, they are all empty. By this only the glory of the incorruptible God was changed, not innocently and not unrequitedly. - “Godless” - are not condemned to atheism, but have put themselves in such a state. For the Apostle, hopelessness is closely connected with atheism. The latter is the source of the former. In a world of evil, there is an urgent need for strong - firmly standing, established on unshakable foundations - trust in the living, loving and strong God. Without communication with such, the true God, where will hope find support? – Those who are strangers to the true God, therefore, naturally, plunge into hopelessness. By adding the word “in the world,” did the Apostle not have in mind to say: in the world, which preaches loudly about the true God? “For His invisible being has been conceived by the creation of the world, His being is visible, and His everlasting power and Godhead” (Rom. 1:20). “There will, therefore, be a word of reproach here, which is not inappropriate in our time, for those who live in the world, see the world and even explore it, but do not want to know the true God. b) How did you become close? Art. 13–18 It would be expected that Saint Paul, having depicted what spiritual deprivations the pagans suffered in their estrangement from the Jews, would now say: now you too have been brought into the communion of these blessings, that is, united with the Jews and compared with them, you have become like the Jews. But that’s not what he’s saying; says that the wall that separated you from the Jews has been destroyed, you are merged with the Jews, but not in order to become Jews, but so that together with them you can be remade into a new humanity, for which the Jews were destined. The apostle here means to present the greatness of God's goodness to the pagans from their relation to the economy of salvation. He seems to be telling them: God, having arranged human salvation, chose for Himself one people, which he nourished with hopes and promises and protected with special protection, separating it from all nations by institutions that embraced its entire life; you were deprived of such a benefit, and this deprivation was very significant. But Jewish institutions were only temporary; the end has come for them, and the Jews are now being introduced into the possession of the highest spiritual blessings, of which the former served only as a prototype, being subject to new grace-filled institutions. All this is being done according to the plan of the economy of our salvation, ordained from time immemorial. If even now God kept you away from this economy, as He did before, then the extent of your deprivation would not be possible to describe. But God despised your guilty alienation from Him and, arranging the final paths to our salvation among the Jews and through the Jews, He called you to join them, so that you, together with the Jews, forgetting the ancient division, would flow along the same path, new and living, by which both of you in one spirit are brought to the Father. Now you too have become close. - To whom and to what? - To God, to the Lord Savior, to the only path to salvation in Him, to the Kingdom of Christ and to all the sweetest hopes in Him - close not to what we were previously far from and what has already passed, but to what is again and finally established for our salvation. Remember this, that you have been blessed so much, you have stepped through the ranks, transferred through the ranks, and not only are you not left behind, but you have also been given the opportunity to forestall those who were previously close to you. Eph. 2:13. Now in Christ Jesus you, who were sometimes far away, are near by the quick blood of Christ. “Now in Christ Jesus” - when the promised Christ came and arranged for us the salvation that was previously only hoped for, when the gracious Kingdom was established by Christ the Lord and is preached to everyone - now - in the New Testament economy of salvation. - “You, who were sometimes far away”, you, who were alienated from the previous temporary and preparatory economy through alienation from the Jews, and thus stood at a distance - “nearby”, are not alienated from the new economy, true and final, but were brought into participation in it, on an equal basis with the Jews, in whom and through whom it was prepared in the same way house building. How “nearly faster”? - “Blood of Christ”. A short but comprehensive answer. All subsequent speech (vv. 14-17) serves as an explanation for him - the most extensive and complete. Its essence can be expressed this way: the entire Old Testament institution was a shadow; the body is Christ’s. When the Lord came and sacrificed Himself by death on the cross, then everything that was only a reflection of this sacrifice ceased - lost its meaning and power. All the power has now passed into death on the cross. Thus, the blood of Christ, shed on the cross, stopped the Old Testament institution and itself took its place - the body instead of the shadow, the truth instead of its images. That which destroyed the old has itself become a new institution for salvation. But the Old Testament institutions were a wall dividing Jews and Gentiles. Consequently, the blood of Christ, having cut short the meaning of the Old Testament institutions, also destroyed the wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles. And just as it became a New Testament institution for salvation, it also became the center of unity for everyone entering this newly discovered path of salvation. The Jews throw off the old and put on the new with the blood of Christ, which has abolished all the old, and the pagans, directly anointed with the blood of Christ, put on everything new. Both in the blood of Christ find the center of mutual unity and together a way of communication in a grace-filled institution, through which, sincerely uniting with Christ, they approach God - both equally, without preferring one over the other. Eph. 2:14–16. For this is our peace, having created both as one, and having destroyed the mediastinum of the fence: having abolished the enmity with His flesh, having abolished the law of the commandments of the teachings, so that He might create both by Himself into one new man, creating peace, and reconcile both in the one body of God with the cross, killing the enmity on it. “For this is our peace,” peace between you, the pagans, and you, the Jews, who now make up the Church. Even in the Old Testament, the Savior is called the prince of peace (Isa. 9:6). The angels greeted His birth with peace on earth (Luke 2:14). Of course, in both cases, of course, there is comprehensive peace, for there is inner peace, in the conscience, peace with God, pacification of all movements of the soul. In the word of the Apostle in this place, although one can understand peace with God in conscience as a condition, his direct thought is about the unification of divided humanity. In a religious - most essential sense - it fell apart into two halves, sharply different, consisting of irreconcilability, and could not be united in the form in which both were formed, by the course of history, by God's will and permission. This “both” - Christ the Lord “created one” - one society, bound by a strong union, a living, heartfelt, spiritual union, in which all members are mutually sympathetic and compassionate. - How did He create this? - Having abolished what served as the cause of separation, and filled both with new common principles and forces of life according to God, which merged their souls into one. "Ravishing the mediastinum fence". The fence of the people of God was the law, according to which they served and pleased God, and by which they were justified before Him in their sins and drew closer to Him. But this same law served as a wall that fenced off the people of God from all other nations, so that neither one nor the other could mix in any way. The Lord Jesus Christ destroyed this mediastinum of the fence. How? - By His coming in the flesh and death on the cross. The law was a shadow of what was to come, but the body was Christ. When the body appeared, the shadow ceased. All Old Testament justifications are abolished by the sacrifice of the body of Christ. The Blood of Christ replaced everything that was before. Having abolished the law, the Lord destroyed the mediastinum - this reason for the unpeace of the two halves of the human race. The place is like this: the mediastinum of the fence is the law, - this “enmity”, or the cause of unpeace, the Lord destroyed “with His flesh” - the same as above with His blood. But having abolished or destroyed one, the Lord introduced another in its place: “having abolished the law of the commandments of the teachings,” replacing the external order of pleasing God with the mental, spiritual, accomplished in the mind and heart, at all times and in every place, fulfilled and must be fulfilled. The “Law of Commandments” read: look at the days, times and years, or: do not touch, taste below, touch below, and so on. – It consisted of the entire set of prescriptions that determined all the inputs and outputs of the life of Israel, both at home, in the church, and in society. But all this was external - it was fulfilled bodily through the material elements. This “law of commandments the Lord abolished by teaching” - εν δογμασι. He does not require spontaneous service, not external orderliness, but He laid down the law to present to God, like a sacrifice, a godly structure of inner life, composed of the way of thoughts, feelings and dispositions. This new law of life about Christ Jesus is all in one word: just believe and you will be saved. With this explanation: let your faith be promoted by love - love in which the law is fulfilled. This is δογμα - the essence of life in Christ Jesus. Faith is a mental matter, love is too. Any kind of external situation does not shake this verbal service. And behold, this is the worship of God in spirit and truth! And the pagans had their own external religious order. And they had to leave him, and they did, approaching the Lord with faith. Thus, everything external was abandoned by both Jews and pagans, and then both accepted the same structure of internal life. Inside, they were united by like-mindedness, like-feeling, like-mindedness: here a lasting peace was established between them. But this also resulted in new beginnings of life for both of them, merged together. Thus, the new spirit of life in Christ Jesus, penetrating both equally, created the world and from both created “one new man,” or a new humanity, whose founder and head is Christ the Lord. But this is still a lower kind of world. There is a higher one - peace with God, in which is the source of the first. The Apostle says: “and he will reconcile the Gods,” having said in advance about the reconciliation of both among themselves, not because this was the beginning of it, but because in the depiction of the pacifying action of redemption it goes from lower to higher. The final limit of reconciliation is reconciliation with God, beyond which there is nowhere to go. But in essence, this is where everything begins. Having made peace with God, believers are at peace within themselves, and through this peace everyone is reconciled, mutually. Peace with God is confirmed by the cross, the death of the Lord on the cross, by faith, by virtue of which the believer assimilates to himself the propitiation of God, accomplished by it for all. But what does it mean: “reconciles both in one body”? – If it were said here about the reconciliation between Jews and pagans, then in one body it would directly point to the body of the Church; but as they say about the reconciliation of “God,” these words do not suggest any other thought than: to reconcile in His one body, sacrificing it as a sacrifice of propitiation for everyone on the cross. In the same way, “having killed enmity” does not mean the enmity that was mentioned above in the words: “enmity with one’s flesh,” but the enmity that sin raised between people and God. This enmity is killed by the cross; and believers, “who were former enemies” (Rom. 5:10), are reconciled through him with God. This is the content of these verses! But since they represent the most important subject of our faith, in order to hold the attention of those who love to listen to the truths of faith on it longer, we will present here everything that was expressed by our holy fathers and teachers regarding them. “That is our world, creating both as one.” “He is our peace, He made it possible for those who believed among the Israelites and among you to form one body” (Theodoret). “What does “both are one” mean? - The Apostle by this shows not that God gave us and the Jews the same nobility, but that He elevated both us and them to a better state. However, God’s good deeds to us are even greater; those Jews were given promises, and they were closer to God than us; We were not given any promises, and we stood further away from God. That is why it is said: “The nations glorified God for His mercy” (Rom. 15:9). The Israelites received the promises, but found themselves unworthy of them; nothing was promised to us, we were strangers to the promise; We had nothing in common with the Jews, and He united us together; not, however, so that he would join us to them, but he would unite us and them together. Let's take an example: let one be a slave, the other an adopted child; both of them were supposed to serve Him (that is, God), but one was declared disinherited, the other ran away, and then both were made heirs and legitimate children. They received the same honor; the two became one, with the only difference being that one came from afar, the other from near, and that the closest one arrived first to the Father” (St. Chrysostom). "Ravishing the mediastinum fence". “He put an end to the law, which, like some kind of wall, separated you from each other, and having done this, he destroyed what separated you and them” (Theodoret). “The wall that was in the middle and established the separation between the law of works and paganism, he called a fence or tyn (Greek (φραγμος), and not a resistant and powerful wall. For neither paganism was anything solid, like a human invention, nor circumcision with the new moons, the distinctions of foods, sacrifices and Sabbaths, was not a strong institution and unchangeable, and it was given in order to cease when Christ comes. Although God gave all this, he gave it for a time; the gospel of faith is unchangeable and without continuity" (Ambrosiastes). “You have cast down its stronghold, and all those who pass by will embrace it” (Ps. 79:13). And again: “the law will help you” (Isa. 8:20). Moses told the sons of Israel his ways” (Ps. 103:6, 7) (Saint Chrysostom). “I enmity with my flesh.” “Before the incarnation there was great enmity between circumcision and uncircumcision; now we are reconciled, becoming one in faith. We are no longer characterized by circumcision and uncircumcision, but we have one distinctive sign - faith" (Theophylact). Saint Chrysostom and other Easterners understand here the enmity towards God that sin creates. Blessed Photius in Ecumenius understands two enmities - the one that was between Jews and pagans, and the one that both had towards God due to sinfulness. “Both one and the other,” he says, “Christ our God destroyed.” But here it is more straightforward to understand the first, although the second can also be understood as follows: the division of Jews and pagans was destroyed by the abolition of the law, and it was abolished by the fact that Christ reconciled us with God with His blood. “Having abolished the law of the commandments of the learned.” “Replaced legal regulations with dogmas. Circumcision, Saturday, Easter, Pentecost, and so as not to appear empty before the Lord, taught us to understand higher than what the sound of a word suggests, and, having departed from the killing letter, to follow the life-giving spirit” (Blessed Jerome). - “That is, the law that was given to the Jews - about keeping circumcision, the new moon, sacrifices, the Sabbath - was abolished, because it only served as a burden - and thereby introduced peace (between Jews and pagans). Why did the Apostle Peter say in Acts: “Why do you lay a yoke on the necks of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (Acts 15:10) (Ambrosiastes). “Oh, great love for humanity! He gave us the law so that we would keep it; then, when we did not preserve it and had to be punished for this, He abolished the law. This is as if someone, having trusted his child to a teacher and then noticing that the child does not obey the teacher, frees him from the teacher. God showed great love for mankind in this! – What does it mean: “having abolished the teaching”? – The Apostle posits a great difference between the commandment (εντολη) and the teaching (δογματα). Here he calls faith doctrine, because we are saved only by faith... This means that if you believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, you will be saved. And again: “The word is near, in your mouth and in your heart... let you not say... who will ascend into heaven... or who will go down into the abyss... or who will raise Christ from the dead” (Rom. 10:6-8). Instead of works, he introduced faith, so that the work of salvation would not be in vain; He himself accepted the punishment, but he demands from us faith in dogmas” (St. Chrysostom). “Let both of them create by themselves a single new man, creating the world.” “You see, the Gentile did not become a Jew, but both came to a new state. He did not abolish the law in order to transform one into the other, but in order to recreate both. And the Apostle uses the word well: “he will create”; He did not say: he will change it in order to show the special power of this action - and the fact that although this creation was accomplished in an invisible way, despite this it is no less than the first creation - and that with such obvious evidence it was no longer possible to remain unbelievers. “Yes, both,” he says, “he will create by Himself,” that is, through Himself. He did not send anyone else, but by Himself, having previously, as it were, melted both of them, that is, Greek and Jew, created one wondrous one, that is, a Christian, Himself becoming the first creation of this kind, a creation that is much higher than the first creation. “By Himself” can also mean that He was the first to present to us a model and example (of the new creation). At the same time, He Himself occupies the middle, with one hand He attracts the Jew, with the other the Greek, and, having mixed them and everything that alienated them from each other, destroying them, He transformed them from above. He transformed both the Jew, who was circumcised and under a curse, and the Greek, who was outside the law, “into one new man,” the highest of both, both Jew and Greek, creating peace both in relation to God and in relation to each other. If Jews remained Jews and Greeks remained Greeks, they would never have united with each other. Without leaving their own situation, how could each of them come to a better state? – A Jew only draws closer to a Greek when he becomes faithful. This is like when two people occupy two separate rooms below and above have one common beautiful and extensive peace: they cannot see each other until they rise up” (St. Chrysostom). He calls the new man the one who is renewed all the days and has an abode in the new world, when “the heavens are new and the earth is new” (Isa. 65:17), - he has to drink the new cup of Jesus in the Kingdom of God (Mark 14:25) and sing a new song (Ps. 32:3; Ps. 97:1). The update starts here; a perfect and complete renewal will follow in the coming century. Just as we see here with a mirror in fortune telling, and there we see face to face (1 Cor. 13:12), so the creation of a new man will then appear complete and perfect, when heaven and earth are united (Blessed Jerome). “And he will reconcile both in one body of God with the cross, killing the enmity on it.” “He killed hostility on the cross, making an undefiled sacrifice. He reconciled both, that is, those who believed from the Gentiles and from the Jews, in one body, offered for all, so that they formed one body. And the Apostle called all believers one person, because everyone has one head - the Lord Christ, and the body is made up of those who have been worthy of salvation" (Theodoret). “Having killed enmity with His death, Christ first reconciled the nations among themselves, and then made them peaceful with God the Father, so that like-natural people, scattered due to sin and error, became members of one new body, the head of which is Christ” (Ambrosiastes). “He did not say: he will pacify (καταλλαξη), but “he will reconcile” (that is, he will completely reconcile - αποκαταλλαξη), showing through the fact that even before this human nature was capable of reconciliation with God, as, for example, in the saints who were before the law. “In one body,” he says, “his God.” How did He do this? - Having suffered due punishment on the cross. "Killing the enmity on it". These expressions cannot be more expressive and precise. His death, as the Apostle says, killed, pierced and destroyed enmity; He did not entrust this task to anyone else, but He Himself completed it, and for this not only acted, but also suffered. He did not say: having allowed, he also did not say: taking away, but “killing” - the strongest word of all, so that enmity will never arise again. And how could she rebel? Is it thanks to our malice? And as long as we remain in the body of Christ, as long as we remain in unity with him, until then she will not rise, but will lie dead. Strictly speaking, it will never rise, and we can only produce another (enmity), but by no means the former, which is forever killed and put to death. And that means this, that is, to be or not to be at enmity with God, depends on you. “Carnal wisdom,” it is said, “is enmity against God.” If we do not philosophize the flesh, then this new enmity will never be born, but there will always be peace. But think about how terrible it is for us to voluntarily come into enmity with God again after He has done so much for our reconciliation and really reconciled us? This new enmity awaits no longer the baptismal font, but Gehenna, not forgiveness, but punishment” (St. Chrysostom). Eph. 2:17. And I came to bring peace to you, far and near. Explaining how the Ephesians became close, the Apostle first said in general how the Jews and pagans who had hitherto diverged among themselves were brought together, and how both of them drew closer to God (vv. 14-16); now he says how this goodness affected the Ephesians themselves, although here one can understand the pagans in general. “And he came to bring good news.” First, the Lord laid solid foundations for peace in His own person by His death on the cross, abolishing the law and destroying through that mediastinum between pagans and Jews and by the same cross reconciling both with God. Then, after the resurrection, ascension into heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit, he sent the holy Apostles to spread the gospel of this world throughout the world and to establish the world itself. The apostles spread the gospel of peace, but the Lord Himself acted in their person, as he promised: “Behold, I am with you all the days” (Matthew 28:20). And again: “And other sheep are imam, which are not of this fold: these also it is fitting for us to bring” (John 10:16). The Lord Himself walked in the person of the Apostles and converted both individuals, towns, and entire nations. He, in the person of Saint Paul, came to the Ephesians and converted them, communicating to them the gospel of peace and establishing it among them. "Evangelize the World". The subject of the gospel was that the Son of God became incarnate and, having suffered on the cross, reconciled us with God. Give up everything and cling to Him alone. Those who accepted this gospel with faith, in holy baptism received the grace of the Holy Spirit, which established peace in their hearts through pacification of conscience and confirmation of God’s favor, and through this united all believers and combined them into strong unity through the unity of the spirit. The gospel of the Gospel was the gospel of comprehensive peace and its establishment. “To you who are far and near...” He calls the pagans “far” and the Jews “neighbors”” (Theodoret). Just as the previous speech was all about distant and close ones, these expressions were understandable by themselves. It should have served the Ephesians as great consolation and edification that the Lord Himself came to them, although they heard the gospel from the lips of the Apostle. It is comforting to be confident of this for every people, and for everyone who turns from negligence and sinfulness to zeal for the work of their salvation in the Lord. Ambrosiastes writes: “The Lord Jesus Christ killed hostility when he died for everyone, both Jews and pagans. The death of the Savior was saving for everyone. By rising from the dead, He showed what hope those who believe in Him can have. And then he organized the gospel to call everyone to God the Father in one Spirit, with the suppression of division, so that - whether a Jew or a pagan - everyone would accept faith in Christ and be made one by it.” Saint Chrysostom, and after him Ecumenius and Theophylact, do not distinguish the personal gospel of the Lord from the gospel in the person of the Apostles, and by the word: “having come to bring good news” they mean the entire economy of salvation in the person of the Lord, who came to earth through the incarnation. Saint Chrysostom says: “God did not send anyone else to announce this to us, but He Himself announced it. He did not choose either an Angel or an Archangel for this, because only He Himself, appearing on earth, and no one else could correct so many evils and announce what had been done. The Lord took upon Himself the position of a servant and almost a slave, came and proclaimed, says the Apostle, peace to you, far and near, that is, to the Jews, who, compared to us, were closer (to God), and to the pagans, whom, as strangers to the covenants of promise, he calls distant. “Peace,” the Apostle means, to God, for Jesus Christ reconciled us to God. He Himself taught about this when He said: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27). And in another place: “Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14). And again: “The Father himself loves you” (John 16:27). These are all signs of peace for us and for them.” And isn’t such an understanding closer to the point?! In this case, the words: “having come to bring good news” will be combined with the previous ones like this: and then He came to preach good news to this all-round world. Eph. 2:18. Zane Thus, the imams bring the wallpaper in one Dus to the Father. If the Lord had not come in the flesh, and if, having come, he had not brought the gospel, we would not have been brought to the Father. He is the only door, and whoever enters through Him is saved. Why does he say: “No one will come to the Father except by Me” (John 14:6). It is not only understood here that, having generally reconciled us to God by death on the cross and bestowed the Spirit of grace, He placed us in a relationship of sonship with God, for the sake of which we can cry out: “Abba Father” (Rom. 8:15; John 4:23) and pray: “Our Father who art in heaven” (Matthew 6:9), but also especially that He takes every soul as another takes a person by the hand and leads him to the Father. Why did he say that it was fitting for Him to bring those other sheep that were not from the court of Israel? He brings every soul, arranging the first conversion, and helping in the fight against sin in every possible way, and raising it to the final degrees of perfection, until He brings it to where He Himself is—sitting at the right hand of God. "In one Dus". - How to understand, in the same spirit of faith and love or by the power of the same grace of the Holy Spirit for both of us? – There is no need to differentiate: for both faith is from God and love is poured into hearts by the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit, nourishing the soul, does not mechanically recreate and transfer it from one state to another, but by stimulating moral forces, which, in the kingdom of grace, are concentrated in faith and love. "Wallpaper in one Duce". Previously, the Jews had access to God, but externally, and God revealed Himself to them externally too. So, according to God’s dispensation, as a prototype of the future. The pagans did not have this. Now that has been abolished, and in its place a new and living path to God is open to everyone. The Lord comes and, with the right hand of the grace of the Spirit, taking the soul (through rebirth), brings it to the Father (by feat and good deeds). Saint Chrysostom says: “We are not less and they are not more saved; both we and they are worthy of the same grace: for He destroyed enmity by death, and made us dear to the Father through the Spirit. Through Himself and through the Spirit He led us to God.” Blessed Theodoret writes the same: “The imams are bringing.” This is similar to what the Lord said: “No one will come to the Father except Me” (John 14:6). He brought us to the Father, says the Apostle, and brought us, making us worthy of grace.” c) How close have you become? Art. 19–22 They became cohabitants of the saints, members of God’s household, and even more, they became God’s dwelling place. What greater intimacy could one desire and expect? Eph. 2:19. Moreover, for those who are not strangers and strangers, but are fellow saints and dreamers of God. Having begun to convince the Ephesians to remember the greatness of God’s benefits to them, the holy Apostle said in general: you were far away, but now you are close (vv. 11-13); then, having explained how they became close (vv. 14–18), he now concludes: see how close you have become! Leaving the Ephesians themselves to make an application from here: how could they not remember such a great benefit? Ambrosiastes writes: “He convinces them to remember the good deeds of God, that then, when they were so far from the knowledge and fear of God, now, by His mercy, they are brought closer to be partakers of those who were close to God, having become fellow citizens of the sons of God.” The Apostle uses three comparisons to explain how close they became: they became close, how close their fellow citizens were to each other and to their prince, how close the members of one family were to each other and to their head, how close the parts of the building were to each other and to the person living in it. These comparisons correspond to the previously expressed moments of separation from God and his people (Eph. 2:12). “There he says: “Alienated from the covenant of promise,” and: “Alienated from the life of Israel.” Here he says against the first: “you are strangers and strangers,” and against the second: “but fellow saints and dreams of God” (Blessed Jerome). You were like strangers living far away in Other places, or although living here, but not having the right of citizenship, παροικοι - residents, temporary and accidental; and now they have become fellow citizens - συμπολιται. “Now you have the same city with the saints - heavenly Jerusalem” (Ecumenius). “They were written to the same city, which exists in heaven and abides forever, which they also ardently desired” (Theophylact). “You see, we are recorded, made fellow citizens not just of the Jews, but of men great in their holiness, such as Abraham, Moses and Elijah. This is the city we are registered in, this is where we will appear one day!” (Saint Chrysostom). The gracious Kingdom of Christ was depicted under the guise of “a city, whose artist and maker is God” (Heb. 11:10). The Old Testament saints knew that they were the destined citizens of this city, but they did not see the city itself, but, wanting to see it passionately, they kissed it from afar. In this regard, they too were strangers and strangers, as those seeking their city and fatherland, which they confessed to be (Heb. 11:13). From here Saint Chrysostom gives this guidance: “those who speak like this” (that is, those who called themselves strangers and strangers), it is said, “appear as they seek the fatherland” (Heb. 11:14); and you are already fellow citizens of the saints, and not strangers and strangers.” “You have been honored with very high dignity by becoming fellow citizens of the saints” (Theodoret). Fellow citizens of the saints are members of the same blessed kingdom, which are all holy, and therefore members because they are holy. This means not only those who follow Christ; but also those who are before Christ: for both are in Christ. The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of all ages. Just as the saints of old were holy by faith in the coming Christ, so the new ones are holy by the same faith in the coming Christ. This faith united them both with Christ and among themselves. Believers have one ruler, and no matter where they live, they are all fellow citizens. Those who wanted to acquire Roman citizenship made a contribution and bought it. In the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ they bring faith in the Lord - and are counted among his fellow citizens (Ambrosiastes). Another comparison in the Apostle to explain the closeness into which the Ephesians (and all pagans) became by grace is taken from the closeness of members of the same family. “Dreams to God” - your own to God. It's even closer. Fellow citizens are of one spirit and one love for the fatherland, but not children of the same father; In the family, everyone is related, relatives. Likewise, believers all have one Father God, “not begotten from a seed that is corrupted, but incorruptible, by the word of the living God, and abiding forever” (1 Pet. 1:23). No matter what tribe one belongs to, grace makes everyone his own to God. Thus, by faith in the Lord, Whom those who receive receive the realm of being children of God, they are not counted only among the children, but essentially become children, as if born of God. That is why they are theirs to God, and they carry this property in the feeling of their hearts, as a reflection of everything that grace arranges in them. Ours to God - what a high title! What a comforting and sweet side of Christianity! And this is not a dream of self-delusion, but in essence it is so. It must be borne in mind that although in comparison - mentally - co-citizenship and property can be distinguished as degrees of proximity, but in the kingdom of grace, in fact, both converge. Spiritual co-citizenship comes from the unity of the spirit, and this unity is produced by the same Spirit, by which everyone receives the same birth, or is placed in fellowship with each other and with God. All are fellow citizens of the Kingdom of Christ and relatives. This is how they are in their hearts and in their relationships. Eph. 2:20. Having been created on the foundation of the Apostle and Prophet, I am the cornerstone of Jesus Christ Himself. The thought of family members, those close to God, led to the thought of home as a place of residence. The Apostle dwells on it in order to proclaim to an even greater degree the closeness in which the pagans are placed by faith. Believers are God's own and because He has them as His, and they are His; because they are in such deep communion with God that He lives in them. Thus, they are both close to God and His dwelling place. It's even closer. The Holy Apostle, however, does not focus on how they are even closer, being represented under the image of a house (for this is self-evident), but on how they are made into such a house; for from this an even greater benefit of God is revealed to them. They were thrown far away, like stones lying in the distance, but now they are taken, dressed and put into the building of the house. The Church of God in both the Old and New Testaments is represented by the image of a building - a house or a church. The church is the church of faith. The faith was founded and established on earth by the Apostles, relying on the prophets. The apostles are closer to us and clearly saw the truth; the prophets further saw the truth in the distance, in images that well represented the truth, but also covered it up, leaving room for fortune-telling even for the prophets themselves, how and when everything indicated would come true. Why are the Apostles placed in front? The apostles offered a word on behalf of the Lord, but at the same time they also treated the prophetic word as the most famous. We now rest by faith on the word of the Apostle, strengthened by the prophets. “Nazdani” – built on, making up the body of the building. How do masons do it? - they take a stone, trim it and put it in the building, where and how it is necessary. So the Apostles and prophets, with the hand of preaching, take souls and peoples, use the ax of the grace of the Spirit, bringing them under the character of the building and placing it in the building of the Church, combining it with Her. “So stone by stone is laid, layer by layer is applied, and the building rises. Ecumenius writes: “Wanting to show the holy unity of believers with the prophets and apostles, he says: “created.” The apostles and prophets were laid at the foundation, and you complete the rest of the building. Which is what it means to be built on top of the Apostles and Prophets.” "Organized on the foundation of the Apostle and Prophet". “That is, on the Old and New Testaments. What the Apostles preached about, the prophets foretold would happen. In his letter to the Corinthians he says: “God has appointed in the Church first the apostles, then the prophets” (1 Cor. 12:28). But there are other prophets, for in that place the Apostle talks about the structure of the Church (in which it stands), and here about the foundation of the Church. The Prophets prepared (what was needed for the building) and predisposed it (prefigured the plan), and the Apostles laid the foundation (and erected the building through attraction to faith). Why does the Lord say to Peter: “On this rock I will build My Church” (Matthew 16:18), that is, on this confession of the universal faith I will establish and establish the faithful in life. So David once prepared everything for the construction of the house of God and appointed a place where it should be, and Solomon founded it (and arranged it)” (Ambrosiastes). “I am the chief cornerstone of Jesus Christ Himself.” Not one corner, but all corners both in the building and in the foundation - Christ the Lord. He combines prophets and apostles. In Him the prophetic word is fulfilled; He is the content and words of the Apostle. In this unity of the revealed word, from the beginning to the Apostles, is the strength of the foundation of faith. In it the walls of the building are combined and have their strength, that is, all the believers, who are called the Apostles and the established prophets because they believe in the Lord, therefore they are brought into the Church and are united with it, because they are united with the Lord. The direct thought of the Apostle in calling the Lord the cornerstone is that everything in the Church is from the Lord, not excluding the Apostles and Prophets themselves. So St. Chrysostom: “The Apostle added: “I am the cornerstone...” to show that Christ contains everything, for the cornerstone is that which supports both the walls and the foundation on which the entire building is supported. Note that the Apostle sometimes represents the Lord from above - containing and ruling over the whole body, sometimes from below - bearing the entire building on Himself - the main foundation. This is why the Apostle said above: “He will create one new man,” to show that in Him all are recreated. “The firstborn,” it is said about Him, “of all creation” (Col. 1:15). Thus He bears everything on Himself, contains everything (and creates everything).” But since the believers who made up the walls of the building then consisted of Jews and pagans, and the Apostle in his letter explains their mutual rapprochement, it is not surprising that in the word “I am the cornerstone” - the Apostle wanted to show how through the Lord Jesus Christ in the building of the Church, like two walls, Jews and pagans are combined. So is Saint Chrysostom, by the way; so are all our interpreters. Theodoret writes: “As the Apostle called the Lord the head of the body, so he also calls Him the cornerstone of the building, because it closes two walls and, like an angle, unites those who believe from Jews and pagans.” The Lord was called the cornerstone in the Old Testament predictions, which He Himself attributed to Himself, predicting together what would happen to those who would not accept Him. All this is depicted by Blessed Jerome: “The main cornerstone, which binds and holds both people (one can understand both heavenly and earthly), is Christ our Lord, a stone cut from the mountain without hands, about which the Psalmist testifies, saying: “The stone that was built carelessly, this was the head of the corner: this came from the Lord, and is wondrous in our own hands” ( Ps. 117:22, 23), neglected by the Pharisees, who, considering themselves to be knowledgeable of the law, thought to limit themselves in creating a spiritual church to God to some spontaneous decrees, and God accepted it as the cornerstone, so that he could unite and fasten, like two walls, two peoples, Himself being in the middle, and so that through Him both people would have access to God. This cornerstone for unbelievers is a stone of stumbling and a stone of temptation: everyone who falls on Him will be broken, but on whomever He Himself falls, He will wipe him out (Luke 20:18). Let us not ignore the remark of St. Damascus about what other thoughts the word “stone” can suggest. “Having said - a stone, the Apostle also pointed to its articulation with those built on Him, that is, homogeneity with us through birth in the flesh of the Only Begotten. “From now on, the children have partaken of flesh and blood, and let him also most sincerely partake of the same” (Heb. 2:14). Without this He could not have been the cornerstone. In the building there is a foundation, a cornerstone, and walls, and everything is connected and makes one. How well, therefore, was this comparison chosen by the Apostle with the aim of expressing the rapprochement of the pagans with the Jews, with God and the orders of God! “Look,” says Saint Chrysostom, “how the Apostle mixes everyone together: pagans, Jews, Apostles, prophets, Christ, and, in order to show the close connection between all of them, he represents them all as a body, then as a building.” Eph. 2:21. In God, every creature grows together into a holy church in the Lord. “Every creature” is not a creature, but a building - οικοδομη. “Composed” συναρμολουμενη - being harmonized, being harmoniously composed. “Grows” – rises more and more. “To church” – to church – ναον. The Apostle presents the general idea of ​​the Church - growing, comparing it with a building. Like a building, taking on the overlay - layer by layer, everything increases and goes to the end and completion, according to the plan drawn up for it; Thus, the Church of God, taking into itself persons and peoples and transforming them according to its norm, moves towards its fullness and perfection until it is completed and becomes a perfect church to God, no longer requiring additions and additions. “About Him” – about the cornerstone, which is Jesus Christ, for in the Church everything is from Him, according to His plan, by His power and action. “Every creation” means more directly the whole building, as one whole, for the Apostle is talking about one building, and not about many buildings. “Composed” – being harmonized. Incoming materials are not thrown at random, but placed according to one plan, and the building comes out harmoniously, where everyone has his place. “This indicates the thoroughness (attention and fidelity to the plan) of the building” (Ecumenius). It also points to different parts of the building, which are all united together about the same cornerstone Jesus Christ. “Whatever you point to - whether it’s the roof, the walls, or anything else, He contains everything, carries everything on Himself” (St. Chrysostom). This is the same thing that he says below, without metaphor: “And He gave them to be the apostles, and the prophets... and the shepherds and teachers, for the perfection of the saints... for the edification of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11). In another place, the Apostle distributes the saints, that is, the believers who make up the body of the building, just as the different organs of the body are distributed among us, where each member has its own meaning and its own function. In the Church of God everything is harmonious, but it is diverse in its parts, and it cannot be said that in it everything is like one, and everyone is like everyone else. Where everyone is the same and equal, what kind of harmony is there?! Under this only condition, that in the Church the members are different and harmonized, it “grows” - grows, being harmoniously composed. First, raw material arrives, which in its natural form is unsuitable for the building. Therefore, first it is remade and brought to suit the character of the building, and then it is placed in the building itself. It is through these overlays that the building grows. Individuals and entire nations, called to preach, are transformed by the grace of the Holy Spirit and thus merge with the wholeness of the Church. "Growing". And under the Apostles it was said: “it grows”; and until now - there is no other way to say how it grows. And until the end of time it will grow. The building is not finished yet; will end at the end of the ages. And those who have passed on to another life are in the Church, and those who live are in the Church. The Apostle does not posit any division between them. There is only one church. One can only imagine that the earthly Church prepares the material, and the building itself, in finishing, is built in heaven. Hermas saw the structure of the church in a vision. Some brought materials, others built. The builders, having received what was brought, look to see if it is better and where it is better. If it’s good, they put it in its proper place, and if it’s not good, it’s thrown away; and although it is lying around right there, it does not enter the building. This is an exact image of what happens to those leaving here. When the building is finished, all these stones lying around will be taken to another place, but until then they are still around. The fate is not decided. “Grows into a holy church,” into a holy church. Everything is moving towards God finally being all in everyone. And until then, wasn’t the Church a whole building, without a roof, windows or doors? How to live in such a building? And God dwells in the Church, as He promised: “I will dwell in them and walk around” (2 Cor. 6:16). That is why the Apostle used the word grows, representing the Church as a living building, which already has everything necessary for its existence and life. Like a tree, for example, even the smallest one, has everything for life; but then it grows, not acquiring new parts, but increasing and expanding in each of its already existing parts. So the Church is now a whole building, residential, but it is expanding until it reaches the measure of the church, as it was intended by God. Church - Church is “holy” because all its members are holy, sanctified by the Holy Spirit and zealous to be holy, and because the Holy God lives in it. “In the Lord”: the church is holy in the Lord, and it grows in the Lord, and it grows harmoniously in the Lord. In the Church everything is about the Lord, no matter what, as Saint Chrysostom said. Saint Paul said at the beginning: “about Him,” meaning the Lord, and at the end he added “about the Lord,” so that we keep our attention all on Him alone. No matter how beautiful the church building is, when you look at it, do not forget about the church builder. This is why it is not covered here in explaining the details of the construction of the church. His goal is to impress upon the Ephesians that they too are included in the common building, but for no other reason than for the sake of faith in the Lord and fidelity to Him. And they are close to everyone, but about the Lord. Eph. 2:22. O Him, you too are being built into a habitation of God by the Spirit. “Ahead he spoke about the creation of the entire Church - universal, and now he speaks about the creation of the Church of Ephesus” (Ecumenius). Just as the universal Church is built in the Lord as a church to God, so every particular Church is built into the habitation of God, the same as in the church of God, all about the same Lord. The relationship of private Churches to the Universal Church is expressed by the word συνοικοδομεισθε - you are being created. The Universal Church is being created as a single, special Whole; and private Churches are not created in particular, but in connection with the universal Church. The universal Church is being created, and they are being created together with it, being united with it deeply and essentially, so that they cannot be created separately, apart from each other. Private Churches live a life common to the entire Church, just as in the body each function seems to act on its own, for example, breathing, blood circulation, nutrition; in fact, because it acts because it is in connection with the whole body, so that, if only it is separated, it immediately ceases, just as every external member cut off from the body, or every branch cut off from a tree, freezes. In other places the Apostle says that every believer is the church of God and the dwelling place of God; and here, although he does not say this, but by induction one can, when reading this place, reach as far as Saint Chrysostom does, saying: “This church, in which God dwells, as in a body, is each of you and all of you together.” Each member in the body combines everything that is in the body: it contains blood, muscle, nerve, and other juices; it is a contraction of the whole body. In a tree this is even clearer: there each branch is the same as the whole tree with root, trunk and leaves, and each leaf is the same as the whole branch. Likewise, every believer has everything that is in the Church: the truth of the word, and the grace of the sacraments, and fellowship with God in Christ Jesus. He is the abbreviated church. But because he is such, he is united with the whole Church. The powers and life of the Church enter into him, and he lives the life of the Church. This particularity is completely contrary to the spirit of Christianity. This creation into a church and dwelling place for God, both of every believer and of private Churches, and of the entire Church, is accomplished by the Holy Spirit. And each person, and entire nations, are unsuitable in themselves to be a dwelling place for God. The grace of the Spirit, according to faith, enters the soul through the sacraments, transforms it, spiritualizes it and makes it fit for God to dwell in it. If God is in every believer by grace, then by grace He is also in the souls of an entire community of believers, and then in all believers, that is, in the entire Church. You, he says, are a dwelling place for God in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the Spirit. In you all the persons of the Holy Trinity are the indivisible Divinity itself. What a closeness the Apostle brought them to! From afar, through fellow citizenship and property, this is what it led to. God is in them, and they, conversely, are in God: for He embraces all things. There is nowhere to go further than this to indicate greater closeness. It was fitting for the Apostle to cry out at the beginning: remember, Ephesians, how far you were and how close you became. But let’s take a few lessons from here. Everything is said here about the Church of God, what the Creed teaches us to believe: that it is one, Established on one cornerstone (vv. 14, 16, 17, 20); that she is holy, for by the Holy Spirit she is created into a holy church (vv. 21, 22); that it is universal, as if it embraces all times and peoples (vv. 14, 20) and Apostolic, established on the basis of the Apostles (vv. 20). The Holy Church is the city of God, the house of God, the living church, the living dwelling of the living God. The most understandable image for us is a church and a dwelling. The cornerstone of the building is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The Church stands firm, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. On the cornerstone - the first lie the Apostles and Prophets, on whom the entire building is then built. From them is the word of truth, from them is the grace of the Spirit, given through the sacraments established by them and warmed up through all other ranks and orders of the church. You cannot touch anything here with the intention of changing or canceling it: otherwise you will ruin the Church. And the teachings and institutions of the apostles are inviolable. The body of the building consists of all believers, of every gender, age and condition. They are dressed like stones and made ready for laying into a building by the Holy Spirit, from Whom the pouring love, like cement, vividly combines them all, as if merging them into one. “Why is such a building being erected? In order for God Himself to dwell in it, as in a church” (St. Chrysostom). This church is holy, majestic and venerable. If this is what the church is like, then what should every believer who is part of it be like?! – Blessed Jerome writes: “If “every creature grows together into a holy church in the Lord,” then, sparing no labor, we must try to become such stones, about which it is said: “holy stones are scattered (thought: found in abundance) in its lands” (Zechariah 9:16). When we become living stones, hewn, cleansed and polished on all sides, then we will be built into a church and will be a dwelling place for God. And the ark of the covenant, the keeper of the law of God, will be built in us, and the Cherub - the abundance of knowledge and the inner perseus of ours will come out into a new word (what is in the heart will be expressed in a new word), and we will be called “dabir”, which means an oracle, or an answer, or, more precisely, a speaker; so we can say with the Apostle: “Or are you seeking temptation, Christ speaking in me” (2 Cor. 13:3). V. Which feature the Apostle strengthens by the idea that it was a hidden, now only revealed mystery, of which he is a minister (Eph. 3: 1-13) Depicting that peculiarity of the economy, salvation for the Ephesians, as those who believed from the pagans, that they, having been far away, became close through Him, the Apostle had in mind to incite them to remember this benefit with the warmest memory. Why did he say this at the beginning of his speech: “Remember this” (Eph. 2:11). Now, for the same purpose, that is, in order to incline them to remember what was done for them and to value it, Saint Paul exposes another feature of their calling and rapprochement with God’s orders, that this was a secret not only for people, but also for Angels. He seems to be saying to them: God has hitherto kept this secret with Himself and now has only revealed it to both earth and heaven; This means that this is such a rarity that it is not always possible to show it to everyone. How can you not remember it when it concerns you? The angels marvel at her, but will you remain indifferent? And in this alone there was already a lot of excitement added to remembrance, but the Apostle, setting out the method of revealing this mystery, put forward a new feature, the fact that the preaching of it was entrusted primarily to him and was accompanied by suffering and bonds. From here it came out: the Lord suffered in order to destroy the mediastinum and bring you closer, and the one who called you to participate in this is in chains, and you will remain inattentive to this and will not remember about it?! This is the content and meaning of the first 13 verses of chapter 3. Further, until the end of the chapter (vv. 14–21), the Apostle prays that the Ephesians, being in deep communion with God, would understand how great this benefit is. He began this part of the epistle with prayer (Eph. 1:16), and ends with prayer. For everything comes from God - both a clear explanation of the truth in words and a clear understanding of the word heard or read. As for the grammatical structure of the speech in this chapter, the interpreters have made many different assumptions. The reason was that the Apostle, having said: “For this reason I am a prisoner,” did not finish his speech and went into retreat, with the goal of explaining how he is a prisoner about them, a pagan. The retreat began in verse 2, but where does it go? - Some speak up to the 3rd verse, some up to the 8th, some up to the 13th, some up to the 14th. The latter is most likely, and it has Blessed Theodoret behind it. The flow of the speech is as follows: “For this reason I am a prisoner for the sake of the Gentiles...” Then, having explained how he is a prisoner for the Gentiles, he again begins the interrupted speech: “For this reason I bow my knees...” (Eph. 3:14). But such a construction of speech is not absolutely necessary. What forces us to resort to assumptions is that the word “yuznik” in Greek comes with the term o δεσμιος, in which form it seems that it cannot be predicated so that speech comes out: for this reason I am a yuznik; but must be considered subject. Having recognized it as such, we will lose the predicate. He said: “az uznik”, but what “az uznik” is is not visible. So they began to make assumptions. But other interpreters find that the member before the ally does not interfere with recognizing this word as a predicate and reading it like this: I am an ally. It is true that in certain cases taking words with a member as a predicate is not contrary to the nature of the Greek language. The example of Saint Chrysostom, Saint Damascus and Ecumenius with Theophylact, who, of course, knew the exceptional requirements of their language, forces one to incline towards this. Let us cite, however, the words of Blessed Theodoret, for the sake of the fact that although he allows a deviation, he defines the meaning of verses 1–13 in the same way as we set out above, that is, in order to again expose the “greatness of the good deed.” “The Apostle,” he writes, “wants to say: having been informed of this calling of yours, having known exactly who you are, and how, and what you are called to, I ask and implore God of all to confirm you in the faith and grant you the salvation that flows from faith. But he inserted quite a lot into this thought, again signifying the greatness of the good deed.” He recounts (in an interpolated speech) how he himself was called, how he was honored with Divine grace and appointed a preacher of tongues, letting those know that it is very fitting for him to preach and that he is not appropriating someone else’s work for himself, but fulfilling what is commanded.” Eph. 3:1. For this reason, I Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, spoke of you as a pagan. For what? - For the sake of everything that has been said, for the sake of so that you, who were far away, become close, and so close. “I am a servant of such grace as has been shown to you, and I strive for it even to the point of imprisonment” (Saint Damascus). “Before, the Apostle spoke about the great providence of Christ, but now he speaks of his own zeal, small and insignificant in comparison with the providence of the Lord, because that in itself is sufficient to lead to salvation. “For this reason,” he says, I am in bonds; for if my Lord suffered crucifixion for you, then how much more must I endure chains. Not only was He Himself, our Savior, bound, but He deigned that His servants should also suffer bonds for you pagans. The great meaning lies in these words of the Apostle: not only do we not turn away from you, he says to the pagans, but we also endure bonds for you” (Chrysostom). “So, I am a prisoner for you” (Theophylact). As “the servant of Jesus Christ”? - Just like the Apostle of Christ and the servant of Christ. I am in chains for believing in Him, for preaching about Him, for His work - arranging the salvation of people. These external bonds suggest internal bonds. The apostles said: we cannot speak without seeing and hearing. This means they were connected internally. And the Apostle Paul was drawn by the Spirit to Jerusalem, and although the same Spirit proclaimed everywhere that bonds awaited the Apostle, he could not help but go there, to these faithful bonds, because he was internally bound. The apostles were all led and carried by the Spirit, as if bound, as led. The Apostle suggests that his bonds had a special, providential purpose for the Lord Himself, who guided the preaching of the Gospel. That Saint Paul fell into these bonds for the pagans is directly indicated by the circumstances of his capture. Those who attacked him shouted: “This is the man who teaches this law and law to everyone everywhere” (Acts 21:28). The Apostle preached the pure Gospel as it is, without remembering the Law of Moses and, whenever necessary, explaining that its time had already passed. But he treated all the Old Testament rites with due respect and proved that everything was necessary and had universal significance. Only now, he taught, it was all over. And those, not understanding the matter, rebelled against him as a blasphemer of the law and the place where everything legal was predominantly in effect. The Apostle acted this way because he was commanded to do so from above, and it was commanded from above because otherwise you would not attract the pagans and that otherwise the faith of Christ could not be established on earth in all its purity. Being bound for such a teaching, he was bound for the cause of Jesus Christ, which is why he was a prisoner of Jesus Christ, but in the present case he was bound because of the pagans, which is why he was bound in chains because of them. Ecumenius writes: “It happens to be a prisoner only of Jesus Christ, that is, to be bound and beaten for not changing faith in Him, and not for tongues, that is, not for the teaching and preaching spread among them. Thus, many martyrs were tortured not because they taught the pagans the faith, but because they did not renounce their faith in Christ. Paul was a prisoner both for Christ and for the Gentiles.” Eph. 3:2. If you hear the sight of the grace of God given to me in you. If you heard, but you heard... This turn of phrase is equivalent to the following: since you heard. The particle, if not doubt or ignorance, means complete certainty. Have you heard that I have been entrusted with the preaching of the Gospel among you, therefore, even without much explanation, it should be clear to you why I am a prisoner “about you the nations speak.” They heard it not from anyone else, but from the Apostle himself. It cannot be assumed that he kept silent about this, especially after he wrote to the Galatians. For the confusion of the Galatian churches occurred partly because it was not entirely known there what Saint Paul was and why he preached without being one of the twelve. “Looking at grace” – looking at grace, οικονομια. Just as in a well-ordered house, prudent economy distributes what should be done by whom and how, so in the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ, according to economy - the economy of salvation - everything was first distributed, who should take on what task and how to conduct it. Saint Paul, directly called by the Lord Himself, was entrusted by the Lord Himself to go preaching to the pagans: “Go, I will send you far into the nations” (Acts 22:21). Saint Paul remembers this gracious looking or order of the Lord here. You know that I have been entrusted with preaching among you. I diligently did my job, but this irritated unreasonable jealousy, and here I am bonds Saint Chrysostom says: “Here the Apostle alludes to the prediction announced about him to Ananias in Damascus, when the Lord said: “Go, for this vessel has been chosen by Me, to carry My name before nations and kings” (Acts 9:15). He calls this very revelation the gaze of grace. Thus, the words of the Apostle mean the following: I did not learn from man, it was not man who gave me the honor of being your chief evangelist, but God Himself said: go, for I will send you to the nations far away (Acts 22:21). Saint Paul remembers this not for dogmatic purposes, as in the letter to the Galatians, but in order to give the Ephesians an incentive to remember what grace has done for them. A gracious look towards him, the Apostle, was directed towards them. Having them in mind, showing special care for them, the Lord chose and formed directly the Apostle for them and told him everything and revealed to him how and why everything was done, all for them. How can you not remember all this? Saint Chrysostom draws attention to this formation of the Apostle, as a special action of God’s looking: “And the Apostle rightly called it looking, for truly it was a great looking, when someone who could not be convinced in any way is called from above with the words: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4), and at the same time loses his sight from the ineffable light! Eph. 3:3. As if by revelation the mystery was revealed to me, just as it was written down in the past. “Yako”, οτι – not “because”, but “that”. They heard the observation that “by revelation the mystery was revealed to me.” “By revelation” is the same as by revelation” (Gal. 1:12). He wants to say that just as he was called to preaching directly by the Lord, so he was also taught the truth directly by Him. I didn’t come up with it myself and it wasn’t people who taught me, but the Lord Himself revealed everything to me. “Shows that everything is from God” (Chrysostom). And, moreover, for them - pagans. Therefore, it inspires: look how much care the Lord has for you! “It said...” εγνωρισθη - the secret was given to me to know, inspired, put into my mind. Not only open, but so open that I came to know it and understand it properly. The Opener Himself watched over this, so that no untruth would enter into my word. “The mystery” is the one he speaks of in verse 6, so that the Gentiles may be fellow heirs and partakers of the promise. “The Apostle rightly calls this a mystery, for it is truly incomprehensible how the pagans were suddenly brought into a nobility greater than the nobility of the Jews!” (Chrysostom). “Like pre-written...” “Like” – καθως; - not about anything, but - how, in the form, in the sense and meaning as I briefly wrote before. “Pre-written” - “does not mean, as others believed, that he wrote (before) another message, but, he says, he wrote now (in front), since he reasoned about this from the very beginning to this place” (Theodoret). In the beginning, he does not remember how the mystery was revealed to him, but depicts the very mystery, how the Son of God came, became incarnate, suffered, was resurrected, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God the Father, and seated in Himself all humanity, which attracts to Himself through preaching and grace, which by the Holy Spirit act in people, converting and sanctifying everyone without distinction, Jews and Gentiles, from all of them making up the one body of the Church, a dwelling place for God through the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. He explained everything about this ahead, and now he says that all this ordained for me is open, and both open and written. But what has been written so far, although it contains the entire essence of the economy, does not, however, encompass everything that has been revealed to me. I wrote to you in a little, out of a lot there is a little, although in a little there is a lot. “And for sure, whoever properly understands everything written ahead will see what secrets have been revealed to him, of which he placed a certain small part in his previous speech, wanting not so much to express everything that he knew, but to show these little ones, how much he kept silent” (Jerome). However, “the word is short and the teaching is short, but I have taught you a lot in a little, seeding only (the word of truth). I wrote as much as you could understand, understand by in-depth and attentive reading, and not by skimming (the written word) in between” (Saint Damascus). Eph. 3:4. About him you can understand my mind more reverently in the mystery of Christ. “About him” - προς ο, - judging by what, - judging by this written, you can conclude how definitely and completely I understand the mystery of Christ. Although little has been written, it is nevertheless enough to draw you such a conclusion about the merits of my keeping the secret. And who among the readers will not draw such a conclusion?! But why this very conclusion?! The Apostle did not want to display his wisdom, but to instill in them: reading what is written, you cannot help but see how clear and definite everything is, and at the same time how sublime and comprehensive. Could I comprehend all this myself? If “by the finger of God,” I know this by God’s revelation: “for the kingdom of God has come upon you” (Matthew 12:28). God has approached you; showed special care for you; He opened the treasury of His secrets. Blessed Jerome writes: “No epistle contains as many secrets as this one. He speaks about his understanding in order to glorify the grace given to him publicly, and to inspire us to read this message with extreme attention.” Here he called the “mystery” of the calling of tongues “Christ’s” because its foundation was laid in Christ the Lord, and the revelation about it was given by the Lord, and it is brought into action by the Lord. It is appropriate to call it Christ’s also because it has an essential connection with the whole work of organizing the salvation of the human race, perfected by Jesus Christ, the Lord, the top of whom is sitting at the right hand of the Father, at the head of all. Saint Chrysostom says: “You can find out how I understood and how I understood either the revelation of God in general, or actually the truth that He sits on the right hand.” Theophylact continues the same thought: “You can see how much I know the secret of Christ, that is, that He sits at the right hand of the Father, that He also made us sit there, that in Him we were both created into one new man, and other things related here.” Eph. 3:5. Even though in other times He was not revealed to be the son of man, as He was now revealed to be His holy Apostle and Prophet by the Holy Spirit. “Even” is the mystery of Christ and, in general, the economy of salvation in Christ Jesus, and especially its power that it embraces all humanity. “The mystery of Christ embraces the incarnation, the cross, the resurrection, sitting at the right hand, the calling of tongues, the Church of those saved by faith, the removal of the carnal Jew, the combination of two peoples into one body of Christ, the second coming and the reward to each according to his inheritance” (Ecumenius). “In other generations,” that is, generations that come and go, as Solomon puts it, and thereby determine periods of time. "Kind" can be considered equivalent to "age". In “others” - not those who were then on earth when the Apostle wrote this, but those who preceded. As “in other births” is opposed to what is happening now, this is expressed: in previous centuries. “Without impact” - ουκ εγνωρισθη - not brought to attention, not given to know. “The Son of Man”, that is, people in general, neither Jews nor pagans, “had no effect.” Why such a turn of phrase, when at the word about revelation the pagans would not even come to anyone’s mind, but only the Jews? - Because, perhaps, other generations - previous centuries - embrace all the time before the coming of Christ and, therefore, when there was no division, but all were one. The division began with Abraham. So as not to exclude the generations preceding him, the Apostle said: it was not told to the sons of men, in order to make it clear - both from Adam to Abraham, and after. Moreover, the Apostle is speaking here to the pagans. The pagans did not consider themselves alien to God’s providence, although they did not understand it properly, and Saint Paul himself did not consider them alien to it. The Apostle’s gaze embraces the entire human race, and he says: “God, who left Himself not untested” in previous generations (Acts 14:17), did not deign, however, to tell this secret to anyone. This idea is more understandable for the pagans, who did not know how and to what extent the revelation took place among the Jews. And one more thing: the Apostle says here not that it “has not affected” at all, but “has not affected” to the extent “as now it has been revealed.” But the pagans also had their own measure of knowledge about Christ the Deliverer. After the division of languages ​​and the separation of the Jews, the pagans took with them all the previous revelations and adhered to them; only when they remained with them without updating and explanation, they distorted them. The common hope, however, for the renewal of humanity remained among them, and it became more vivid when the Jews were scattered among them in recent times. Thus, having in mind to speak about the extent of the previous revelation, the holy Apostle could not dwell on the Jews alone, but decided to embrace all people, saying: “not affected by the son of man.” “As now it is revealed.” The pagans wondered darkly; the Jews were more definitely given to know the mystery of Christ - both about the face of Christ the Savior, and about His work - the dispensation of salvation, and about those saved by Him, even that the pagans would be called; but all this is insignificant in comparison with the current revelation, says the Apostle. For this very reason, it is the case that to see something in the spirit, and to see it happen in action, makes a big difference in the definiteness of knowledge. Because of this, many prophets and kings wanted to see things related to the Lord and did not see them (Luke 10:24). Why is John the Baptist superior to other prophets? – Because I felt with my hands salvation, which others only saw from afar (Blessed Jerome). So in general about the economy of salvation. But in relation to the mystery of the calling of tongues this is most obvious. The prophets foresaw that the pagans would also know the True God, as, for example, Isaiah says: behold, the pagans who do not know You will call on You (Isaiah 55:5). But that they were called to participate in the Kingdom of Christ the same as the Jews, this was not only not known to the Old Testament, but also not suddenly understood by the New Testament. “Despite the fact that the prophets spoke about the calling of tongues, it still remained a mystery. Why were those who were with Peter (at Cornelius) amazed? And Peter himself, through revelation from the Spirit, knew then that God had accepted the pagans too. Until then, the words of the prophets were still hidden, they seemed to be fortune-telling, and clarification was expected from the very act of fulfilling them” (Saint Damascus). “Now having been revealed by the holy Apostle and Prophet by the Holy Spirit.” He does not mean the Old Testament prophets here, for together with the Apostles he contrasts them with the latter, but the New Testament ones. “For in the time of the Apostles many had prophetic grace” (Theodoret). Saying that the Holy Spirit has now more clearly revealed, the Apostle means either in general the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, as their final and final leader in understanding the work of salvation and establishing it on earth, or more specifically the instruction that was given from above to the Apostle Peter - without hesitating to accept the pagans into the communion of grace. Saint Chrysostom says: “Peter would not have gone to the pagans except at the direction of the Holy Spirit. For listen to what he says: “They (the pagans) received the Holy Spirit, just as we did” (Acts 10:47). The word of the Apostle Paul: “by the Holy Spirit” means that God, through the Holy Spirit, has made them worthy to participate in such grace. The prophets also spoke about this, but people would never have known this with such clarity, as they learned when they heard the Apostles, who surpassed all human intelligence and general expectations when they said: “[as] to be the heir of the tongue,” and so on.” The purpose of the Apostle, for the sake of which he says this, is that with such an extraordinary mystery, which has already been fulfilled among the pagans, to deepen their attention to the goodness of God revealed to them and thereby reinforce his testament: “Remember!” Eph. 3:6. [Like] to be a tongue heir and sharer and partaker of His promise in Christ Jesus, the gospel. “What kind of secret is this that was not revealed to previous generations as it is now? – The one we are talking about: “[as] to be”... (Jerome). “This is the mystery (which he mentioned so many times above), so that the pagans, together with Israel, may be heirs and partakers of the promise” (Theophylact). “The prophets knew that the pagans would be called, but they did not know that they would be heirs and partakers” (Ecumenius). “The Israelites became partakers of the promise, as a holy nation; but along with them the pagans, who were hitherto unclean, also partook of it. The Apostle was not content to say that they also became heirs and partakers, but, wanting to show their even greater rapprochement and unity, he said stelesnikami. For the pagans and holy Israel became one body, organized and contained by one head - Christ" (Theophylact). You don’t have to look into what each of these words means in particular – “heirs, stelesniks, partakers.” They all mean one thing - the extreme rapprochement of Jews and pagans in the Kingdom of Christ, where any difference between them disappears. And no matter which side of the advantage of the Jews, presented before, you took, each of them is now available to the pagans, who did not particularly perceive it, but together with the Jews. Blessed Theodoret explains why some of them are said: “Since he called the faithful one body, he says that the pagans have become “stealers.” And since the inheritance was considered to belong to the Jews, he also named the pagans co-heirs. And just as the Jews thought that they alone were given the promises, which the Apostle said in his letter to the Romans: “whose... are the promises” (Rom. 9:4), he also called the pagans “partakers of the promise.” Saint Chrysostom does not give an explanation why this or that is said, but gives them all one meaning, the meaning of a close union of Jews and pagans. “What does it mean to be heirs, partakers of the promise and sharers? – The meaning of these words is high: they mean that the pagans and Jews are united into one body, they mean their close union. It was known before that the pagans would be called, but to what exactly they would be called, no one knew until then. That is why the Apostle calls it “the mystery of God’s promise.” The Israelites were formerly partakers of the promise; Now the Gentiles are also made partakers of this promise.” But you can see some features in each of these words. Thus, one might think that the word “heirs” means the perception of what was anciently promised to Israel as an inheritance; the word “stealers” means what has been received again in the grace-filled Kingdom of Christ; and by the word “partakers of the promise” that which is to be received by all in the future. The ladder of blessings flowing from the face of Jesus Christ to our race is depicted. The benefits of the Old Testament, both received by those of that time and promised to future generations, are the first degree, the benefits received from the Lord, after His incarnation in His Holy Church, in the present period of existence, before the Second Coming, are the second degree; and what is promised in the next century and will happen after the restoration of all things is the third degree, indestructible. The Apostle wants to say to the pagans: you are not limited by anything; and what was promised to Israel you received with him, and what was given to faith beyond that promise is given to you by faith, and what is prepared in the future will be yours. That everything is a wondrous mystery, which no one could comprehend and which could barely fit into the minds of the chosen Apostles, and that only through a special action from without and the influence within of the Most Holy Spirit. This is what you have received! Remember! "The Gospel of Christ Jesus". You have been raised to such a height, you have been granted such blessings, so you have come together with Israel in “Christ Jesus” by faith in Him and for the sake of faith received by the grace of the Holy Spirit, which, re-creating everyone, makes everyone the same. You were drawn to participate in this by the gospel, for faith comes by hearing. “The pagans shared in the promise through the fact that evangelists were sent to them, and they believed them. They did not simply become partakers of the promise, but through the gospel” (Chrysostom). “By faith in Christ they became partakers, but faith came to them through the gospel” (Theophylact). But all the motivation is: “remember.” For the gospel itself would not have come. It was necessary to choose and form evangelists and, having equipped them with all strength, send them to preach the gospel, leading and assisting in every possible way in this gospel. The Israelites had all this at home, but to you it was necessary to deliberately send one to such a distance. Hinting about this, the Apostle says: Eph. 3:7. He would be a servant according to the gift of God’s grace, given to me according to the working of His power. “To him” - this gospel, “bykh” - I did not become myself, but was made, chosen and formed, a “servant” - διακονος. The Apostles appointed deacons in the first Church to deliver to everyone what they needed. This is how Saint Paul considers himself. He is a deacon, and the clergyman in the Church is the Lord Himself. Wherever he sends, I go; I will say whatever he commands me to say. “By the gift of grace” - I received this ministry as a gift of grace, without bringing anything worthy of myself to receive it (Ecumenius). “The Apostle refers everything to God, saying that his Apostleship is a gift of grace, that by the power of this gift he is honored to endure bonds for the conversion of the pagans” (Chrysostom). The grace of God sought him out and called him not only to faith, but also to the Apostleship. Grace converts every Christian, but that is a special gift to become a minister of the gospel. In the Apostle Paul both were combined in one act of grace, although the act of conversion can be distinguished from the commission of evangelism. That I am a minister of the Gospel is a gift of grace, but it is not for me, but for you. And this is the special mercy of God towards you, that He formed an evangelist for you by a special, extraordinary action of His grace. This is what the Apostle suggests with the words: “according to the gift of grace given to me according to the working of His power.” To make me an Apostle for you, God used special power and revealed the action of His grace. “He showed me the working of His own power, calling me, unworthy, and entrusting me with the teaching of languages. I am a preacher and minister (of the Gospel) according to the ineffable generosity of Him who called and according to His ineffable power” (Theodoret). Blessed Theophylact understands the bestowal of grace through the action of the power of God as the bestowal of abundant grace, which is characteristic of pouring out the Almighty God, determining the measure of grace by the power of God: “Grace was given to me not simply, not meagerly, but out of love (in the Divine way), as is characteristic of the Almighty God.” Saint Chrysostom, in addition, sees here an indication of the power that usually accompanied the preaching of the Apostle, strengthening him and confirming his preaching. “The gift would not be sufficient if the power of God were not invested along with it, for truly human zeal alone is not enough for the gospel, but a higher power is needed. The Apostle showed the following three qualities in the work of his gospel: ardent and undaunted zeal, a soul ready to endure absolutely everything, reason and wisdom (knowledge and prudence). But natural determination would not have been enough, an impeccable life would not have been enough, if he had not received the power of the Spirit.” And I was called, says the Apostle, and formed into an Apostle, and filled with all power - all so that the gospel would be successful among you, and through the gospel the door would be opened for you into the treasury of those graces that I mentioned. But the Apostle speaks about this, not exalting himself, but depicting the excessiveness of God’s mercy. Why does it apply: Eph. 3:8. To me, the least of all saints, was given this grace, to preach to the nations the unexplored riches of Christ. “To me the least...” Deliberately focuses on the insignificance of the tool in order to show that there is nothing human in their calling and approaching those being saved. God Himself was at work here. Look at me, he says, as if he were speaking, how insignificant I am, but the work of God is growing and expanding! Who is acting here if not the power of God? For no human power could produce what is being done; and here something else is happening, all this by such a small person as me. Don't you see that God came to you and chose you? Both the Apostle Paul, and all the Apostles, and all the chosen leaders, in fulfilling their assignment, forgot themselves and were only occupied with how to accomplish the work of God in the best possible way. That is why the power of God had room to act in them and through them, and the fruits of their action were amazing for themselves. It was natural for them to see how small they were compared to the greatness of the work they were doing... Why there is no doubt that the Apostle’s speech is full of sincerity. Saint Chrysostom says: “Listen to what Saint Paul says. Intending to speak about the greatness of God’s grace, he says this: “to me, the least of all saints, this grace was given.” He showed a lot of humility in that he mourned past sins, already corrected, always remembered them and was modest to the point that he called himself a blasphemer, a persecutor and an offender; but nothing can be compared with what he says now. Before, he says, I was such and such, and calls himself a monster, but now, having completely corrected himself, to still humiliate himself and call himself the least of all is truly great and extraordinary modesty! “To me, the least of all saints.” He didn’t even say: the least of the Apostles (and “all the saints,” that is, all Christians). But for him to consider himself less than not only the Apostles, but also all the saints means extremely humbling himself! In one place he said: “I am not worthy to be called an Apostle” (1 Cor. 15:9); here he calls himself even less than all the saints.” “Grace is given to evangelize unexplored riches.” Wealth is incomprehensibly great, and its giver is so small. Who will not see the finger of God here?! “And it was a work of grace that the greatest truths were entrusted to the youngest, so that he would become their evangelist” (Chrysostom). With the words: “grace is given,” he repeats what he expressed above, that he is a minister of the gospel by the gift of grace. “To preach the gospel to the nations” means that the grace of God chose me to be the Apostle of the tongues. The “unexplored riches of Christ” is the salvation of all mankind through the death on the cross of the God-man. God did not spare His Son. And even if only this, he also betrayed Him to death! This is incomprehensible. But when in this way everything seemed to be lost, it turned out that in this way remission of sins, the grace of rebirth, sonship to God, eternal inheritance and seating at the right hand of God were granted to everyone. Truly wealth, and unexplored wealth! The apostle wants to say that the riches of Christ are not for the Jews alone, but also for all languages. He, the least of all, was chosen as its distributor. What he called here the riches of Christ, he expressed ahead in the words: to be fellow heirs with the Gentiles, fellow-fellows and partakers of the promise. Eph. 3:9. And to enlighten everyone that there is a glimpse of the secrets hidden for centuries in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. “Give good news to the nations” - and “enlighten all” - not only the pagans, but also all people, and even all creatures that have understanding and can receive enlightenment through knowledge, as the next verse shows. – When he preached the gospel, he also enlightened, for enlightenment is the communication of bright concepts about everything that make up the content of the Gospel. Why does he especially say “enlighten”? - He wants to say: to let everyone understand, to explain and explain to everyone, what is the vision of this mystery - the spread of the wealth of Christ to the pagans, the calling of them to participate in it, the merging of them together with the Jews into one body, the head of which is Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father, in whom are seated there all who make up His body. This side of house-building should be especially clarified, and house-building itself should be evangelized. Why does he say: “to illuminate what is the understanding of the mystery of sowing.” Why did God want to make such an order regarding this, so as to keep it hitherto in secret and now only reveal it in all its greatness and completeness? – God wanted to amaze everyone with the wealth of His goodness, in order to bind everyone more strongly to Himself and to the very mystery of salvation. Or - “what is the viewing of the mystery” means: to tell everyone what came out of this calling of languages ​​to co-inheritance, co-corporeality and participation. The majestic and glorious body of Christ emerged, from the faces of all places and all times, folded and harmoniously combined. This is where the entire look at the mystery of salvation and the pagans together with the Jews is directed. This is what the Apostle is talking about in his epistle. But he enlightened everyone regarding this not only in word, but also in deed, by deed itself uniting everyone together. And this combination was everywhere a direct consequence of his gospel. “This mystery has been hidden from time immemorial in God.” No one knew about her and no one could guess about her. And now, after discovery and manifestation, it still remains a mystery, especially since it was so before. - “It was known about the calling of the pagans, but that at the same time they would sit on the throne of God, no one expected this, no one imagined this” (St. Chrysostom). The Apostle’s thought rests entirely on one thing—the combination of all in Christ, as the head, the foundation of which is laid in His sitting at the right hand of the Father. Saint Damascus writes: “The unsearchable riches” of Christ he calls the salvation of the whole world, and “the vision of the mystery” - the ascension (seating at the right hand) of all people in one Christ.” There was a secret hidden in God, not now only invented by His goodness; From the beginning it was included in God’s plans, but now it is only brought into action. That this mystery is called hidden in God, who created all things, suggests that when the world was still being created, the mystery of the salvation in the Lord of all mankind and the creation of all one body in Him was already in the mind of God, was, of course, not without influence on the very structure of the world. This idea is visible in Saint Damascus. “This mystery was not recently invented by God, for He does not have newly arriving wills (determinations of will), but everything is eternal. At the same time, as He created the world, at the same time He laid down the foundations of salvation.” "Jesus Christ". since Jesus Christ is the Word who was made flesh, that is the Word through whom all things came into being, and without Whom nothing came into being; that word: “who created all things” itself also attracted: “Jesus Christ.” Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle did well when, remembering creation, he said: “Jesus by Christ.” For He who created all things through Him also revealed this through Him: “Without Him,” it is said, “nothing was possible” (John 1:3). The Hypostatic Word, the image of the Father's hypostasis, creating the world, created man in the image of God, and through the incarnation It restores in him the lost image of God through the Fall. These truths are connected with one another in an inextricable chain, and one calls on the other. Eph. 3:10. May the manifold wisdom of God now be the beginning and power of the heavenly Church. Not only was this mystery not revealed to people (v. 5), but even the Angels did not know it. And they will learn about it later, from the very act of its appearance in humanity, from the very creation of the Church. The Apostle wants to say that this matter is so majestic and wondrous that when the Church was established from pagans and Jews, under the head of Christ, the heavenly powers were amazed, seeing in this the manifold wisdom of God, just as, according to the word of Job, when the stars were created, all the Angels of God praised God with a great voice. In another place, the same Apostle, speaking about the great mystery of piety, that “God appeared in the flesh,” also places among the features of greatness the fact that He “appeared to the angels,” and this after preaching to the nations and ascending in glory (1 Tim. 3:16). The Angels saw the Head of the Church in all the glory of God-manhood when He sat down at the right hand of the Father and began to attract everything to Himself - both earthly and heavenly. Here the manifold wisdom of God was revealed to them in the structure of the Church and in the leadership of everyone in Christ. And the Apostle Peter testifies that not only the prophets delved deeper into the mystery of the salvation of all in the Lord, wanting to understand its hidden aspects, but also the angels want to penetrate (1 Pet. 1:12). Not everything is clear to them even when it has already been carried out, but only arouses amazement at the manifold wisdom of God. This wisdom is revealed to them not by the preaching of the word among them on behalf of the Church, but by its very structure. They see how the Church is organized and how everything in the Lord, seated at the right hand of the Father, is reunited - and they understand in this the manifold wisdom of God. Theodoret writes: “The invisible powers did not know this secret, but through the dispensation of the Church they learned the ineffable wisdom of God.” “Even if,” says Saint Chrysostom, “this was not revealed to people, but do you really enlighten the Angels, and the Archangels, and the Principality, and the Power? “I’m enlightening,” he says. For this wisdom was hidden in God, “in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ.” – And you dare to say this?! “Yes, I dare,” he says. But how did this become known to the Angels? – Through the Church. And moreover, he didn’t just say: let the wisdom of God be revealed in different ways, but “many-varied.” - So, what? Did the Angels really not know her? - Yes! For if they did not know the Beginning, then even more so it was unknown to the Angels. The Archangels didn’t know either? “They didn’t know either; how could they know? Who could reveal this to them? When we knew, then they knew through us.” So, the knowledge of the Angels is growing, and they take this increase from the earth, from the Church?! But did they really learn from the Church about the redemption and salvation of all, when in the Old and New Testaments they were ministers of this mystery? - The answer to this is indicated in the word: “the manifold wisdom of God.” Angels, existing in blissful contemplation of the Divine, of course, know many of the secrets of the wisdom of God, but not all, but which ones are revealed to them. The plans of the wisdom of God in the government of the world and redemption in God are hidden and are revealed to the Angels, as long as this is necessary for the fulfillment of the commands given to them. Much of them, especially the hidden reasons, further goals and what will happen after the plans are carried out, remain hidden from them. They will learn this from the events themselves. Events also reveal to them the secrets underlying them. In confirmation of this, Saint Chrysostom gives an example of how the Guardian Angel of the Persians resisted the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, not knowing what concerned the return of the Israelites (Dan. 10:13). And then he suggests: “If the Angels did not know this and the like, what is surprising that they did not know about the riches of the love of Christ as it was revealed through the Gospel.” Of course, the Angels knew about God’s advice to save the human race through the incarnation of the Only Begotten Son of God and His death on the cross. But in the way this was realized in the person of the Lord and further in the Holy Church, much remained unknown to them, and was recognized by them for the first time from the events themselves. Such was the mystery of the calling of the pagans into the fellowship of the Son of God and the leadership of everyone in His person. Saint Chrysostom says: “The angels knew only that “the Lord’s portion is His people” (Deut. 32:9). And what does the Angel say to Joseph? “And you shall call his name Jesus: For he will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). His people, that is, Israel. Nothing is said here about tongues; the Spirit of God specifically reveals about them.” This place is one of the most significant places in the New Testament. It shows that the earth with man, and especially the Church of God, is the main stage of God’s great and wondrous works, the spiritual center of the universe. All kinds of beings take part in its events, including Angels, both through sympathetic contemplation and action according to the instructions of God. “We are a disgrace,” says the Apostle, “both to the world, and to angels, and to man” (1 Cor. 4:9). This epistle has the peculiarity that in it the Apostle does not limit the work of God in Christ Jesus to the reconciliation of God with man, but extends it to the harmonization of the whole world by destroying the division of earthly and heavenly things caused by sin (Eph. 1:10). Angels are now being introduced into the restored living union, and it is the most sublime and sweetest object of contemplation for them, who both received communion and beheld it for the first time. This is the end of the redemptive actions of the God-man. In it the mystery of God's world rule is resolved, the goal of creating the world is achieved. Eph. 3:11. According to the proposal of the ages, do the hedgehog in Christ Jesus our Lord. “According to a proposal” προθεσιν - an assumption, a design, kept in Divine omniscience and formerly hidden in it. “Century...” from centuries, age-old, eternal. From eternity God has predestined everything as it should be; now in Christ Jesus this has been brought to pass. “God intended this before the ages, but created it through the economy of the Lord Christ” (Theodoret). “Now it is accomplished, but not now determined, but foreordained from ancient times. “According to the proposal of the centuries,” that is, according to the foreknowledge of the centuries, having foreseen the future, he determined this way” (Chrysostom). “Hedgehog”, in Greek ην, can be attributed to both the sentence of the ages - προθεσιν, and to wisdom - σοφια. This doesn't make a difference in terms of meaning. The Divine plan of everything accomplished by the Lord contained manifold wisdom, and the Lord, having fulfilled this plan, what else did he reveal if not manifold wisdom? He testified about Himself that if He says something, then He says it as He heard from the Father, and if He does something, He does it as He sees the Father doing (John 5:19). There, in the eternal council, He, as God, sat - and what was then determined by a unanimous decision of all the persons of the Most Holy Trinity, everything was fulfilled by becoming incarnate, according to the then definition, the Only Begotten Son of God, God the Word. The idea of ​​this text complements what was said above - the entire speech begun in verse 8. God has entrusted to me, says the Apostle, a special ministry, so that I would preach to the pagans the unexplored riches of Christ and reveal to everyone the insight into this mystery, which God had hidden in Himself for centuries, so that now he would finally reveal it, even to the Angels through the Church, all this in accordance with the eternal decree, which is now fulfilled by Jesus Christ. - This is how great what has been done for you, pagans. – Heaven and earth are set in motion, Angelic minds are enlightened, delighted and amazed at the contemplation of it. Remember. Or - “according to the proposal of the ages”, - the pre-eternal definition - expresses that especially side of the matter, as it is revealed to the Angels. Having said that the Church, with everything that happens in it, what is entrusted to it and what is achieved by it, reveals to the Angels the manifold wisdom of God, now he indicates, as it were, a program for the telling of this wisdom, according to what plan this legend proceeds, what subject it concerns. It’s like this: wisdom is spoken to the Angels of the Church, on the subject of the eternal determination brought to fulfillment by the Lord, or in relation to this. The following words are completely consistent with this. Eph. 3:12. O Him, the Imams have boldness and hope through His faith. The message of the text is clear. It is the same as above in Eph. 2:18: “before this the imams were brought in one Spirit to the Father.” We have confidence in the Lord, but without Him, like the publican, we do not dare to proclaim to heaven. Through it we also have a means of bringing us to the Father, from Whom our sins, which are removed by the Lord, separate us. The Lord takes away our sins, and we receive courage and boldness to approach the Heavenly Father. “In hope” - πεποιθησει, which means conviction and confidence. It expresses the disposition by which the weak says to the strong: I am confident in you, I know that you will not leave me. We receive such confidence in God through the Lord Jesus Christ; Having believed in the Lord, we receive confirmation that God accepts us into fellowship, and, having accepted, will never abandon us, and will not leave us in anything. For if “we do not spare the Son, how can we not also with Him give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). – Such a blissful disposition flows directly from faith in the Lord, is inseparably connected with it and serves as evidence of it. The Apostle says that it happens by “faith” in the Lord - δια της πιστεως; Saint Chrysostom says: “Imams have boldness... in hope,” that is, we approach with boldness. Why is this so? “By faith in Him.” “For,” adds Theophylact, “having resolved our sins, she gave us boldness and hope.” In a few words, the Apostle outlined the entire course of our reunion with God in the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith in death on the cross we receive remission of sins, by grace through the sacraments taught by faith we are united with the Lord, and through Him we are appropriated to the Father. So every believer is special; so are all believers collectively. All are united with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father, forming one body under Him - one head. It is obvious after this why the holy Apostle cited these words. They explain what exactly the Lord accomplished in fulfillment of God’s eternal decree about our salvation, and in the contemplation of what exactly the Angels see now, through the Church, the manifold wisdom of God. The Apostle’s thought is all based on the same image - the leadership of everyone in Christ Jesus our Lord. Eph. 3:13. Moreover, I pray [you] not to be saddened by my sorrows for you, which is your glory. This is said as if in passing. The purpose of the Apostle’s speech in this section is not to reassure the Ephesians, but to convince them to remember the greatness of God’s goodness to them, revealed in calling them to faith. He was more inclined to this by the greatness of the benefits they received through faith (Eph. 2:11, 12). In this same chapter, he also reveals to them the rarity of the mystery of their calling, which no one had previously known either on earth or in heaven, while it amazes the minds of angels in its beneficence and wisdom (Eph. 3:1-12). Explaining this, he also stated that God chose him as an instrument to introduce them to receiving such benefits. And since for this reason he was now in chains, and had previously suffered so much in Ephesus itself and in Asia, he adds one word, in case anyone began to be embarrassed by his suffering: this is how many blessings have been given to you, and this is through my preaching to you. Let me suffer for this, but do not be embarrassed, but rather look at what is brought to you through this suffering. Looking at this, you should not be embarrassed, but you should rejoice, for you see what glory this brings to you. Were there any troubled people among the Ephesians for this reason?! – Blessed Jerome finds this very probable. Everyone is confused, he says, by the fact that sinners are for the most part happy, while the righteous suffer. Even St. David says about himself that even his legs were about to fail, “the peace of sinners was in vain” (Ps. 73:3). How long did the Apostle Paul endure? This is evident from the Acts, and even more so from the epistles to the Corinthians, of which one was written in Ephesus, and the other immediately after leaving it. He says he fought with the beasts (1 Cor. 15:32), because “we are greatly weighed down (and] more than by strength, because we have no hope of living.” (2 Cor. 1:8) The Ephesians could have been embarrassed by all this, and the Apostle did well to say this comforting word, so that their faith would not fail, seeing such cramped conditions of the Apostle (abbreviated from Jerome). And St. Chrysostom believes that, indeed, there were those who were embarrassed. “How did they feel cold when another was grieving? - This means that they were afraid, they were embarrassed. He writes about this to the Thessalonians, saying: “For not one should be embarrassed in these sorrows” (1 Thessalonians 3:3). We are experiencing sorrow here because God commanded it.” Why is the sorrow of the Apostle the glory of the Ephesians? – You can answer this way: because they are the glory of the Apostle, the reflection of which falls on those who believed through him. It is proper for students to boast about their teacher, saying: this is what our teacher is like! And that the sorrows were the glory of the Apostle, this came from the fact that he remained invincible during them. It is not a diminishment of honor when someone suffers attacks and troubles for the good he does, but when he falls under the weight of them. Resistance against troubles is victory over them, and this victory is the glory of the one who has resisted (Jerome). Thus, the gloriously endured tribulations of the Apostle are his glory, and through him the glory of the Ephesians. But more direct than this sorrow is the glory of the Ephesians, because of the glory that they receive through the gospel, for which St. Paul suffered and fell into bonds. So Saint Chrysostom: “Why do his sorrows constitute their glory? - Because God loved them so much that He gave His Only Begotten Son for them and gave His servants, the Apostles, to suffer. In fact, Paul was also in bonds so that they would receive great benefits. God’s love for them is so great!” VI. And he concludes again with a prayer that the Ephesians may remain participants in the blessings of salvation, and through this be even more elevated to understand the greatness of the mysteries of salvation (Eph. 3:14–21) Just as, beginning to introduce the Ephesians into the contemplation of the economy of salvation, the Apostle prayed that they would be given the spirit of wisdom to know it, so now, in conclusion, he prays for the granting of understanding of the mystery of salvation and the great love of God for us. This was the goal of the Apostle, to lead the Ephesians to the contemplation of the entire economy of salvation. For this reason, he carried out all the previous reasoning, and now he is praying about this, wishing even more that the power of salvation would indwell them, live and act. “What the holy Apostle prayed for at the beginning, he also asks for now. At the beginning he prayed: “May God... the Father... give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him” (Eph. 1:17). And now he says the same thing: “that you may be able to understand with all the saints” (Eph. 3:18)” (Chrysostom). Eph. 3:14, 15. For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from which all the fatherland in heaven and on earth is named. "For this sake." Having brought to mind everything that has been said about the mystery of the economy of salvation and about the calling of the pagans to participate in it, the Apostle says: since you are called to participate in such blessings, I pray earnestly that you actually receive them and always possess them. “For this sake...” because you are so loved by God” (Ecumenius). “Since you are so beloved, since the blessings that you have been vouchsafed and will still be vouchsafed are incomprehensible, I pray,” he says, “that the grace of Christ who dwells in you may be given to you to understand this and understand how much you are beloved” (Theophylact). “I bow my knees” - not at this time when I wrote, but every time I perform prayers, I say, I make special bows for you, or I do not forget to insert into my prayer about everything - a prayer for you. He said: “I bow my knees,” and not simply: “I pray,” “thus expressing my intense prayer for them... showing that he is asking for their blessings with persistence” (St. Chrysostom). “With tenderness and contrition” (Theophylact). Or saying: “I bow my knees,” he says the same thing: I always pray fervently, I always offer a warm and reverent prayer to the merciful God. Kneeling is a symbol of reverent fear and humble confession of graces. "To the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ". since he prays for blessings, he used the sweetest name of God the Father, which is a sign of all trust, adding to Him the sweetest name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, for whose sake the Father is ready to give everything, whatever anyone asks in His name. He prays to God the Father, Who did not spare His Son and Who - “How can He not give us all things with Him?” (Rom. 8:32)! “Every fatherland in heaven and on earth is called from Worthless.” More than one thought can be connected to these words. They can mean: I pray to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the Father of Angels and men. He has fatherly care for both Angels and people; on the other hand, both Angels and people in Him alone have a true father. It can be assumed that Saint Paul had in mind the relationship of fatherhood and sonship, which God was pleased to establish between creatures. This is how the world is structured that the higher, the elders take care of the lower and younger ones and improve them. The first in this respect are the fathers of the last. The higher ranks of Angels, who transmit the light they accept from God to the lower ones, are in this regard their fathers. Among people, the most caring persons for the lesser are natural fathers, grandfathers, ancestors, then kings, rulers and, in spiritual terms, shepherds of the Church; and people not only call the first, but also these last, fathers. This patronymic is assigned to them according to the model of the patronymic of the Heavenly Father, because they demonstrate His care for everyone - He assimilates a part of it to them. He deigned to give up His name to them and to bestow that for the sake of which He Himself deigned to accept such a name. Just as God is one essentially, but He deigned to give both name and being to others, so in relation to paternal providence He is essentially the Father, but He also deigned to establish such relationships among creatures by which some are called and in fact are fathers in relation to others (the thought of Blessed Jerome). Blessed Theodoret writes: “God is in the proper and true sense the Father. For He was not first a son, and then became a father, but He is always the Father, and the Father by nature. Other fathers, both carnal and spiritual, borrowed this name from above. The Apostle calls the natural fathers “on earth” fathers and the spiritual fathers “in heaven.” Such was the blessed Apostle himself. And he let them see this, writing to the Corinthians, for he says: “Although... [and] many are teachers of Christ, but few are fathers: for in Christ Jesus I gave birth to the gospel” (1 Cor. 4:15). Therefore he says: asking and begging, I bow my knees and pray to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who truly is the Father, did not borrow the patronymic from another, but Himself communicated it to others.” Eph. 3:16. May He grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power by His Spirit in your inner man. In Art. 16–19 indicate the objects of prayer and good wishes of the holy Apostle to his disciples. In a small way, everything that a Christian can desire and seek is combined here. “Yes he will.” What God does not give, you will not find or take anywhere. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17). And that is a sign of spiritual wisdom, to know where to turn for the needs of the spirit, and to ask from the source of all goods what is worthy of Him. “The Apostle asks great things, according to the greatness of the Giver, teaching us to ask God for what is worthy of His glory—not earthly, but heavenly” (St. Damascus). "By the riches of glory". If by glory we mean the boundless perfections of God, in their inexhaustible fullness, then “according to the riches of glory” will be: according to the overflowing fullness of essentialities in God. According to Saint Gregory the Theologian, this served as an incentive for the creation of the world. Yes, God created everything and provides for everything, because He is immeasurably rich in everything and loves to make everyone rich. Or “according to the wealth of glory” he determines the extent to which he desires spiritual benefits to be granted to them. From a small giver it is decent to be content with little, but from a greater one it is proper to expect more. The Apostle asks that God grant them what they ask for to the extent that His glory is great, that is, most abundantly. “May he give it to you,” as one who is rich and wants to be glorified” (Theophylact), that is, so that the talent would not be lower than His glory. "By force". They understand differently who is strong, powerful, strong; some by supernatural power, given by the Holy Spirit, some by moral power, restored by the Holy Spirit. The last two can be combined together, and perhaps this will more directly express the Apostle’s thought. “Riches of glory” will indicate the sources of God’s mercies, and “power through the Holy Spirit” will indicate the manner of their pouring out. “The Holy Spirit gives strength” (Theophylact). “It is impossible to be established in goodness otherwise than by the power of the Holy Spirit, with the help of the grace of God” (Chrysostom). For everything comes from God, who “has unspeakable wealth and immeasurable power” (Theodoret). “Be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man.” The first subject of prayer is about how life truly begins in Christ Jesus. “Be established” κραταιωθηναι, from κρατος; the power from which the autocrat is the autocrat will: take the power into his hands, and, as in the inner man, the power over himself, become an autocrat within, become autocratic. What kind of autocracy is this and why is it desired above all? – Let us recall the structure of human nature. Having arranged the lower part of human nature in a special way, different from the work of other creatures, God breathed into his face the breath of His Divine life. This is the spirit of man, the highest side of our nature, where consciousness and freedom-reason are, with the principles of the fear of God, conscience and dissatisfaction with anything created. The purpose of the spirit is to be in God and to raise everything to God - everything that is in man and around man. For this purpose, he was given power over the lower parts of human nature. Receiving power from God, in Whom he lives, he draws into the same life the soul with its intellect and sciences - its products, with its will and undertakings - its manifestations, with its taste and arts - its works, and with its lower abilities - imagination and memory, draws in the body with its needs, and brings the reflection of the same life to all its external orders. When this happens in a person, then he is a real person, a person who corresponds to his norm and his idea. And here he obviously is the ruler over himself and over everything that is in him and around him. But it is also obvious that he receives such autocratic power from God, for the sake of surrendering himself to God and life in Him, qualified by the fear of God, sincere conscience and alienation from all created things. Separate the spirit from God, and this power will be taken from it. Then he can no longer cope with the aspirations of the soul, or with the needs of the body, or with external contacts. He is devoted to the distraction of mental and physical desirability and external worldly vanity, even if all in the form of self-pleasure. Compare these two systems of life and you will see that the first lives entirely within itself before God, and the second lives entirely outside with oblivion of God. This latter system of life is extremely worsened by the fact that passions enter into it, which, rooted in selfhood, penetrate the entire mental and physical body and give everything here an evil direction, contrary to the spirit or fear of God and conscience, which does not create, but destroys, and makes a person even more external. This latter is man in the fall, outside the rank to which he was placed in creation. God did not want to leave the fallen one in the fall and created for him an image of rebellion from the fall. The Son of God became incarnate, suffered, died on the cross, was resurrected for three days and, ascending into heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father. By this ascent, He opened the way for the descent to us of the Holy Spirit, Who, having descended through the Apostles, dwelt in the Church of God through the Holy Sacraments. The Spirit of grace passes everywhere and awakens all human spirits to spiritual life. The rays of exciting grace fall directly on the human spirit and revive in it its natural movements - the fear of God, conscience and dissatisfaction with created things. From this action, a person comes to his senses for the first time, enters his inner home from the distraction in which he had previously wandered. This action makes him think. If things turn out favorably, having thought about it, he decides not to indulge in any more entertainment, but to live within himself according to the promptings of the fear of God and conscience with selflessness. For this decision, the grace of God, which hitherto acted from the outside, enters inside through the sacraments, and makes the spirit of man, weak, powerful. Consciousness and freedom have already completely transferred to this side, and a person begins an inner life before God, a truly free, rationally self-active life. The needs of the soul and body and the demands of external accidents no longer entertain him; on the contrary, he begins to govern them, as the Spirit gives. As an autocrat, he sits on the throne of the heart and from there gives orders on how to be and how to do what. Such autocracy begins from the first minute of an internal revolution and the infusion of grace; but perfection does not appear suddenly. Often the former rulers break through and not only cause alarm in the inner city, but often the ruler of the city himself is taken into captivity. Such accidents happen often in the beginning; but the power of intense zeal, constancy of attention to oneself and one’s work, and prudent patience in working on it with the help of God’s grace make them more and more rare. Finally, the spirit becomes so strong that the attacks of previous influences on it are for it the same as a speck of dust for a granite wall. The spirit abides within itself without origin, standing before God and reigning supreme with the power of God, imperturbably strong. And this is what the Apostle desires to the Ephesians, praying that God would grant them to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man. Eph. 3:17. Let Christ dwell in your hearts by faith: they are rooted and founded in love. The dwelling of Christ in the heart is contemporary with the establishment in the inner man. Together they begin, together they increase, together they are perfect. It can be understood this way: “to be established in the inner man,” that is, “to let Christ dwell in your hearts.” But just as inner life has its own sides, we can also see them in these sayings. Confirmation in the inner man is the preparation of a dwelling place in us for Christ the Lord. When someone is affirmed in the inner man, it is as if the owner of the house has cleaned and put everything in order, cleansed everything, sanctified it, perfumed it with aromas and is waiting for a guest. And the Lord is willing to come to such a person, and the owner is joyful and able to meet and receive the Lord. For he who is established within is the one who, having mastered himself, overcame and banished passions, and was established in all virtue. The Lord Himself speaks about this: “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me: and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and I will appear to him Myself” (John 14:21). And a little lower: “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word: and My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our abode with him” (John 14:23). “From these words, understand,” says Saint Chrysostom, “how Christ dwells in hearts.” Blessed Theophylact writes: “He wishes them not only to be “established,” but also to have something greater and higher than this—to “dwell Christ” in their inner man, that is, in their hearts, to dwell not superficially, but in the depths (of the heart). He wishes them two good things - to be strengthened by the Spirit and for Christ to dwell in their hearts; or wants them to be established in order to become capable, so that Christ may abound in their inner man,” “may they be the church of God,” adds Ekumeniy. The words: “in the inner man” and “into the hearts” show a deep penetration, as if fusion. And the Lord Himself compares His communication with believers to the merging of branches with vine trees, deducing from this comparison that no one can live truly, nor create true fruit, if he is not thus united with Him. Why does he add: “Be in Me, and I in you” (John 15:1–8), This is the law of life in Christ Jesus, As soon as someone is baptized, he already puts on Christ (Gal. 3:27). In baptism, the grace of the Holy Spirit regenerates to new life, but this new life occurs only under the condition “if anyone is in Christ” (2 Cor. 5:17). While the grace of the Spirit restores our spirit, it combines with Christ and Christ with him. The Indwelling of Christ is the affirmation in the inner man. Our spirit comes alive through Christ, lives and breathes through Christ. Let us take it a little higher and see that the Apostle prays that the Father may be pleased to confirm the Ephesians with the Holy Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in them. The Three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity act inseparably for the salvation of one and all. And the Apostle also expressed his good wishes to the Corinthians from the Most Holy Trinity, saying: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God and the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all” (2 Cor. 13:13). We see the same thing in the Apostle Peter, who wishes well to the Jews scattered everywhere, that grace and peace may abound in them, “according to the vision of God the Father, in holiness of the Spirit, in obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:2). Spiritual life for everyone is according to the good pleasure of the Father, its norm is Christ the Lord, its producer is the Holy Spirit. Why, when we pray: “Our Father,” or: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,” or: “Soul of truth, come to dwell in us...” may we not share in our spirit the unity of the Divine, but may we lift up the one work of salvation to the One God in the Trinity of Persons, Who, not being divided by nature, inseparably makes our salvation through the triplicity of the one saving grace. Christ the Lord dwells in hearts by faith when they are rooted and founded in love. “Christ,” he says, “dwell into your hearts by faith, rooted and founded in love.” “I pray,” he says, “that you too may achieve this, so that your souls, according to the goodness of the Spirit, may become the abode of Christ who saved you. He immediately shows what they should bring from themselves to build this church. “You need, he says, faith and love, so that you can flourish with them, as if having some kind of foundation and root of inviolability” (Theodoret). For “Christ the Lord dwells only in the hearts of believers who are confirmed and do not waver in love for Him” (St. Chrysostom), “are not dragged away and carried away here and there” (Theophylact). It is necessary to note that the words: “rooted and founded in love” - all our interpreters place, along with faith, a condition for the indwelling of Christ in the hearts, so that in the following words: “that you may be able to understand,” this understanding comes from the indwelling of Christ, and not from being rooted in love, as those give the idea who frame this speech as follows: “that the foundations may be rooted in love and be able to understand.” The grammatical structure of speech is thereby restored, but the manifestations of spiritual life are indignant and are not presented in their characteristic harmony. The Holy Fathers did not pay attention to this (grammatical structure), but interpreted these words as if they stood: “Christ will dwell in your hearts by faith, rooted and founded in love,” as Saint Chrysostom paraphrased. For the sake of faith, Christ dwells in those who are rooted in love. This is the same, the urgent condition of salvation proclaimed in all the epistles of St. Paul - faith, aided by love. Faith is the beginning, love is the end or peak. Faith means conviction in the truths of the Gospel, just as we are confident in our own existence. Only such faith is strong and firm and provides solid support for life. Without such faith, living is the same as walking through a quagmire or being overwhelmed by waves. There is confusion, disorder and fear in everything. How can you do something good in such a situation and, moreover, establish yourself in a good life? Faith does not suddenly become so strong, but from weak beginnings it grows to perfection; but even from the first beginnings, it illuminates the entire path of life and indicates what is required of a person and how he can achieve it. Although all this at the beginning is visible, it happens like someone sees things in the light about which we speak: it’s a little faint, but still visible and distinct. The poverty of nature and the destruction of sin are visible; one can see the wealth of Christ and the fact that no one is prohibited from taking possession of it. This causes the decision to turn and cleave to Christ. Christ the Lord is communicative. As soon as anyone takes a step towards Him, He then gives His whole self to the one approaching. In the sacrament of baptism or repentance, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the combination of Christ the Lord with the spirit of man is effected, which from that moment becomes living-active and autocratic, from the grace of Christ receiving power to dominate itself and everything that is in man and around him. Having made a covenant in conjunction with Christ in His commandments to walk and to do the will of the Heavenly Father in everything, the spirit, established within, begins to direct everything there and autocratically subordinate under this yoke all the actions of the soul, all the needs of the body and all the orders of external life - rejecting everything that is wrong and forcing itself to do only what is right, through the struggle with all the opposites that arise inward from passions that are already fundamentally affected by self-denial. All this work is a laborious walk in deeds of love. This is how one is organized inside according to the beginning and spirit of faith. But the spirit of life in Christ Jesus does not suddenly fill the heart. He who believes or repents goes straight, but at the beginning only through self-constraint and self-resistance. The life that beats from the heart comes after. Active love leads to feeling love. And this is already rooted and founded love. Human nature, like God-like, is loving. Through the fall, the egoism that came in cooled him. In the initial selflessness, selfishness is discarded: the subsequent work of struggling with passions that come from selfishness, and the contemporary work of doing good, affirming the Kindness of the heart, evaporate egoism with passions. The degrees of its evaporation are the degrees of warming the heart with the warmth of love. At the end of this there is a burning of the heart with all-embracing love, such as Divine love. And here is love rooted and founded! To a life that does not fall away from Christ, faith grows and love grows. Along with their growth, communion with Christ, or the indwelling of Christ in the heart, also deepens. The maturity of faith and love and the fullness of Christ’s indwelling in the heart are modern. But the communion of the soul with Christ and Christ with the soul begins from the first moments, in the act of sanctification by the sacraments. Having begun, it remains, but it is hidden both for others and for the believer himself: when and when it will manifest itself. Once the heart is cleansed, it becomes obvious to everyone. Here the gifts of grace are revealed. – And this is exactly what St. Paul wishes for the Ephesians. If you have, he seems to say, the favor of the Father, the grace of the Holy Spirit, the indwelling of Christ, add your faith and labor of love. When you bring your feelings into love, or when love takes root in you, then the fullness of Christ’s indwelling will manifest itself in you - He will fill you, as fire fills iron. And everyone will see Christ living in you. I wish this for you; About this, on bended knee, I pray to the Heavenly Father. Eph. 3:18, 19. May you be able to understand with all the saints what is breadth and length and depth and height, and understand the love of Christ that overcomes understanding, so that you may be filled with all the fulfillment of God. This is the fruit of the indwelling of Christ the Lord into hearts—the perfection of understanding! – Where Christ is, there is the mind of Christ. And just as the Apostle says about himself: “We are the mind of Christ imams” (1 Cor. 2:16), a mind that comprehends everything and understands the mind of the Lord Himself (1 Cor. 2:15), so a similar communion of the mind of the Lord is given to everyone who has taken residence in the heart of the Lord, to the extent pleasing to Him. There is no other way to understand the spiritual realm. “Yes, you can,” he says, “that is, you need a lot of strength, what is this strength needed for? – In order to “understand” (Saint Chrysostom). The holy Apostle gives so much importance to understanding in the matter of Christianity that he directed the entire epistle towards revealing it and showing the right path to it. It is so, for the ignorant is the same as the blind - he does not know where and how to go. But one cannot help but distinguish between degrees of understanding. Already in the first announcement of the Gospel, when it is still only accepted by hearing, understanding of it is also given. He who believes and is baptized enters the highest degree of understanding. Whoever follows the path of faith in good deeds and deeds, this understanding grows more and more. When, after the purification of the heart, Christ dwells in it, then understanding is raised to the highest degree. The Holy Fathers call this degree contemplation and the path to it is the same as depicted above - the path of labor in fulfilling the commandments and in the feat of overcoming passions, in the forms of purifying the heart and instilling love in it. Saint Isaac the Syrian writes about this in detail in the 55th word, or epistle to the wonderworker Simeon, in his last sections, from page 373. We will give below several of his provisions on this. The words “with all the saints” should not be ignored. Perhaps the Apostle only wanted to say: with all Christians, since it is customary for him to call Christians saints. But since, in essence, Christians only aspire to holiness, are zealous about it and are equipped with the strength for it, but they actually become saints after they have succeeded in life in Christ Jesus, when Christ Himself, the source of all holiness, dwells in them, then nothing prevents us from meaning “successful and perfect Christians” here by saints. The Apostle desires that the Ephesians, who have entered by faith into the community of Christians, would not lag behind others in understanding, but would be worthy to achieve such a degree as that possessed by the most perfect of Christians. He says, as it were: that you may be able to understand, along with all the saints, as the perfect saints understand. At the same time, it is suggested that both life and understanding among Christians are not matured separately, separately from others, but that it also matures and becomes perfect under the condition of communication with everyone. Communication in life is love; communication in the understanding is a community of understanding - so that everyone understands like everyone else, and does not leave the circle of community of understanding. Special, original views are alien to the spirit of Christ. The Apostle says, as it were: I wish you the highest understanding, but not in such a way that you get carried away somewhere, alienating yourself from the saints, but with all the height of your understanding, you stand on a level with all the saints, or enter into the power and circle of their understanding, for it is not and cannot be higher and fuller. What is the subject of understanding - the Apostle does not designate it, but in the course of his speech it is clear that he is talking about the mystery of the economy of our salvation in Christ Jesus. This is what all our interpreters understand. Saint Chrysostom writes: “May you be able to understand... that breadth...” that is, may you be able to accurately understand the mystery of the economy of our salvation.” – Everyone knows the general outline of the work of salvation and without much difficulty, for it is clearly outlined. But the one who has achieved the fact that Christ has moved into him, or that Christ clearly reveals his presence in him, feels his salvation in fact, therefore he understands it perfectly, just as someone who has recovered understands health more perfectly than someone who still expects health while lying in illness and being treated. In such, the very economy of salvation is seen more clearly, and all its connections are more accurately defined, for it enters into all areas of existence and with its power extends throughout the entire space of time, and embraces eternity. Consequently, it contains the answer to everything that exists and everything that happens, to all creatures and to the course of all events. All this is revealed in the minds of those who have most sincerely communed with the Lord, although it does not fit into words and ordinary turns of phrase, but is only clearly felt. Just as the Apostle, who heard verbs in heaven and saw things there, could not convey it in words, so it happens with all Christian contemplatives. With their minds, in the mystery of salvation, they see many things that they cannot express in words. This is what the Apostle shows here with the words: “latitude, longitude, height, depth.” This signifies either the greatness of the work of salvation and the fullness of God’s love for us revealed in it, or different aspects of this economy. Blessed Theodoret writes: “By faith and love it is possible for us to achieve spiritual grace (the effects and manifestations of its obvious), and through it to recognize the greatness of the completed economy. For the Apostle depicted greatness by breadth, length, depth and height, because by these measurements magnitude is signified.” – Saint Chrysostom says: “Breadth and length, depth and height, he calls the knowledge of the riches of God’s love, that is, how it spread everywhere. He describes it with bodily features, adapting to human concepts; This is why she says that she embraced both the upper and the lower, and those on the sides. We said, he says, that this can be taught not by our word, but by the Holy Spirit.” Blessed Theophylact remembers that Saint Gregory of Nyssa sees in these features an image of the sacrament of the Cross of the Lord, which is the focus in the economy of salvation. And Ecumenius gives a lengthy explanation of these features made by Patriarch Photius. “What is this latitude and longitude, depth and height? – Or the sacraments (salvation), or the very understanding of Christ? The understanding of Christ is a clear representation of the economy he completed. - The understanding of Christ is the knowledge of how and why this wonderful work of salvation was accomplished by Him, and not by anyone else, and the recognition that He Himself is the Giver of this understanding and that it is only in this way that we truly know Christ. This is the understanding of Christ. Its length is the knowledge that the Economy of salvation is predetermined from time to time. The breadth - that his benefit extends to everyone - and to those who are before the law, who are in the law and according to the law, and to the living and to the dead, to Jews and Greeks, to barbarians and to all nations, to the heavenly and the earthly. For Christ created peace for all of them, whereas before the Angels and people were in discord with each other. The Apostle prays that they would understand all this, and not only this, but also the depth and height of it (the economy), the depth - that its indescribable power and good deeds descended to the depths of hell, destroying and captivating hell, and redeeming and freeing those captive by it, and the height - that the one who descended is also the one who ascended, who raised our firstfruits above the heavens, above all Beginning and Power, Strength and Dominance. Do you see the indescribable height of Christ’s economy and understanding? “The Apostle prays for them to comprehend and understand all this.” “Understand the love of Christ, which surpasses understanding.” At the same time, as the work of salvation is revealed in such completeness before their consciousness, the love of Christ will also be revealed in its entirety. For she produced all this. The love of Christ is incomprehensible to the mind; but when Christ dwells in someone, then he feels its greatness with his heart and contemplates it with his mind, although it remains inexpressible and inexplicable. Saint Chrysostom says: “Although the love of Christ is above all human knowledge, you will know it if Christ dwells in you.” Or the Apostle wants to say that you will understand not that “how great is the love of Christ, but the very fact that it exceeds all reason” (Theophylact). Until you feel the love of Christ, you can still think that you understand it at least somewhat. But when you feel it, you will know together that there is no measure of its greatness, and your mind is not given the ability to comprehend it (greatness). “Saint Paul does not look for the measure of love and does not want to measure it, and how could he do this? But he says that an excellent and great thing is to know (the wealth of love). Let us try, beloved, to know the love of Christ. This is important for us: nothing else brings us so much benefit, nothing else elevates us so much. The knowledge of this love can act on the soul more than the fear of Gehenna” (St. Chrysostom). Confirmation in the inner man by the grace of the Spirit prepares a home in the heart for the indwelling of Christ; the indwelling of Christ brings knowledge of the economy of salvation and the knowledge of the love of Christ, and this knowledge again affects the confirmation in the inner man. This is how the cycle of spiritual life begins, which through this becomes inexhaustible. “May you be filled with all the fulfillment of God.” “This is understood in two ways: either that you know that God we worship is in the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit - for the fullness of God is the Trinity; or - may you be filled with every virtue that God is filled with. It is better, I think, to understand this way: may you be perfect in every perfection according to God, knowing everything of God as much as possible” (Theophylact). There is a standard for Christian perfection. The apostle desires the Ephesians to ascend to the measure of it. I wish you, he says, that for the sake of faith and love, Christ will dwell in you and that through this you will come to know the whole economy and all the love of Christ, so that in this way you will become full of everything that God intended to fill Christians with. When you receive everything prescribed, then you will no longer have any lack, “you will be perfect and... lacking nothing” (James 1:4). For when Christ is in you, then are all things with Him. What more could you want? - Blessed Theodoret paraphrases this text as follows: “May you have Him completely dwelling in you.” Having brought together everything said by the Apostle, we see that the fullness of Christian perfection, according to him, is a state of contemplation. This state occurs in someone who, freed from all coherence by anything, enters the realm of God and sees everything there the way we see everything around us. Contemplation seems to be only a matter of the mind, but in order for it to open in the mind, one must work and then enter the state required for it. We quote the words of Saint Isaac the Syrian about this, as promised. “Initially, our nature in the incarnation of Christ received renewal... and then, after renewal... it became capable of accepting new and perfect commandments” (p. 374) (Like our holy father Abba Isaac the Syrian, an ascetic and hermit, who was the bishop of the Christ-loving city of Nineveh, ascetic words. M., 1854.). “...new and spiritual commandments, which the soul keeps, keeping in mind the fear of God, renew and sanctify the soul, and secretly heal all its members. It is obvious to everyone what passion each commandment silently heals in the soul, and their effectiveness is felt by both the healer and the healed, as was the case with the bleeding woman” (ibid.). “If the passionate part of the soul is not healed... then the soul will not acquire health... This healing is accomplished by doing the commandments and difficult deeds (deeds) of true life. Whoever acquired mental health, cut off his former disposition and was reborn, became visible in the realm of the spirit, and the new, uncomplicated world accepted him into itself” (p. 375). “When the mind is renewed and the heart is sanctified, then all the concepts that arise in it are aroused in accordance with the nature of the world into which it enters. His mind senses the spiritual knowledge of creatures, and the contemplation of the mysteries of the Holy Trinity, as well as the mysteries of the economy venerated for our sake, shines in him” (ibid.). “If passions are taken away from the soul, then the mind is enlightened and placed in a pure place of nature, and has no need for questions; because he clearly sees the benefits found in his place. Just as the external senses perceive things not as a result of learning... so, in a similar way, imagine spiritual contemplation. For the mind that despises the hidden mysteries of the spirit, if it is in its natural health, fully contemplates the glory of Christ and does not question or study, but enjoys the mysteries of the new world, above free will” (p. 376). “To desire to find out such secrets through research and questioning is foolishness of the soul. For blessed Paul did not say that by science or any material method he saw and heard mysteries and “unutterable verbs, which a man is too young to speak” (2 Cor. 12:4), but was caught up in rapture into the spiritual realm and saw the revelation of mysteries” (p. 378). “If you want your heart to become the abode of the mysteries of the new world, then first enrich yourself with bodily deeds, fasting, vigil, service, asceticism, patience, laying down your thoughts, and so on. Bound your mind by reading the Scriptures and delving into them, and write the commandments before your eyes. By constant prayerful conversation, eradicate in your heart every image (of things) and every likeness that you have previously perceived. Accustom your mind to always delve into the secrets of the Savior’s economy, continuing to do the commandments and work in acquiring purity. Ask the Lord in prayer, kindled by fire, for all sadness (care of the heart, jealousy), so that it will sink (pour out) into your heart and may you be worthy of intelligent living. The beginning, middle and end of this life is the following: cutting off everything through union with Christ” (p. 379). “Words that are incomprehensible to knowledge (reason) are made understandable to us with the help of faith, and we receive knowledge about them through contemplation, which occurs after purification. For spiritual mysteries, which are above knowledge (reason) and which are not felt by either the bodily senses or the rational power of the mind (reason), God gave us faith, by which we know only that these mysteries exist (and they are known in a different way, as has already been said). And from this faith, hope is born in us about them (to achieve contemplation of them). By faith we confess that God is Lord, Master, Creator and Creator of all things, and by knowledge (reason) we decide that we must keep His commandments out of love. (And this leads to blissful contemplation). “If you love Me, keep My commandments, and I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Comforter” (John 14:15, 16), said the Lord. He calls the coming of the Comforter the gift of revelation of spiritual mysteries, therefore in the reception of the Spirit, Whom the Apostles received, there is all the perfection of spiritual knowledge. And the Lord promised, begging His Father, to give them a Comforter, so that as they kept the commandments and cleansed themselves, he would remain with them forever. You see that for keeping the commandments out of love, the mind is awarded the grace of mysterious contemplation and revelations of spiritual knowledge” (pp. 381–382). “The rightful door that leads into this is love. If we acquire love, it leads us into this. “I am the door,” said the Lord. Through me a person will enter into life and “find pasture” for his spiritual life. Then, on all ascents of revelations of knowledge and mysterious contemplations, Divine love introduces and leads him out, as well as those who have the freedom of Christ” (pp. 383–384). “Just as, as the soul grows naturally, it accepts new and new knowledge, and senses what exists in the world, and day by day it learns this more and more, so in the spiritual, a person accepts spiritual contemplation and Divine sensation, and learns this to the extent that the mind grows in rational living and extends forward. When he comes to the region of love, then he contemplates the spiritual in its place. But while a person makes an effort for the spiritual to descend upon him, it does not submit. And if he boldly dreams and raises his gaze to the spiritual, and reaches it with his understanding at the wrong time, then his vision soon becomes dull, and instead of the real, he sees ghosts and images” (p. 385). “If the mind is not purified by doing the commandments, does not acquire the perfection of love, does not succeed in the renewal of Christ with age... then it will not be possible to become a true spectator of Divine contemplation. Nevertheless, the likeness of the spiritual, which the mind thinks to form for itself, is called a ghost, and not reality” (p. 387). The proposed extracts contain the entire teaching about true contemplation. In terms of the grandeur of the subject, the extract is great. But just as there was no laziness in doing it, let there be no laziness in reading it and delving into it. This subject is of the first importance, although our scientific culture pays little attention to it. Eph. 3:20, 21. But to him who is able to do all things, according to the abundance of what we ask or understand, according to the power that works in us, to him be glory in the Church of Christ Jesus throughout all generations of ages. Amen. “The Apostle concludes his dogmatic word with a doxology” (Theodoret). “I,” he says, “pray, and even without my prayer He will do more than our requests - and not just more or more abundantly, but in excess - an expression that shows the special greatness of the gift” (St. Chrysostom). “I will praise Him, because He is able, and He wills, and He gives more than we ask” (Theodoret). Saint Paul usually, in the midst of the flow of speech, is delighted with prayer and doxology. For he lived what he wrote about: he carried everything in his heart; out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks praise. Before this, the Apostle expressed the desire that the Ephesians be fulfilled “to all the fulfillment of God.” This fullness of God, or the fullness of good things that come from God to us in Christ Jesus, is partly depicted by the Apostle in his epistle, partly expressed by him in this prayer, partly, of course, the Ephesians knew and understood it. The Apostle now says: what I wrote to you about, what I prayed and pray about, what you yourself comprehend and seek, all this is great, but does not at all exhaust the treasury of blessings given to us through the Lord Jesus Christ. There are incomparably more of them than we can comprehend and ask for. And the Lord can pour them all out on everyone on whom He pleases. What has already been poured out, you experience for yourself, you see in me, you hear active in the other Apostles. See how it works? – It is unknown how power comes and manifests its action either in the soul only, enlightening and purifying, or externally, working miracles. This is not from us: God’s gift! And measures cannot be taken for this. If we measured this by our capacity, we could also determine the measure. But since the measure of this is God’s boundless goodness and omnipotence, then who will set the measure and limit for this? “God’s treasury is immeasurable, and He is ready to spend it all on us.” With such a thought, could the Apostle not cry: “To him be glory!” “More than all” – it should be: more than all; - which with “in abundance” expresses: incomparably more than all that we ask and understand. “According to the power that works in us,” they express the reason why the Apostle says so. He seems to answer the question: “Where can this be seen (that God can do this for us)? “From the power, he says, acting in us, for we never asked for this and did not expect it” (St. Chrysostom). In us, in whom is it? - Either mainly in the Apostles, or in all believers in the Church, to say: Christianity - faith in Christ has given and gives a lot to everyone, and what it can still give, there is no measure. Elsewhere the Apostle says: all yours (1 Cor. 3:21, 22). Having this in mind, the Apostle delights in praise, saying: “To him be glory!” “The Apostle did well to conclude his word with prayer and praise, for we must glorify and bless Him who has given us such blessings” (St. Chrysostom). God bless! - an appeal that naturally comes from the heart when the mind begins to enter even a small initial comprehension of the Divine properties and actions, and especially the beneficial relations of God towards us. Glory and thanksgiving come together, and under them petition ripens or warms. This is the whole essence of our relationship with God, which is always expressed in any prayer when it proceeds properly. And the same thing happens in natural religion. The difference between this manifestation of spiritual life in Christianity is that it happens here “in the Church and about Christ Jesus.” “In the Church”: for all benefits are accepted by it, recognized and determined by it, and communicated to all members by it. From her one voice goes and glory to God. As the Apostle showed above (in the words: “understand with all the saints”) that we do not tolerate isolation in knowledge before God, so now he shows that we do not tolerate isolation before Him in prayer and praise. Praise God through the mouth of the Church or with the whole Church and when you pray alone. We express this by approaching God with the prayers of the Most Holy Theotokos, the host of Angels and all the saints. “About Christ Jesus”: for everything that we have and that we can have, we have and can have only through the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith in Him and through a living union with Him, by which all His things descend upon us. Through Him the praise must ascend back to God. Only in this form is it pleasing to God, just as we are all pleasing to Him only for His sake, for the sake of the fact that we put on Him. He is the head, and the mouth with which one can glorify is in the head. Saint Chrysostom notes: “It is also worthy of surprise that for the gifts we have received from God, (the Apostle glorifies God) in Christ Jesus.” Theophylact adds: “He doesn’t just say, “To him be glory,” but also “in Christ Jesus,” that is, through Christ Jesus. For truly no one can worthily glorify God, if not through the grace and power of Christ. He both excites us to glorify, and teaches us how to do this worthily.” The words: “throughout all generations of centuries” express the continuity of doxology. Generation after generation will be replaced in the course of time, century after century will pass, but that great work of God, which was accomplished in Christ Jesus, and is presented and maintained by the Church, will remain unchanged, enriching our race with greater and greater gifts from heaven, and will always move our lips to praise. Glory to God is silent and is given in the Church. She can only reward it with the continuity indicated by the Apostle. - To him be glory throughout all generations, or be it, or be it. The first places on us the obligation to glorify God for the work of salvation (Theodoret), and the second says that if there is always glory to God in the Church, then the Church will always be, or: the Church will always be, there will always be glory to God. Saint Chrysostom says: “This is also very appropriately said: “glory in the Church,” for it is known that the Church will always exist; and since it always abides, the Apostle wants us to glorify God until the end of the world, which he explained by saying: “to all generations of the age.” These last two verses of the dogmatic part of the letter are beautifully paraphrased by Blessed Jerome. Here are his words. “By this the Apostle shows that in his petition he is limited to the measure of man and asks for what he finds useful for the Ephesians; but, in essence, God can grant more than is asked of Him, and with His benefits exceed our hopes. We ourselves don’t even know what or how to pray, and we often ask for things that are not useful to us. A fornicator, for example, asks for health, whereas it is much more beneficial for him to be sick and exhausted by infirmities, so as not to have the strength to make the church of Christ the harlots of a harlot. God is powerful to give not only more than we ask, but also more than we understand. It sometimes happens that we do not express our thoughts in words, but in silent thought with unutterable groanings, as the same Apostle says, we ask for what we cannot express. God supplies this too; He gives even more, and everything “according to the power that works in us.” Just as now, not because of our deeds and above our aspirations, He gives us many things that we would not dare to ask for, so He can give us many other things that the mind cannot think about and which words cannot express. So let there be glory to the good God: firstly, in the Church, which is pure, has no filth or vice, and, moreover, alone can perceive the glory of God, because it is the body of Christ; secondly, in Christ Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the physical Godhead, and of whom all who believe in Him are members. This glory is not limited to the present time and subsequent centuries, but extends to all generations and through centuries of centuries remains, grows and multiplies and announces all endless eternity.” You might be interested in: