(Was a) Deacon's Blog

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.