Беседа 6

Eph.2:17–22. And he came and preached peace to you, far and near, because through Him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit. So you are no longer strangers and aliens, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in which the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy church in the Lord, in which you also are being built into a dwelling place of God through the Spirit. Not through anyone else, says (the apostle), God announced this to us, but actually himself. He did not send 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 Master took upon himself the position of a servant and almost a slave, came and proclaimed, says (the apostle), “peace to you, those who are 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. “For through Him we both have access to the Father in one Spirit... to reconcile both to God” (Eph. 2:16, 18), says, because (Christ) reconciled us (to God). He himself spoke about this: “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” (John 14:27); and elsewhere: “Take courage: I have overcome the world” (John 16:33); and again: “If you ask anything in My name, I will do it” (John 14:14); also: “for the Father himself loves you” (John 16:27). All these are signs of peace for both. How can it be seen that for these? “For through Him (δί αυτού) we both have access to the Father,” it is said, “in one Spirit” (εν ένί Πνεύματι), not that you are less and they are greater, but are worthy of the same grace. He destroyed enmity by death, and made us dear to the Father through the Spirit. Look, there are particles again: εν (in), δια (through). Through Himself and through the Spirit He led us to God. “So you are no longer strangers and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints.” Do you see that we are assigned to the city not just of the Jews, but of men great in their holiness, such as Abraham, Moses and Elijah, and in this city we will one day appear? “For those who speak thus” (i.e., those who called themselves strangers and strangers), it is said, “show that they are seeking a fatherland” (Heb. 11:14); and you are already fellow citizens of the saints, and not strangers and strangers. Aliens are those who do not have the opportunity to receive heavenly blessings. “The Son,” it is said, “endures forever” (John 8:35). “And those who are his own to God,” says (the apostle). What the ancients acquired for so much labor, the grace of God will give you. “Having been established on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets”: this is what the hope of (our) calling is established on! Look how (the apostle) confuses 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, or as a building. “Having been established,” he says, “on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,” that is, the apostles and prophets serve as the foundation of the building. He places the apostles first, although they were after the prophets, in order to show that both serve equally as the foundation, that everything constitutes one building and has one root. But remember that the pagans also had patriarchs as their foundation. By presenting this under the image of a building, the apostle expresses much more definitely (the idea of ​​​​the union of pagans and Jews) than if he substituted it under the image of grafting. Then (the apostle) adds: “having Jesus Christ himself as the cornerstone,” showing that Christ contains everything, since the cornerstone is that which supports both the walls and the foundations. “In whom is the whole building.” Notice how the apostle connects this: sometimes he represents Him as containing and ruling over the whole body from above, and sometimes as bearing the whole building from below - the main foundation. This is why (the Apostle) said above: “in order...to create...one new man” (Eph. 2:15), to show that He actually united both walls of the building with Himself, and, on the other hand, that everything was recreated in Him. “Begotten,” it is said (about Him), “before every creation” (Col. 1:15), that is, He bears everything. “On whom the whole building is built”: thus, no matter what you point to, whether the roof, the walls, or anything else, He bears everything. In another place he calls (Christ) the foundation: “For no one can lay any other foundation,” he says, “except that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11). “In whom (εν ψ), “he says, “the whole building is built up.” Here it is even more clearly emphasized that one can become (the church of God) only by spending one’s life with all attention. “It grows,” he says, “into a holy church in the Lord, in which you also are built.” Very often (the apostle) speaks of building: "to the holy church... into the habitation of God by the Spirit." Why did this creation take place? So that God himself dwells in this church. Each of you, and all of you together, is a church, and dwells as in the body of Christ, dwells as in a spiritual church. Therefore (the apostle) did not say: entrance, but: “we have access” (Eph. 2:18), that is, we did not come on our own, but were brought by Him. “No one,” said (the Savior), “comes to the Father except through Me”; and in another place: “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6). “Coming together harmoniously, he grows into a holy church.” (The Apostle) again returns to the example he previously gave and unites them with the (Old Testament) saints, and (the saints themselves, in turn) does not allow them to be separated from Christ. This means that the economy of our salvation began even before the coming (of Christ); So, with this in mind, Paul said: “Like a wise builder, he laid the foundation” (1 Cor. 3:10), and in another place: “For no one can lay any other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 3:11). Do you see that examples must not only be understood, but what is implied in them must be sought out? (The Apostle) speaks here with the help of examples, just as Christ did when he represented the Father as a farmer and Himself as a root. “For this reason I, Paul, became a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles” (Eph. 3:1). Previously (the apostle) spoke of the great providence of Christ, but now he speaks of his own zeal, small and insignificant in comparison with His (providence), which in itself is sufficient to lead (to salvation). “For this reason,” he says, I am in chains, because if my Master suffered crucifixion for you, then all the more must I endure chains. Not only was He Himself bound, but He also deigned that His servants should suffer bonds for you, the Gentiles. The great meaning (lies in these words): not only do we not turn away from you, he says, but we also endure bonds for you, and I, by the way, have been honored with such mercy. “As you have heard about the dispensation of the grace of God given to me for you” (Eph. 3:2). Here (the apostle) alludes to the prediction announced about him to Ananias in Damascus, when (the Lord) said: “Go, for he is my chosen vessel, to proclaim my name before the nations and kings” (Acts 9:15). He calls this revelation the sight of grace. The meaning is this: I didn’t learn it from a person; He honored me, when I was alone, with a revelation concerning you, because He Himself said to me: “Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles” (Acts 22:21). And rightly (the apostle) called it looking; Truly, it was a great sight when someone who could not be convinced in any way was 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. “Because,” he says, “the mystery was made known to me through revelation (which I wrote briefly about above)” (Eph. 3:3). Maybe he announced this to them through someone, or maybe a little earlier he himself wrote to them. Here he shows that everything is from God, that we bring nothing from ourselves. In fact, tell me, Paul himself - the great and wondrous Paul, versed in the law, brought up with care at the feet of Gamaliel - was he not saved by grace? Rightly (the apostle) calls this a mystery; It is truly a mystery how the pagans were suddenly brought into greater nobility than the nobility of the Jews. “What I wrote above,” he says, “was briefly,” that is, briefly, “then you, reading, can see” (Eph. 3:3-4); so - alas - he did not write about everything and not even about everything that needed to be written about. However, here it depended on the nature of the circumstances, while in other cases, such as in relation to the Jews and the Corinthians, it depended on their vices. “Then, by reading,” he says, “you can discern my understanding of the mystery of Christ” (Eph. 3:4), that is, (you can find out) how I understood and how I understood, or in general the revelation of God, or actually the truth that He (the Son) sits at the right hand (of the Father). Then (the apostle) points out a special advantage, saying that God did not do this with every people. What kind of people is this for whom God has done so much? (The Apostle) shows this by saying: “which was not made known to the former generations of the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 3:5). So, tell me, did the prophets really not know something? How then did Christ say after this that Moses and the prophets wrote this about Me? And in another place: “For if you had believed Moses, you would have believed Me” (John 5:46). And again: “Search the Scriptures, for through them you think you have eternal life; and they testify of Me" (John 5:39). (The Apostle) saying this, indicates either that it was not revealed to all people, because he adds: “Which was not made known to the former generations of the sons of men, as it is now revealed,” or to the fact that this was not revealed in their deeds and actions: “which was not made known to the former generations of the sons of men, as is now revealed.” Think also in in fact: Peter would not have gone to the pagans if he had not heard the instructions from the Spirit. Listen to what he says: “So if God gave them” the Holy Spirit, “as he did to us” (Acts 11:17) The words (of the Apostle Paul): “by the Holy Spirit” (εν Πνεύματι) mean that God through the Holy Spirit merited their participation in grace. The prophets also spoke about this, but (people) would never have known this with such clarity as they did when they heard the apostles, who surpassed all human intelligence and general expectations. “That the Gentiles also may be fellow heirs, members of one body, and partakers” (Eph. 3:6). What does it mean to be joint heirs, partakers of the promise and sharers? The meaning of these words is high: they mean that (pagans and Jews) are united in one body, in a close union. That (the pagans) would be called was known before; but no one knew that this was what they would be called to do. That is why (the apostle) calls it “the mystery of the promise.” The Israelites were formerly partakers of the promise of God; Now the pagans are also made partakers. “In Christ Jesus through the gospel” (Eph. 3:6), that is, (the Gentiles became partakers of the promise) through the fact that (evangelists) were sent to them, and they believed them. So, not simply (became partakers of the promise), but through the gospel. However, this is not yet great or important; (the apostle) reveals to us something greater and more important, namely, that not only people, but neither angels, nor archangels, nor any other created power knew this. It was completely a secret, unknown to anyone. “To consider,” he says, “my understanding” (Eph. 3:4). Perhaps with these words (the apostle) hints at what he told them in Acts, at some of his convictions that the pagans should also be called; He expressed this understanding of the mystery above, saying that (Christ) “so that out of two he might create...one new man” (Eph. 2:15). Both he and Peter were taught by revelation that the Gentiles should not be turned away; (about revelation) he speaks in order to protect himself. “Whose minister I became according to the gift of the grace of God, which was given to me by the working of His power” (Eph. 3:7). Having said that he (for the pagans) endures bonds, (the apostle) again refers everything to God, saying: “by the gift of the grace of God,” since by the power of this gift he was awarded this honor. But the gift would not be sufficient if the power (of God) were not invested with it. Truly (for the gospel) human zeal alone is not enough, but a higher power is needed. (The Apostle) brought the following three qualities to the work of his gospel: ardent and undaunted zeal, a soul ready to endure absolutely anything, reason and wisdom. But courage would not have been enough, an impeccable life would not have been enough, if he had not received the power of the Spirit. To do this, look at him himself, or better listen to what he writes: “so that our ministry is not blamed” (2 Cor. 6:3); also: “For in our teaching there is no error, no unclean motives, no guile, no forms of self-interest” (1 Thess. 2:3, 5). Do you see how blameless (the apostolic ministry) is? And again: “Be careful about good before all people, and not in the presence of only the Lord (Rom. 12:17). Then pay attention to the following words: “I die every day: I am testified of this by your praise, brothers, which I have in Christ Jesus” (1 Cor. 15:31); and again: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? “in great patience, in adversity, in persecution, in need, in difficult circumstances” (2 Cor. 6:4). Then, regarding his prudence, he says: “to the Jews I was as a Jew,... to those under the law I was as one under the law,... to those who were strangers to the law, as one outside the law” (1 Cor. 9:20-21). He exposes himself to dangers and performs countless (feats). But most importantly, the power of the Holy Spirit was always at work in him. “For I will not dare,” he says, “to say anything that Christ has not done through me” (Rom. 15:18); again: “For what do you lack in comparison with the other churches?” (2 Cor. 12:13) Also: “For I lack nothing against the highest apostles, although I am nothing” (2 Cor. 12:11). Without these qualities he could not (have succeeded). So, he did not convert to faith through a sign, his miracles were not the reason for this, and he did not boast about them, and about others (his qualities). (The evangelist) must be impeccable in life, and wise, and ready for all dangers, and a teacher; These qualities predominantly distinguished his actions. If we had them, then there would be no need for miracles. So we see that before he performed any sign, he had already performed countless feats of this kind. And now, having none of these qualities, we want everything to obey us. However, even if we had these qualities, but not all of them, they would not bring us any benefit. What, in fact, is the use of your willingness to endure danger if your life gives rise to complaints? “So, if the light that is in you is darkness,” said (the Savior), “then what is the darkness?” (Matthew 6:23). What benefit will the most impeccable life bring if you are careless and sleepy? “And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me,” says (the Savior), “is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:38). (He is not a good shepherd) who does not lay down his life for the sheep (John 10:11). What good will both of these qualities be if they do not have the wisdom to know how to answer each? If there are no signs in our time, then these qualities must exist. However, (the apostle), having demonstrated these qualities of his, attributes everything to grace: this is a sign of a grateful servant. And we would never have known about his exploits if circumstances had not made it necessary for him (to talk about them). After this, are we even worthy of remembering Paul? He, having grace that helped him, did not think, however, that this was already enough, but exposed himself to thousands of dangers; But we, who do not have such boldness, from what source, tell me, will we draw hope that we will preserve the souls entrusted to our care, and that we will attract those who have not yet entered (into the Church)? (How can we hope for this) people who care only about pleasures, always looking for one thing only - peace, cannot, or better yet, do not want to be exposed to dangers even in a dream, which, according to wisdom, are as far away (from Paul) as heaven from earth? That is why those we flock are so much lower than those of that time. The students of that time were better than the teachers of today: they were threatened among the people and tyrants, they had enemies everywhere, and, however, nothing could bend or shake them, even for a short