Thus, then, in paradise, there was no need for the law, neither written nor spiritual. But after man had eaten of that forbidden tree, and had died a bitter death, that is, he had fallen away from God and had been corrupted, then, in order that he might not fall away from all good (since evil had spread greatly in the human race, and tyrannized it forcibly, because of the calamitous weakness to which he had been subjected as a result of corruption), the law was given to him, to show what is good and what is bad. For man became blind, went out of his mind, and became senseless, wherefore he had need of instruction, as it is written in the Psalms: "Open my eyes, and I will understand the wonders of Thy law" (Psalm 118:18). Enlighten me, and I shall learn by Thy commandment (73). Do you see into what a miserable state man has come, and how therefore did he have need of the written law? For after he fell, he could no longer know even this world, if he had not first been enlightened from above by God's knowledge concerning it.

That is why the Apostle Paul, having enumerated such fruits of the Holy Spirit, says at the end: "Against such there is no law" (Gal. 5:22-23), for the righteous man does not require the law. Whoever does not yet have such fruits of the Holy Spirit is not Christ's, as the Apostle says: "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His" (Romans 8:9). Such a one must strive and strive to become Christ, so that he does not believe in Christ in vain, in which case Christ does not benefit him in the least. All his efforts and all his podvig must be directed to acquiring the Spirit of Christ, and thus bringing forth the fruits of the Holy Spirit, for this is the spiritual law and well-being.

3. But if human nature comes back into being, as it was originally, through the Incarnation of Christ, and there is no other way and no other power, or wisdom, or labor and podvig, that human nature should again come into being and become as it was originally created, but is only in the hand of God, Who gave it existence, and that in order to grant it well-being, and there is no other way to do this, then what need is there to labor in vain, striving for this only by one's feats, readings, sufferings, languishing oneself with hunger, thirst, and vigils? And if such and similar sufferings are in vain and useless for one who does not know this great mystery (salvation), then it is the duty of every Christian to learn it and to know it, so as not to labor in vain in those sufferings and not to allow his soul to perish (even with them), which is more miserable than any other calamity. For all such and such sufferings must be lifted up, not in order to come to well-being, but in order to preserve the well-being which we received before through holy Baptism, since this treasure is difficult to preserve, and it behooves us to heed well, that we may preserve it, as the Holy Fathers said. And in the future life the Christian will not be tested whether he has renounced the world, whether he has fasted, whether he has kept vigils, whether he has prayed, whether he has wept and other good deeds in this life, but will be carefully examined whether he has any likeness to Christ, as a son to his father, as Paul also says: "My child, by whom I am sick, until Christ is imagined in you" (Galatians 4:19). For those who are baptized into Christ put on Christ (Galatians 3:27).

4. Those who guard the gates of the kingdom of heaven, if they do not see in the Christian the likeness of Christ as a son to the father, will not open them to him in any way and will not allow him to enter. For just as Christians like the old Adam, who transgressed the commandment of God, remain outside the kingdom of heaven, although they are in no way guilty of being like the forefather Adam, so Christians like the new Adam, their Father Christ, enter the kingdom of heaven, despite the fact that being like Christ is not their own work, since it is done through faith, which they receive into Christ.

Likeness to Christ consists of truth, meekness, righteousness, and with them humility and love for mankind. Truth is seen in all words, and meekness in all contradictions; for the meek one, whether surrounded by praise or reproach, keeps himself impassible, and is not puffed up by praise, nor is he grieved by blame. Righteousness is seen in all things: for just as we determine the weight of things by means of scales, and as we know the quality of gold by rubbing it against a stone, so in no undertaking do we go beyond the bounds of righteousness, if at the same time we keep in mind those measures (methods of measurement or scales) which our Lord (commandments) has given us. Humility is, as it were, an unstolen treasury, built in that mind which bears the conviction that only by the power of grace acceptable from Christ are there in it the good qualities that are shown, that is, truth, meekness, and righteousness. Love for mankind is likeness to God, since it does good to all people, both pious and wicked, good and evil, both known and unknown, just as God Himself does good to all, the sun shines on the righteous and the unrighteous, rains on the evil and the good. Therefore those who have received these things from Christ are like Him from Him, just as a son from his father is like his father, because a son is not except from the nature of his father. For this reason God was made man, and through such a union of the Divinity with human nature, the Divinity reigns over human nature, as it is written: "Enslave, and succeed, and reign for the sake of truth, and meekness, and righteousness" (Psalm 44:5). Thus, whoever has not reigned over Christ through the virtues of which we have spoken, is not like Christ as a father, and is not worthy to enter the kingdom of heaven. Truly it is. Why are all other podvigs superfluous, if they do not happen for their sake? Let us also try, brethren, to become like Christ through those virtues, that we may be vouchsafed His kingdom. To Him be glory and dominion forever. Amen.

Third Word

1. That we must examine ourselves, whether we have the beatitudes of Christ, because they (the virtues indicated by them) are the sign of the seal (of Christ)

My beloved brethren! If any of us is not sealed, and does not bear the seal of our Lord Jesus Christ, let him flow as quickly as possible, that he may be sealed; if we do not have the sign of the grace of the Holy Spirit, let us strive in every way to receive it. For death has no dominion over souls, which are sealed with the all-pure blood of Christ and the grace of the All-Holy Spirit, and the mental wolf, the devil, cannot bear to look (turn away) upon the seal of the Chief Shepherd Christ, with which He seals His sheep. Yes, my Christian brethren, it is not tolerable for this reason that we strive to do all the works that are pleasing to Christ, that we may be vouchsafed to be sealed by Him, so that we may pass through the rest of our life without fear; and not only this, but that we may receive mercy from Him, and be made worthy to know the mysteries of Christ, to know, I say, not only in word, or by hearing and tradition, but by deed and efficacy.

How, then, does anyone know the mysteries of God? "Listen, and you understand. Jesus Christ says in the Holy Gospel: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3).

For the Lord tells us that the kingdom of heaven is within us.

And whoever does not turn away from all this, but has an addiction to any of the things of which we have spoken, has not seen the kingdom of heaven, nor smelled it, nor tasted its sweetness and fragrance.

And again Christ says: "Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted" (Matt. 5:4). Let us look again and examine whether we have weeping, and what is this consolation which, as the Lord says, will follow weeping? First He said that blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. But the poor in spirit, as we have said, have no addiction to the goods of this world, and do not think of them with delight, but hate them and abhor them. And so, whoever despises the whole world, who distances himself from it in thought rather than in body, and has no lust for any visible good, can he be grieved or delighted with worldly things? And for him who has the kingdom of heaven and rejoices within it every day, how is it possible to weep? In addition, the Lord said that those who weep receive consolation. But hearken, I beseech you, that ye may understand the power of this word.

A faithful man, who always hearkens well to the commandments of God, when, doing all that the commandments of God require, he thinks about their loftiness, that is, about that blameless life and purity (which they depict), then, examining his measure, he will find himself extremely weak and powerless to reach this height of the commandments, he will find that he is extremely poor and unworthy to receive God, or to thank Him and glorify (to rest in himself), since he has not yet acquired any good for himself (there is nothing to rest with). But such a one, thinking about all that I have said, with spiritual feeling, will without any doubt weep with that weeping, which is truly the most blessed lamentation, which accepts both consolation and makes the soul meek. The consolation and joy that weeping engenders are the pledge of the kingdom of heaven. Faith is the knowledge of those who hope, as the divine Paul says, and the consolation that comes in those souls that weep from the illumination and illumination of the Holy Spirit is the presence of God, who grants them humility for the sake of weeping, which is called both seed and talent: because it grows and multiplies thirty, sixty, and a hundred in the souls of those who struggle, and brings to God the holy fruit of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Where there is true humility, there is the depth of humility; where there is humility, there is the radiance of the Holy Spirit; where the Holy Spirit shines, there is an abundant outpouring of the light of God, and God, with wisdom and knowledge of His mysteries; Where this is, there is the Kingdom of Heaven, and the consciousness of the Kingdom, and the hidden treasures of the knowledge of God, in which is the manifestation of spiritual poverty; where there is a feeling of spiritual poverty, there is joyful weeping and incessant tears, which cleanse the soul of all love and attachment and make it all luminous.