Дары Божии

Praising virtue, I will praise God himself, from Whom is virtue in people and the gift of rebirth or return to Him through similar illumination. For of the many and great gifts that we have received and will continue to receive from God, and the number and greatness of which no one can express, the greatest gift and the one that most testifies to God’s love for us is our desire for it and our affinity with Him (1). Thanks be to God, who gives excellent gifts and knows how to save by common means! Such a miracle is seen not in the reasoning of one doctrine, but also in the reasoning of creation itself, if you have thought about it. And in the series of creatures the first belong not to some, but to all; The gift of one creature is a common gift. And in faith, the means of salvation belong not to the strongest, but to those who wish. What is better than air, fire, water, earth, rain, garden and forest fruits, shelter, clothing? But everyone uses them, some completely, and others to a certain extent, and there is no oppressor who would want to enjoy the common gift. God shines like the sun for everyone, rains for rich and poor, night and day alternate for everyone, a common gift is health, everyone has a common gift - the limit of life, the measure and beauty of the body, the ability of feelings. Even the poor have, perhaps, more, because they are more grateful for these gifts and enjoy the common goods with greater pleasure than the powerful of the land enjoy the abundant goods. So, the listed gifts are common and equal and serve as proof of God's truth. But gold, shiny and expensive stones, soft, elegant clothing, hot and irritating foods, excess property - are acquired with difficulty and constitute the advantage of a few. I see the same thing in relation to faith. Common to all: the law, the prophets, the covenants, the words of the covenants, grace, procreation, perfection, the sufferings of Christ, the new creation, the apostles, the Gospels, the dispensation of the Spirit, faith, hope, love both for God and for God. And these gifts, not like the ancient gift of manna to ungrateful and unappreciative Israel, are given not in moderation, but to everyone, as much as he wants. These are the same: ascension, illumination, little is still here, but the clearest in the hoped-for future; This is also what is most important, the knowledge of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the confession of our first hope. What is this above and what is more general? After this, the following, although valued higher due to rarity, takes second place regarding necessity. For without which one cannot be a Christian, it is more useful than that available to few. One is rich in the gift of contemplation, stands above many, compares spiritual with spiritual (1 Cor. 2:13), writes three times (Prov. 22:20) in the breadth of his heart a word that edifies all, and a word that edifies many, and a word that edifies some instead of many or all; he does not tolerate squalor and penetrates into the depths. Let such a one ascend, and be guided, and ascend with his mind even, if he wants, to the third heaven, like Paul, but only with reason and knowledge, so as not to fall from exaltation and not to melt his wings from the height of flight. Who would envy a commendable ascent? But what fall can be compared with the fall of a person who is wounded by exaltation and does not know the baseness of human exaltation, does not know how far from the true height even he who has risen above everyone else is? The other is poor in mind and poor in language, does not know the figures of speech, the sayings and riddles of the sages, Pyrrho's methods of insisting, delaying, opposing, Chrysippus's methods of solving syllogisms 49, the evil artistry of Aristotle's tricks, the charms of Plato's eloquence, which all, like the Egyptian plagues, have crept into our Church to the detriment of our Church, but even such a one has the means to be saved. With the help of what sayings? Truly, there is nothing richer than grace! You do not need, says Scripture, to ascend into heaven to draw Christ from there, nor to descend into the abyss to raise Him from there from the dead, being curious about either the first nature or the last economy. The word is said to be close to you (Rom. 10). This treasure has a mind and a tongue, the former if he believes, the latter if he confesses. What is more portable than this wealth? Which gift is easier to acquire? Confess Jesus Christ and believe that He has risen from the dead, and you will be saved (1). Numerous are the gifts of God to all earthly beings; our tongue cannot express their greatness. God draws me to life either by humbling me with blows when I am wicked, or by smiling at me when I please Him. For He governs everything with a mind filled with favor towards man, although the depth of His wisdom is hidden, although between our race and the Divinity there is deep darkness, through which few penetrate with a sophisticated gaze, namely those alone whom life has enlightened and who, having become pure, have touched pure wisdom (2). Chrysippus is an ancient Greek Stoic philosopher of the 3rd century. BC A syllogism is a reasoning in which two premises connecting the subject and the predicate are united by a common term that provides “closure” of concepts. – Approx. ed. You might be interested in: