THE INCARNATE GOD AND LOVE TO THE LORD AND OUR BROTHERS This chapter is based on the subject of love: 1.The love of Christ to us:v. 1, 2 2.Our love to Him by keeping His commandments, which concentrates on brotherly lovev. 3-11. 3.Our love to God: Our capabilities as loving childrenv. 12-14 Rejecting the love of the worldv.15-17 18-23 4.Those who love God and their adoption to Him: They wait for His Second Comingv.28 essv.29 1. THE LOVE OF CHRIST TO US “My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” (v. 1, 2) St. John begins by saying, “My little children.” He talks as a loving father and reveals to his children the incentive of writing this epistle so that they may not sin, that is, to live a holy life, appropriate being a child, and to abided in the light. In other words, we should not commit sin but abide in the light persevering in every good deed. But who cannot stumble in this world? Therefore, he adds, “If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father” This Advocate is like a lawyer who defends us to make us innocent in the case. Who is that Advocate? A. Paraclete or Advocate: Let us consider whether the title “advocate”or “paraclete” means one thing when applied to the Savior and means another when applied to the Holy Spirit. In regard to the Savior, “paraclete” seems to mean intercessor, but in Greek it bears both meanings, comforter and intercessor, but according to the phrase which follows, in which it is said that he is the propitiation for our sins, it seems that it must mean intercessor, because he intercedes with the Father for our sins. When used of the Holy Spirit, however, the word “paraclete” ought to be understood as comforter, because he provides comfort for the souls to whom he opens and reveals a awareness of spiritual knowledge. Origen If you should have a case to be tried before a judge and should procure an advocate, you would be accepted by the lawyer and he would plead your case to the best of his ability. If, before he has finished his plea, you should hear that he is to be the judge, you would rejoice, because he could be your judge, who shortly before was your lawyer. He is the intercessor, so let us not sin. However, if you sin, be sorry and curse it. Then you can come in the presence of the Judge, trusting that He is your intercessor, and by your confession, you are not afraid to lose the case. Often, someone lets an eloquent advocate to defend him, and here you have the Word Himself defending you, so you will not perish. St. John, who is righteous and who drank the divine mysteries from the chest of the Lord and wrote about His divinity, did not write, “your Advocate,” but we have “an Advocate.” He did not say “I am your intercessor, nor “Christ is your intercessor” but “we have an Advocate.” He chose to be counted with the sinners so Christ may be His Advocate. But one may wander: Don’t the saints ask for us? Don’t the bishops pray for the people? Yes, let us meditate on the Holy Scriptures to find out that even the leaders of the church ask the people to pray for them. In the same manner, St. John is asking the church, “Meanwhile praying also for us.” (Col. 4:3). St. Paul is praying for the people and the people are praying for the apostles. My brethren, we are praying for you, do you pray for us? Let each member pray for the other, and Christ the Head intercede for everyone. St. Augustine “And if any man sins,” he says, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ.” For so the Lord is an advocate with the Father for us. So also is there, an advocate, whom, after His assumption, He vouchsafed to send. For these primitive and first-created virtues are unchangeable as to substance, and along with subordinate angels and archangels, whose names they share, effect divine operations. Thus also Moses names the virtue of the angel Michael, by an angel near to himself and of lowest grade. The like also we find in the holy prophets; but to Moses an angel appeared near and at hand. Moses heard him and spoke to him manifestly, face to face. For the other prophets, through the agency of angels, an impression was made, as of beings, hearing, and seeing. On this account also, they alone heard, and they alone saw; as also is seen in the case of Samuel. Elisaeus also alone heard the voice by which he was called. If the voice had been open and common, it would have been heard by all. In this instance it was heard by him alone in whom the impression made by the angel worked. St. Clement of Alexandria B. With the Father: This Advocate, the Word of the Father and His Son are one in essence who never separate. Whenever we ask anything from Him, our souls are confident because He defends us in continuous intercession. “He always lives to make intercession for them.” (Heb. 7:25) C. Jesus: that is the Savior, the lover of sinners to sanctify them and justify them. D. Christ: that is anointed for our salvation. This is His desire is that all are saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Whoever feels the burden of his sins and longs to be cleansed, finds an Advocate who continuously intercedes. The moment we feel that we are righteous and do not need to be cleansed, we do not benefit from the salvation which He offered us. E. The Righteous: He suffered once for sinners, the Righteous for the sinners. (1 Pet. 3:18) If He were not righteous, how can He defend us? He carried our burdens and paid our debts. St. Ephram the Syrian says, “Glory to the Rich who paid for us what He did not borrow, and He became a debtor by carrying our burden and broke the bonds of the one who enslaved us.” F. Propitiation: our Lawyer is righteous and He does not want to acquit us unjustly. He does not defend us in heaven without any justice, but He has paid the price for our debt. St. Ephram the Syrian says, “The heart of the Father has sent Him to us, so He has not taken our