The Nicene Creed Part 3 - In One God

 Deut 5:7
Thou shalt have none other gods before me.

Deut 6:14
Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;

In a world where many gods have been worshipped throughout human history and in an age where concepts like there is no God or all religions are the same are not uncommon to encounter, we maintain our belief that our God is the true God and that there are no others beside Him. We don't believe that all religions are equally true or entirely compatible with each other. This is an underlying theme in the Old Testament as it records the history of the struggle of Israel between serving the true God and other gods. It was with Israel that God established His covenant where He would be their God and they would be His people as recorded "With whom the LORD had made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them: But the LORD, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear, and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice." and "Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works". Warfare was styled to keep Israel from worshipping other gods, and it was the worship of the true God that gained victory and brought peace. It was for idolotry that Israel was taken captive, and the return from captivity was centered around returning to the worship of God. We find the worship of one God explained in The Catechism of St Philaret1 explained like this...

82. Why is it not said in the Creed simply, I believe in God, rather than with the addition, in one God?

In order to contradict the error of the heathen, who, taking the creature for God, thought there were many gods.

And explained by C N Callinicos in The Greek Orthodox Catechism...

For, though there be many that are called gods and lords - as is the case with the polytheists - yet to us there is but One God, the Father, of Whom are all things, and we unto Him.(1 Cor. viii.5-6.)... The idolotrous idea of dividing the indivisible God up into different limited deities, of which one reigns in Heaven, another on earth, a third over the sea, a fourth over the underworld and so on, is an anthropomorphic fancy, derogatory to the Supreme Being.

Early apologists often had to refute charges of atheism that were made based on the refusal to worship and offer sacrifices to other gods. Justin Martyr gave this defense in his First Apology2 addressed to the Roman Emporer and Senate.

And we confess that we are atheists, so far as gods of this sort are concerned, but not with respect to the most true God, the Father of righteousness and temperance and the other virtues, who is free from all impurity. But both Him, and the Son... and the prophetic Spirit, we worship and adore, knowing them in reason and truth, and declaring without grudging to every one who wishes to learn, as we have been taught.

Athenegoras also gave this response to charges of atheism in his Plea For Christians3.

As regards, first of all, the allegation that we are atheists... with reason did the Athenians adjudge Diagoras guilty of atheism, in that he... openly declared that there was no God at all... But, since our doctrine acknowledges one God, the Maker of this universe, who is Himself uncreated... but has made all things by the Logos which is from Him, we are treated unreasonably in both respects, in that we are both defamed and persecuted.

As stated in the above quote, the Christian God is the Holy Trinity of God the Father eternally existing with His Word and Spirit. Just as scripture says "No man hath seen God at any time", we also confess the nature of God to be beyond our own and the nature  of what is uncreated to be entirely different than the nature of what is created. Yet at the same time, we find "that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead", and "The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory". So while, due to our limitations, it is impossible for us to fully know something without limitation, God still reveals Himself to us, interacts with us, and makes Himself known to us. It is in this revelation of God, primarily in Jesus Christ who said "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father", that we speak of the nature of God. Scripture tells us that "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" and also speaks of  "the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father". We can find this explained in The Catechism of St Philaret.

84. Can we know the very essence of God?

No. It is above all knowledge, not of men only, but of angels.

85. How does holy Scripture speak on this point?

The Apostle Paul says, that God dwelleth in the light, which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see. 1 Tim. vi. 16....

90. How are we to understand these words of the Creed, I believe in one God the Father?

This is to be understood with reference to the mystery of the Holy Trinity; because God is one in substance but trine in persons--the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost--a Trinity consubstantial and undivided....

93. How is one God in three Persons?

We can not comprehend this inner mystery of the Godhead; but we believe it on the infallible testimony of the Word of God. The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 1 Cor. ii. 11.

94. What difference is there between the Persons of the Holy Trinity?

God the Father is neither begotten, nor proceeds from any other Person: the Son of God is from all eternity begotten of the Father: the Holy Ghost from all eternity proceeds from the Father.

95. Are the three Hypostases or Persons of the Most Holy Trinity all of equal majesty?

Yes; all of absolutely equal divine majesty. The Father is true God, the Son equally true God, and the Holy Ghost true God; but yet so that in the three Persons there is only one Tri-personal God.

The nature of God as the Trinity, personal characteristics of the three Persons, and the manner of the incarnation of "the Word became flesh" are among what will be discussed in the rest of the Creed.

For Thou art our God, and we know no other than Thee.

1http://www.pravoslavieto.com/docs/eng/Orthodox_Catechism_of_Philaret.htm#ii.xv.iii.i.p41

2http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.viii.ii.vi.html

3http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf02.v.ii.iv.html

The Nicene Creed Part 2 - I Believe

Rom 10:9-10
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

James 2:26
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

The Creed is traditionally broken into twelve parts for instructional purposes. For the sake of keeping my posts from getting too long and to better provide a general overview, I'm going to further divide some of those sections. This post will cover what it means to "believe" ("credo" in Latin, where we get the word "creed"). According to The Catechism of St Philaret of Moscow1...

76. What is it to believe in God?

To believe in God is to have a lively belief of his being, his attributes, and works; and to receive with all the heart his revealed Word respecting the salvation of men.

80. For what is the confession of the faith necessary?

The Apostle Paul witnesses that it is necessary for salvation. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Rom. x. 10.  

And also from The Confession of Peter Mohila2...

Q. 2. Should a Christian first believe and then do good works in life?

R. Since "without faith it is impossible to please God", as St. Paul teaches, "he that comes to God must believe that he is, and is a rewarder to them that seek him."[5] Therefore, so that a Christian may please God and his works may be accepted by him, first it is necessary that he have faith in God and then he must form his life according to this faith.

Q. 4. What is faith?

R. Faith is, according to St. Paul, "the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not. For this the ancients obtained a testimony."[6] Or, as follows: the apostolic orthodox-catholic (faith) is to believe in one's heart and confess by one's mouth one God in the Holy Trinity, according to the teaching of the same St. Paul: "for with the heart we believe unto justice; but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation;"[7] and then also, Faith is to hold intact all the articles of the orthodox- catholic faith, handed down by Christ the Lord through the Apostles and pronounced and approved in the Ecumenical Councils (4) and to believe them without doubt as taught therein, just as the Apostle designates: "Brothers, stand fast and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle." [8] And in another place: "I praise (you, brothers), that you are mindful of me in all things; and keep my ordinances as I delivered them to you." [9] From these words it is clear that the articles of faith receive their commendation and authority partly from Sacred Scripture and partly from church tradition and the teaching of the Councils and the Holy Fathers. By way of explanation in this matter, St. Dionysius says: "For the substance of our hierarchy is the divinely given oracles; most truly we declare these oracles to be venerated, which were given to us by our holy founders, inspired by the Holy Spirit, in Sacred Scripture and theological books, as also that which comes from these same holy men in a more subtle way, not completely treated from on high, but by the penetration of one mind unto another, indeed by way of the corporeal word, but nevertheless at the same time immaterial, by which our holy founders were taught without writing in this certain sacred tradition." [10] I speak, he says, of certain dogmas given through the Scripture and contained in the theological books (that is, of St. Basil); (5) Truly these are dogmas which were orally given by the Apostles and the Holy Fathers. And on these two things the faith is based, not only to remain in the recesses of the heart, with all doubt and fear really removed, but to be proclaimed and professed orally, even as the Psalmist says: "I have believed, therefore have I spoken."[11] "We also believe, wherefore we also speak."[12]

According to the scriptures, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God", meaning that we recieve our faith by being taught. The manner in which this takes place in us is two fold. First, as Paul writes "God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith", our capacity to believe in God is a gift from Him, and as the parable of the sower and the seed shows, this gift is given freely to all. But having received the gift freely given, we have a responsibility to respond as Christ Himself said "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" and "Take heed therefore how ye hear".

Belief is also closely tied to action in the scriptures. To truly believe is to act on that belief as we are told to "be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only" and that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone" because even "the devils also believe, and tremble". We find "for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer" in the Psalms. We are also told that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin" and that with faith "ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked". We also find that faith must also be accomplanied by love where it is written "though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing". Faith also requires perseverence. Christ told us that "he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved" and Paul commanded us to "run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith".

Through the intercession of St Patrick, may God Almighty strengthen one's faith and grant the grace of faith to others.

1http://www.pravoslavieto.com/docs/eng/Orthodox_Catechism_of_Philaret.htm

2http://esoptron.umd.edu/ugc/ocf1a.html

The Nicene Creed Part 1 - Introduction

Jude 1:3
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

Gal 1:8-9
But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

With this post, I am going to start a new series on what is commonly referred to as the Nicene Creed, also known as the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. In my following posts I intend to cover the text of the Creed using scripture, and commentary and teaching (either on the Creed or subjects relating to what is stated in the Creed) found in writings and catechisms that have been produced throughout the centuries.

There are a number of creeds and confessions of faith. From the ealriest times various creeds were used as a statement of faith to be made at baptism and liturgically recited to maintain unity of faith among the members of a local church and between local churches. The Nicene Creed is the most common one found recited today with the Apostle's Creed being the second most common.

