Беседа 6

You don't need worldly wisdom to preach. - Faith and signs. – Why doesn’t everyone believe now? 1 Corinthians 2:1–2. And when I came to you, brethren, I came to proclaim to you the testimony of God, not in the excellence of speech or wisdom, for I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1. Nothing can compare in activity with the soul of Paul, or better, not with his soul - since he did not achieve this himself - but with the grace that acted in him and conquered everything. And what was said before was enough to bring down the pride of those who exalted themselves in their wisdom; Even part of what was said was enough. But to make the victory more glorious, he continues his speech, trampling on already defeated opponents. Look: he brought the prophecy: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise: he showed the wisdom of God in the fact that God, with seeming madness, overthrew external wisdom; explained that the foolishness of God is wiser than man; pointed out that God not only taught through unlearned people, but also called unlearned people; and now he proves that the very subject of the sermon and the method of preaching could have confused others, but they did not. Not only, he says, are the disciples simple people, but I am also a preacher. “And I,... brethren,” again calling them brethren in order to soften the severity of the speech, “came to proclaim to you the testimony of God, not in the superiority of the word.” But, tell me, if you wanted to come with a high word, could you? I, he says, even if I wanted, I could not: but Christ, if he wanted, could (send); but He did not want the victory to become more glorious. Therefore, above, proving that it was the work of Christ and His will that the word should be preached with such simplicity, he said: “For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in the wisdom of the word” (1 Cor. 1:17). And the will of Christ is much more important, incomparably more important than the will of Paul. Thus, he says, it is not with high words and not with the help of eloquence that I proclaim the testimony of God. He didn’t say: sermon, but: testimony of God, which he also might not have liked, since he preached about death everywhere; That’s why he added: “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” He says this because he was completely alien to external wisdom, as he said above: “he did not come in superiority of speech.” There is no doubt that he could have had that too; the one whose clothes raised the dead and whose shadow healed diseases, all the more could his soul master eloquence. The latter is also characteristic of students, and the former is above all art. Consequently, whoever knew what was higher than art could even more so know what was lower. But Christ did not allow this, because it was not useful. Therefore, Paul rightly says: “For I determined to know nothing,” since I also desire the same thing that Christ. It seems to me that the apostle talks with them (the Corinthians) much more simply than with others, in order to bring down their pride. So the words: “for I determined to know nothing” are spoken in opposition to external wisdom. I came to you, he says, not to weave syllogisms and sophisms, or to say anything like that, but only to announce that Christ was crucified. Those (wise men) talk a lot and give long speeches about countless subjects, forming judgments and conclusions and weaving thousands of sophisms: but I came to you to talk about nothing else but that Christ was crucified and surpassed them all, which serves as an ineffable sign of the power of the Preached One. “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in great trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). Here is another important circumstance. Not only believers are simple people, not only the preacher is a simple person, not only the method of teaching is filled with simplicity, not only the very subject of the sermon can be confusing, since this subject is the cross and death; but at the same time there were other obstacles, namely dangers and intrigues, daily fear and persecution. He often calls persecution a weakness, as for example “you did not despise the weakness of the flesh... mine” (Gal. 4:13–14); and again: “If I must boast, then I will boast in my weakness” (2 Cor. 11:30). What weakness? The pagan “ruler of King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus to seize me” (2 Cor. 11:32). And again: “therefore I am content with weaknesses,” and in which ones, he further explains: “in insults, in needs,... in oppression” (2 Cor. 12:10). He says the same thing now; Having said: “And I was with you in weakness,” he does not stop there, but to show that by weakness he means danger, he adds: “both in fear and in great trembling.” What is this? Was Paul really afraid of dangers? Yes, I was afraid and very afraid. After all, although he was Paul, he was still a man. And this is not Paul’s fault, but the weakness of (human) nature, and at the same time praise to his will, if he, even fearing death and wounds, under the influence of fear did not do anything unworthy. Therefore, those who say that he was not afraid of wounds not only do him no honor, but also greatly humiliate his dignity. If he were not afraid, then what kind of firmness or what wisdom would there be in enduring disasters? And this is why I am surprised at him, because although he was afraid, and not just afraid, but trembled at disasters, he always labored with glory and did not weaken under any danger, cleansing the universe and everywhere, on land and at sea, sowing the seeds of preaching. “And my word and my preaching are not in convincing words of human wisdom” (1 Cor. 2:4), i.e. alien to external wisdom. If the sermon had nothing sophistic in itself, and the people called were simple people, and the preacher was the same, and in addition there was persecution, fear and trembling, then tell me, how was the victory won? Divine power. Therefore, having said: “my word and my preaching are not in convincing words of human wisdom,” he adds: “but in the manifestation of the Spirit and power.” 2. Do you see how “the foolish things of God are wiser, and the weak things of God are stronger than men” (1 Cor. 1:25)? Simple preachers, being oppressed and persecuted, defeated their persecutors. Why? Is it not because they inspired faith by the Spirit? This means the appearance (of the Spirit). Who, tell me, will not believe, seeing the resurrection of the dead and the casting out of demons? But since there are false powers, such as magic ones, the apostle eliminates this thought; not just says: strength, but first - the Spirit, and then - strength; This expresses that everything done was accomplished by the Spirit. Thus, it is not a humiliation for the sermon that it is preached without the help of wisdom, but on the contrary, it is the greatest decoration. This especially proves that she is divine and has the highest heavenly origin. That’s why he adds: “so that your faith may not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:5). Do you see how clearly he represents the great benefit of simplicity and the great harm of wisdom? The latter humiliated the cross, and the former proclaimed the power of God; the latter produced the fact that people did not know what they should and boasted about themselves, while the former encouraged them to accept the truth and boast about God; wisdom inspired many to consider the teaching (apostolic) human, and simplicity clearly expressed that it was divine and came down from heaven. When a proof is made up of wise words, then often the unworthy, being stronger in words, prevail over the worthy, and lies take the place of truth. This is not the case here: the Holy Spirit does not enter an unclean soul, and once it has entered, it cannot be defeated, even if all the power of eloquence rises up against it, since proof through deeds and signs is much clearer than proof through words. But perhaps someone will say: if preaching must win and does not need the power of the word, lest the cross be abolished, then why have the signs ceased now? Why? Do you not believe and think that they did not exist even under the apostles, or do you really want to know when you say this? If you don’t believe me, then I’ll stop at this first. If there were no signs then, then how come the apostles, being persecuted, oppressed, subjected to fear and bonds, being the common enemies of all and hated by all, having nothing attractive in themselves, neither eloquence, nor nobility, nor wealth, nor fame in the city, in the people, in origin, or in art, and nothing else like that, but having everything contrary to this, ignorance, ignorance, poverty, simplicity and humiliation, and, moreover, rebelling against entire nations and proclaiming such truths - how did they produce conviction? Their rules were not easy, their dogmas were dangerous, and the listeners, who had to be convinced, were given over to voluptuousness, drunkenness and great impiety. How did they convince, tell me? How did you gain trust? If, as I said before, they convinced without signs, then this is an even greater sign. So, from the fact that there are no signs now, do not conclude that there were none then. Then it was useful to be one, but now it is useful not to be. However, from the fact that now persuasion is achieved with one word, it does not follow that preaching now depends on wisdom. Just as the original sowers of the word were simple and unlearned and did not say anything on their own, but what they received from God they taught to the universe, so we now offer not our own, but what we received from them we proclaim to everyone. And now we convince not with conclusions, but with the testimony of the Divine Scriptures, and with the signs of that time we inspire to believe what is proclaimed. However, the apostles then convinced not only with signs, but also with conversations; only their words received more power from the signs and testimonies of the Old Testament Scripture, and not from the art of eloquence. How, you say, were signs useful then, but now they have become useless? Suppose - I am addressing a pagan and therefore I call it an assumption what will undoubtedly happen - let us assume and let an infidel, at least for a while, admit, for example, that Christ will come. So, when Christ comes and all the angels with Him; when He appears as God, and everything submits to Him, then will not the pagan believe in Him? Of course, he will worship Him and call Him God, even if he was an extremely stubborn person. 3. Who, seeing the heavens open, Christ coming on the clouds, and all the hosts of the heavenly powers around Him, the flowing rivers of fire and all those standing before Him with trembling, will not worship Him and recognize Him as God? But tell me, will this worship and recognition replace faith for a pagan? No. Why? Because it is not faith; this is a consequence of the need for a majestic spectacle; It is not one’s own decision, but the greatness of what one contemplates that captivates the soul in this case. Consequently, the clearer and more striking the signs, the less faith there is, which is why the signs are now not performed. To be convinced of the truth of this, listen to what Christ says to Thomas: “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). Consequently, the more obvious the sign, the less the dignity of faith. The same thing would happen if signs were performed now. That then (after the coming of Christ) we will no longer know Him by faith, Paul explained this in the words: “for we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Just as then faith would not be imputed to you because of the obviousness of the subject, so now it would not be imputed if the same signs were performed as before. After all, faith occurs when we accept something that cannot be comprehended in any way, by any reasoning. Thus, God threatens Gehenna, but it is invisible; if it were visible, then the same thing would happen again. However, if you want signs, you can now see them, although not of this kind, namely the fulfillment of countless prophecies about many events, the conversion of the universe, the wisdom of the pagans, the change in rude morals, the advancement of piety. What kind of prophecy do you say this is? After all, all these predictions were written after the events? When, tell me, where, by whom and for how many years? Over fifty, or over a hundred? This means that absolutely nothing has been written for a hundred years. How did the universe preserve dogmas and everything else when memory alone is not enough for this? How did they know that Peter was crucified? Where did those who followed come up with the idea to predict, for example, that the gospel would be preached throughout the entire universe, that the kingdom of Judah would cease and would not rise again? Those who laid down their souls for preaching, how could they allow their preaching to be distorted? How would they believe the writers after the signs had already ceased? And how would the scriptures penetrate into the land of barbarians and Indians and to the very ends of the ocean if the writers themselves were not reliable? What kind of writers are these? When did they write, where and for what? Is it not to gain fame for yourself? But why did they inscribe their books with the names of others? Is it not in order to give firmness to the teaching? But is it true or false? If they recognized it as false, then it was not worth pursuing it; if they recognized it as true, then there was no need for those inventions that you are talking about. On the other hand, these predictions are such that even until now nothing could change what was predicted. Thus, the destruction of Jerusalem took place over many years. There are other predictions that from the time they are pronounced will be valid until His coming, as you can see, if you want, from the following, for example: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20); “On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18); “This gospel will be preached... to all nations” (Matthew 24:14); “Wherever this gospel is preached,... it will be said... what she did” (Matthew 26:13), and very many others. Why do these predictions turn out to be true if they were fictitious? Why did not the gates of hell prevail over the Church? Why is Christ always with us? After all, if He had not been with us, the Church would not have won the victory. Why did the gospel spread throughout the universe? The antiquity of our books can be testified even by those who spoke against us, such as the followers of Celsus and Vataneot (Porphyry), who came after him - they, of course, did not refute what was written after them - as well as the entire universe, which unanimously accepted this teaching. If it were not for the grace of the Spirit, there would not have been such a unanimous acceptance of it from the ends of the earth, but the perpetrators of the inventions would have been quickly exposed, and such great deeds would not have been accomplished with the help of inventions and lies. And now don’t you see how the whole universe has turned, error has been destroyed, the wisdom of the monks shines brighter than the sun? Do you not see hosts of virgins, piety among the barbarians, and everyone humbled under one yoke (of Christ)? This was predicted not only in our books, but also from ancient times by the prophets; and of course you cannot reject their predictions, because their books are also among their enemies and, due to the zeal of some pagans, have been translated into Greek. They contain many prophecies and indications that He who is to come is God. 4. Why doesn’t everyone believe now? Because our deeds are not good, and we ourselves are the reason for this; I turn the floor to ourselves. And then they turned to faith not only by signs, but many of those who converted were attracted by the life (of believers). “So,” it is said, “let your light shine before people, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Then everyone “had one heart and one soul; and no one called anything of his property his own, but they had everything in common... and to each was given whatever he needed” (Acts 4:32, 35), and they lived the life of angels. If the same were true now, we would convert the entire universe even without signs. Therefore, let those who wish to be saved listen to the Scriptures; here they will find these and even higher virtues. And the teachers themselves abounded in them, spending their lives in hunger, thirst and nakedness. We want to live in luxury, in bliss and pleasure; They did not live like that, but they said: “Even to this day we suffer hunger and thirst, nakedness and beatings, and we wander” (1 Cor. 4:11). One of them traveled from Jerusalem to Illyria, another to the country of the Indians, a third to the country of the Moors, another to other parts of the universe; but we do not even dare to leave our fatherland, we are looking for luxury, magnificent dwellings and all other wealth. Which of us has ever suffered hunger for the word of God? Who was in the desert? Who took the long journey? Which teacher, living by the labor of his hands, helped others? Who was exposed to daily death? That is why those around us are careless. Warriors and military leaders, when they endure hunger, thirst, death and all calamities, then they overcome cold and danger, and everything is like lions, and they perform valiant deeds; and then, if, having abandoned such wisdom, given themselves over to bliss, become addicted to earthly goods and become engaged in buying and selling, they are defeated by enemies, then it would be completely insane to look for the reason for this change. So we must reason about ourselves and those who came before us: we have become more tender than everyone else, clinging to real life. If there is a person who has even a little ancient wisdom in himself, then he, leaving the city and market place, not wanting to deal with people and correct others, retires to the mountains; and if anyone asks him about the reason for leaving, he gives a disrespectful answer: I am leaving, he says, so as not to destroy myself and not become incapable of virtue. But wouldn’t it be better for you to be less virtuous and to benefit others, rather than to remain on top and look with contempt at the destruction of your brothers? If some are neglectful of virtue, and others, who care about it, withdraw from the ranks, then how will we defeat our enemies? Who would be convinced if there were signs now? Which heathen would listen to us when wickedness is so widespread? For many, our righteous life is more convincing than signs. Shameless and evil people can look at signs with treacherous thoughts; and a pure life can with great power stop the lips of the devil himself. I say this to both superiors and subordinates, and above all to myself, so that we lead a praiseworthy life, correct ourselves and despise everything present. Let us despise property, but not Gehenna; let us despise glory, but not salvation; Let us work here and endure, so as not to be tormented there. Thus let us fight against the pagans; so let us drag them into captivity, which is superior to freedom. However, this is often and incessantly said by us, but it is rarely fulfilled. But whether it is fulfilled or not, it is our duty to constantly remind us of this, since if others, to deceive others, speak so many captivating speeches, then all the more those who lead to the truth should not tire of proclaiming useful things. If those who mislead use so much effort to achieve their goal, squander property, resort to the art of eloquence, are exposed to dangers and are themselves ahead of everyone, then how much more must we, who deviate from error, endure dangers, death, and everything, so that, having brought benefit to ourselves and others and remaining invincible from our enemies, we may be counted worthy of the promised blessings, grace and love for mankind (our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom the Father, with Holy Spirit, glory, power, honor, now and ever, and forever and ever. Amen). These conversations were delivered by the saint in Antioch around 390. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” You might be interested in: