Word 6th. About spiritual paradise and law

In the essay “Word 6th. On Spiritual Law and Heaven,” the author examines the spiritual aspects of life and teaches the importance of keeping God’s commandments. The treatise emphasizes that true heaven is not only a place, but also a state of soul that is achieved through repentance, prayer and good deeds: “Paradise is the word of God; the delight in it is the communion of the Holy Spirit; The serpent, who kills by disobedience, is a creeping voluptuousness.” Just as Adam, having broken the commandment and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, was expelled from paradise, so a person attached to everything earthly cannot abide in the word of Christ. The Word of God acts in man “according to his will and in accordance with his doing.” Man by his nature has the ability to train himself for good. And the essential condition for such doing is free will: “Where the will is not present, there He does not create anything, although He can, like God, but does not do this for the sake of autocracy (given to man). So, the performance of actions (good) depends on God, but this is human will.” The spiritual law consists of love for God and neighbor, as well as the desire for holiness: “For it is impossible to be saved otherwise than through your neighbor, as the Lord commanded, saying: “Let go, and they will let you go” (Luke 6:37)... the fulfillment of the law is forgiveness.” The author gives two definitions of the Church: the assembly of the faithful and the totality of the forces of the soul. He focuses on the inner state of a person, his struggle with sins and the desire for virtue: “For just as he who speaks of the Lord in five words has grasped all wisdom, so he who follows the Lord with five virtues creates much piety.” The five virtues are prayer, abstinence, almsgiving, poverty, and patience. Essay “Word 6th. On spiritual paradise and law” in some manuscripts and publications is attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt, and in some - St. Mark the Ascetic. This word in some manuscripts and publications is attributed to St. Macarius of Egypt, and in some - St. Mark the Ascetic. Due to the lack of evidence from antiquity, which of them it actually belongs to cannot be decided with certainty. Without presenting it as an undoubted creation of Mark the Ascetic, we place it, however, between the writings of this father, with that addition at the beginning, which it does not have in the editions of the works of St. Macarius and which, meanwhile, is necessarily presupposed by the content of the word. Just as one can understand the innermost way of thinking from obvious deeds, so one can understand from the deeds of the soul what is said in the Scriptures. But not everyone can comprehend this, but only those who have partially acquired dispassion through suffering. For Scripture will tell both the future and the affairs of the soul, because the future is all hidden in it spiritually, and what anyone is a partaker of here, he will be a partaker there too. So, when you hear the Scripture telling about paradise, Adam and the serpent, listen dispassionately to your heart, and you will find that paradise is the word of God; the delight in it is the communion of the Holy Spirit; the serpent, who kills by disobedience, is a creeping voluptuousness, crawling through friendship and seducing us to eat from the tree (forbidden), that is, from the care of this world; (for it is said): “Do not worry about it in the morning” (Matthew 6:34). Also, both (prohibitions) were said by the same God: “If you eat one day from the tree, you will surely die” (Gen. 2:17), and: “Take heed... lest... your hearts be burdened with gluttony” (Lk. 21:34 ); because the darkness that comes from gluttony and care (worldly) mortifies the soul, expelling it from the spiritual word and depriving it of Divine action. So, the Lord forbids us to eat from this tree, saying: “Be anxious about nothing,” only about the Kingdom. For those who entered (this) paradise of God and kept this commandment were not expelled, but, having restrained themselves from earthly things, enjoyed spiritual things a hundredfold, being effectively and likewise consoled by grace. So, let us also pray that we may preserve it (this commandment), so that, having remained in the word of the Lord, we may enjoy the pleasure of the Spirit both here and in the future. Just as Adam, having eaten from the tree of understanding, is expelled, so one who philosophizes on earthly things cannot remain in the word of Christ, according to what is written: “The love of this world is enmity to God” (James 4:4). That is why Scripture says: “Guard your heart with all care” (Prov. 4:23), so that the one who keeps within himself, like paradise, the word of God, enjoys grace, not listening inside to the reptile serpent, who advises (to choose) what serves for sweetness, from which fratricidal irritability is born, and the soul that gives birth to it dies. But listen to the Lord, who says: “Strive for faith and hope, from which is born a God-loving and humane love that gives eternal life.” Noah entered this paradise, keeping the commandment and doing it, and through love he got rid of his anger. While preserving this (paradise), Abraham heard the voice of God. Keeping this (paradise), Moses received glory on his face. David did the same thing, keeping this, and therefore ruled over his enemies. But Saul, while he kept his heart, was successful, but when he finally transgressed (the commandment), he was completely abandoned. For in each (person) the word of God acts according to the measure (of his will) and in accordance (with his doing). Whoever owns as much, takes possession of as much; whoever stores as much, we keep as much. Therefore, the entire face of saints, prophets, apostles and martyrs kept the word in their hearts, having no concern for anything else, but despised earthly things and remained in the commandment of the Holy Spirit, preferring the God-loving and good, not in word and simple understanding, but in word and deed - in reality itself: choosing poverty instead of wealth, dishonor instead of glory, dejection instead of pleasure, and therefore, instead of irritability - love. For, hating the sweet things of this life, they loved more those who take it away as those who contribute to their intentions, avoiding “both good and evil” (Genesis 2:9), they did not deny good people, they did not blame evil people, they considered everyone as responsible servants of the Master’s Providence and had a good disposition towards everyone. When they heard the word of the Lord: “Let them go, and they will let you go” (Luke 6:37), then they considered those who offended them to be their benefactors, recognizing that they had given them a reason for the remission (of their sins). When they heard the word of the Lord: “Let men do as you will, and do so to them” (Luke 6:31), then they loved the good according to their conscience. For, having abandoned their truth and sought the truth of God, they gradually found love, in it, by nature, hidden within. And the Lord, having given many commandments about love, commanded us to seek the truth of God, knowing that she is the mother of love. For it is impossible to be saved otherwise than through your neighbor, as the Lord commanded, saying: “Let go, and they will let you go” (Luke 6:37). Such a spiritual law, written in the hearts of believers, is fulfilled by the first law: “For I have not come,” says (the Lord), “to destroy the law... but to fulfill it” (Matthew 5:17). How is it fulfilled, understand: the first law, condemning the sinner (against his neighbor) with some just guilt, also condemned the offended one, since in what someone judges another, he condemns himself, and in what he forgives, he will be forgiven (Rom. 2:1; Sir. 28:2); for the law says so: for condemnation - condemnation, for remission - remission. Therefore, fulfilling the law is forgiveness. We said: “the first law,” not because God gave two laws to people, but one spiritual law by nature, and in relation to retribution pronouncing a righteous sentence: to the one who forgives - forgiveness, and to the one who seeks - punishment; for it is said: “You will be chosen with the elect, and be corrupted with the obstinate” (Ps. 17:27). Therefore, those who perform it spiritually and, as they complete it, become partakers of grace, love not only those who did good, but also those who reviled and persecuted them, expecting to acquire spiritual love as a reward for the good; the good ones, I say, not only because they forgive insults, but because the souls of those who offended also do good, they pray to God for them, as if through them they receive bliss. And to what is said in Scripture: “Blessed are you when you are reviled and destroyed,” and so on. (Matthew 5:11). They learned to be wise in this way from the spiritual law, for when they endured and observed mental meekness, the Lord, seeing the patience of a struggling heart, but not retreating from love, destroyed the mediastinum of the fence and completely abolished enmity, so that no longer with effort, but with God’s help they received love, for the Lord finally restrains the converted weapon (Gen. 3:24), which raises thoughts; and they also entered into the innermost part of the veil, “where Jesus the Forerunner was seen for us” (Heb. 6:20), and enjoyed the fruits of the Spirit, and, seeing the future with the constancy of the heart, “like a mirror in fortune-telling,” according to the apostle they said: “Whose eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has breathed into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him” ( 1 Cor. 13:12, 2:9). But I also ask about this wonderful thing: if “there is no sigh in a man’s heart,” how do you know this? Especially, having confessed in the Acts (yours) that you also “serve us as men” (Acts 14:15)? But listen to what blessed Paul answers to this: “But to us,” he says, “God has revealed it by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). But lest anyone should say that the Holy Spirit was given to them as the apostles, but He is inconceivable to us by nature, therefore he says (the apostle), praying: “May God grant you... to be strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3:16, 17); “But the Lord is the Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17); and again he says: “If anyone... does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His” (Rom. 8:9). So, let us pray that we too may receive the grace of the Holy Spirit in every assurance and sensation and enter where we were expelled. And may the soul-killing serpent and the vain counselor, the spirit of (worldly) care and drunkenness, turn away from us, so that we, firmly believing, may keep the commandments of the Lord and grow in Him “to a perfect man, according to the measure of stature” (Eph. 4:13), so that (from unbelief) the love of this world will not take possession of us, but we may be convinced in the spirit, and not disbelieve, that the grace of God also favors repentant sinners. For what is bestowed by grace is no longer commensurate with the previously existing weakness, because then grace would no longer be grace. But, having believed in the Almighty God, let us approach with a simple and inquisitive heart the One who grants the communion of the Spirit by faith, and not in comparison with the works of nature, for it is said: “Did you receive the Spirit from the works of the law, or from the hearing of faith?” (Gal. 3:2). Question: You said that everything spiritual is hidden in the soul, so what does it mean: “I want to speak five words in the church with my mind” (1 Cor. 14:19)? Answer: The Church is of course twofold: a collection of the faithful and as a totality of souls. So, when it is said spiritually about a person, then the church is his entire composition, while the five words are common virtues that build up the whole person and are shared in various ways. For just as he who speaks of the Lord in five words has grasped all wisdom, so he who follows the Lord in five virtues builds up much piety. Being (the number) five, they embrace everything. The first is prayer, then abstinence, almsgiving, poverty, patience. These virtues, performed with desire and will, are the words of the soul, pronounced by the Lord and heard by the heart, for the Lord acts, and the Spirit then speaks mentally, and the heart, as much as it desires, fulfills it openly. These virtues, just as they embrace everything (the rest), also give birth to each other, for when the first becomes impoverished, all are destroyed. Similarly, the second (supports) the subsequent ones, and so do the others. For how can anyone pray without being moved to do so by the Spirit? This is what Scripture also testifies to when it says: “No one can speak of the Lord Jesus except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:3). How can anyone patiently remain abstinent without the help of prayer? And whoever does not abstain in everything, how will he have mercy on the poor or offended? And besides, he who is unmerciful cannot have arbitrary poverty. There is also irritability in the desire for possessions of a co-educator, whether someone has acquisitions or not. The virtuous soul is created together with those in the church not by what it has accomplished, but by what it has desired, for it is not one’s own body that saves a person, but He who has given the power to do so. So, if anyone has not suffered the plague (of the Master), let him not have self-conceit, even if he has done something (good) or even been trained in such actions. Do not ever think of prefacing the Lord with virtue, according to what was said: “For God is at work in you, even to will and to do good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13). Question: Why does Scripture command man to do this? Answer: We said above that man by nature has the ability to teach himself (for good), and God requires this (of him). For he commands that (a person) first understand (what should be), having understood, love it and voluntarily learn (it); and so that the mind is active and (a person can) bear labor and complete the work, the grace of the Lord gives to those who wish and believe. The human will is, as it were, an essential condition, but where the will is not present, He does not create anything, although He can, like God, but does not do this for the sake of autocracy (given to man). So, the performance of actions (good) depends on God, but this is human will. However, if we surrender all our will to Him, then the whole matter is attributed to us. God is wonderful in everything and is by no means incomprehensible to the mind, but we humans try to depict in words some of His miracles, basing ourselves on Scripture, being taught more by Him. For “Who,” says the Scripture, “understands the mind of the Lord, or who is His counselor?” (Rom. 11:34). God Himself says: “What did your fellow children desire... and did you not desire?” (Matthew 23:37). Therefore, we must believe that He Himself gathers us, seeks only our will, and what does the manifestation of our will consist of, if not in voluntary labor? For just as iron, when it cuts, hews, cultivates the earth, plants, being pressed, it deepens itself, but someone else moves it and imposes it, and when it is broken, it kindles and renews, so man, although he is oppressed and weary, doing good, yet the Lord works in him secretly. And when he becomes weary and contrite in heart, he consoles and renews him, just as the prophet says: “Will the ax be glorified without the one cutting it, or will the saw be lifted up without the one dragging it?” (Isa. 10:15). It also happens in relation to evil, when a person is obedient and ready for it, then Satan persecutes and encourages him, like a thief with a sword. We likened the heart to iron because of its insensibility and great cruelty; but we should not, like insensitive iron, not know the Owner (of us), since we are easily transferred from the Master of the word to the evil one; but rather, we must, like the ox and the donkey, recognize Him who compels and leads us according to His understanding. For the Scripture says: “The ox and the ass know his master’s manger; but Israel does not know Me” (Isaiah 1:3). So, let us pray that we may acquire the knowledge of God and learn the spiritual law to fulfill His commandments. Amen. You might be interested in: