The fulfillment and clear proof of love for God is a sincere disposition towards one's neighbor, [achieved] through voluntary goodwill. After all, the divine apostle John says: for he who does not love his brother whom he sees, how can he love God whom he does not see? Love is the path of truth, and the Word of God calls Itself by it, which presents to God the Father those who follow this path, pure from all passions. She is the door, and whoever enters through it enters the Holy of Holies, becoming a worthy contemplator of the inaccessible beauty of the royal and Holy Trinity.
Epistle to John Cubicularius about love.
Rev. Justin (Popovich)
Art. 20-21 If anyone says that I love God, but hates his brother, there is a lie: for you shall not love your brother, God, whom he has not seen, how can you love? And this commandment of the Imams from Him, yes, love God, love your brother
Love for Christ branches into love for one's neighbor, love for truth, love for holiness, for peace, for purity, for everything Divine, for everything immortal and eternal. All these kinds of love are Divine, holy and eternal, because their root is Divine, holy and eternal. And this root is love for Christ. All these kinds of love are natural and indispensable manifestations of love for Christ.
If these types of love do not exist, then there is no love for Christ. If there is no love for Christ, then there is neither true love of God nor true love of mankind. Christ is the God-man, and love for Him always means: love for God and love for man. It is humanity in Christianity. Godliness and humanity. Love of mankind is evidence of love of God, and love of God is evidence of love of mankind. Love for God is manifested in love for a person as a god-like being, that is, as a spiritualized brother. Therefore, St. John the Theologian cites the following saying: Whoever says: “I love God,” and hates his brother, that one is a liar: for he who does not love his brother, whom he sees, how can he love God, whom he does not see? And we have such a commandment from Him that loving god loved his brother too. Only a person who feels his neighbor “in God”, only a person who sees his neighbor “in God”, only such a spiritualized brother is, is an immortal brother and neighbor. Thus, only a person who is near Christ, who is near God, who is in His Divine love, feels and sees people.
Commentary on the First Epistle of the Holy Apostle John the Theologian.
Blzh. Augustine
Art. 20-21 whoever says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have such a commandment from Him that he who loves God loves his brother
He who does not love his brother does not abide in love, and he who does not abide in love does not abide in God, for God is love.
About the Trinity.
Why can't he see God? Because he doesn't have the same love. Therefore, he does not see God because he does not have love; because he does not love his brother. It means that the reason why he does not see God is that he does not have love. For if he had love, he would see God, because God is love, and this eye is cleansed with love more and more, so that it begins to see that unchanging Essence, whose presence always pleases, and from this it is filled with bliss, forever united with the angels.
Treatise on 1st John.
Blzh. Theophylact of Bulgaria
Above, the apostle insistently proved that love must be mutual, passing from God to us and from us to God; added to this that if God so loved us, then we must also love one another. Now - again raises the speech to the same and says: since it is our duty to love our brother, according to the example of God's love for us, and, giving love to God, we satisfy this duty; then we must certainly love our brother for the most perfect proof of our love for God. For if this does not happen, then our love for God will not be preserved, since the duty towards our neighbors, the duty arising from love for God, will be violated. He adds an even stronger word to rebuke those who want to pervert divine love. The apostle says something like this: love, obviously, is formed through treatment with one another; conversion presupposes that a person sees his brother and, after his treatment, becomes even more attached to him with love; for vision attracts much to love. If so, then whoever puts in nothing much more attractive to love, does not love his brother, whom he has seen, how can be recognized as true when he says that he loves God, whom he has not seen, who neither in dealing with him, nor embraced by any feeling? If someone shamelessly says that he loves God, but hates his brother, he, perverting divine love, turns out to be more than this and a criminal of His next commandment: by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another(John 13:35) . Therefore, whoever loves God and tries to be His disciple, he, according to His commandment, also loves his brother.
Commentary on the 1st Epistle of the Holy Apostle John.
