III.8. Blessed Moses hints at the uniform truth (of the Life), figuratively showing that the soul should not obey two conscious inclinations, the good and the evil, but that it should turn only to the good. For we must not cultivate two fruits: bad fruits and useful fruits; on the contrary, in uniformly producing useful fruits, we are obliged to completely avoid evil. "Do not (labor) in your field, harnessing into one yoke animals of different kinds, for example, an ox and an ass, but by harnessing animals of the same kind, you will thresh your harvest": with these words (we are exhorted) to labor in the field of our heart, not (uniting) vice and virtue, but (harnessing) only virtue. "Do not weave flax into woollen linen, and wool into linen" and "Do not plant two (types of different) fruits in your field together and (do not repeat this) next year." (Finally, it is said): "Do not mate heterogeneous animals to produce offspring, but combine only animals of the same species."

III.9. Thus by means of all these utterances (of the Holy Scriptures) it is mysteriously hinted that we should not cultivate in ourselves both vice and virtue, but should (through the Divine birth) produce from ourselves in a uniform way (only) the fruits of virtue. The soul should not commune and unite with two spirits: the spirit of the world (of this world) and the Spirit of God, but it is commanded (by God) to be united and cleaved only to the Spirit of God; therefore the soul must bear only the sacred shoots and fruits of the Spirit. Nor can one bring (one's) free will into consonance with the two faces, the worse and the better, but, devoting oneself only to good and completely detaching oneself from evil, one must cultivate in one's soul the uniform fruit of virtues, according to what is written: "For this reason thou hast guided thyself unto all by Thy commandment, thou hast hated every way of iniquity" (Psalm 118:128), and "Thou hast hated unrighteousness and abhorred it, but thou hast loved Thy law" (Psalm 118:128). 163). And this is so that the Lord, seeing the struggle of the soul, in His love for mankind, would create in us through the power of the Spirit a great and complete healing from hidden passions, protecting us from our spiritual enemies.

III.10. And the Lord Himself, telling of a widow who was overcome by a rival and came to seek protection from an unrighteous ruler, and then found this protection because of the persistence of her expectation, teaches us that we should not lose heart in prayers. "He also told them a parable, that they should always pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1) and the following. (The Lord in the parable) hints that one should not lose heart and weaken the tense expectation of prayer. After that, He says: "Do you see what the unrighteous judge says? How much more will your Father in heaven protect those who cry out to Him day and night. I say unto you, that He shall give them protection quickly" (Luke 18:6-8).

III.11. And how the Apostle fought for his disciples, and how he tried, praying inwardly for them, that they would come to the measure of spiritual (growth)! At the same time, it reveals the highest goal of Christianity for all who wish to strive painlessly and with love for the truth towards this goal, and makes generally known the apostolic standard of the new creation for those who are zealous for (spiritual) progress, "admonishing every man, and teaching all wisdom, that he may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus, for which I labor" (Col. 1:28-29). He also prays for those who are worthy to be sealed through baptism with the seal of the promised Spirit, (desiring) that they may grow in spiritual progress, and says: "Wherefore I also, having heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of your love for all the saints, give thanks unceasingly to God for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, hath given you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation unto the knowledge of him, and hath enlightened the eyes of your heart, that ye may know wherein lies the hope of his calling, and what riches of his glorious inheritance are to the saints, and how immeasurable is the greatness of his power in us who believe" (Ephesians 1:15-19).

III.12. (With these words the Apostle) precisely designates the way of communion with the Spirit, which is accomplished in the fullness of assurance. (And further) he says: "According to the work of His power, by which He worked in Christ, raising Him from the dead" (Ephesians 1:19-20); it is meant, "according to the work of the Spirit," that we also may receive the fullness of assurance. And a little further in the same Epistle, desiring that (the disciples) attain some higher (measure) of growth and progress in spiritual perfection, (the Apostle) prays (for them) and says: "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from Whom every fatherland in heaven and on earth is named, that He may give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be firmly established by His Spirit in the inner man, to dwell in your hearts by faith in Christ, that you, rooted and established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to understand the love of Christ that surpasses understanding, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:14-19).

III.13. And in another Epistle (the Apostle), teaching the same thing, showing the disciples the abundance of spiritual riches and urging them to hasten to attain the perfect measure, says: "Be zealous for spiritual gifts, and I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, and have not love, then I am a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I can move mountains, and have not love, then it profiteth me nothing. And if I give away all my possessions, and give my body to be burned, and have not love, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 12:31-13:3). Showing the fruits of love and how those who have found it are completely delivered from vicious passions, (the Apostle) says: "Love does not envy, love is not exalted, is not proud, does not riot, does not seek its own, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, endures all things, believes all things, hopes all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). And he also says that (love) "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:8). The last words mean that those who possess the above-mentioned spiritual gifts, but who have not yet been delivered, through the abundant and active love of the Spirit, are still exposed to danger, are in struggle and fear, because they are waging war with the spirits of wickedness, although they have already acquired spiritual gifts. To them, who wish to walk on the path of grace, that is, on the path of Christianity, (the Apostle) shows a great measure of spiritual (growth), which is no longer (exposed to the danger of moral) fall and (destruction from impure) passion. Therefore the tongues of angels and men, the gift of prophecy, faith, all knowledge, and the gifts of healing, are nothing compared with the highest virtue, that is, compared with the fullness and perfection of love, although these gifts are the works of the same Spirit.

III.14. However, if anyone has been vouchsafed such gifts, it is in order that, by a new act of grace, he may not consider himself to have attained perfection and need nothing, renouncing the impassibility corresponding to the measure of the perfect, and remaining filled only with lesser gifts, for this (the Apostle) shows the goal of perfection, so that everyone may constantly be aware of himself as poor in the face of so great riches; so that he may strive unshakably in good struggle and so run through the spiritual arena in order to receive a reward, according to what is said: "So run that you may receive" (1 Corinthians 9:24).

IV. 1. Thus you see how (the Apostle) by many (exhortations) makes manifest to all the limit, the goal, and the rule of godliness and perfection, praying for his disciples, that they may hasten to this goal. In another (Epistle) he, showing to the faithful and lovers of the Lord the renewal and change that has taken place in Christ, says: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but a new creation. To those who walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and unto the Israel of God" (Gal. 6:15-16). And again: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away" (2 Corinthians 5:17). By one expression – "new creation" – he established and made manifest (for us) the Apostolic canon. And what is this new creation if not that of which the Apostle says in another place: "That it may be presented to Himself as a glorious Church, having no spot, or blemish, or anything of the like, but that it may be holy and blameless" (Ephesians 5:27). The Apostle teaches that the new creation in Christ is perfect purity from shame, complete deliverance from the passions, as well as the fullness of ineffable and mysterious communion with the Divine Power of the Spirit, which is realized through the sanctification in the hearts of the saints, who have been vouchsafed through virtue a new, transcending nature and spiritual taste (grace). The Apostle sets the same goal (before believers), saying: "Cleanse the old leaven, that it may be new dough for you" (1 Corinthians 5:7) and "let us not celebrate with the old leaven... but with unleavened bread of purity and truth" (1 Corinthians 5:8).

IV.2. Inasmuch as our opposition and warfare "against principalities, against powers, and against spirits of wickedness" (Ephesians 6:12) are not strong enough, so (the Apostle) exhorts us to take up the whole armor of God, saying that we should put on "the breastplate of righteousness, shoe our feet with the readiness to preach the gospel of peace," gird "our loins with truth," and above all take up the "shield of faith," with which we can "quench all the fiery darts of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:10). 14–16); the "arrows of the evil one" are the actions of impure passions. "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). The Apostle shows that with the help of these enumerated spiritual weapons we can resist the dangerous wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11), having a power that exceeds our nature.

IV.3. The way in which we can acquire all these things (the Apostle) indicated with the words: "Pray at all times with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit; and strive for these things with all constancy and supplication" (Ephesians 6:18). That is why he himself prays for all, saying: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit with you all" (2 Corinthians 13:13). And again: "May your spirit, soul, and body be preserved without blemish at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23). Behold, in many ways (the Apostle) clearly points to the straight path of righteousness and the highest goal of Christianity, exhorting everyone and desiring that everyone would hasten to them. (And all genuine) lovers of truth direct their eyes to this goal, striving in every way with mature faith and hope; praying in a peaceful and virtuous dispensation (of the soul), they yearn to attain it. In this way, having been delivered from all evil, they will be able to fulfill the great commandments on which the law and the prophets are based: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself" (Matt. 22:37-40; Mk. 12:28-34; Lk. 10:25-37).

V.1. If it has occurred to us to continue our discussion of the goal of godliness, as the Lord, the Apostles, and all the inspired Scriptures convey to us, presenting this goal with the help of numerous testimonies, then it seems that (such an intention) is very appropriate (and useful) in order that we may be indisputably and indisputably convinced "in what is the hope of our calling" (Eph. 1:18), what is its purpose, and what kind of list awaits us. This is especially true of those who have accepted the monastic life, who have withdrawn from worldly bonds and carnal communion, having chosen virginity in the Lord,

V. 2. so that each and every one of them, after carefully considering why they were called and what measure they should achieve, would restrain themselves from all pride that arises from any success (in spiritual progress). As a result of the abundance of the perfect measure of calling and the unsearchable riches of Christ's love (Ephesians 3:8), they must consider themselves as nothing, zealously and in every way, with all their strength and diligence, always devoting themselves to good, rejecting, according to the words of the Lord, together with all that belongs to this world, and their own souls, daily taking up their cross with joy and gladness and following Him (Luke 9:19). 23; 14, 26). For they have the Lord Himself as their model and example, Who has become for us the Way and the Goal, according to what is said: "Be ye imitators of me, as I am of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1); and again: "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking to the author and finisher of faith, Jesus, Who, instead of the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:1-2).

V.3. It is impossible for us, being satisfied and comforted by certain gifts of the Spirit, having succeeded in some (spiritual) reasoning and considering ourselves to have attained perfection, to be deceived by the deceit of evil, to be cast into self-conceit by (our false) righteousness, and to remain far from the great successes of the spirit. On the contrary, as (true) lovers of truth, let us daily multiply our labor, sorrow, struggle and podvig to the end, always forgetting what is behind and stretching forward (Phil. 3:13), hungering and thirsting for righteousness (Matt. 5:6) at the exhortation of the Lord and having a broken heart (Psalm 50:19), as having not yet attained the calling to which we are called, having not yet attained the perfect measure of Christianity, and having not yet attained maturity in the perfect love of Christ.

V.4. For those who truly desire to attain the goal that is set before them are always wounded by the love of this ineffable vocation of perfection, not being satisfied with any of the lesser blessings or any lesser truth until their last breath; (they are not satiated with asceticism) fasts, vigils and almsgiving, and communion of the gifts of the Spirit. On the contrary, devoting themselves wholly to every good, good, and every virtue, being always in need of virtue, they never consider themselves filled with the law of Wisdom. Being honored by God, they consider themselves unworthy; having attained spiritual success, they consider themselves to be novices; being great, they despise and consider themselves insignificant.