Беседа 4

Eph.2:1–3. And you, dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once lived, according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived according to our carnal lusts, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and thoughts, and were by nature children of wrath, like others. Refutation of the Manichaeans. – Without mercy you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. 1. There is physical death, and there is also spiritual death. To be subjected to the first is not sinful and not scary, because this is a matter of nature, and not of good will; having appeared as a result of the first fall, bodily death later became necessary for our nature, although it too will soon be abolished. The other death is spiritual, since it comes from good will, it exposes one to responsibility and has no excuse. But look how Paul, having first shown in the most clear and convincing way that it is much more difficult to heal a soul killed (by sins) than to raise the dead, now again speaks about this great (work of God’s love for mankind), and sets it out as follows. “And you,” he says, “dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked, according to the course of this world, according to the will of the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” Do you notice the meekness of Paul with which he admonishes the listener, without in the least frightening him? Having said that you have reached the extreme degree of evil (and this is precisely what it means to be dead), he then, in order 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 points them to a helper (who helped them reach such a degree of evil), and to a strong helper; and he does this with the aim of preventing them from thinking that they alone are to blame for everything. Who is this assistant? Devil. The apostle acts in a similar manner in his letter to the Corinthians. Having said: “Do not be deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters,” and then listing other sinners and adding: “They will not inherit the kingdom of God,” then he says: “And such were some of you” (1 Cor. 6:9-11). He didn’t just say: “there were,” but: “there were some,” that is, you were once like that. Here heretics strongly rebel against us, who claim that all this should be attributed to God, and, not holding back their unbridled tongue, assimilate to God what is the work of the devil alone. What will we stop their mouths with? In their own words. You admit (we say) that God is just; if He did this, then this not only does not testify to His justice, but, on the contrary, shows extreme injustice and lawlessness. And, without a doubt, God could never be lawless. Why does (the apostle) call the devil the prince of this age? Because human nature has almost completely surrendered to him and everyone serves him voluntarily and intentionally. To Christ, although He promises countless benefits, no one heeds; and to him, although he does not promise anything of the kind, but, on the contrary, sends him to Gehenna, everyone obeys. He rules in this age, he has more servants than God, and, with the exception of a few, they obey him more willingly than God; and all this comes from our carelessness. “By the will of the prince,” he says, “the spirit that dominates 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. And that his (the devil’s) power is a temporary power (ή αρχή αιώνιος), i.e., that it will cease along with the present age - listen to what (the apostle) says about this at the end of the letter: “for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world” (Eph. 6:12). So that, having heard how (the apostle) calls (devils) the rulers of the world, you do not consider them uncreated, he adds: “the darkness of the age.” Also in another place, where there is no talk of creation at all, he calls the corrupt time of the “evil age” (Gal. 1:4). It seems to me that, being the ruler in heaven (before the fall), the devil did not lose this leadership even after the fall. “He who works,” he says, “is now in the sons of disobedience.” Do you see that he attracts you to himself not by force, not in any tyrannical way, but through persuasion? Pointing to “resistance” (απείθεια), (the apostle) seems to want to say that (the devil) entices everyone with flattery and persuasion. And not only does (the apostle) encourage him by pointing to their accomplice, but also by putting himself alongside them. “Between which,” he says, “we all once lived”; “everyone”, because it cannot be said that anyone is an exception. “According to our carnal lusts, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and thoughts, we were by nature children of wrath, like others,” that is, without thinking about anything spiritual. But lest anyone begin to suspect that this is said with the intention of slandering the flesh and lest he think that its guilt in this is too great, look at how (the apostle) warns: “by fulfilling,” he says, “the desires of the flesh and thoughts,” that is, being carried away by lusts and pleasures. (of God), and nothing else. Just as a human child, by its very nature, is human, in the same way we were children of wrath, “Like others.” This means that no one was free (from anger), but all of us, by our deeds, were worthy of anger. “God, rich in mercy” (Eph. 2:4); not just says: merciful, but: “rich”; in a similar way, in another place it is said: “according to the abundance of Your mercy” (Ps. 5:8), and also: “Have mercy on me...according to Your great mercy” (Ps. 51:3). “Because of His great love with which He loved us” (Eph. 2:4). 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; means: (if He loved us, then only) out of His great mercy. “And we, who were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:5); again the mediator is Christ, and therefore this matter is completely true. If the firstfruits live, we too (will live); if God gave Him life, He will also give us life. 2. Do you see that all this (the apostle) said about Christ in the flesh? Do you see the overabundant “greatness of His power in us who believe” (Eph. 1:19)? He gave life to those who were dead, who were children of wrath. Do you see “the hope of the calling” (Eph. 1:18)? “He rose up with Him and made Him sit in heaven” (Eph. 2:6). Do you see the glory of His heritage? Yes, you say; that He raised us is clear; and how does (the apostle) prove that He “seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6)? The same thing that (proves that He) resurrected. No one would ever have rebelled if the Head had not been resurrected; and when our Head was resurrected, we were also resurrected, just as when Jacob bowed to Joseph, his wife also bowed. This is exactly the same way He planted us. When the Head sits, the body sits together. That is why (the apostle) added: “in Christ Jesus.” Or, if you look at it from the other side, He raised us up through the baptismal font; How then did He plant? “If we endure,” says (the apostle), “then we will also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). If we died together, we will come to life together. Truly, the gift of the Spirit and revelation is needed to understand the depth of these mysteries! Then, so that you do not remain an unbeliever, look at what he adds: “that in the coming ages he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). Since before he spoke everything about Christ, and in everything he said there was nothing directly related to us, what do you really say to us because Christ has risen? - then, having previously shown that this should also apply to us - because the Savior is united with us - now He speaks of what actually applies to us: “and we, who were dead in trespasses...he raised us up with Him and made us sit.” So, as I said, believe (that He seated us with Him), being convinced of this truth by what was said before, by what was said about the Head, and also by the fact that He wants to show His goodness to us. How, in fact, will He manifest it if this is not the case (i.e., if He did not seat us with Him)? And “in order to reveal it in the coming centuries.” What to show? That the blessings prepared by Him are both great and completely worthy of faith. Now these benefits seem unrealistic to the unbelievers; and then everyone will recognize them. If you want to know how He seated us, listen to what Christ himself says to the disciples: “You also will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28); and in another place: “but to let him sit on my right hand and on my left does not depend on me, but on whom my Father has prepared” (Matthew 20:23). So it's already prepared. And the apostle said well: “in the kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” To sit at the right hand is the highest honor of all honors, beyond which there is no other. By saying this (i.e., “in goodness toward us”) (the apostle) shows that we too will sit down. To sit with Christ is truly an unspeakable wealth, it is truly the exceeding greatness of His power! If you had thousands of souls, would you not lay them down for this? If you had to go into the fire, shouldn't you be completely prepared for this test? Himself (Christ) says: “those whom You have given Me, I want them to be with Me where I am” (John 17:24). For such an honor, if every day one had to be cut to pieces, shouldn’t one also have to endure this with joy? Think about where He sits? “Above all Principality and Authority.” Who will you sit with? With Him. But who are you? Dead is by nature a child of anger. What did you do wrong? Nothing. Now, truly, is the time to exclaim: “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33)! “For by grace,” says (the apostle), “you have been saved” (Eph. 2:8). So that the greatness of his blessings does not overwhelm you, see how he humbles you, saying: “By grace you have been saved.” 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 says, is not from us; If (Christ) had not come, if He had not called us, how could we believe? “How can we believe in Him,” it is said, “of whom we have not heard?” (Rom. 10:14)? Thus, faith is not our property: “God,” he says, “is a gift not of works” (Eph. 2:8-9). Faith, says (the apostle), 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 wants, and faith saves. Tell me: how will faith without works save you? It itself - the gift of God, “so that no one can boast” (Eph. 2:9), but everyone, on the contrary, will become grateful to grace. So, you ask, (the apostle) himself forbade gaining justification by works? He only says that works will not justify anyone, and he says this in order to show the grace and love of God. Those who have works behind them (God) does not reject from Himself, but those who would perish even with works, He saves by grace, so that after this absolutely no one has the right to boast. 