time. Listen to what (the apostle) says in the letter to the Philippians: “For it has been given to you for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him” (Phil. 1:29). And also in the letter to the Thessalonians: “For... you have become imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus, which are in Judea” (1 Thessalonians 2:14). And in his letter to the Hebrews he writes: “and they accepted the plunder of your goods with joy” (Heb. 10:34). The following testifies about the Colossians in the letter to them: “For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3); and about the many other dangers to which they were exposed, he left testimony. He wrote to the Galatians: “Have you suffered so much without benefit? Oh, if only there was no benefit!” (Gal.3:4). You see, then everyone only thought about doing good. That is why then grace acted with such power; That’s why they spent their lives in exploits back then. But listen to what he writes to the Corinthians, whom he accused of countless crimes. Doesn’t he speak of them with praise, saying about their “diligence and desire” (2 Cor. 7:11)? Meanwhile, what he praises in the Corinthians, no one will notice even in the teachers of the present time. So, everything died and was lost. The reason for this is that love has cooled and those who sin do not suffer due punishment. Listen to what he wrote to Timothy: “Reprove those who sin before everyone” (1 Tim. 5:20) - but now the leaders suffer (from sins). And when the head is unhealthy, can the rest of the body be healthy? Moreover, look at the unnatural order in things now. Those who live correctly and somehow still retain boldness (towards God) occupy the tops of the mountains - they have withdrawn from the midst of us, as a society alien to them and hostile, and not related. The lawless ones, burdened with a thousand crimes, invaded the Church; tax farmers became rectors. This is where thousands of evils come from, and there is no one who would correct them, who would bring them to their senses. On the contrary, this outrage has received some legal form and is spreading freely. Has anyone sinned and is accused? Such a person does not try to prove his innocence, but rather to find accomplices for his crimes. Oh, with what horror I imagine that Gehenna threatens us! Believe me, if God had not prepared punishment for us there, we would have seen terrible sights every day, worse than the troubles suffered by the Jewish people. What is really going on here? However, no one should be angry: I won’t call anyone by name. If someone, coming to church and standing in the midst of you who are now with us, carried out a test, or even did it not now, but on St. Day. Easter, - he would have wanted to thoroughly test everyone who came here and prepared to begin the mysteries - he wanted, I say, to test in order to find out in detail everything that they had done - then how many evils would he have found, much more serious than the iniquities of the Jews? He would have found birds fortunetelling by the flight and cry, resorting to charms, slander and refrains, he would have found fornicators, adulterers, drunkards and slanderers. I don’t want to mention the covetous people, so as not to touch anyone standing here. What then, if someone were to examine everyone who comes to the churches of the entire universe, what crime would he not encounter? He would see bosses greedy for money, he would see that positions were acquired by them through purchase, he would see among them many envious, prone to slander, vain, devoted to insatiable greed, servile to money. With such great wickedness, all kinds of evil can be expected. And in order to find out what kind of punishment those committed to these sins deserve, remember ancient events. One warrior stole part of the sacred treasures, and everyone began to die. Do you no doubt know this story? I'm talking about Charmias, who stole part of the spoils of war dedicated to God (Joshua 7). The prophet once said that their country was full of sorcery, as if it were a foreign country (Isa. 2:6). Now everything and everywhere is full of evil, and no one is afraid! Meanwhile, one should be afraid: God punishes the righteous along with the wicked, as it happened with Daniel, with the three youths, as it happened with many others, as, finally, happens now in wars. The righteous, through these disasters sent down on them from above, cast off the burden of sins that they have; the wicked do not. As a result of all this, let us be attentive to ourselves. Don't you see the abuse? Don't you hear about disasters? Or does nothing make sense to you anymore? Nations and entire cities were killed and destroyed; thousands fell into slavery to the barbarians. If Gehenna does not enlighten you, at least enlighten you with these disasters. Maybe you think that these are not punishments (from God), that these are just ordinary events? The dead suffered great punishment; but we will suffer even more if we do not come to our senses at the sight of so many disasters. I know my words are cruel; but if you look into them, they will be useful. Although what is said, of course, does not teach you grace - you can never expect this - but it is always able to humble and enlighten the soul. And this will serve as a guarantee of future blessings, which may we all be rewarded with grace and love for mankind (our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory, power, honor to the Father with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen). You might be interested in: