And thou, child, shalt be called Prophet of the Highest. Observe, I pray, this also, that Christ is the Highest, Whose forerunner John was both in his birth, and in his preaching. What remains, then, for those to say, who lessen His divinity? And why will they not understand, that when Zacharias said, “And thou shalt be called Prophet of the Highest,” he meant thereby “of God,” of Whom also were the rest of the prophets. — Commentary on Luke I.

He hath taken hold of Israel, — not of the Israel according to the flesh, and who prides himself on the bare name, but of him who is so after the Spirit, and according to the true meaning of the appellation; — even such as look unto God, and believe in Him, and obtain through the Son the adoption of sons, according to the Word that was spoken, and the promise made to the prophets and patriarchs of old. It has, however, a true application also to the carnal Israel; for many thousands and ten thousands of them believed. “But He has remembered His mercy as He promised to Abraham:” and has accomplished what He spake unto him, that “in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.” For this promise was now in the act of fulfilment by the impending birth of our common Saviour Christ, Who is that seed of Abraham, in Whom the Gentiles are blessed. “For He took on Him the seed of Abraham,” according to the Apostle’s words: and so fulfilled the promise made unto the fathers. — Commentary on Luke I.

The sacred Evangelist says that Mary was betrothed to Joseph, to shew that the conception had taken place upon her betrothal solely, and that the birth of the Emanuel was miraculous, and not in accordance with the laws of nature. For the holy Virgin did not bear from the immission of man’s seed. And what was the reason of this? Christ, Who is the first-fruits of all, the second Adam according to the Scriptures, was born of the Spirit, that he might transmit the grace (of the spiritual birth) to us also: for we too were intended, no longer to bear the name of sons of men, but of God rather, having obtained the new birth of the Spirit in Christ first, that he might be “foremost among all,” as the most wise Paul declares. — Commentary on Luke II.

Now when we desire to cast off the old man, by our own labour and weariness we perceive that we are casting him off, not by the hearing of faith only, but also by the experience of works, and by the sufferings, and tears, and the love of God, and by pure prayers, and by constant entreaties, and by admiration of the greatness of the glory of God, and by constant admiration of Him, and by the urgent hastening of the inner man may be with God; with these and such like things, while we labour earnestly, we put on the new man, not by the hearing of the ear, but by the perception of our soul, and by the true experience of the knowledge of the Spirit. Therefore in this country a man beginneth to grow in the knowledge which is above the world, where there is room for the stature to grow, and where he may attain unto the limit of the height of growth. For so long as abominable passions envelop a man like an after-birth, and fetter the limbs of the new man, his growth is impeded, and the man is not able to arrive at that measure of stature which is given by Christ, and concerning which Paul said, “We all grow and become one thing in the knowledge of the Son of God, and one perfect man, in the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” Now unless a man hath gone forth from the world he is not able to arrive at this measure, and unless he hath first cast off all the conversation of the body he is not able to arrive at the knowledge by which he will perceive the greatness of these things which are given in a mystery by Christ.

And the forms under which we cast off [the old man], and put on [the new man] are these: — in baptism we cast off the old man, and put on the new man; and [we cast off] bondage, and put on freedom; and [we cast off] corporeality, and put on spirituality; and [we cast off] sin, and put on righteousness; and so forth, but [we do them] all by the hearing of faith. And although they may all be with us in very truth at the birth by baptism, yet are they all strangers to our perception; but when we come to the measure of the stature of the body which is able to distinguish virtues from vices, by the good will and earnestness of our soul we begin to cast off vices and to put on virtues, and [to cast off] iniquity, and to put on righteousness, and [to cast off] oppression, and to become givers, and [to cast off] cruelty, and to become loving, and [to cast off] hardness, and to become gracious, and [to cast off] rapacity, and to become merciful. And all these things, and many others like unto them arise from the will which feareth God; and which fighteth against the world, that little by little the man may grow through these things, until he casteth away the whole world entirely, and maketh himself destitute of everything that is therein, and standeth without impediment in his own person, and appeareth in the other world of the conversation of Christ like the natural child who casteth off the womb, and cometh into being outside thereof. — Second Discourse on Poverty.

Now the death which is of sin brought in the death which is of nature, and with the dissolution of the one, the other was brought to nought, and those who did not die aforetime died in very truth, but those, who of their own freewill put to death in them the man of lusts in this death, dissolved the death of the natural man; therefore it is well that we should die before our death, that we may also live before our life. For where the death of the will goeth first, the death which is of nature is dissolved, and where the death which is of nature is dissolved aforetime by the dominion of freewill before we come into life, the man who dieth is alive; and because these cessations and renewings happen unto us aforetime in all ways, it is seemly for us first of all to uproot wickedness, and then to lay in ourselves the foundation of the edifice of virtues, in order that the rock may receive our foundation, as it is written, and that on a sure stone may be our building, even as it is said. And in this respect we should be like unto the physicians of [our] nature who, until they have removed and cleansed the matter from the sore, do not lay [upon it] the plaster which buildeth up and maketh to grow the living flesh; and so must it be with us also when we have uprooted the matter of the lust of the belly, and have made accusations against its filthy and loathsome forms.

And now let us shew in our discourse the benefit of abstinence, and let us exhort disciples with profitable doctrine to lay hold in their souls upon this endurance which, although it is imagined to be laden with labours, is nevertheless the birth-pang which giveth us birth into the experience of the blessings of Christ. — On Abstinence.

Those, however, who had possessions He freed from the bondage of senseless stuff, lest while they served it they should become servers of idols, concerning which it is written, “They have no breath in their mouth, and although they have eyes, and ears, and hands, they see not, and hear not, and work not.” And for this reason the Apostle Paul called the love of mammon “idolatry,” for as the heathen worship things which have no feeling, and in which there is neither life nor perception, even so do those who love riches worship the gold which is silent, and the silver which is dumb, together with all [their] possessions which have neither feeling nor knowledge. One man Jesus commanded, [saying], “Be not a servant of riches,” and to another He ordained the law, “Be not even a master of wealth;” to one He said, “It is a disgrace to thy freedom that thou shouldst be subject unto gold,” and to the other He said, “It is a contemptible thing for thy mastership to rule over natural things, for thou art humbled to the possessions which are the shells of natural things.” For to him who had forsaken mastership over everything, and had been caught fast by the desire of little wealth, He said, “Possess, only when thou hast become possessor of thy possession, let it not happen that thy possession possess thee;” but the other whom He saw had been exalted from being a servant to wealth, He raised up to a higher grade than this, and said, “Be not a master unto it.” For as it is a disgrace to him that wisheth to be master of his possessions to become a servant thereto, even so is it a disgrace also to him that hath been freed from the bondage of wealth, that there should be found with him the mastership of wealth. — First Discourse on Poverty.

And that man is not able to serve God worthily while he is in the world, and while he is a possessor of riches, and the owner of wealth, the word of our Redeemer Himself testifieth, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon;” and forthwith the hearer thought that henceforth the door of righteousness was shut in the face of all the children of men, for they cannot be wholly free from the care of riches, and according to the decision of the word of Christ, whosoever careth for it cannot care for God. And it is necessary for us to understand the word as it was spoken, for according to the rule of those who are perfect, the man who careth for riches cannot care for God; but a man, being a possessor of wealth, is able to be justified by that other measure of righteousness which is worked in the world, if it be that he is not a servant who worshippeth his riches, but a master of the things which he possesseth. Some men are slaves of their possessions, and some are masters of their wealth, and one man is worshipped by his possessions, and another man worshippeth them. Now the word of our Lord was spoken concerning the man who is a slave of his possessions, and who is not able to be a servant of God; “For ye cannot serve two masters.” Thou seest that He shewed two masters in His discourse, and that in explaining who these were, He said, “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Behold then, whosoever hath made mammon his master cannot serve God, but he serveth that master whom he hath chosen of his own freewill, his service being especially dear unto him, and his dominion over him being beloved by him, because he hath become subject unto, him of his own freewill. For the children of men are wont to love exceedingly that which they have chosen of their own freewill, and they love it much more than Him Who perforce and naturally is Master over them. And behold, if there were a few men who have pleased, or who please God, it is because they were and are masters of their wealth, and they sent it forth to [do] everything like a slave and subject, sometimes to feed the hungry, sometimes to clothe the naked, sometimes to redeem the captive, sometimes [to pay] vows and offerings unto God, and sometimes to free those who were in the bondage of debts; and wheresoever the will desired to rule over it, there it sent it like a servant, even as did Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Job, and Joseph, and David, and Hezekiah. And of these men some were rich, and some were princes, and some were kings, and collectively they all were owners of great possessions and wealth; but they were masters of their riches, and their riches were not masters of them, their riches worked for them in all the good things which they wished [to do], and they did not serve them in all the wickedness which mammon demanded. — First Discourse on Poverty.

So therefore the remembrance of God is the light which sheweth the things which are to come, and where there is sin the making mention of His name causeth terror; but unless the conscience of a man in sin prick him, the fear of the future Judge will not prick him, for as is every man towards himself, even so is he towards the remembrance of God. If he standeth in the grade of sinners, God appeareth to him as a Judge; but if he hath gone up into the other grade of penitents, He sheweth Himself to him as one Who forgiveth. And again, if he standeth in the state of loving-kindness, he looketh at the riches of God’s loving-kindness; if he be clothed with humility and meekness, the favour of God is apparent before him; if he hath acquired an understanding mind, he looketh at the unsurpassable wisdom of God; if he cease from anger and be free from wrath, and peace and quietness be moved in him at all times, he is lifted up to see the untroubled sincerity of God; and if the motions of faith are constantly rising within his soul, he at all times observeth the incomprehensibility of the works of God, and those things also which are thought to be simple he maketh sure that they are beyond [his] knowledge.

Now if a man standeth in the exalted state of spiritual love, according to the state in which he is doth God appear to him, that is, He is wholly and entirely love. And this is a thing to be wondered at; although God is single in His nature, and He hath neither parts nor members, He appeareth unto every man in many [different] forms, and to whomsoever seeketh He appeareth on every side that He wisheth. And as in respect of Himself He is One, and hath no similitudes, He appeareth to minds in similitudes, according to the feelings which are nigh unto the soul. Whosoever wisheth to see that God is good, let him himself be good, and behold, He will appear to him to be good. — The First Discourse on the Fear of God.

So then the remembrance of God is the life of the soul. And as all the motions of the body are constant, and it moveth and is moved throughout by all its nerves and members so long as it participateth in life, even so the soul which hath therein the knowledge of God, moveth and is moved at all times by the remembrance of God, and so long as it remembereth God, it sinneth not. And if it happeneth that for a brief space the light of its knowledge becometh obscured through the smoke of lust, the remembrance of God is straightway stirred up in it, and the fear which ariseth therefrom driveth it to repentance. For the fear of God worketh two things in the soul: it keepeth a man that he sin not, or if he sinneth, it urgeth him to heal his sin in repentance; for it is the habit of all those with whom the fear of God or the fear of man is found, that they either offend not, or when they have offended they rectify their wrongdoing. — The First Discourse on the Fear of God.

Therefore, because He was so man, that the God lay hid in Him, there was sent before Him a great man, by whose testimony He might be found to be more than man. And who is this? “He was a man.” And how could that man speak the truth concerning God? “He was sent by God.” What was he called? “Whose name was John.” Wherefore did he come? “He came for a witness, that he might bear witness concerning the light, that all might believe through him.” What sort of man was he who was to bear witness concerning the light? Something great was that John, vast merit, great grace, great loftiness! Admire, by all means, admire; but as it were a mountain. But a mountain is in darkness unless it be clothed with light. Therefore only admire John that you may hear what follows, “He was not that light;” lest if, when you think the mountain to be the light, you make shipwreck on the mountain, and find not consolation. But what ought you to admire? The mountain as a mountain. But lift yourself up to Him who illuminates the mountain, which for this end was elevated that it might be the first to receive the rays, and make them known to your eyes. Therefore, he was not that light.

Wherefore then did he come? “But that he might bear witness concerning the light.” Why so? “That all might believe through him.” And concerning what light was he to bear witness? “That was the true light.” Wherefore is it added true? Because an enlightened man is also called a light; but the true light is that which enlightens. For even our eyes are called lights; and nevertheless, unless either during the night a lamp is lighted, or during the day the sun goes forth, these lights are open in vain. Thus, therefore, John was a light, but not the true light; because, if not enlightened, he would have been darkness; but, by enlightenment, he became a light. For unless he had been enlightened he would have been darkness, as all those once impious men, to whom, as believers, the apostle said, “You were sometimes darkness.” But now, because they had believed, what?—” “but now are you light,” he says, “in the Lord.” Unless he had added “in the Lord,” we should not have understood. “Light,” he says, “in the Lord:” darkness you were not in the Lord. “For you were sometimes darkness,” where he did not add in the Lord. Therefore, darkness in you, light in the Lord. And thus “he was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light.” — On John 1:6-14.