五十篇屬靈講道 第 1 章 第 2/19 段

For just as the members of the body, being many, are one body, and they help one another, and each performs its own work — yet the eye sees on behalf of the whole body, and the hand works on behalf of all the members, and the foot walks carrying all the members, and another member suffers along with them — so let the brothers be with one another.

And let not the one who prays judge the one who works;

neither let the one who works judge the one who prays, saying, "He stays put while I work"; nor let the one who ministers judge the other.

But let each, whatever he does, do it to the glory of God.

Let the one who reads hold the one who prays in love and joy, reckoning thus, "He prays on my behalf"; and let the one who prays reckon concerning the one who works, "What he does, he does for the common benefit."

And thus much harmony and peace and concord can prevail, holding one another in the bond of peace, and they can dwell together with one another in integrity and simplicity and the good pleasure of God.

But the chief thing of all, evidently, is perseverance in prayer.

Yet one thing is sought: that one should have a treasure in the soul, and life — which is the Lord — in the mind;

whether he works or prays or reads, that he may have that possession which does not pass away, which is the Holy Spirit.

There are some who say this, that the Lord requires of men only manifest fruits, but the hidden things God himself sets right.

But the matters are not so; rather, just as one guards himself in the outer man, so he ought also to wage struggle and war in the thoughts.

For the Lord requires of you that you be angry with yourself and wage battle with your mind, neither agreeing with nor taking pleasure in the thoughts of wickedness.

But for the rest — to uproot sin and the indwelling evil — this is possible to set right by the divine power alone.

For it is not lawful nor possible for man by his own power to uproot sin.

To wrestle against, to fight against, to beat and to be beaten — this is yours;

for if you were able to do this, what need of the Lord's coming? For as it is not possible for the eye to see without light, or to speak without a tongue, or to hear without ears, or to walk without feet, or to work without hands, so it is not possible for anyone without Jesus to be saved or to enter the kingdom of heaven.

But if you say, "In outward things I do not fornicate, I do not commit adultery, I am not avaricious, therefore I am righteous" — you are deceived in this, supposing that you have accomplished everything.

There are not only three departments of sin in which one ought to guard himself, but ten thousand;

fearlessness, conceit, unbelief, hatred, envy, deceit, hypocrisy — whence are these? Ought you not against these to have your wrestling and struggle in the hidden things, in the thoughts? Just as if there were a robber in the house, henceforth he presses you and does not let you be at ease, and you too begin to strike back at him — you beat, you are beaten — so the soul too ought to fight back and struggle against and resist.

Henceforth the will, fighting back and having toil and affliction, begins to gain the upper hand;

it falls, it rises again; again sin casts it down; in ten or twenty struggles sin conquers the soul and casts it down, and the soul, in the course of time, in a single bout conquers sin.

to carry off the prizes of victory against sin.

But even if it is tested in these things, sin still overthrows the man, until he comes to a perfect man, to the measure of stature, and perfectly conquers death;

"The last enemy, death, is destroyed."

And so they become superior and victors over the devil.

But if, as we said before, someone says,

"I do not fornicate, I do not commit adultery, I am not covetous, it is enough for me" — this man has striven in three departments, but in the other twenty which sin has against the soul he has not striven, but has been defeated.

He ought therefore to strive and contend in all things;

for the mind, as we have often said, is an adversary and has power evenly matched against sin, to contradict and oppose the thoughts.

But if you say that the opposing power is stronger and that wickedness reigns wholly over man, you make God unjust in condemning humanity;

because he obeyed Satan, when Satan is stronger and subjects him by some compelling power;

you have made Satan greater and stronger than the soul, and yet you charge me:

"Do not obey!" Just as if there were a young man who has a wrestling-match with a child, and if the child is defeated, it is condemned — why was it defeated?

This is great injustice.

Wherefore we say that the mind is an adversary and evenly matched, and such a soul, seeking, obtains help and assistance and is counted worthy of redemption.

For the wrestling and the struggle rest upon equality of power.

We glorify Father and Son and Holy Spirit unto the ages.

Those who wish to set right the life of Christianity with much exactness ought, before all else, to take care with all their power of the intellectual and discerning faculty of the soul, so that, having acquired with exactness the discernment of good and evil, and always distinguishing from the pure nature the passions that have been introduced contrary to nature, we may conduct ourselves rightly and without stumbling; that, using the faculty of discernment as an eye, we may be able to be unmixed and uncombined with the designs of wickedness, and so, being counted worthy of the divine gift, may become worthy of the Lord.

Let us take an example from things visible.

For the body resembles the soul, and the affairs of the body resemble those of the soul, and the things manifest resemble the things hidden.

For just as the body has the eye for its guide, and the eye, itself seeing, guides the whole body into the right way;

suppose for me that someone is passing through places thickly wooded and full of thorns and mire, where also fire shoots up and swords are fixed in the way, and there are cliffs and great quantities of water;

then the quick and earnest and nimble man, having the eye for his guide, passes very carefully through those difficult places, holding his tunic close on every side with hands and feet, lest it be torn through in the brush and thorns, or be ruined by the mire, or be cut by a sword;

and the eye guides the whole body, being its light, lest it be dashed down on the cliffs, or sunk in the waters, or harmed by any dangerous thing.

He who thus passes through, quick and prudent and with all watchfulness, drawing tight his tunic, guided straightway by the eye, keeps both himself unharmed and preserves the tunic of his garment unburned and untorn.

the tunic of the garment, through his carelessness and slackness and sloth.

But if he does not attend well and straightway to the eye, he too will fall into a ravine or be drowned in the waters.

In the same way, the soul also, wearing as it were a beautiful tunic — the garment of the body — and having the discerning faculty to direct the whole soul together with the body, as it passes through the brush and thorns of life, and mire and fire and cliffs (that is, through the lusts and pleasures and other unseemly things of this age), ought on every side, with watchfulness and courage and earnestness and attention, to draw close and guard both itself and the tunic of the body, lest somewhere it be torn through in the brush and thorns of the cares and occupations and earthly distractions of the world, and be burned up by the fire of lust.

So, being clothed, it turns the eye away from seeing evil things, likewise turns the ear away from hearing slander, the tongue from speaking vain things, the hands and feet from evil practices.

For the soul has the will to turn away and restrain the members of the body from the most evil spectacles and from wicked and shameful hearing and unbecoming words and worldly and wicked practices.

And the soul turns itself also away from wanderings, guarding the heart, that the members of its thoughts may not wander about in the world.

And thus, striving and being earnest and holding together on every side, with much attention, the members of the body away from evils, it keeps the beautiful tunic of the body untorn and unburned and unspotted.

And the soul itself, through its knowing and intellectual and discerning will — yet the whole will be guarded through the power of the Lord — drawing itself together as much as it can and turning away from every worldly lust, and so being helped by the Lord, is in truth kept from the aforesaid evils.

For when the Lord sees someone nobly turning away from the pleasures of life and its distractions and material cares and earthly bonds and the wanderings of vain thoughts, he gives his own help of grace, keeping unfallen that soul which nobly passes through the present evil age.

And so the soul will attain heavenly praises from God and the angels, because it nobly guarded the tunic of its body and itself, having (as far as in it lay) turned away from every lust of the world, and being helped by him, has nobly run the course of the stadium of this world.

But if someone walks in this life in slackness and indifference, not attending carefully, and does not of his own will turn away from every lust of the world and seek the Lord alone with all desire, he is entangled in the thorns and brush of this world, and by the fire of lust the tunic of the body is scorched and by the mire of pleasures is spotted; and so the soul is found without boldness in the day of judgment, having been unable to keep its garment unspotted, but having corrupted it by the deceits of this age;

and on this account it becomes an outcast from the kingdom.

For what will God do for the one who by his own will gives himself over to the world and is deceived by its pleasures, or led astray by material wanderings? For he gives help to the one who turns away from material pleasures and former habits, and forcibly draws his mind always toward the Lord, denying himself and seeking the Lord alone.

This one he preserves — the one who guards himself on every side from the snares and nets of the material world, who works out his own salvation with fear and trembling, and with all attentiveness passes through the snares and nets and lusts of this age, and seeks the help of the Lord, and hopes to be saved by his mercy through grace.

having been quick to gain that which is foreign to their own nature, having received the oil in the vessels of their hearts — that is, the grace of the Spirit from above — they were able to enter in together with the bridegroom into the heavenly bridal chamber.

But the others, the foolish, who remained in their own nature, were not watchful nor earnest to receive the oil of gladness in their vessels while they were still in the flesh,

but as it were fell asleep through negligence and slackness and sloth and ignorance, or even through a presumption of righteousness.

Wherefore they were also shut out from the bridal chamber of the kingdom, being unable to please the heavenly bridegroom.

For being held fast by the bond of the world and by some earthly love, they gave not their whole love and longing to the heavenly bridegroom, nor did they procure the oil.

For the souls that seek that which is foreign to nature — the sanctification of the Spirit — release their whole love toward the Lord, and there they walk, there they pray, there they think, turning away from all else.

Wherefore they are counted worthy to receive the oil of heavenly grace, and so are able to pass through unfallen, perfectly pleasing the spiritual bridegroom.

But the souls that remain in their own nature crawl in their thinking upon the earth, they reckon upon earth, their mind has its dwelling upon earth;

and in appearance they suppose they belong to the bridegroom and are adorned with the ordinances of the flesh, but from above, out of the Spirit, they were not born, not having received the oil of gladness.

For the five rational senses of the soul, if they receive the grace from above and the sanctification of the Spirit, are truly wise virgins, having received the prudence of grace from above.

But if they remain in their own nature alone, they are found foolish and are shown to be children of the world;

for they have not stripped off the spirit of the world, even though in appearance they suppose, through certain plausible pretexts and outward form, that they are brides of the bridegroom.

For just as the souls that cleave wholly and entirely to the Lord are there in their thinking, and there pray, and there walk, and there long for the love of the Lord, so again the souls that are bound in the love of the world and wish to have their dwelling upon the earth walk there and reckon there, there their mind makes its abode;

wherefore they are also unchangeable toward the good disposition of the Spirit.

Something then foreign to our nature (I mean the heavenly grace) must be combined and interwoven with our nature, that we may be able to enter in together with the Lord into the heavenly bridal chamber of the kingdom and obtain eternal salvation.

For something foreign to our nature — the wickedness of the passions — we received into ourselves through the disobedience of the first man, which, having become as it were our nature through habit and much prepossession, must again be driven out through that which is foreign to our nature, the heavenly gift of the Spirit, and we must be restored to the ancient purity.

And unless we now receive that love of the Spirit from heaven, with much asking and beseeching and faith and prayer and turning away from the world, and unless our nature, defiled by wickedness, cleaves to love (which is the Lord) and is sanctified by that love of the Spirit, and unless we remain unfallen to the end, conducting ourselves with exactness in all his commandments, we shall not be able to obtain the heavenly kingdom.

I wish to speak a subtle and deep word, according to the power that is in me;

the infinite and inaccessible and uncreated God, out of his infinite and inconceivable goodness, embodied himself, and, so to speak, made himself small from his inaccessible glory, that he might be able to be united with his invisible creatures (I mean such as the souls of saints and of angels), so that they might be able to partake of the life of the Godhead.

For each, according to its own nature, is a body — the angel, the soul, the demon;

for in its image, according to the subtlety of their nature, they are subtle bodies.

Just as in subsistence this body is dense, so also the soul, being subtle, has embraced the eye through which it sees, the ear through which it hears, likewise the tongue through which it speaks, the hand — and in a word, embracing the whole body and its members, the soul is commingled with it, through which it accomplishes all the activities of life.

In the same way also the infinite and inconceivable God, in his goodness, made himself small and clothed himself with the members of this body, and embraced himself, withdrawing from his inaccessible glory; and out of gentleness and love for man, transforming himself, he embodies himself and mingles with and takes to himself the holy and well-pleasing and faithful souls, and becomes with them one spirit, according to the word of Paul:

soul, so to speak, into soul and substance into substance, that the soul may be able to live in the Godhead and to perceive immortal life, and to become a partaker of incorruptible glory — the soul, that is, that is worthy of him and well-pleasing.

For if out of things that were not he brought the visible creation into being, such as it is, in much diversity and variety, and before it came to be it was not, but he willed and easily made out of non-existent things substances dense and hard (I mean such as earth, mountains, trees;

you see what hardness of nature there is), and again midway the waters, and commanded birds to be brought forth from them, and again things more subtle, fire and winds, which through their subtlety are not seen by the eye of the body —

How the infinite and indescribable art of the manifold wisdom of God created out of non-existent things bodies denser and subtler and more delicate, given subsistence by his will — how much more does he himself, being as he wills and what he wills, through unspeakable goodness and inconceivable kindness, change and make himself small, and liken himself, embodying himself according to capacity, to the holy and worthy and faithful souls, that the invisible may be seen by them, and the intangible be handled according to the nature of the subtlety of the soul, and that they may perceive his sweetness, and by experience itself enjoy the kindness of the light of his unspeakable enjoyment.

When he wills, he becomes fire, consuming every base and adventitious passion of the soul;

for he says, "Our God is a consuming fire."

When he wills, he is unspeakable and indescribable rest, that the soul may rest with the rest of the Godhead;

when he wills, he is joy and peace, cherishing and tending it.

And if he wishes also to liken himself to one of the created things, for the gladness and good cheer of the intelligent creatures — such as either a city of light, Jerusalem, or a heavenly Mount Zion — he can do all things as he wills, as has been said:

"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem."

All things are easy and ready for him, into whatever he wills to transform himself for his worthy and faithful souls.

Only let one strive to become his friend and well-pleasing to him, and by experience itself and perception he shall see heavenly good things and unutterable delight and the infinite riches of the Godhead — truly the things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard and which have not entered into the heart of man, the Spirit of the Lord becoming the rest of worthy souls and their gladness and delight and eternal life.

For the Lord embodies himself also into food and drink, as it is written in the Gospel:

"He who eats this bread shall live forever" — that he may give rest unspeakably and fill the soul with spiritual gladness;

"I am the bread of life."

Likewise also into the drink of a heavenly stream, as he says:

"He who drinks of the water that I shall give him, there shall be in him a spring of water leaping up unto eternal life"; and, he says, "we were all made to drink the same drink."

Thus to each of the holy fathers he appeared as he willed and as was profitable;

and to each of the holy prophets:

in one way to Elijah, in another to Moses.

And I think that Moses, at every hour on the mount, during the fast of forty days, entering into that spiritual table, feasted and enjoyed.

To each of the saints, then, he appeared as he willed, to give rest and to save and to lead to the knowledge of God.

For all things are easy for him which he wills, and as he wills, making himself small, he embodies himself and transforms himself, appearing to those who love him in the inaccessible glory of light, manifesting himself according to his great and unutterable love to the worthy according to his power.

For the soul that is counted worthy, with much desire and expectation and faith and love, to receive that power from on high — the heavenly love of the Spirit — and that has received the heavenly fire of immortal life, is in truth loosed from all worldly love and freed from every bond of wickedness.

For just as iron or lead or gold or silver, cast into the fire, is loosed from its hard nature and changed into softness, and as long as it is in the fire it is loosed and altered from its natural hardness by the hot power of the fire, in the same way the soul that has denied the world and longed for the Lord alone, with much seeking of soul and toil and struggle, holding its expectation unceasingly toward him in hope and faith, and having received that heavenly fire of the Godhead and the love of the Spirit, then is in truth loosed from all love of the world and freed from all wickedness of the passions, and casts all things outside itself, and is changed from its natural condition and the hardness of sin, and counts all things superfluous in comparison with the one heavenly bridegroom whom it has received, resting in his fervent and unspeakable love.

And I tell you that even those beloved brothers whom it has before its eyes, if they hinder it from that love, it as it were turns away from them;

for that is its life and rest — the mystical and unspeakable communion of the heavenly King.

For if the love of fleshly communion separates one from father, mother, and brothers, and all of them become external in the mind, and if he loves, he loves outwardly, but has set his whole affection on his spouse — for it says, on this account "a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" —

if then the love of the flesh thus looses one from all other love, how much more shall those who have been counted worthy in truth to have communion with that holy and heavenly and beloved Spirit be loosed from all love of the world, and all things shall appear to them superfluous, since they are overcome by the heavenly longing and united to him by his wounding of them.

For there they long, there they reckon, there they live, there their thoughts walk about, there the mind always has its dwelling, overcome by the divine and heavenly love and spiritual longing.

Henceforth, O beloved brothers, since such good things are set before us and so many promises have been promised us by the Lord, let us cast away from ourselves all hindrances, and turn away from all love of the world, and give ourselves over by seeking and longing to that one good alone, that we may be able to attain that unspeakable love of the Spirit, concerning which the blessed Paul exhorted us to hasten toward it, saying:

"Pursue love" — that we may be able to be counted worthy, from our hardness, of the change wrought by the right hand of the Most High, and to come into gentleness and spiritual rest, being wounded by the love of the divine Spirit.

For the Lord is exceedingly loving to man, having compassion, looking for when we shall turn wholly and entirely toward him, lifting ourselves from all things contrary.

to repent in truth; but he himself has much compassion upon us, being long-suffering, looking for when, having turned, we shall draw near to him and our inner man shall be enlightened, that our faces may not be put to shame in the day of judgment.

But even if it appears difficult to us, on account of the hard discipline of virtue, or rather on account of the suggestion and counsel of the adversary, behold, he himself has compassion and is long-suffering, awaiting our return, and bears with us when we sin;

he bears with us, awaiting our repentance, and when we fall he is not ashamed to receive us again, as the prophet said:

"Shall he who falls not rise again? or he who turns away not return?" Only let us be sober, having gained a good purpose, and turn back straightway and rightly, seeking help from him;

and he himself is ready to save us.

For he awaits the fervent impulse of our will toward him (as much as we have of power), and the faith and readiness that come from a good purpose;

but all the accomplishment he himself works in us.

Let us then be earnest, beloved, as children of God, putting off every prepossession and negligence and slackness, to become noble and ready to follow after him, not putting it off day by day, being stolen away by wickedness;

for we do not know when our departure from the flesh takes place.

For great and unspeakable are the promises of Christians, so much so that all the glory and beauty of heaven and earth, and the rest of the arrangement and variety and comeliness and riches and luxury of things visible, are not comparable to the faith and riches of a single soul.

How then shall we not be willing, in response to such exhortations and promises of the Lord, to draw near to him wholly and entirely and to make ourselves wholly given over to him, denying, according to the Gospel, together with all things, even our own soul, and loving him alone and nothing else along with him? But behold, all these things — and how great glory was given, how many dispensations of the Lord came through fathers and prophets, how many promises were promised, how many exhortations, how great the compassion of the Master from the beginning has been toward us.

And at the last, through his own coming, he showed forth toward us the unspeakable kindness through the crucifixion, that he might transfer us to life when we have turned.

And do we not withdraw from our own wills and from the love of the world and from prepossessions and evil habits? Wherefore we are shown to be of little faith, or even faithless.

And in spite of all these things, behold, he himself shows kindness, invisibly guarding and cherishing us, not delivering us over wholly to wickedness according to our sins, nor abandoning us to perish in the deceit of the world, but out of much kindness and long-suffering watching for when we shall turn to him.

But I fear lest the saying of the apostle be fulfilled upon us, who live together with a contemptuous mind and are led away together with prepossessions — the saying which says:

"Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?" But if to his long-suffering and kindness and forbearance we add more sins, and procure for ourselves greater condemnations through our negligence and contempt, the saying shall be fulfilled:

"But according to your hardness and impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God."

For with much indescribable goodness and unutterable long-suffering God deals with the race of men; only let us be willing to be sober and earnest to turn wholly toward him, that we may be able to attain salvation.

But if you wish to know the long-suffering of God and his great kindness, let us learn it from the God-inspired scriptures.

how greatly they sinned, how often they went astray, and yet he did not abandon them utterly, but for a season delivered them over to chastisements for their profit, wishing to soften the hardness of their heart through affliction; he turned them back, exhorted them, sent prophets.

And for how long a time he was long-suffering while they sinned and stumbled, and received them with joy when they turned back; and again when they went astray he did not stand aloof, but through the prophets called them back to repentance.

And though they went astray many times and turned back, he gladly held to them and received them kindly, until at last they were found in the great transgression, laying hands upon their own Master, whom they had awaited, through the traditions of the fathers and the holy prophets, as Redeemer and Savior and King and Prophet.

For when he came they did not receive him, but on the contrary, showing him many things worthy of dishonor, at last punished him with the death of the cross; and in this great offense and surpassing transgression their sins, having overflowed, were filled up.