In the early fourth century, a priest from Alexandria by the name of Arius denied that the Son was of the same divinity as the Father and affirmed that the Son was a created being. This teaching gained popularity and spread throughout the Christian world with a number of people, inculding some bishops, adopting this new teaching. As it spread causing chaos throughout the Roman Empire, which had just recently legalized Christianity, the Emporer Constantine called a number of bishops together in 325 at Nicea to give an official statement of faith regarding the divinity of the Son. What they gave the emporer was a statement that the Son was coeternal with the Father and sharing the same divine nature as the Father. Later on, a similar teaching against the Holy Spirit was starting to spread and another council was held in Constantinople in 381. The bishops present at the council in 381 re-affirmed statement of 325 and then affirmed the divinity of the Holy Spirit. They put forth another statement of faith, the decree of 325 with some extra clarification concerning the Holy Spirit, and made this their official statement of faith. This statement made in 381 is what is called the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (because it was originally made at Nicea and then further clarified at Constantinople), or more commonly known as simply the Nicene Creed. There was a small addition made to it at a council in Toledo, Spain during the fifth century concerning the procession of the Holy Spirit which was not officially adopted by Rome in the west until the ninth century and was never adopted into usage by any church in the east. I may cover that in a later post when I get to that part of the Creed, but I am not including it as part of the text of the Creed and am using what was originally proclaimed at Constantinople in 381 as the text that I plan to cover in this series. Here is the text of the Nicene Creed as given at Constantinople in 381.

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of light; true God of true God; begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father, by Whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from Heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered, and was buried. And the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; Whose Kingdom shall have no end.

And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father; Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets.

In one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Jesus Prayer Part 19 - Contemplative Prayer

Col 4:2
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;

Eph 6:18
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

In this post I am going to write a little about contemplative prayer. The goal of contemplative prayer is to be aware of, focus on, and interact with, and draw closer to God in prayer. To quote a catechism entitled On the Law of God, "Contemplation of God is the description of the spiritual mood in which man intentionally introduces into, maintains in his conscience, the thought of God, of His highest properties, the matter of our salvation and of our eternal future, etc." Prayer is traditionally described as being done on three levels, the physical, the mental, and the heart.

We begin by physically saying the words that we offer up to God. We can start with the words the Lord Himself gave us in the Lord's prayer, the Psalms, or other hymns and prayers of the Church. We offer these words up to God because we know it is right to offer them up to God and that they express how we should relate to God.

We take the words that we are saying and focus on them and make them our own. They cease to be external words that we read and become our own words as they penetrate our mind and become our thoughts. This requires attention and perseverance as outside thoughts try to distract us from prayer. Being told that "he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" and "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you", we know we can trust God to reward our struggles in prayer to draw closer to Him and become transformed by the renewing of our mind. In the words of Fr. Thomas Hopko...

When reading or chanting the psalms, the person does not try to think about each word and phrase. Rather he cuts off all reasoning, and opens his heart to the Lord, uniting “his mouth with his mind,” (St Benedict) and allowing the Word of God to be planted within him to blossom in his soul with the fruits of the Spirit. This also is the case with churchly hymnology. It is sung for the glory of God and the edification and expansion of the soul through the contemplation of the Lord in His words and works of salvation, much more than for any intellectual instruction.

The next level of prayer is to penetrate from the mind into the heart. In order to properly pray from the heart, we must have our heart right with God, as Christ said "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God". This means not just saying the words, but meaning them and following God in our daily lives as Christians. We are told that our treasure is where our heart is and that it is from the heart that our actions come, so part of having a positive relationship with God is to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as a reflection of our love for God based on the love that we have received from God. This has been expressed in writings like where On the Law of God says "Orthodoxy teaches us that the Christian faith is inseparably bound to love for God. And love always demands a living, personal relationship with the one we love. In our relationship with God, this love is first of all made manifest in prayer." and where These Truths We Hold - The Holy Orthodox Church: Her Life and Teachings, a book of teachings compiled by a monk at St Tikhon's Monastery, says that "Our prayers will gradually grow more perfect as we improve the manner of our lives and cleanse our hearts of sinful passion. This banishment of sinful ways from our lives brings as its reward our success in prayer. At the same time, we must say that prayer cannot achieve perfection in isolation, but must be accompanied by all the virtues, for as we grow in virtue, so does our prayer grow ever more perfect."

Repetition of the Jesus prayer, along with psalms, hymns, and other short prayers, has traditionally been used as an exercise in  focusing the mind and heart on God. We can reflect on the words themselves of the prayer, as I have done in some of my previous posts. We can take those words and make them our own, and we can put those words into action in our lives as we grow closer to God by keeping Him in constant remembrance in prayer. To quote Fr. Thomas Hopko again...

The use of the Jesus Prayer outside the hesychast method for unceasing prayer is to repeat the prayer constantly and continually, whatever one is doing, without the employment of any particular bodily postures or breathing techniques. This is the way taught by St. Gregory Palamas in his short discourse about how unceasing mental prayer is the duty of all Christians. (see p. 130) Anyone can do this, whatever his occupation or position in life. This also is shown in The Way of the Pilgrim.

The purpose and results of this method of prayer are those generally of all prayer: that men might be continually united with God by unceasing remembrance of His presence and perpetual invocation of His name, so that one might always serve Him and all men with the virtues of Christ and the fruits of the Spirit.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

The Jesus Prayer Part 18 - The Use of Prayer Ropes and Beads

Repetitions of the Jesus Prayer are commonly counted on knots or beads. Other prayers have also been counted in a similar manner throughout the centuries in eastern and western Christian traditions. It is because of this ancient prayer tradition that the word "bead" receives its etymology from the old english word for "prayer" and shares a common root with the english word "bid" (to ask) and the german word "bitte" (please). I'm going to briefly discuss the historical development of tools for counting prayers in this post.

It starts with the ancient Jewish practice of having specific hours set aside during the day for prayers. Christianity as early as the apostles themselves and their immediate disciples continued  this schedule of prayer as they carried it over into their own worship and it can be found to this day within the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican/Episcopalian, Lutheran, and some Reformed traditions. By the second century, rules of prayer were given as replacements for these prayer services for those who were unable to make it to church and were unable to pray the prayers on their own. These would normally be a number of repetitions of the Lord's Prayer. At the same time, Christian monasticism was forming and the monks would repeat and meditate on the Lord's Prayer, verses from the Psalms, other short prayers, or even just the name of Jesus as they would complete their daily tasks and during time set aside just for prayer.

It was within this early monastic tradition that tools were first used to keep track of the large numbers of prayers that the monks would commit themselves to. The earliest mention of this is of a monk named Paul of Thebes who would keep three hundred pebbles and drop them into a bag to keep count of his prayers. This practice developed into tieing knots in a piece of rope or carving notches into walking sticks that were easier to travel with. The use of ropes and beads grew in popularity and became the normal method for counting prayers.

In eastern Christian traditions, the Jesus Prayer became the normative prayer for contemplation. Ropes made of knotted wool are most common but strands of beads are also used. Prayer ropes can commonly be found with 33, 50, or 100 knots or beads. In the western Christian tradition, the Lord's Prayer and Hail Mary became normative for contemplative prayer. The most common devotion that can be found in western Christianity today is the Rosary, even though a number of other devotions and chaplets have grown in the west out of this prayer tradition.

MAKE HASTE, O GOD, TO DELIVER ME; MAKE HASTE TO HELP ME, O LORD.

The Jesus Prayer Part 17 - Repetition in the Scriptures

Luke 18:1
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

Eph 5:19-20
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

The Jesus prayer, whether it is recited while accomplishing another task or during time devoted solely to meditating on the name of Jesus, is often repeated multiple times. This post will look at a few places where repetition is mentioned in the scriptures.

In the Old Testament, the book of Leviticus calls for a cleansed leper to be sprinkled with water seven times and oil to be sprinkled seven times before the Lord. On the day of Atonement, a young bullock and a goat are sacrificed to the Lord. The blood of both were sprinkled seven times on the mercy seat and then again seven times on the altar. Joshua circled the city of Jericho once for six days straight and then seven times on the seventh day before the walls fell. Elisha advised Naaman to dip himself seven times in the river Jordan in order to be healed of his leprosy. When Solomon consecrated the Temple to the Lord, the children of Israel sang Psalm 136 with its frequent repetition of "for His mercy endureth forever", and then again after they saw the glory of the Lord fill the Temple. The hymn that the three youths in Daniel sang when they thrown in the furnace repeated the phrase "And sing a hymn to Him, And exult Him beyond measure unto the ages.".

In the New Testament, we find Jesus commanding a cleansed leper to "go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded" that I referenced above. During the agony in the garden, Matthew writes that Jesus prayed to the Father three times "saying the same words". It was through perseverence that the syrophenician woman was granted by Jesus that the devil be cast out of her daughter. In Revelation, we are given a vision of four beasts who, in their worship of the Lord, "rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy...". Jesus also tells a parable of a widow who wins the favor of a judge by repeatedly coming to the judge, and when giving the Lord's prayer in Luke tells a parable of a man who gives his neighbor a loaf of bread because of his persistence in asking. The Apostle Paul also commands us to pray "always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" and to "Pray without ceasing".

Just as Christ taught the value of perseverence in prayer when teaching the Lord's prayer in Luke, He also gave a warning against "vain repetitions" when teaching the same prayer in Matthew. With the repetition that is commanded and used in both the Old and New Testaments, we can't understand this as an admonition against all repetition, so this must be understood as a warning against vanity in prayer. Prayer is not a magical formula where we simply mouth words and expect things to happen for us. Prayer is an encounter with the one to whom we are praying and must be done with faith in God and for His glory. This is why Christ condemned those who honored God with their lips and not their hearts.

Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

The Jesus Prayer Part 16 - Me

1Tim 1:15
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Ps 70:5
But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.

The final word of the Jesus Prayer that I will write about here is the word "me". We do not approach God alone or by ourselves, but we do relate to Him on an individual and personal level. Just as God calls on us to relate to Him as a member of His family, the Church, "likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind", we are also called to relate to Him personally as it is written that "In my Father's house are many mansions" and "every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour". It is in this context of approaching God that we ask Him to "have mercy on me" in the Jesus Prayer. Just as we are called to unite ourselves together in Peter's confession of Jesus as "the Christ, the Son of the Living God", we are to personally follow Him as our own Lord and call on Him as our own Savior and "me" is the sinner in need of God's mercy in Jesus Christ.

Just as scripture records the history of how God has related to mankind through a covenant established with a body of people (Adam's family, Noah's family, Abraham's family, the united Israel, Judah (the tribes of Judah and Benjamin), and finally the Church established by the apostles who received their authority from Christ Himself), scripture also bears witness of God's call to personally respond and relate to Him from within His covenanted community. This is why it is written that "if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" and Paul writes that  Christ "loved me, and gave himself for me".

As we approach God, we are called to do so with humility. The apostle Thomas called Jesus "My LORD and my God" when seeing Him raised from the dead. In parables Jesus taught us to imitate the prodigal son in saying "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son" and to avoid imitating the pharisee who was blinded to his own sinfullness but rather to imitate the publican who "would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner" because "every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted". This is why Paul writes "to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly", "let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall", and James instructs us to "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up."

The Psalms also give us an example of how to approach God in prayer and how to form our own attitudes toward God. We have to ackowledge our need and reliance on God as the source of our life, to pick us up when we fall, and to know that in Him is great mercy for those who call on Him. It is written "But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.", "Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake.", "The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.", "O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me. O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.", "For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.", "O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.", "Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.", "For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:", "I called upon the LORD in distress: the LORD answered me, and set me in a large place.", "In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he heard me.", "Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD.", and "In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.".

Jonah also cried to the Lord from the belly of the fish "I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of hell cried I, and thou heardest my voice. For thou hadst cast me into the deep, in the midst of the seas; and the floods compassed me about: all thy billows and thy waves passed over me. Then I said, I am cast out of thy sight; yet I will look again toward thy holy temple. The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God. When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple."

MAKE HASTE, O GOD, TO DELIVER ME; MAKE HASTE TO HELP ME, O LORD.

The Jesus Prayer Part 15 - Personal Sin

James 1:14-15
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

1John 1:8-9
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

In my last post, I discussed the fallen nature in which we are all born subject to sin and death because of the transgression of our first parents. At some point in our lives, we all go from simply inheriting the effects of sin to rightfully deserving the effects of sin by committing our own sins. In this post I will discuss how personal sin and its effects are described, how we receive the forgiveness of our sins, and how we are to live in accordance with that forgiveness.

The apostle John defines sin as "the transgression of the law" and James writes "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.". We are also told that "to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" and that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin". Our sins are described as "an heavy burden", wounds that "stink and are corrupt because of my foolishness", and "a loathsome disease". We are told that our sins harden our hearts, have dominion over us, give us "disquietness of heart", make us "not able to look up", cause our hearts and strength to fail, and cause affliction and pain. David asks the Lord to "heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee". We are told that "every man shall be put to death for his own sin", "transgressors shall be destroyed together", "workers of iniquity shall be scattered", and that the wicked will "perish at the presence of God".

We know that we cannot hide our sins from God becuase it is written "Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.". It is also written "If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared." and "But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.". How is it that having injured ourselves with our sins, we are able to find healing simply by not causing further injury? It is only because Christ "gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people" as it is written "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life." and that Christ "was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification". When asked how to respond to the message of Christ's death and resurrection, Peter told the people to "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins". Paul writes that we are "Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;" and it is written in Isaiah "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.". And when we fall to temptation after having been baptized into Christ and His Church, we are to seek his forgiveness from Him in His Church. We are to follow the example of David who while seeking forgiveness from the Lord also confessed his sin to the prophet Nathan. James tells us to confess our faults one to another, and pray one for another, that we may be healed. Christ told His apostles that "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained" which we see exercised by the apostle Paul  when he writes to the Corinthians "To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ".

How are we to act in response to the forgiveness we receive in Christ? We are told to "walk in newness of life" and to "not serve sin". We are to yeild our "members as instruments of righteousness unto God". We are told "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.". We are to walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh. We are told to give thanks in all things and to pray without ceasing. We are to "have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life." It is only fitting that we should love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. Christ tells us not to judge because we will be judged by how we judge others and that we must forgive others in order to be forgiven.

I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.

The Jesus Prayer Part 14 - Original Sin

Gen 3:23-24
Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

1Cor 15:21-22
For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Part of understanding what it means for us to be sinners is to look at what is meant by Paul when he writes "by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous" and David when he writes in the Psalms "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me".

When God made Adam, Adam was made in God's own image and likeness and God placed him inside the garden of Eden and formed Eve from Adam's rib. It was man's place to be the caretaker over the garden and the animals and to live in communion with God as the source of life. God told Adam to eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and warned him "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die". Being deceived by the lie from the serpent that "then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil", Adam and Eve ate from the tree. They went from looking to God as their source of life and identity to looking to the created things of this world to give them life and to make them like God. Their first reaction was to see themselves as naked and, being ashamed of what they had done, to hide from God. God told Adam "cursed is the ground for thy sake" and "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" as the consequences of his actions and placed Adam and Eve outside of the garden. But hope for the future of mankind was given in what God told the serpent "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel", in reference to the Messiah as it is written "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage".

So now mankind, originally created for life in union with God taking care of God's creation, is seperated from God, subject to death, and looking to the created things of the world for life. This disordered nature that was brought about by the fall was transmitted to the entire human race, as it is written that Adam "begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth" and "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned".

The physical effects of the fall include being subject to corruption and death and having bodily desires disordered. There are lines in the Psalms reflecting this in our bodies such as "I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up" and "My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass". And Paul writes "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members". And not just the human race, but also the creation that mankind was intended to be the head of as Paul writes "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body". We await the undoing of this at the return of Christ when "the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?" and "we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth" accomplished by the power of His own resurrection from the dead. This is why Jesus said "I am the resurrection, and the life" and it is written "So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory", that Christ "shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself", and "Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him". Jesus, as the author and source of life, had to be crucified and raised from the dead in order to restore us to life because we are unable to do it ourselves as the Psalms say "What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave?".

While we await the resurrection of the body, we are given the opportunity in this lifetime to have our spirit renewed in Christ by being baptized into His death and raised up in newness of life, and to repent of our sins and be conformed to Christ. It is in Christ that we are united with God as He Himself said "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" and "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me". It is in baptism that we are born from above after being buried in the likeness of Christ's death. This is why it is written  "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ", "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all", and "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ". It is in baptism that we are received into God's covenant as His people as it is written "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead". But baptism is not the end of Christian life, but the beginning, where we are introduced to having a right relationship with God that must be continued in through daily self examination and repentence, walking in the Spirit, bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and struggling against the lusts of the flesh in order to grow and mature in becoming conformed to Christ. We are to do this in this life because it is written that all "shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" and "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting".

Having been buried with Christ by baptism into His death, that as He was raised from the dead so I could be made to walk in newness of life, may God let me not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of my mind.

The Jesus Prayer Part 13 - Sin as Missing the Mark

Rom 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

In the Jesus prayer, we confess ourselves to be sinners. In this post I am going to discuss the nature of sin as it is defined in Strong's concordance as "properly, to miss the mark".

So what is our mark, or rather "Who" is our mark? Our mark is nothing short of God Himself as the source of our life and very existence. God said in creation "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness" and it says "male and female created he them". This makes God our model for who and what we are intended to be, and this applies to all human beings without exception. It is also written that "in him we live, and move, and have our being" bearing witness to God as the cause of our existence and that not only did He bring us into existence, but sustains our existence, which is "in Him". The farther we stray from being in God's likeness, the more we seperate ourselves form what we are intended to be and lose our life, movement, and our very existence. This is why "the wages of sin is death".

Before the coming of Christ, mankind was given two ways of recognizing our standard for living. First, all mankind is given a law written in their hearts with their conscience bearing witness. There was also the law that was delivered to the Jews by Moses, of which Paul wrote "for by the law is the knowledge of sin". Because  the law was given to help recognize God, and not just a checklist of things to do and not do, as our standard of living, James writes "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.". This is why we are told that we are given the choice to yield ourselves as servents "whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness".

With the coming of Christ, mankind received two things. First, we received the full revelation of the One who is our standard of living. Christ Himself said "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father". Paul calls Christ "the image of God" and says that we recieve "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ". Not only does Christ, who is "the image of the invisible God", show us what we are meant to be as humans, but  being the Word by which God created all that exists, also has the power to restore us to the image in which we were created but had strayed from through sin. This is why we are "to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren". This is why we are to "put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him" in baptism.

Two other words used to describe types of sin are transgression and iniquity. Transgress means "to go contrary to" and implies the violation of a command. Iniquity means "without law". These must be understood within the context of God as the source of our very existence and standard for living, as revealed in the Person of Jesus Christ as the One who gives the law, perfectly fulfills it, and heals the damage caused by sin when we turn to Him for healing.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

The Jeus Prayer Part 12 - Mercy in the Orthodox Tradition

Kontakion From the Akathyst Hymn to Our Sweetest Lord Jesus Christ
To Thee, the Champion Leader and Lord, the Vanquisher of Hades, I, Thy creature and servant, offer a song of praise, for thou hast delivered me from eternal death. But as Thou hast ineffible loving-kindness, from all dangers that can be do Thou deliver me, that I may cry to Thee: Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me.

Having looked at how mercy is defined and expressed within the context of scripture in both the New Testament and the Old Testament, I am going to look at mercy within the context of Orthodox Tradition, primarily within our main worship service, the divine liturgy. My two main resources for this are the service book used in my church, and my personal prayer book. Mercy as it is expressed within Tradition should not be viewed as an addition to or seperate from scripture, but must be understood within the context of how I have discussed mercy in the scriptures in my last two posts.

Before vesting for the liturgy, the priest recites "Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us, for laying aside all excuse, we sinners offer to Thee, as to our Master, this supplication: have mercy on us.", calling on God's mercy to accept and guide the service of the priests as they minister to Christ's flock, and to accept the worship of all the people that will be gathered together. In the Trisagion (thrice holy) prayers, we cry out "Holy God! Holy Mighty! Holy Immortal! Have mercy on us." and ask the Trinity to have mercy on us by cleansing our sins, pardoning our transgressions, and healing our infirmities by God's presence as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the prayer before the first antiphon, God's mercy is described as "immeasurable" while we ask God to "impart the riches of Thy mercy and Thy compassion to us and to those who pray with us". In the prayer of fervent suplication, we ask God to "have mercy on us according to the multitude of Thy mercy. Send down Thy bounties upon us and upon all Thy people who await the rich mercy that comes from Thee.". We finally end with the dismissal of "May He who rose from the dead, Christ our true God, through the prayers of... all the saints: have mercy on us and save us, for He is good and loves mankind.", proclaiming Christ as the source of our mercy and trusting Him to answer the petitions of all that pray to Him with us and on our behalf.

The response to many of the petitions prayed for in the various litanies throughout the liturgy is "Lord, have mercy". This response has a twofold meaning. First, just as the Psalms describe the very act of answering prayer to be a mercy, we acknowledge that is a mercy of God just to be heard by Him and to have our prayers answered. In responding with "Lord, have mercy", the people unite their prayer with the priest or deacon chanting the petition so that the entire congregation may be of "one accord in prayer and supplication". Second, just as the entirety of scripture describes any act of compassion and kindness to be a mercy, we ask that our petitions be answered and acted on as mercies from God. In the various litanies we ask that His mercy be "according to Thy great goodness" and that all answers to our prayers are done "O God, by Thy grace". We also pray "having remembered all the saints" as we are mindful of our angels who behold the face of our Father in heaven, the great "cloud of witnesses" who have finished their race in faith, and all those who are gathered in the Church in this life "called to be saints" in Christ. In the great litany we pray for "the peace from above and for the salvation of our souls", for the welfare of our churches and all those that "enter with faith, reverence, and the fear of God", for our bishops, priests, deacons, and all the people, for our civil authorities entrusted with our care and our military entrusted with our defense, for "seasonable weather" and "abundance of the fruits of the earth", travelers, the sick and suffering, prisoners (whom Christ personally identified Himself with in Matthew 25), and our "deliverance from all affliction, wrath, danger, and necessity". We pray for those departed this life and that their sins are forgiven and they be established among the just. We pray for those about to be sacramentally received into the Church that God may "teach them the word of truth", "reveal to them the gospel of righteousness", and "unite them to His Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church".

Before beginning the prayers for the celebration of Communion, the celebration itself is referred to as "a mercy of peace, a sacrifice of praise". It is a "mercy of peace" because that just as Paul writes that we "shew the Lord's death till he come" as often as we "eat this bread, and drink this cup", and it is through Christ's sacarifice of Himself on the cross that "we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life" in His resurrection. And just as "we being many" are "one body" because "we are partakers of that one bread", we offer ourselves up to God in unity with Christ as a "sacrifice of praise".

There are a number of penitential canons in which we call on Christ to have mercy on us and forgive our sins including the Canon of St Andrew which we chant every year during lent and the Supplicatory Canon to Our Lord Jesus Christ in which we ask Christ to have mercy on us as was shown in the scriptures to the prodigal son, the base harlot, and king Manasses. On cheesefare saturday we sing "take not Thy mercy from us" and that sunday "Have mercy, O Merciful One, on me who have fallen.". But the greatest mercy we chant about in our hymns is the resurrection of Christ. Our hymns of the resurrection in the third, fourth, and seventh tones all say that Christ has granted the world "great mercy" by raising us from the dead by His resurrection from the dead. This is echoed in  ode six of the Paschal Matins where we sing "Jesus, having risen from the grave as He foretold, hath granted us life everlasting and great mercy." and in the troparia for St Thomas Sunday and the Myrrh-Bearing Women. And this is because it is in and through being crucified and raised from the dead with Christ that our repentence brings us life in Him.

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us.

The Jesus Prayer Part 11 - Mercy in the New Testament

Luke 10:36-37
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Having discussed mercy in the Old Testament, I am now going to move forward into the New Testament. A number of people are mentioned in the New Testament as crying out for mercy and for receiving it. The blind men cried out "Thou son of David, have mercy on us" seeking to receive their sight. The woman of Canaan travelled from the coast to ask Jesus to have mercy on her by healing her demon possessed daughter. Jesus was aked by the man in Matthew 17 to have mercy on his son and heal him because he was a lunatick and often fell into fire and water. Mercy was what the ten lepers cried out for and all ten received from Jesus, even though only one would return to give Him thanks. It was a great mercy from the Lord that Elizabeth was able to conceive and bear John  the Baptist beyond the age of child bearing. It was a mercy to Epaphroditus that he should be healed from being sick close to death, and Paul called that a mercy on himself also because of the sorrow that he would have felt over the loss of such a good friend and brother in the Lord. And when Paul did lose his friend Onesiphorus to death, Paul prayed for mercy both to be shown towards the Onesiohorus's household in his abscence and for Onesiphorus himself to find mercy of the Lord "in that day".

But the greatest mercy shown by God in the New Testament is the sending of His own Son and our salvation in Him. Zacharias proclaimed "That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath which he sware to our father Abraham," and "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us," in prophesy of Christ, Whom John was going to prepare the way for. Mary sang that the Lord has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy upon hearing that she would become the mother of the Son of God and Savior. It was in Christ's mission to  heal our fallen humanity that He announced that He desired mercy because He had come to call sinners to repentence. Paul writes to Titus that it wasn't by works of righteousness that we have done but according to His mercy that He saved us "by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost" in reference to our baptism wherein we are united to Christ in His death and resurrection. This doesn't exempt us from doing good works, which Paul writes elsewhere that "we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works", but only that God has saved us from destruction purely out of His love for mankind and not out of some debt that is owed to us. Peter writes that we had obtained mercy by being called from darkness to light and becoming the people of God. Paul writes that he had received mercy because his previous blaspheming was done ignorantly in unbelief and so that "first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting".

In repsonse to the great mercy that we have been shown by God, we are required to show that same mercy to those around us. We are called to be merciful as our Father in heaven is merciful and that "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy". In the parable in Matthew 18, the master tells the ungrateful servant that he should also have had compassion ("mercy" in greek) on his fellowservant as the master had shown to him. Christ also used the parable of the good samaritan as an illustration of how we are to be merciful towards each other, regardless of social status or how we may feel towards each other. James writes that the one who shows no mercy shall be judged with no mercy, but mercy rejoices against judgement. We are told by Paul that when we show mercy that we are to do it with cheerfulness. But once again, the requirement to show mercy doesn't negate or replace our need to seek the lord in regular prayer, fasting, alsmgiving, church attendance, and any other religious observances that we have. When Christ reprimanded the pharisees, it wasn't for their keeping of the law and their observances, but for neglecting "the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" where He says "these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone".

Knowing that we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let me therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that I may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.