sins to the divine majesty, but through His goodness, He has offered Himself to Him a propitiation for us.” He is a just Lawyer who has paid the price, without partiality… “not for our sins only but also for the whole world.” He is “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:20) Whoever comes to Him, He does not cast away. We have an advocate, Jesus Christ, not indeed someone who prostrates himself before the Father on our behalf- such an idea is slavish and unworthy of the Spirit! It would not be worthy of the Father to require this, as also for the Son to submit to it, nor is it right to think such things of God. But by what He suffered as Man, He as the Word and counselor persuades the meaning of His advocacy. St. Gregory of Nazianzus I will not glory because I have been redeemed. I will not glory because I am free of sins but because sins we have been forgiven. I will not glory because I am profitable or because anyone is profitable to me but because Christ is an advocate on my behalf before the Father, because the blood of Christ has been poured out on my behalf. St. Ambrose of Milan When John says that Christ died for the sins of the “whole world,” what he means is that he died for the whole church . Hilary of Arles 2. OUR LOVE TO GOD BY KEEPING HIS COMMANDMENTS “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him’, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” (v. 3, 4) Whoever loves, loves to keep the commandment of his beloved, submit to him and wants to fulfill his wishes. “If you love Me keep My commandments.” (John 14:15) However, whoever thinks that the commandment is hard or severe, it is due to the heart who is incapable to love and to know God. Knowing and experiencing God where one realizes the power of God and the effect of the Holy Spirit, makes you love to keep the commandments. One struggles and perseveres, and still feels that he is deficient, because of his wide heart and knowing the truth. “And by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” For the Gnostic he who knows also does the Works which pertains to the province of virtue. But he who performs the works is not necessarily also a Gnostic. For a man may be a doer of right works, and yet does not know of the mysteries of science. Finally, knowing that some works are performed from fear of punishment, and some on account of the promise of reward, he shows the perfection of the man gifted with knowledge, who fulfills his works by love. St. Clement of Alexandria Often in the Scriptures the word “know” means not just being aware of something but having personal experience of it. Jesus did not know sin, not because he never committed it himself. For although he is like us in every other way, he never sinned. (Heb.4: 15) Given this meaning of the word “know,” it is clear that anyone who says that he knows God must also keep his commandments, for the two things go together. St. Didymus The Blind Those who are perishing do not know God, and God will deny that he has even known them, as he Himself said: “Depart from me, for I have never known you .” Hilary of Arles “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.” (v. 5) When one keeps the commandment, he finds it as one commandment or “His word,” for all the commandments are related with one thought and revolves around the Person of the Lord Jesus. When one tastes the sweetness of the commandment, he tastes the sweetness of God’s love in a perfect way. “The Love of God is perfected in him.” He sees the commandments not as strictly order, not to do that, but he looks at them as love from God toward man, for He presents to us His word so we may have fellowship with Him and see Him inside us. God hides in His commandments; whoever seeks Him finds Him in them. Do not say that I have kept the commandments and did not find the Lord, for whoever truly seeks Him finds peace. St. Mark the Recluse The Lord Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:21) The Lord wants us to keep His commandments to discover Him and accept Him as a Bridegroom to us. When we are His bride, we have to follow His example, for, The person who really loves God keeps his commandments, and by so doing realizes that he knows the love of God. Our obedience results in His love . St. Didymus The Blind Love sustains all those who try to put God’s commandments into practice . Hilary of Arles “But whoso keeps His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him,” by faith and love. St. Clement of Alexandria “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” (v. 6) What road did the Lord Jesus walk through? It is the road of the cross. Thus, His bride should walk in the road of the cross, the narrow road of practical love which sacrifices, the road leading to crucify the ego, all the lusts and the cares of the world, so that the heart may cleave to the Lord only. Thus, St. John talks about the subject of the Epistle, which is “love.” Then he adds, “Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word, which you heard from the beginning. Again a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you.” (v. 7, 8) The commandment of love is not new, for it is old, for man knew it by nature. Thus when Cain killed Abel, right away he realized his sin. It is also new from the way which man understands it, “which thing is true in Him,” for on the cross, we knew that love is not mere emotions or complimentary words, but sacrificial love for the salvation of men. John is talking here about love. The commandment was not new, because long before that time the prophets had proclaimed it. St. Cyril of AlexandriaIt is also new from its capability, for love became not hard, “Because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” (v. 8) Through the cross, we are able to crucify the “ego,” so Christ may live in us. Selfishness and the ego disappear, so the divine love may dwell in us. As St. Paul said, “You have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man...”(Col. 3:9, 10) “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.” (Eph. 5:8) “I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, which you had from the beginning,” - through the Law, that is, and the prophets; where it is said, God is one. Accordingly, also, he infers, “For the old commandment is the word which you have heard.” “This is the commandment; for the darkness” of perversion, that is, “has passed away, and, lo, the true light has already shone,” - that is, through “faith”, through knowledge, through the Covenant working in men, through prepared judgments. St. Clement of Alexandria The commandment is true in him because he loved us so much that he died for us, and it will be true in us also if we love one another. Hilary of Arles This is the essence of Christianity: “He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.” (v. 9) For we are called to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus, the true love, so how can we hate, then? “He that says he is in the light,” -in the light, he means in the truth, “ and hates,” he says, “his brother.” By his brother, he means not only his neighbor, but also the Lord. For unbelievers hate Him and do not keep His commandments. St. Clement of Alexandria “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.” (v. 10) Whoever wants to abide by the Lord Jesus in the light, does not stumble, not in Christ or in the church. Who are those who stumble? They are those who are hit by Christ or by the church. Those who have been struck by Christ are like those who are burned by the sun, and those who are struck by the church are like those who are burned by the moon. It is written in the Psalms, “The sun shall not strike you by day nor the moon by night.” (Ps. 121:6) If you abide in love, you will never stumble not in Christ or in the church, and you will never forsake Christ or the church. How can one leave the church and remain in Christ, for the church is the body of Christ? The strike mentioned in the psalm means stumbling block. Those who cannot stand some issues in the church forsake the church and withdraw themselves in the name of Christ and the church. What a shame! Look how they were described with shame, those whom the Lord Jesus taught about His body. “Most assuredly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” (John 6:53) Many said that this is a hard saying and many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. They were struck by the Sun and went back unable to endure the power of the word. Those who are struck by the church and are like the moon are those who cause schism in the church by heresies. If you would love your brothers, you would have no stumbling blocks in you! St. Augustine “But he who 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.” (v. 11) Whoever forsakes the road of love stumbles with the Lord, the Stone that was cut without hands (Dan. 2:34,35), hence one does not ask for forgiveness of sins from the Lord nor accept the commandments nor believe in His promises. One also stumbles in the church, so one does not accept it and cannot tolerate worshiping in it, for darkness has blinded one’s eyes. Whoever does evil and hates his brother has extinguished the lamp of love, and therefore he walks in darkness. Origen If a man hates his brother, he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going. In his ignorance he goes down to hell, and in his blindness he is thrown headlong into punishment, because he withdraws from the light of Christ. Caesarius of Arles 3. OUR LOVE TO GOD A. Our capabilities as believers who love God: “I write to you little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.” (v. 12) Through baptism, we are called children of God and we are granted the forgiveness of sins for His name’s sake, for we were not baptized in Paul’s name nor in Peter’s name nor in any other name except the Holy Trinity. St. Augustine He then indicates the stages of advancement and progress of souls that are still located in the flesh; and calls those whose sins have been forgiven, for the. Lord’s name’s sake, “little children,” for many believe on account of the name only. He styles “fathers” the perfect, “who have known what was from the beginning,” and received with understanding, -the Son, that is, of whom he said above, “that which was from the beginning.” “I write,” says he, “to you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.” Young man strong in despising pleasures. “The wicked one” points out the eminence of the devil. “The children,” moreover, know the Father; having fled from idols and gathered together to the one God. St. Clement of Alexandria Love calls her children to remind them that they are all baptized and their sins are forgiven for the sake of the name of Christ. “I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” (v. 13) The fathers, the priests, have the gift of fatherhood, for they know the Eternal Father who has the true fatherhood toward all humanity, however, they get their fatherhood from Him. “I write to you young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.” (v. 13) He wrote to the children about the fatherhood, which forgives all our sins. He wrote to the fathers about the fatherhood of the Heavenly Father, which they had from the beginning. He wrote to the youth who were granted the power of victory, for the devil fights us but he cannot overcome us, because we are strong in Christ Jesus, “For though he was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God.” (2 Cor. 13:4) St. John confirms what he had previously said, “I write to you little children, because you have known the Father. I have written to you fathers because you have known Him who is from the beginning.” (v. 13, 14) St. Paul is warning us lest we forget the One who is from the beginning, then we’ll lose the spiritual fatherhood. He is assuring the youth that they have to struggle until they become victorious and are crowned. They should be filled with the hope in their strife, so he tells them: By “father” John means those perfect people who understood everything from the very beginning and readily perceived that the Son had always existed. St. Clement of Alexandria “I have written to you young men because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the wicked one..” (v.14) His commandment to the children is that they have known the Father, and to the fathers that they have know Him who is from the beginning. He is commanding them to have knowledge, but not the knowledge that puffs us, but the one full of love which enlightens. (1 Cor. 8:10) Whoever has knowledge without love is like the devils that knows the Son of God and believes in Him (Matt. 8:9), but the Lord has rebuked him. The required knowledge is the one full of the love of God, which is against the love of the world. When our hearts are empty from the love of the world then they will be filled with the divine love. God will enter our hearts as a farmer in a field who pulls out the weeds and prunes it to prepare it to plant in it the tree of “love,” but the weeds, which will be pulled out, are the love of the world. The young men are models of courage, the elders are models of understanding, and the sons and daughters are a model of what it means to be children in Christ. St. Cyril of Alexandria B. Our rejection to the love of the world “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him.” (v. 15) Through baptism, we receive the new birth; therefore, we should not love the world lest the holies that are in us be converted to a curse instead of becoming for power and salvation. How can love be established in a heart full of the love of the world? We have to pull out the weeds and plant the heavenly seeds and do not let the thorns choke the good plant. Since the nature of friendship with God is such that if anyone loves this world he is an enemy of God, it follows that if someone wants to be a friend of God and dwell in God’s love, he must turn away from love of the world and the things which are in the world . St. Didymus The Blind A wise father warns his children not to love things, which quickly vanish away. This wisdom is the crowning glory of the supreme Maker of all things, and it is well-suited to everyone who is righteous . Hilary of Arles “For the world,” he says, “is in the wicked one.” Is not the world, and all that is in the world, called God’s creation and very good? Yes. But, St. Clement of Alexandria “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.” (v. 16, 17) The world drifts us away from God, but our Lord Jesus Christ is like a planted tree by the rivers of water (Ps. 1:3). He was incarnate, died and rose up to heaven, thus by His own will, He planted Himself by the rivers of water, so when the waves of this world drift us away, we hurry and hold on to Him. When the temporal matters sway us away from His love, we run back to Him and abide in Him, who took our flesh to make us eternal. Although He took what is temporal, yet he remains eternal. This love of the world, which contains in itself the universal lust of the world, is the general kind of fornication by which one sins against one’s own body, in that the human mind is unceasingly enslaved to all bodily and visible desires and pleasures, left marooned and abandoned by the very Creator of all things. St. Augustine The lust of the flesh is what pertains to our physical appetites, whereas the lust of the eye and the pride of life are what pertain to the vices of the soul, such as inordinate self-love, which does not come from the Father but from the devil . Hilary of Arles “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the ambition of the world,” which arise from the perversion of life, “are not of the Father, but of the world,” and of you. St. Clement of Alexandria But how do we not love the things in the world? My brothers, if a bridegroom offers his bride a ring, will she love the ring more than him? Is she going to love the ring and say that she does not want to see the face of the groom? Likewise, he who loves the creation and not her Creator; this love is considered adultery. The devil has tempted the Lord Jesus in these three matters: 1. The lust of the flesh: he told Him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (Matt. 4:3) The devil told him this after the Lord Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights and was extremely hungry. 2. The lust of the eyes: like desiring to perform miracles to receive a human honor. The devil told the Lord Jesus, “Throw your self down. For it is written, ‘He shall give His angels charge concerning you,’ and ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.” However, the Lord Jesus never performed miracles to show off but for love and compassion. 3. The pride of life: When the devil took the Lord Jesus to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory, and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if you will fall down and worship me.” He wanted to tempt the King of the whole world by the glories of this vain world. C. REJECTION OF HERESIES “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.” (v. 18) “It is the last hour.” These are the last moments for the battle between God and the devil. God extends His help to His children to give them victory over the devil, seeing that his days are coming to the end, stirs his spirit in the antichrist to defile the faith and life of God’s children. God’s children love their father and consider the temporal life trifle. Seeing that their sojourn, no matter how long it is, yet one day it will end in Paradise, in eternity. St. John is encouraging his children not to be afraid of the attackers. These things are not said of all who teach false doctrine but only of those who join a false sect after they have heard the truth, it is because they were once Christians that they are now called antichrists. St. Didymus The Blind Let us recall how long ago it was that John said that it is the last hour. If we had been alive then and heard this, how could we have believed that so many years would pass after it, and would not rather have hoped that the Lord would come while John was still present in the body? St. Augustine Why is the lamb offered up in the evening and not during the day? The reason is plain enough, for our Lord and Savior suffered his passion at the close of the ages, which is why John called it the last hour. St. Jerome “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.” (v.19) Many of them have received the sacrament of baptism and used to participate of the holy sacraments, the fellowship of the holy of holies, but they were not of us. However, those who went out from us but came back repenting, are not against Christ for they could not live without Him. Those who are against Christ are those who insisted to leave Him, to manifest that none of them were of us. They were not of us, but they did not appear like that. This verse makes it plain that all who are known to have withdrawn from the love and the unity of the universal church are adversaries of the Lord and the antichrists. St. Cyprian “They went out from us; but they were not of us” neither the apostate angels, nor men falling away; “ but that they may be manifested that they are not of us.” With sufficient clearness he distinguishes the class of the elect and that of the lost, and that which remaining in faith “has an unction from the Holy One,” which comes through faith. He that abides not in faith. St. Clement of Alexandria “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.” (v. 20) This anointing is the Holy Spirit who is in us. He reveals the mysteries of God in the heart, teaches us, makes us taste the sweetness of His fellowship, and opens our minds so we may learn everything. 19 All have been anointed, not only the prophets and the holy men who lived in their days but also and especially all those who later believed in the great and only true anointed one, Christ, our God and Savior, along with those who continue to believe in him. For in the divine washing of regeneration and baptism when we are symbolically anointed with myrrh, we receive His inheritance by the Holy Spirit and his rich gifts, by which we know that we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. St. Severus of Antioch “I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.” (v. 21) We do not need new teachings but we need the work of the Holy Spirit who reminds us of the truth and grants us discernment to reject all foreign teachings. It is not true that sometimes we ought to lie. What is not true we should never try to persuade anyone to believe. St. Augustine You all know the truth because you received it in the rule of faith, which you professed at your baptism. Hilary of Arles “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (v. 22, 23) The liar is the one who rejects the truth denying that Jesus is the Christ, that is, rejecting the Lord as his Savior, denying His incarnation and rejecting the work of Christ in his life, so he goes astray in spite of him being called a Christian. Those confess that they know God, but by their works reject Him. (Tit. 1:16) Whoever rejects Christ does not enjoy the Father nor the Son for “Nor does any one know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Matt. 11:27) “He who denies the Son,” by ignoring Him, “has not the Father, nor does he know Him.” But he who knows the Son and the Father, knows according to knowledge, and when the Lord shall be manifested at His second advent, he shall have confidence and not be confounded. Which confusion is heavy punishment? St. Clement of Alexandria D. OUR ABIDING IN GOD “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us, eternal life.” (v. 24, 25) We should abide in what we have heard from the beginning and what we have received from the previous generations. By abiding in the Orthodox Faith and life in Him, we abide in the Son and in the Father, looking for the promise which we desire which is “eternal life.” “These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.” (v. 26) The purpose of his writing is to direct the attention of the believers so that the heretics may not deceive them by their tricky methods. “But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (v. 27) The believers have the anointing of the Holy Spirit steadfast in them, and they do not need any foreign teachings, which have reached up to approximately to 600 denominations. We should stick to what the Holy Spirit has delivered to us, the spirit of truth, which has no deception, which “is true and is not a lie,” so all teachers serve the One Teacher who is Christ. (Matt. 23:10) Let us abide in that teaching, “as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” 4. THE LOVERS OF GOD AND THEIR ADOPTION TO HIM “And now little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” (v. 28, 29) When God’s lovers abide in His words by the anointment that is steadfast in them, then: A.They have hope and desire for His coming, as a bride waits for her bridegroom, to live in His bosom, seeing Him face to face in the eternity. B.Knowing that He is righteous, the children do not accept to be like their father, so they struggle, being stubborn for righteous works, by the power of the anointment in them. When the Lord appears at His second advent, the one who knows the Son and the Father according to the knowledge will have confidence and will not be confounded, for confusion is a great punishment. St. Clement of Alexandria
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