Andrey Monakh
Art. 20-21 whoever says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And we have such a commandment from Him that he who loves God loves his brother
He who loves God keeps His commandments, for love for one's brother is the fulfillment of divine commandments. He who does not love his brother has not kept the commandment, and he who has not kept does not love God. For a liar is not one who loves, but one who says that he loves.
Fragments.
Ep. Mikhail (Luzin)
whoever says, "I love God," and hates his brother, is a liar: for he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God, whom he has not seen
Who is speaking and so on: we must love God, but it is truly possible to love Him only when we love one another. That's why, who is speaking in word, or tongue, or even in his heart, deceived in his conscience, that he loves God in his heart, and considers himself a Christian, fulfilling the commandment of God and Christ, but he hates his brother(1 Jn 2:9, 11; 1 Jn 3:15 et al.) in his heart and shows it by his deeds, that liar thinks and speaks differently, and shows other things in deeds (1 John 2:4), it is clear that he is a liar, that someone does not love his brother, or hates him(1 John 2:9) even though he be his enemy (1 John 3:15), his brother whom he sees with my own eyes (I saw, in the original, the past tense, to express the state, undoubtedly, always continuing in the same way; cf. p. 12), The God He Doesn't See(art. 12), how can love? That is, it is impossible for such a person to love God. He who is incapable of the easier is incapable of doing the more difficult; loving the invisible is much more difficult than loving the visible. To his brother, whom he sees, he can always show love by one or another good deed; A The God He Doesn't See and, consequently, cannot directly do anything for Him, - how can love? The thing is impossible. Love for God can only be expressed and witnessed by love for neighbors. “Love is obviously formed through treatment of each other; conversion presupposes that a person sees his brother and, after his treatment, becomes even more attached to him with love, for vision attracts a lot to love. If so, then who puts in anything much more attractive to love, does not love the brother he saw how can it be true when he says he loves The God I Haven't Seen Who neither in dealing with him, nor embraced by any feeling? (Theophylact).
Intelligent Apostle.
There are three main sections in 1 John: the communion of the divine life (1:1-2:11), the teaching of the divine anointing (2:12-27), and the dignity of the divine birth (2:28-5:21). The first part of the third section (2:28-3:10A) deals with what it means to do divine righteousness. Starting with this message, we move on to the second part of this section (3:10B-5:3) on how to make divine love. The divine birth has a virtue that allows us to make divine love.
Divine life (as divine seed) and divine Spirit
In order to make divine love the virtue of divine life, we need divine life and divine Spirit. Divine life is the divine seed that each of us has in a regenerated spirit. In addition to the divine life that is sown into our being as the divine seed, we also have the divine Spirit in our spirit. Divine life and divine Spirit constitute within us the “capital” that allows us to make divine love. The divine life is the source, and the divine Spirit is the One who actually brings about love for others. Divine love is our daily living as an expression of the divine life carried out by the divine Spirit.
Divine life and divine Spirit are fundamental factors in order to make divine love. With the help of the divine life and thanks to the divine Spirit, we can have not just human love, but divine love. This divine love manifested in Everyday life children of God is proof that we have both the divine life and the divine Spirit.
He who does not love his brother is not of God
In 3:10b John says, "Whoever does not do righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother." Righteousness is the nature of God's works; love is the nature of God's essence. Love is what God is; righteousness is what God does. Love is something internal; righteousness is something external. Because of this, love, compared with righteousness, is a more convincing manifestation of the fact that we are children of God. Therefore, from this verse to verse 24, the apostle moves in the manifestation of the children of God from righteousness to love as another condition for a life abiding in the Lord.
John makes a very serious statement, saying that he who does not love his brother is not of God. As children of God, we are, of course, from God and even from God. Since we are from God, we certainly have God's life and God's Spirit in us. We naturally live a life of love for the brethren. However, if someone does not have such love, this indicates that he does not have either the divine life or the divine Spirit. Thus, a serious question arises: is such a person even one of the children of God, born of Him. Love for the brethren is a strong proof that we are from God, that we have God's life and enjoy God's Spirit.
Loving each other is the message we've heard from the beginning
In verse 11, John continues, "For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we love one another." The message we have heard from the beginning is the command given by the Lord in Jn. 13:34, which is the word that believers have heard and had from the beginning. In verse 11, "from the beginning" is used in a relative sense. The love spoken of here is a higher condition for the life that is in the Lord.
Not like Cain
In verse 12, John continues, “Not like Cain was of the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother's were righteous." That Cain was "from the evil one" means that he belonged to the children of the devil; Cain's brother, Abel, was of God, that is, he belonged to God's children (v. 10). The Greek word poneroʹ, here translated “evil”, means someone harmful, destructively evil, who influences others, making them evil and vicious. This evil person, this evil one, is Satan, the devil.
In verse 12, John uses two brothers in the flesh, Cain and Abel, as an illustration. Although these brothers came from the same parents, one became one of the children of God, and the other belonged to the children of the devil. We may find it hard to believe this. It is difficult for us to imagine how it can be that two brothers, born of the same parents and living in the same conditions, are so different from each other, so that one of them belongs to the children of the devil, and the other became one of the children God's. Nevertheless, the fact remains. Here this fact is used to show which person belongs to the children of the devil, and which one belongs to the children of God. To find out, we need to look at Cain and Abel.
The fact that Cain was one of the children of the devil is confirmed by the fact that he hated his brother and killed him. This shows that Cain had neither the life of God nor the Spirit of God. Why did Cain hate his brother? He hated him because he had the hateful life of Satan in him. Why did Cain kill Abel? He killed him because he had the evil nature of Satan in him. Cain had the life of the devil, the nature of the devil, and an evil spirit. But Abel was completely different. And today, people born from the same parents and raised in the same conditions can become completely different. One may become one of the children of God, and the other may belong to the children of the devil.
Don't be surprised if the world hates us
Verse 13 says, "Don't be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you." The "world" here refers to people from the world who, like Cain, are the children of the devil (v. 10) and enter as components into the cosmic system of Satan (the world - John 12:31). If people from the world that lies in the evil one, the devil (5:19), hate believers (children of God), it is natural for them. The situation among siblings today may be the same as between Cain and Abel. Imagine that one brother belongs to the children of Satan, and the other belongs to the children of God. Automatically the one who belongs to the children of the devil will hate the one who belongs to the children of God. In this sense, we need not be surprised.
Verse 13 clearly shows that all worldly people are the children of the devil. Only a relatively small number of people, regenerate believers, are children of God. If we live God's life and God's Spirit, the world will hate us. Since we and they belong to different categories, they will always be dissatisfied with us.
Know that we have passed from death to life
In 3:14 John says, “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love is in death.” Death is from the devil, God's enemy, Satan, who is denoted by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which brings death. Life is from God, the source of life, which is signified by the tree of life, which gives life (Genesis 2:9, 16-17). Death and life not only come from these two sources, Satan and God; they also represent two entities, two elements, and two spheres. To pass from death into life means to pass from the source, essence, element and sphere of death to the source, essence, element and sphere of life. This happened in us at the resurrection. We know (oida) this, that is, we are inwardly aware of it, because we love the brothers. Love (agaʹpe, God's love) for brethren is a strong evidence of this. Faith in the Lord allows us to pass from death to life; love for the brethren testifies that we have passed from death to life. To have faith is to receive eternal life; to love is to live eternal life and to express it.
If someone does not love the brothers, this indicates that he does not live in the essence and element of divine love and does not remain in the sphere of this love, but lives in the essence and element of satanic death and remains in its sphere.
The words spoken in 3:14 are very similar to the words of the Lord Jesus, which John quotes in his Gospel: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not fall under passed from death unto life" (5:24). John's words bring us back to the Fall in the Garden of Eden. After man was created, he was placed in front of two trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The second tree is associated with death, since in Gen. 2 Adam was told that if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would die. Therefore, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is associated with death. Eve and Adam ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge. As a result, they accepted death into their being. In other words, by eating it, they brought themselves into death. As a result of the fall, mankind was in death. That is why everyone who is born in Adam is born into death. This means that everyone who is born in Adam is not born to live, but to die. The child is born to die because, being a descendant of Adam, he is born into death.
When we repented of our sins and believed on the Lord Jesus, we were saved. At the same time, we were reborn. To be reborn is actually to receive the tree of life from which humanity was cut off as a result of the fall of Adam. When Adam ate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, he accepted death into himself and lost the opportunity to receive the tree of life. However, the opportunity to receive the tree of life has been restored through Christ's atonement. When we repented and believed on the Lord Jesus, this opportunity opened up before us. As a result of repentance and faith, we naturally received the divine life into ourselves, and at that very moment we passed from death into life.
If you think about your experience of salvation, you will realize that when you were saved and reborn, you passed from death to life. Since we all passed from death to life when we believed in the Lord Jesus and accepted Him as our Savior, a huge change in life followed. We began to live a different life, a life of righteousness and love. We have a desire to be righteous and love the children of God. It's not just some external change; it is the transition from death to life. Therefore, when we love our brothers in the Lord, that love is proof that we have passed from death to life.
If a person does not love his brothers, but hates them, this is proof that he is in death, which entered humanity through the fall of Adam. Since death entered humanity a very long time ago, we were born into this death. But when we repented and believed, we passed from death to the divine life. Because we have passed from the death of the tree of knowledge into the life of the tree of life, a change has taken place in us, and now we live a life of righteousness and love.
All who are saved and reborn can testify that they have passed from death to life. You don't need to tell others what you were before you were saved. Just tell them what you became after being saved.
Because you are saved and reborn, you have a desire to live a life that is right to God and to man. You want to be right in relation to your husband or wife, in relation to parents, children, relatives, neighbors and employees. Your aspiration is to live a life that is right to everyone and even everything. For example, a person who lives righteous life He will not mistreat even animals. Since we have accepted a divine life with a divine nature, a nature that is righteous, we have the desire to be right in every way.
This striving to be right about everything extends even to material objects. Perhaps, before being saved, some had a habit of kicking chairs or throwing things in anger. But when such a person accepts the divine life with the divine nature, he no longer wants to be unrighteous in anything.
As a result of the fall, our natural life is unrighteous. That is why, in our natural life, we are wrong in relation to other people and even to things. But when we received the Lord Jesus, we received life from the tree of life, a life that has a righteous nature. Since we have accepted this life with a divine nature, we spontaneously have a desire to be right with everyone and everything.
By being saved and reborn, we can also testify that we want to love others. Born of God, we want to help people and love them. When we love others, we are happy. But we get upset when we miss an opportunity to help someone or show them our love.
Love is the nature of the divine life that we have received. Since the essence of God is love, the life of God has the nature of love. Love is the essence of God's nature. Having Him as our divine life, we possess the nature of this life, which is love. We Christians, children of God, have a life that strives to live in a way that is right to everyone and everything, and also strives to love others. We have this longing because we have the divine nature in us. As we have noted, if a person does not live in such a way as to be right with everyone and everything, and does not live a life of love for others, then a serious question arises: has this person received the divine life.
Who does not love is in death
In 3:14 John says, "Whoever does not love remains in death." If we do not love others, it proves that we are still in death. In other words, it is a sign that we have not yet passed from death into life.
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer
In verse 15A, John continues, "Whoever hates his brother is a murderer." As far as the divine qualities are concerned, hate is the opposite of love, death is the opposite of life, darkness is the opposite of light, and falsehood (deceit) is the opposite of truth. All the opposites of these divine virtues are from the evil one, from the devil.
In verse 15, the word "killer" does not refer to the actual murderer, but shows that, from the point of view of spiritual morality, hatred is tantamount to murder. No actual murderer, unsaved person like Cain was (v. 12), has eternal life abiding in him. Because we know this, we who have passed from death to life and have eternal life abiding in us should not behave like an unsaved murderer and hate our brothers in the Lord.
This section is about the life that is in the Lord. The believer who has eternal life, but does not abide in the Lord and does not allow the Lord, that is, eternal life, to abide and work in him, may in some cases hate his brother and commit other sins, but this should not be something habitual.
A person may not be a real killer, but at the same time be a killer in essence. This means that even if he has never killed anyone, he can still be a killer in essence, because he hates others. If we hate someone, we are essentially acting like murderers, even if we didn't kill anyone. Therefore, we need to understand that, strictly speaking, we Christians, the children of God, should not hate anyone. On the contrary, we need to love others. The Bible even says that we should love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Because the divine life we have is loving life, a life that is love, we must love those who are not worthy of love, and even those who mistreat us. There should be no element of hatred in us. Love is our life and nature, and it is love that should be our essence and way of life. Thus, we should not hate anyone. There may be many who oppose the Lord's recovery today, but we should not hate them. Instead of hating, we should love them. If we hate those who oppose us, then in principle we act like murderers.
No murderer has eternal life dwelling in him
In verse 15b, John continues, "But you know that no manslayer has eternal life abiding in him." In saying that no murderer has eternal life in him, John does not mean the saved, but the unsaved, such as Cain.
After reading verse 15, some have wondered if it is possible for a believer to kill someone and still have eternal life abiding in him. When I first began to serve, I was asked this question several times. Some have asked if it is possible for a true believer to commit murder, and if he does, will he have eternal life in him. It is difficult to give a definite answer to such a question. It is not safe to say that a true believer absolutely cannot kill anyone. On the other hand, it is not safe to say that a saved person can commit murder. We'd better leave this matter to the Lord and not try to explain it.
As regards such questions, we should not be distracted by the lust for knowledge. Perhaps someone will say: “In 1 Jn. 3:15 says that no murderer has everlasting life abiding in him. What would happen if a real believer committed murder? Will he still have eternal life?” These are the kinds of questions that the devil implants in our minds. If such a thought comes to you, you need to say, “Devil, don't ask me about it. I don't have to answer this question. If you want to know the answer to this question, ask my God. I don't know it and I don't want it to bother me. However, devil, I know that I am reborn and have the divine life within me. I also know that I enjoy the divine nature and that God Himself lives within me as the divine Spirit. Satan, I don't want to answer your questions. Get away from me!" I can testify that the Lord has been merciful to me and given me the wisdom to deal with such matters in this way. However, some brothers believe that they have enough knowledge and are able to answer the question of whether it is possible for a believer who has eternal life to commit murder. We shouldn't have that kind of self-confidence. It is enough for us to see that, as children of God, we should not hate others. We can't act like we're murderers.
We have seen that in essence hatred is tantamount to murder. It is possible that one of God's children will sometimes hate someone, but no regenerate person will habitually do this. If you habitually hate others, then the question arises whether you have received the divine life at all. It is like committing a sin. The believer may sometimes commit sin, but he should not do it habitually. If you sin habitually, then again the question arises whether you have received divine life.
John's intention is to show us that the divine seed is sown into our being through the divine birth. This seed is the divine life, and this divine life has a divine nature. Moreover, we have received the divine Spirit to carry out all that is contained in the divine life and divine nature. Instead of trying to answer questions that we cannot answer, we need to know that we have received divine life, that we are enjoying the divine nature of this life, and that a divine Person, God Himself as Spirit, is working out within us all that contained in this divine nature. Therefore, we need to live this life, abide in Him and maintain continuous fellowship with Him according to the inner anointing. This is the main idea of what John writes about.
Many Christians behave strangely!
When it comes to the persecution of Christians in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, China or Nigeria, they sympathize, pray, write plaintive comments, but as soon as it comes to Christians and churches that suffered at the hands of terrorists in the Donbass, how do all these Christians unfold in 180 degrees, and they begin to sympathize with and support not the persecuted, but the persecutors, that is, the bandits.
They say about Christians and pastors who suffered from bandits that they themselves are to blame for what they are doing to them, they say there was no need to support the Maidan, there is nothing to support Ukraine, the Kiev government, etc. And about the cases of arrests of pastors, beatings and other things, they say that they say this is not true.
We, the Christian media, are bombarded with a lot of negativity and angry comments that we describe everything that happens, publish news and do not pass by such cases. And there have already been many such cases in the Donbass, when pastors suffered at the hands of bandits, churches were seized and nationalized by the DNR, and in the church of pastor Pyotr Dudnik, they even made a real warehouse of weapons. Recently, some pastors with families and parishioners even had to leave Slavyansk and other cities of Donbass because of fear for their lives. I myself know those who left for Western Ukraine, taking with them only what they could carry in their hands.
In Mariupol, a tragic incident occurred recently, when the pastor of the church died at the hands of militants. They shot at the military, and the pastor, whose car was passing by, also died.
So why do many Christians not sympathize with the believers who suffered in the Donbass, just as they sympathize with the persecuted Christians of Iraq or Nigeria? Why are pastors from Donbass and Christian media condemned for not being silent but writing about what is happening there?
Is it because love, truth and compassion have become secondary, and people have put their political views and hatred of Ukraine and everything Ukrainian in the foreground. Many Christians took the side of the bandits, the DPR, the LPR, some invented New Russia! They, like the bandits, dream of the destruction of Ukraine, and when the media write about the crimes of the separatists, they criticize the media and people who provide information about what is happening!
When pastor Victor Sudakov recently wrote on Facebook about his impressions after visiting Donetsk, and about what the militants of the DPR are like, he was so attacked by Christians and wrote so many threats against him that Victor had to remove his post from Facebook.
I observed a similar picture after an interview with Sergei Demidovich, in which he spoke about what is happening in the Donbass, calling the Maidan a revolution of dignity, and the events in the Donbass a proletarian revolution. So much hatred and anger rained down on Demidovich that it's terrifying to look at!
I am grateful to pastors Petr Dudnik from Slovyansk and Sergey Kosyak (who also suffered from terrorists) from Donetsk, who, despite the difficulties and dangers, constantly post on Facebook, post photos and keep us informed of what is happening. It is from their records that many of us know how Christians live during the hostilities, and what is actually happening in the Donbass. And I'll tell you that I believe them!
And once again I urge Christians to think about which side they are on, whom they sympathize with, whom they support, whose ideas they spread. Do you sympathize with the terrorists and condemn the Christians who suffered from them!? Do you condemn Christians who support Ukraine and pray for it?! Then - woe to you... For you can't support the war, you can't be on the side of the armed bandits, and you can't support divisions. And they don't just want to divide Ukraine, they want to destroy it. That is why war was brought to Ukraine.
The Holy Church reads the First Epistle of John. Chapter 2, Art. 7-17.
7. Beloved! I do not write you a new commandment, but an ancient commandment, which you had from the beginning. The ancient commandment is the word that you have heard from the beginning.
8. But besides, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true both in Him and in you: because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.
9. Whoever says that he is in the light, but hates his brother, he is still in darkness.
10. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no stumbling block in him.
11. And whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12. I am writing to you, children, because your sins are forgiven for the sake of His name.
13. I am writing to you, fathers, because you have known Jehovah from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I am writing to you, children, because you have known the Father.
14. I have written to you, fathers, because you have known the Beginningless One. I wrote to you young men because you are strong and the word of God abides in you and you have overcome the evil one.
15. Do not love the world, nor what is in the world: whoever loves the world does not have the love of the Father in him.
16. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father, but from this world.
17. And the world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever.
(1 John 2:7-17)
Beloved! I do not write you a new commandment, but an ancient commandment, which you had from the beginning. The ancient commandment is the word that you have heard from the beginning. But besides, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true both in Him and in you: because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. A little incomprehensible verses, but if we think with you, we can figure out what the apostle John means.
He says he gives ancient commandment, which at the same time is new commandment. The basis of any commandment coming from God has always been the love of God for man and the love of people among themselves. Even Old Testament, in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, was based on two main commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your strength, with all your soul" and a similar commandment "Love your neighbor as yourself." Indeed, both commandments speak of love, so the commandment of love is indeed ancient, it has always permeated all other commandments.
On the other hand, the Old Testament is still a “letter” that speaks of the external, social behavior of a person, about what to do or not to do: to kill or not to kill, to steal or not to steal, and so on. These commandments often did not touch the human heart: maybe a person does not kill, but he hates; maybe he doesn't steal, but he's envious. In this sense, the Old Testament was incomplete, as we have talked about many times. The Apostle Paul repeatedly led us to this idea.
From the point of view of the New Testament, the commandment to love is not only ancient, but also new - such a paradox. On the one hand, since ancient times it has been the basis of all the commandments, on the other hand, in the New Testament it is presented to a person a little differently - as a principle of life that lives inside, in the heart. A person is called throughout his life, in every situation, to be guided by love, which is bestowed upon him by the Holy Spirit. Thus, a person can no longer be divided: not to kill, but to hate; not to steal, but to envy. If envy and hatred are eradicated in the human heart, such a person will naturally not kill, steal, and so on.
The New Testament commandment to love is a "commandment" in quotation marks because it is not a clause of the law. The Lord said, “Love one another as I have loved you,” but the human heart cannot be commanded to become capable of experiencing some state overnight. You can direct a person’s actions in a certain direction, for example, give an order: “Do this or don’t do this, otherwise we will punish or reward you.” Here a person can adapt to the situation. And the heart, as they say, you can’t command; we need to educate him, go through a certain path, so that there is growth, so that the Holy Spirit grows fruits on the soil of our hearts. Then we will be able to slowly acquire this state - an attitude towards everything with love.
If love lives in the heart of a person, the external commandments will be fulfilled by themselves. The apostle Paul speaks of this very well in the Epistle to the Romans, and we, if we live, will analyze this passage in due time. “He who loves his neighbor does no harm to his neighbor” - this phrase expresses the essence of the New Testament “commandment”, or principle, of love. The Apostle John the Theologian speaks about this in many ways: the commandment seems to be ancient, but at the same time new, because it receives, as it were, a new dimension, a new depth.
Whoever says that he is in the light, but hates his brother, he is still in darkness. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no stumbling block in him. And whoever hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. The Apostle John the Theologian very often draws a parallel: love for God without love for one's neighbor is impossible, love for one's neighbor is a natural consequence of love for God. If a person has personal communion with God, then his heart, of course, is filled with love, which is poured out in abundance on all those around him. And if a person claims that he is a Christian, even takes communion, but exudes hatred, aggression, malice, then something is not quite right in his relationship with Christ: he approaches this formally, does not open his heart to Divine love, otherwise his attitude to neighbors would be different.
Here, brothers and sisters, we need to be very attentive to ourselves. It is not saving for us to think that we are drawing closer to Christ, when in fact it is formal, and our hearts are filled with evil, and not with love. Of course, this is not saving for the people around us, for those who are only moving towards the Church. How often do you and I hear reproaches: you go to church, but behave worse than those who do not go, or worse than unbelievers. This really happens, these remarks are sometimes fair. We must take care of ourselves so that this does not happen: we go into the church - we put on a mask of piety, we go out - and live our lives: we condemn, sometimes our brothers who have just prayed next to us, we spread about the clergy what we heard somewhere and maybe even embellished themselves. This discrepancy happens, and we need to be very careful about it.
I remind you of the need for you and me to read the word of God every day, because it contains great joy, consolation and instruction. God bless you all!
Priest Mikhail Romadov
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