Истина и Дух

Do not be deceived by conceit and the teaching of those deceived by self-conceit, who, neglecting the truth of the Church and Divine Revelation, claim that the truth can speak to you without the sounds of a word, and instruct you by itself, by some vague and unclear action. This is the teaching of lies and its confidants 20 . Signs of the teaching of lies: darkness, uncertainty, opinion 21 and the dreamy, bloody and nervous pleasure that follows it. It is delivered by the subtle action of vanity and voluptuousness. Fallen humanity approaches holy truth by faith; there is no other way to it. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17), the Apostle teaches us. The Word of God is truth (John 17:17); the commandments of the gospel are truth (Ps. 119:86); Every man is a liar (Ps. 116:2). All this is attested to by Divine Scripture. How, from someone who is a lie, do you think you can hear the voice of holy truth? Do you want to hear it, to hear the spiritual voice of holy truth? – Learn to read the Gospel: from it you will hear the truth, in it you will see the truth. The truth will reveal to you your fall and the bonds of lies, the bonds of self-deception with which the soul of every person who has not been renewed by the Holy Spirit is invisibly bound. You are ashamed to admit, fallen arrogant person, proud in your very fall, that you must seek truth outside yourself, that the entrance for it into your soul is through hearing and other bodily senses! But this is an undeniable truth, revealing how deep our decline is. So deep, so terrible is our fall that in order to extract us from the disastrous abyss, God the Word took upon Himself humanity, so that people from disciples of the devil and lies would become disciples of God and Truth, through the medium of the Word and the Spirit of Truth they would be freed from sinful slavery, and would learn all the truth 22 . We are so rude, so sensual, that it was necessary for the Holy Truth to be exposed to our bodily feelings; Not only the sounds of words were needed, but also healings of the sick, tangible signs on waters, trees, and bread, so that we, convinced by our bodily eyes, could somehow discern the Truth. So our spiritual eyes have been darkened! “If you do not see signs and wonders, you do not believe” (John 4:48), the Lord reproached sensitive people who asked Him for healing of the body, and did not even suspect that their souls were in an incomparably terrible illness, and therefore needed incomparably more healing and a heavenly Physician than their bodies. And the man confessed before the Lord that the signs visible with his bodily eyes led him to faith and led him to vision with his mind. “We know,” he said to the Lord, “that you are a teacher come from God: for no one can do these signs... except God be with him” (John 3:2). And this man had earthly learning. Many saw the Savior with their own eyes, saw His Divine power over all creation in the miracles He performed; many heard His holy teaching with their own ears, heard the demons themselves testifying about Him; but they did not know Him, hated Him, and committed the most terrible crime - deicide. So deep, so terrible is our fall, our darkening. It seems that it is enough to read one chapter of the Gospel to know the God speaking in it. “Verbs of the life of the eternal imashi”, our Lord and God, who appeared to us in the humble form of a man, “and we have believed and known that You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (John 6:68–69). The Truth Itself speaks: “If you continue in My word, you will truly be My disciples. And you will understand the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31–32). Study the Gospel, and genuine, holy truth will be communicated to you from it. The truth can also speak from within a person. But when is this? Then, according to the word of the Savior, a person is clothed with “power from on high” (Luke 24:49): “When He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13). If, before the clear coming of the Holy Spirit - the destiny of the saints of God - anyone imagines hearing the truth broadcast within himself, he is only flattering his pride, deceiving himself; He rather hears the voice of the one who said in paradise: “You will be like gods” (Gen. 3:5). And this voice seems to him to be the voice of truth! To learn the truth from the Gospel and the Holy Fathers, and through reading to commune with the Holy Spirit who lives in the Gospel and the Holy Fathers, is great happiness. I am not worthy of the highest happiness - the happiness of hearing the truth from the Most Holy Spirit himself! I'm not capable of it! I am not able to withstand it, to preserve it: my vessel is not ready, not finished and not strengthened. The wine of the Spirit, if it were poured into it, would dissolve it and spill itself out (Matthew 9:17), and therefore my all-good Lord, sparing my weakness, is long-suffering for me (Luke 18:7), and does not present me with strong spiritual waste for food (1 Cor. 3:2). The centurion admitted that he was unworthy to receive the Lord into his house, but asked that the almighty word of the Lord come to this house and heal the boy. It has arrived; a sign took place, the boy was healed. The Lord praised the centurion's faith and humility (Matthew 8:8–13). The children of Israel spoke to their holy leader and legislator, they spoke from the correct concept of the greatness of the Divine, from the concept from which consciousness and knowledge of the insignificance of man is born: “Speak thou with us, and let not God speak unto us, lest we... die” (Ex. 20:19). These humble and saving words are characteristic of every true Christian: a Christian is protected by such a heartfelt guarantee from spiritual death, which strikes the self-deluded pride and insolence. In contrast to the true Christian, this spiritual Israeli, the self-deceived one cries out in frenzy: “The children of Israel once said to Moses: Speak to us, and we will listen; Let not the Lord speak to us, lest we die. Not so, Lord, not so I pray! Let not Moses, or any other of the prophets, say to me: Speak, O Lord God, who gives inspiration to all the prophets. You alone, without them, can completely teach me” 23. He is unworthy of the Lord, unworthy of imitation, who is all in filth and impurity, and with a stupid, proud, dreamy opinion thinks to be in the arms of the Most Pure, Most Holy Lord, thinks to have Him within himself and talk with Him as with a friend 24. “God is glorified in the council of saints, great and terrible is above all those around Him” (Ps. 88:8), says Scripture; He is terrible for the highest heavenly Powers. The six-winged Seraphim soar around His throne, in frenzy and horror at the greatness of God they utter incessant praise, covering their fiery faces with fiery wings: the seer Isaiah saw this (Is. 6). Human! cover yourself reverently with humility. It is enough, it is enough if the Word of God, the truth, ascends into the house of the soul through hearing or reading, and heals the child, that is, you, who is still in infancy in relation to Christ, although in your carnal age you may already be adorned with gray hair. There is no other access to the Truth! “How can they believe,” says the Apostle, “if they have not heard it? How can they hear without someone preaching? ...faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:14, 17). The living organs of the Holy Spirit have fallen silent: Scripture preaches the truth - spoken by the Holy Spirit. Faithful son of the Eastern Church! Listen to friendly advice, life-saving advice. Do you want to thoroughly know the path of God and come along this path to eternal salvation? – Study the holy truth in the Holy Scriptures, mainly in the New Testament, and in the writings of the Holy Fathers. In this exercise, purity of life is also absolutely necessary: ​​because only those who are pure in heart can see God. Then you will become, in due time, to the extent known and pleasing to God, a disciple and confidant of the holy Truth, a partaker of the Holy Spirit inseparable from It, taught by It. Amen. Thomas à Kempis "On the Imitation of Jesus Christ", book I, ch. 3, book. III, ch. 2. It was said above that this is what the Holy Fathers called a certain type of self-delusion, which is why we retain this name. John 8:31; coll. John 16:13. Imitation, book. III, ch. 2. Imitation, book. III, ch. 1. You might be interested in: