21. Необходимость воссоединения с Богом для спасения. Сам человек не в силах сделать этого. Дух Божий совершает сие в нас ради искупления, принесенного Сыном Божиим

So what did you come up with in response to what is needed to put everything in us back to its previous, original order? Whatever you come up with, I will continue with mine. Just as we slid down the mountain, we need to go back and climb the mountain again. Once the disease has set in, by acting in the opposite direction, you can drive it out. If you have fallen away from God, you need to reunite with Him. They fell away, doubting the word of God; we must restore full faith in this word. Having lost faith in God and in God, we made a disastrous decision: “So I myself,” - we must destroy this “I myself.” When this destructive “I myself” was formed, our spirit lost its inherent power to rule over soul and body and, on the contrary, it itself fell under the yoke of slavery to them - this power of the spirit must be restored. When the power of the spirit was cut short, the needs of the soul and body scattered in different directions and confusion occurred in our desires - we must bring all these needs back to unity and establish mutual subordination in their order. Together with the destructive “I myself”, a flock of passions has pressed into the circle of our life, like wild animals tormenting us - we must drive out these passions. You see how much is needed. Just by the multitude and importance of this need, you can conclude that we ourselves cannot cope with this, however, the only thing necessary for us. We especially cannot hope to settle this most important matter of ours ourselves, because the first point in it, without establishing which there is no point in taking on the others - namely, reunification with God - cannot in any way be in our power. We may wish for it and seek it, but to arrange it is not the work of our hands. Who can squeeze into the realm of God or pave the way to Him? Who is able to take from God what he wants, much less force God to be in us, so that we too may be in Him, and especially after all this has already been given to us, but is despised, and the face of God is belittled by mistrust, and His power is trampled upon by self-will? You say: I will repent - and I repent. But it's not your place to set conditions. Repentance can go into action, but only when God Himself decrees it and agrees to accept it. But what is it in itself?! I’m hurt and it hurts – what’s wrong?! Thus, reunification with God is not in our power: its conditions, and the manner of its implementation, and everything related to this is not in our hands. Meanwhile, this is how important it is, that once you complete the reunion, everything else will go by itself. The spirit will immediately take strength, subjugate the soul and body, organize needs and desires and drive out passions. But how can he succeed? I am leading this speech to let you understand that there is no need for us to rack our brains over how to reunite with God. No matter how much you break, you won’t come up with anything; but rather, if God has been pleased to establish the law and order of this reunion, hasten to accept it with full faith and use it with warm gratitude. And thanks be to the philanthropic God! Everything has already been accomplished, established and explained for this purpose. Take it and use it. I will not tell you how all this was accomplished, I will say the main thing: in order to restore our spirit and reunite it with God, it is necessary for the Spirit of God to descend into it and revive it. To open the way for the descent of the Spirit of God, the Only Begotten Son of God descended, became incarnate, suffered, died on the Cross, was resurrected and ascended. In this regard, the Son of God Himself puts His work before the Holy Spirit, when, having announced to His disciples about His departure to the Father and thereby arousing sorrow in them, He spoke to them as a consolation: “I say to you the truth: I am not with you, but I am going: for if I do not go, the Comforter will not come to you” (John 16:7). And even earlier, the holy evangelist John the Theologian, explaining the words of the Lord: “believe in Me... rivers from his belly will flow out living waters,” added: “This is what He said about Dus, Whom those who believe in His name wanted to receive: for the Holy Spirit was not, for Jesus was not glorified” (John 7:38-39). The Son of God had to be glorified, having humbled Himself through incarnation and suffering, so that the Holy Spirit could come and abide with those who believe in Him. He came and began to abide, and His presence in the believers is so urgent that another apostle asked them in amazement: “Do you not know that you are the church of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you” (1 Cor. 3:16). So that's it for you. The Son of God became incarnate, suffered in the flesh, died on the Cross, was resurrected, ascended into Heaven and sent from the Father the Holy Spirit, who, being accepted by those who believe in the Son, fulfills in them what this Son prayed for: “As You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us” (John 17:21). How does He do this? It is combined with the spirit of those who believe in the Son of God, and, reviving it, reunites it with God. This is called a new birth from God, which makes believers children of God by grace, as St. John the Evangelist says: “The little ones... received Him, and gave them the realm to become children of God, believing in His name, who were not born of blood... but of God” (John 1:12-13). And it became the law of spiritual life about Christ Jesus: “unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God... for only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6). Please do not try to explain why all this is necessary to restore true life in us, and accept and support it with the simplicity and sincerity of a child’s faith. If you begin to torture, the enemy will approach you and, like Eve once, will whisper temptations to you and shake your faith, and thereby deprive you of the fruits of faith. Just as it was then incomprehensible how such consequences could arise from eating the fruit, but they arose precisely from eating, so now it is incomprehensible why the Son of God had to be incarnate and suffer and then, having ascended, send down the Spirit to restore us - and, however, our restoration depends on sincere faith in precisely such a dispensation, and all who accepted and accept it with faith are restored. So don’t torture God’s dispensation, and I won’t tell you anything about it, although something is usually said to explain it. I will just say a few words about what the Holy Spirit does in us, restoring our spirit. However, be patient until the next letter. You might be interested in: