Word for the Day of the Holy Spirit

Pronounced 28 May 1873 1 When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13) Before His saving suffering, leaving His disciples, the Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly repeated to them the promise to send to them another Comforter, who would abide with them forever. The great work of ministry entrusted to the Apostles required Divine help. What could 12 people do against the whole world that was not on their side? But before any difficulties from outside, it was necessary to remove all obstacles that the word of the Divine teaching could find in the preachers themselves. The time in which they could use the instructions of the Lord was so short; the preparation for these lessons was so little: the preconceived opinions against him were so strong; The Divine teaching is so deep and extensive that without special measures it was impossible to guarantee its faithful preservation even in the chosen society of the closest disciples - not to mention its unity during its dissemination throughout the whole world, in distant centuries. True, the events of Calvary, the appearance of the Lord after the resurrection, His conversations with the disciples about the mysteries of the kingdom of God, the explanation of the scriptures to them, refuted some misconceptions, clarified some parts of the teaching of Christ. But we do not see that these conversations are frequent and long-lasting, as happened before. And much still had to remain dark. On the very day of the Lord’s taking into heaven, His disciples were still thinking about the establishment of the kingdom of Israel, and not the universal kingdom of Christ. So, these world teachers still needed their own Teacher. According to the eternal advice of the Triune God to complete the work of Christ in humanity, to introduce the grace and truth of Christ into our minds and hearts, to make the life of Christ the property of humanity - the Holy Spirit, equal in honor, equally powerful and consubstantial with the Son of God, took upon Himself. And on the day of Pentecost He revealed His Divine action in humanity, and first of all in the Apostles. How did He fulfill the great promise of the Lord? We can see this by comparing the words of promise with the fulfillment. When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. Depicting the action of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles, the Lord calls Him the Spirit of truth. This determines the nature of His action. He not only knows the truth and possesses it, but he himself is the truth (1 John 5:6) or the Spirit of truth. Therefore, all His suggestions and words are the truth. To those who hear His voice within themselves, the truth is revealed not as the fruit of various considerations, hesitations, doubts, but as direct knowledge. Just as the Son of God himself spoke about Himself: as we know, we speak, and as we see, we testify (John 3:11), so those who received the Spirit from God could speak about themselves: God has revealed to us by His Spirit: for the Spirit tests all things, even the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10). Truth belongs to God: only the search for truth, research belongs to us; but the Apostle of Christ says about himself: the truth of Christ is in me (2 Cor. 11:10). According to the promise of the Lord, it will be especially convenient for the Apostles to hear the suggestions of the Spirit of truth, that these suggestions will not come to them from outside, but the Holy Spirit will speak within them. “You know Him,” the Lord said to them, “as He abides in you and will be in you.” There is a difference between the present attitude of the Holy Spirit towards the disciples and the future. The Lord said about the present: “in you” (more precisely, from the Greek “with you”, “with you”) abides; and in the future - “it will be in you.” And during the life of the Lord, they already possessed some gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as the gift of working miracles. But in the action of these gifts, the power of the Holy Spirit appeared more outside the miracle workers themselves than in them. That is why they sometimes worked miracles and were not renewed by grace. This is why it happened that the lack of internal action of the Holy Spirit limited the power of its external action: thus, when the disciples wanted to cast out the unclean spirit, without subduing their flesh to the spirit by fasting and without strengthening themselves with prayer, all their efforts to cast out the spirit were in vain. After His resurrection, the Lord, with a divine breath, introduces the Holy Spirit into them, teaching them the grace to resolve sins. And on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit Himself fills their entire being. Three, says St. Gregory the Theologian in his word on the day of Pentecost, is the action of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles, according to their acceptance, and at three different times: before the glorification of Christ by passion, after the glorification by resurrection, and after the ascension into heaven. The first was unclear, the second is more obvious, and the present is more perfect: for it is no longer an action, as before, but is essentially present, and, as another would say, the Spirit co-abides and cohabits (Creation. IV, p. 16) - So from now on, in the Holy Spirit, they will have a constantly present, omniscient, always True Mentor. What will the Divine Mentor tell them? The Lord promised that the Spirit of truth would teach them everything. To him you will teach everything (John 14:26). No matter how extensive this promise is, it was not spoken by false lips, and therefore it is undoubtedly true. The Spirit of truth will reveal to them the whole truth of Christ’s teaching and make them faithful organs for communicating it to the whole world. And first of all, the Holy Spirit, says the Lord, will remember to you all the things that were spoken to you (John 14:26). Honored with close communication with the Lord, His disciples witnessed many Divine acts and instructions that should not have been lost to the world. In them he must recognize Christ - God's power and God's wisdom. The apostles had to testify to everything that He did, starting from the baptism of John until the day when he ascended into heaven (Acts 1:22). They did not need to invent a new teaching, but to convey what they heard, what they saw with their own eyes, what they touched with their hands (1 John 1:1). Without a doubt, the acts and speeches of Christ the Savior in themselves should have been deeply engraved in their memory, mind and heart: but it could easily have turned out that not all the witnesses would have agreed in their understanding, and therefore would not have agreed in their transmission; some could give more meaning and dignity to this kind of actions and words, others differently, and therefore the explanation of the Divine appearance of the Redeemer would not be the same for everyone. Moreover, not everything in His actions and speeches, not everything in the events themselves was understandable to the disciples. That is why the view on the course of affairs was not always correct. In order to refresh what has been perceived by memory, to resurrect what has been forgotten, to present what is unclear and misunderstood in the full light of truth, the Holy Spirit is given to them. “He will remember to you,” says the Lord, “everything that has been spoken to you.” It was necessary that their contemplation should constantly be presented to the full, true and living image of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which He deigned to reveal Himself on earth. And the features of this Divine image still shine for us in the four Gospels, as if in four pure mirrors. There were so many deeds and instructions that it seemed that even if they were all written at once, the whole world itself could not contain the books that were written (John 21:25). But the Holy Spirit, giving the divine a divine measure and condescending to human weakness, showed the inspired narrators what and how to reveal, so that the image, even in its reduced form, would faithfully correspond to the prototype. In these images we see something else even more accurately than how it was initially imagined by the witnesses of the events and speeches themselves. Through the action of the Holy Spirit, it happened that these images, drawn by different artists at different times, according to different requirements, complement each other, clarify, and reinforce themselves. With one hand or the other, the Messiah, the fulfiller of the Law and the Prophets, the redeemer of the human race, the son of man and the Son of God is depicted in them, but in such a way that in all features the bright image of the God-Man appears. But is it enough just to reproduce the features of the historical appearance of the Son of God? How many questions had to be resolved when it was necessary to apply new principles of Christianity to ancient religious forms and ideas: what of them to retain, what to reject, how to separate the pure from the impure - in Judaism, in the religion of natural man? The Lord Himself in His last conversation with His disciples said: The imam has many more words to say to you, but you cannot bear them now (John 16:12). It was necessary to supplement the instructions. The Apostolic Word was to become a guide for the entire church, of all times: they dealt not only with their contemporaries, but with all subsequent generations and generations. Their needs, their questions should already be predetermined in the Apostolic word because the teaching of Christ was intended and should have been the general confession of the entire human race. Who could give such a complete, comprehensive character to the teaching of the fishermen of Galilee? Who could fill in what was left unsaid in the words of the Lord, due to the weakness of the disciples, or what was not heard by them? The Heavenly Sower planted into the minds and hearts of his closest listeners the seeds of Divine truth, which were to grow and bring abundant fruit for the common use of all members of the church: but who can guarantee that in this case tares will not arise between the wheat, and their seeds will not also be brought into the common granary? Who will eliminate the false and harmful so that it does not mix with the pure teaching and remain with it forever? The Lord entrusts all this to the Spirit of truth: when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth (John 16:13), that is, He will reveal to you in its entirety the truth of the teaching that God, in His providential advice about the human race, decided to communicate to him during his earthly wandering. To you, who study day and night in the law of the Lord, 2 there is no need to explain in detail how, despite all the unity of the Lord’s teaching and the teaching of the Apostles, some parts of Christ’s teaching were truly revealed in full light only in the preaching of the Apostles. But it would not be superfluous to provide at least one example. The Lord, entering into his ministry, already saw that it must end in death. This is what He condemned Himself to as the Redeemer of the human race. But the thought of the death of the Messiah was too far from the imagination of all Jews in general, and at the same time His disciples. Every time the Lord found it necessary to introduce His disciples about this, His words aroused bewilderment. “They did not understand this verb,” the Evangelist openly confesses (Luke 9:45). Meanwhile, the idea of ​​the death of the God-Man must lie at the basis of all Christian teaching. Redemption by the death of the Son of God is what all our faith, hope and love are based on. How was it possible to reveal this dogma to the disciples when they were completely alien to the very thought of the death of the Messiah: they heard from the law that Christ abides forever (John 12:34). In the last conversations in Jerusalem - at the mystical supper with the disciples, at the very establishment of the sacrament - in His high priestly prayer, the Lord made it clear that He was devoting His life for the whole world. But in all its strength, in all the breadth of its application to the life of the church, this dogma was to be revealed only in the Apostolic teaching. And so, the understanding of this dogma soon led to the abolition of the Old Testament law as a means of justification, and to the free acceptance of pagans into the bowels of the church. Who revealed this? “It has pleased the Holy Spirit and us,” write the Apostles, proclaiming the determination of the Apostolic Council, by which the pagans were freed from the burden of the Jewish law. From this example one can see what the words of the Lord mean: when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth: for it is not of Himself that you say to have, but He who hears to say to have. He will glorify Me, because He will receive what is mine and will tell it to you (John 16:13,14). Not from Himself: that is, not a new teaching, in denial or correction of what was heard from the Lord Himself, will be proclaimed by the Holy Spirit or those speaking by the Holy Spirit, but from the principles already laid down, they will deduce further consequences, finish the unspoken, explaining and confirming the firstfruits of the word of Christ (Heb. 6:1). In vain do the Judaizing false brethren accuse the Apostle Paul of departing from the truth of Christ and of transforming the teachings of the other Apostles. In vain do the new false teachers of our time try to convince us that Paul’s preaching was based on completely different principles than the preaching of Peter and James, and they want to confuse the very teaching of Christ with Judaism. No, the new Apostle, who did not follow in the footsteps of Jesus along with the others, but after all was called by Him, already glorified, will not speak on his own behalf. Do not scold him...He will glorify Me, for He will receive and proclaim what is Mine (Luke 9:50; John 16:14). It is not suddenly that the content of Divine revelation is exhausted and expressed. Elika will hear the verb to have. Just as the Son of God Himself testified of Himself that His teaching is not His, but that of Him who sent Him: so He says about the teaching of the Holy Spirit: as soon as they hear. And in order to present His action more vividly, closer to us, he depicts the omniscient Spirit, the searching Spirit and the depths of God, as if receiving the knowledge of the truth in parts. Elika will hear. Strictly speaking, this only indicates that the knowledge of Christ’s truth will gradually increase in the Apostles. There are no mistakes, no delusions in the first experiments of their preaching. The truth of Christ also speaks in the first speech of the Apostle Peter, after the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, before a heterogeneous multitude of Jews from all countries. But then the Holy Spirit had not yet told him: not a single filthy or unclean thing can a person say (Acts 10:28). When he hears this too, then he will proclaim it without hesitation; then, without hesitation, he will go to the house of Cornelius and will defend before the entire assembly of Jerusalem, that God does not look on personalities, but in every nation fear Him and doing righteousness is acceptable to them (Acts 10:34,35). Thus the Holy Spirit will always teach the Apostles, and the disciples of Christ will always be disciples of the Spirit. But more than one doctrine required disclosure, explanation, and addition. The new religion had to have its own worship, give its own structure to the Church, and define rules for life. All this had to be governed by new laws. As far as we know, God himself has established some of the most important institutions; but much was still lacking for the complete organization of Christian society in all respects. Let us remember that He answered the Pharisees, who thought to reproach Him that His disciples did not fast often and did not pray like John’s disciples. He answered them with a parable: no one puts new wine into old wineskins. New wine must be put into new wineskins (Luke 5:37,38). This meant that the Church of Christ must have its own rules for worship and for life. When will she have them? The Lord also hinted at this with a parable: can the sons of the wedding eat until the bridegroom is with them, and fast? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days (Luke 5:34,35). Thus, the Lord himself refers the establishment of external rules and regulations to the time of his departure from the earth, when the Holy Spirit will act. And here the word of the Lord was justified: He will receive from Mine. Because everything was edified on this basis, and according to these principles. Ap. Paul writes: I received from the Lord, and he delivered it to you (1 Cor. 11:23). And about decrees of a different kind he says: I command not I, but the Lord... to the rest I command, and not the Lord;... For I also believe that I have the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 7:10,12,40). Thus, the Holy Spirit instructs the Apostles in all truth in all the ways of their activity, and in their inspired epistles written to private churches, he gave to the entire Church universal guidance for all times, useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for punishment in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). Illuminating the past in memory and illuminating the present, the Holy Spirit, according to the promise of the Lord, sheds light on the future. And the one who is coming will tell you (John 16:13). The appearance of the Messiah in the expectations of the Jews was connected with the last times of the world. This thought also dominated the minds of the Apostles before the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. When the Lord ascended into heaven, leaving them with the task of worldwide preaching, they must have seen that the expected grand opening of the kingdom of the Messiah was to be postponed for an indefinite time. And Ap. Peter, soon after being illuminated by the Holy Spirit, announced to the Jews that Christ Jesus, who had ascended, was to be received by heaven until the time of fulfillment of everything that God said through the mouth of all the saints. their prophets from the beginning of the age (Acts 3:21). In the Church of Thessaloniki, on the occasion of the disaster, the expectation of the imminent coming of Christ intensified to the point that some fell into inaction: Ap. Paul had to exhort the Christians of Thessalonica so that they should not rush to waver in their minds and be confused, for the day of Christ has already arrived (2 Thessalonians 2:2). But on the other hand, it was not safe for the Church to suppress such expectations: for already in the time of the Apostles scoffers began to appear who said: where is the promise of His coming? Wherefore the fathers fell asleep, all things continue from the beginning of creation (2 Peter 3:4). In order to moderate the impatience of some and to arouse others from obstinacy, in order to place the disciples of Christ and other believers in the position of faithful slaves, always ready to meet their master, the Holy Spirit, without determining the times and years that the Father has set in his power, revealed the future partly in the immediate signs of the glorious coming of Christ, partly in the mysterious images of the very changes awaiting the Church until the day of universal change. These are the predictions about the last times in the writings of St. Petra, Ap. Paul and in the whole book of Revelation by St. John. Thus, all the promises of the Lord Jesus Christ about the Holy Spirit given to the Apostles were fulfilled. Not only did He remain with them until the end of their exploit on earth, but when they departed to their Lord, He remained and remains with the Apostolic Church and will remain forever. And just as he lived and acted in the Apostles, he lives and acts in the Church, protecting the faithful, leading in resolving issues of the present time and directing minds and hearts to the future. My brethren, as we prepare to be organs of the Holy Spirit in the Church of Christ, should we not constantly keep ourselves in the mood in which the Apostles prepared to receive the Holy Spirit and bless the Church, praising and blessing God (Luke 24:53). All of us, as Christians, are anointed by the Imams from the Holy One; but for those elected as leaders of others, common gifts alone are not enough. The division of gifts depends on the will of the Spirit. Let us pray to Him to enlighten our minds and hearts, so as to make us not indecent in the work of serving the Church of God. The Apostle James teaches: if anyone lacks wisdom from you, let him ask of God, who gives to all without partiality and without reproaching, and it will be given to him (James 1:5). Amen. A number of sermons were found by the late rector of the M.D. Academy, Fr. Archpriest Alexander Vasilyevich Gorsky, spoken by him at different times in the academic church or in the Lavra Trinity Cathedral. The Moscow Academy, highly honoring the memory of one of its best representatives and leaders, considers it a sacred duty to offer all these sermons to the attention of the readers of the Theological Messenger, among whom there are a considerable number of both pupils and sincere admirers of the unforgettable Alexander Vasilyevich. Sermons are printed from the deceased's original manuscripts. – Ed. Here, as in subsequent requests, we mean Moscow students. Spirit. The academies to which the speech was primarily addressed.