3. Then, so that, having heard that “our salvation is not accomplished by works” but by faith, you do not remain careless, look at what (the apostle) further says: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance for us to walk in” (Eph. 2:10). Notice that he himself is preaching: he is hinting here at re-creation. Indeed, (our salvation is) the 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 this work is truly a creation, and, moreover, a creation much superior to the first. By this creation we are called to life, and by this we are made capable of a good life. “For the good deeds that God has ordained for us to perform,” that is, constant virtue is required of us, continuing until the last hour of life. If we, having taken a trip to the royal capital and completed most of it, suddenly became lazy and stopped without finishing the journey, then such a trip would not bring us any benefit. In the same way, the “hope of a calling” cannot bring us, who participate in this hope, any benefit if we do not walk worthy of Him who called. We, called to good works, must remain in them until we complete them all. We are not, without a doubt, called to do one good deed, but to do everything. Just as we have five senses and we must use all of them properly, so we must perform all the virtues. If someone is chaste, but not merciful, or merciful, but covetous, or, although he does not take what belongs to others, but does not give away his own, for such a person everything is in vain. One virtue alone will not give us the right to boldly present ourselves to the throne of Christ; For this, many, varied and heterogeneous virtues are needed, or rather, all the virtues. Listen to what Christ said to his disciples: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, ... teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19–20); and in another place: “So whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 5:19), that is, in the resurrection. This means that such a one will not enter the kingdom, because He usually calls the time of resurrection the kingdom. “So whoever breaks,” he says, “one of the commandments, ... he will be called least.” Therefore, we need to keep all (commandments). Look: without mercy it is impossible to enter (the kingdom of heaven), and we will go into the fire if we do not have at least one of this virtues. “Depart from Me,” (the Savior) will say, “you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Why and what is this for? “For I was hungry, and you gave me no food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me no drink” (Matthew 25:42). Do you see, He does not accuse them of anything else, and for this alone (lack of mercy) they perish? And the (foolish) virgins were expelled from the palace for this alone; although they had chastity, but since they lacked mercy, they were not allowed into the palace. “Try to have peace,” it is commanded, “with everyone, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). So, remember that without chastity it is impossible to see the Lord, although this is not always possible even with chastity, because something else may interfere. But (you will say): we did everything, but we did not help our neighbor; Will we really not enter the kingdom for this alone? Where can you see this? (From the parable) about the slaves who were entrusted with talents. They fulfilled all the virtues, did not omit one; but since (one) was lazy and did not care about multiplying, he was rightly expelled for this. There is also an indication that for slander alone they will be thrown into Gehenna. “Whoever says,” it is said, “to his brother, ‘You fool,’ will be subject to fiery hell” (Matthew 5:22). Let another keep all the commandments, but he was only a troublemaker, and such a one will not enter (the kingdom of God). And let no one accuse God of severity because He deprives those who sin in this way of the kingdom of heaven. After all, even among people, if someone commits something illegal, then the king is no longer allowed to see it, even if he violated one of some regulations - for example, if he pronounces an unjust sentence on someone in court, he loses his power; if he commits fornication and is caught at the scene of the crime, he is already dishonored and, even if he has committed a thousand lawful deeds, he perishes; if he commits murder and is caught in it, and this alone is quite enough to subject him to severe punishment. If human laws are guarded so strictly, then should not the laws of God be much more guarded? But God is good, you say. Oh, how long will we utter these foolish words? What I call foolish here is not that we believe in the goodness of God; but the fact that we allow ourselves to abuse this faith, despite the fact that we have already spoken against it thousands of times. Listen to what the Scripture says: “Do not say: “His mercy is great, He will forgive the multitude of my sins” (Sir. 5:6). (Scripture) does not forbid us to say that “His mercy is great” - far from it, - it does not encourage us to do this, on the contrary, it advises us to constantly talk about this - this is what Paul directs all his speeches to; but, as can be seen from what follows, (Scripture) condemns when they are surprised at God’s love for mankind in order to sin and say at the same time: “His mercy is great, He will forgive the multitude of my sins.” 4. And we talk so often and a lot about goodness, not so that, hoping for it, we can do (anything) - because in this case goodness will be the reason for the loss of our salvation - but so that we do not despair of sins and bring repentance. “The goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Rom. 2:4), and not to greater obstinacy in evil. If you remain evil for the sake of goodness, then through this you will slander it before people - and I see many in this way slandering God’s forbearance! - and you will give an answer for using (grace) improperly. God loves mankind, but He is also just; forgives sins, but rewards everyone according to his deeds; surpasses injustice, takes away iniquity, but also creates judgment. Doesn't this contradict one another? Not at all, if only we pay attention to the times. He will take away iniquities here both through the baptismal font and through repentance, and will punish all iniquities there with fire and torment. So, perhaps you will say after this: if for a small evil, even if for one sin I will be cast out and deprived of the kingdom, then why should I not do evil of all kinds in this case? These speeches are the speeches of an unreasonable slave! But, however, let's consider them. Don't do evil if you want to save yourself. All of us (if we do evil) will equally lose the kingdom; but we will not all suffer the same punishment in Gehenna; and some – more, others – less. If you or someone else despised the commandments of God, and one despised more commandments, the other less, both of you equally will not enter the kingdom. But if you were not equally despised, but one more, the other less, then in Gehenna you will feel the difference. What does this mean, you ask, why are there such punishments for those who have not shown mercy, why are they sent into the fire, and not just into the fire, but “into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41)? What is this and why? Because nothing offends God more than insulting friends. We must love our enemies too; Therefore, whoever turns away those who love him and is thus worse than the pagans themselves will not be worthy of punishment? So, according to the importance of sin, such a one should rightly go (to Gehenna) with the devil. Woe, it is said, to the one who does not give alms. If it was so in the Old Testament, then much more (so it should be) in the new; if where it was allowed to acquire, enjoy, take care of (earthly things), they paid so much attention to helping the poor, then isn’t it even more so (one should do the same) here, where it is commanded to leave everything? In fact, what didn’t the Israelis do? They gave tithes; then they provided other tithes to help orphans, widows and proselytes. Someone told me with surprise: so-and-so gives tithes. Shame on us! Are we Christians surprised at what was not surprising among the Jews? Then it was dangerous not to distribute tithes: imagine what it is like (i.e., isn’t it much more dangerous) now! Drunkenness will also not inherit the kingdom. But at the same time, what do most people usually say? (They say): well, if he and I together endure the same thing, then this is no small consolation. What can we say to this? First of all, it must be said that you and he will not suffer the same punishment; and besides (I should add that) there is absolutely no consolation here, because the sameness of suffering can only be a consolation in that case when the troubles do not yet exceed the measure, but when they exceed it, when they plunge us into horror, then (no comparison of one’s troubles with the troubles of others) will not provide consolation. In fact, tell someone condemned to be burned, while he is already standing in the fire, that so-and-so is also suffering: you will not give him any consolation. Didn't the Israelis all perish together? However, what comfort did this bring them? On the contrary, didn’t this make them more sad? That is why they exclaimed: we are lost, killed, killed. So is there any consolation in this? It is in vain that we console ourselves with such hopes. There is only one consolation, this is not to fall into this unquenchable fire; and the fallen one can no longer receive any consolation where there is gnashing of teeth, where there is crying, where there is an everlasting worm, where there is an unquenchable fire. Moreover, being in such sorrow and cramped conditions, will you be able to understand any consolation? Will you have any presence of mind left? I ask and beg you, let us not delude ourselves in vain, let us not console ourselves with this kind of reasoning, but let us do what can save us. You are supposed to sit down with Christ, and yet you indulge in such controversies. If there were no other sin, then for these speeches alone, what punishment should we be subjected to? We are so careless, so lazy, so careless that we say such speeches when such a great honor is offered to us. Oh, how bitterly you will groan when you hear that those who have lived piously will be called with honor into the kingdom of God; when you see that in the kingdom of glory both slaves and people of low birth will recline - people who cared about little here, and meanwhile will participate in the royal throne! Wouldn’t such a (spectacle) be worse than any punishment? If now, when you see that someone is blissful - although you yourself do not tolerate anything bad - you consider this worse than any punishment and from this alone you become upset, suffer, cry, and think that this is worth a thousand deaths - then tell me, what will you have to endure then? Let there be no Gehenna: can’t the mere thought of the kingdom (which you have lost and which others enjoy) amaze you and completely upset you? And that this will really be the case, life and experience can sufficiently convince you of this. So, let’s stop wastingly comforting ourselves with such reasoning; Let us better be attentive and zealous to our salvation; Let us be zealous for virtue and motivate ourselves to do good deeds in order to be worthy of such a high honor in Christ Jesus our Lord. You might be interested in: