| 2. Was God Once a Man Like Us? The Bible teaches and orthodox Christians through the ages have believed that God is Spirit (John 4:24; 1 Timothy 6:15,16), He is not a man (Numbers 23:19; Hosea 11:9; Romans 1:22, 23), and has always (eternally) existed as God — all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere present (Psalm 90:2; 139:7-10; Isaiah 40:28; Luke 1:37). By contrast, the Mormon Church teaches that God the Father was once a man like us who progressed to become a God and has a body of flesh and bone (Doctrine and Covenants 130:22; " God himself was once as we are now, and is an exalted man, and sits enthroned in yonder heavens! " from Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 345-347; Gospel Principles, p. 9; Articles of Faith, p. 430; Mormon Doctrine, p. 321). Indeed, the Mormon Church teaches that God himself has a father, and a grandfather, ad infinitum (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 373; Mormon Doctrine, p. 577). 3. Are Jesus and Satan Spirit Brothers? The Bible teaches and orthodox Christians through the ages have believed that Jesus is the unique Son of God; he has always existed as God, and is co-eternal and co-equal with the Father (John 1:1, 14; 10:30; 14:9; Colossians 2:9). While never less than God, at the appointed time He laid aside the glory He shared with the Father (John 17:4, 5; Philippians 2:6-11) and was made flesh for our salvation; His incarnation was accomplished through being conceived supernaturally by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 1:34-35). By contrast, the Mormon Church teaches that Jesus Christ is our elder brother who progressed to godhood, having first been procreated as a spirit child by Heavenly Father and a heavenly mother; He was later conceived physically through intercourse between Heavenly Father and the virgin Mary (D&C 93:21; Journal of Discourses, 1:50-51; Gospel Principles, p. 11-13; Achieving a Celestial Marriage, p. 129; Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, pp. 546-547; 742; Ezra Taft Benson, Come unto Christ, p. 4; Robert L. Millet, The Mormon Faith: Understanding Restored Christianity, p. 31). Mormon doctrine affirms that Jesus, all angels, Lucifer, all demons, and all human beings are originally spirit brothers and sisters (Abraham 3:22-27; Moses 4:1-2; Gospel Principles, pp. 17-18; Mormon Doctrine, p. 192). |
| And so, in his honor, I would like to draw on the words of the Holy Apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy as we give thanks to Almighty God for this meal, for this day, and for our fellowship with one another. O Lord, our God, help us to heed the words of Saint Paul, who exhorts us first of all to make supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence Timothy 2:1-2]. We pray that our civil authorities will remember that God our Savior… desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth Timothy 2:4]. O Lord, our God, we honor the humble example of the bishops, priests and pastors, who have chosen a good work and have offered themselves as examples of blamelessness, temperance, sobermindedness, hospitality and teaching to their flocks Timothy 3:2], calling them to hold fast to the sanctity of life and to be mindful that the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith Timothy 1:5]. O Lord, our God, we rejoice in the large numbers of young men and women who are here with us today, and we encourage them to not despise their youth, but to be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. [May they] give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. [May they] not neglect the gift that is in [them]… may they meditate on these things; giving [themselves] entirely to them, that [their] progress may be evident to all; [knowing that] in doing this [they] will save both [themselves] and those who hear [them] Timothy 4:12-16]. O Lord, our God, may each of us gathered here not be afraid to proclaim the faithful saying, [that is] worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief Timothy 1:15]. May the men among us remember to pray everywhere, without wrath and without doubting Timothy 2:8]. May the women, both those among us today and those who have struggled with, or will struggle with, the decision to keep or terminate the life within them, remember to adorn themselves with good works and to continue in faith, love, holiness and self-control, so that they might be saved through childbearing Timothy 2:15]. |
| The same Prophet Hosea, proclaiming the name of God and addressing the chosen people, says: “for I am God, and not man; the Holy One in the midst of thee” (Hosea 11:9). God defines Himself as such, which means that holiness is one of the most important definitions of God (Cf., Leviticus 11:44–45; 19:2; 20:3, 7, 26; 21:8; 22:2, 32. Jesus of Navi [Joshua] 24:15, 19. 1 Kings Samuel] 2:2, 10; 6:20; 2 Kings Samuel] 22:7; 4 Kings Kings] 19:22. 1 Paralipomena Chronicles] 16:10, 27, 35; 29:16. 2 Paralipomena Chronicles] 6:2; 30. 27. Tobit 3:11; 8:5, 15; 12:12, 15. Judith 9:13; Job 6:10; Psalms 2:6; 3:5; 5:8; 10 14 15 17 19 21 23 26 27 32 42 45 46 47 50 64 67 70 76 77 54; 78 88 97 98 5, 9; 101 102 104 42; 105 110 137 144 21; Proverbs 9:10; Wisdom of Solomon 1:5; 9:8, 10, 17; 10:20. Wisdom of Sirach 4:15; 17:8; 23:9–10; 43:11; 47:9, 12; 48:23. Esaias [Isaiah] 1:4; 5:16, 19, 24; 6:3; 8:13; 10:17, 20; 11:9; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19, 23; 30:11–12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 40:25; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14–15; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 52:19; 54:5; 55:5; 56:7; 57:13, 15; 58:13; 60:9, 14; 63:10–11; 65:11, 25; 66:20. Jeremias [Jeremiah] 23:9; 31:23; 50:29; 51:5. Baruch 2:16; 4:22, 37; 5:5; 20:39–40; 28: 14; 36:20–22; 39:7, 25. Ezekiel 43:7–8; Daniel 3:52–53; 4:5–6, 10, 14–15, 20; 5:11; 9:16, 20, 24. Joel 2:1; 3:17; Amos 2:7. Abidias 1:16. Jonas 2:5, 8; Michaias [Micah] 1:2; Abbacum [Habbakuk] 1:12; 2:20; 3:3; Sophonias [Zephaniah] 3: 11–12; Zacharias [Zechariah] 2:13; 2 Maccabees 8:15; 14:36; 15:32; 3 Maccabees 2:2, 11, 16; 5:8; 6:1–2, 4, 17, 26; 7:8; 2 Esdras 14:22; Matthew 1:18, 20; 3:11; 12:32; 28:19. Mark 1:8, 24, 29; 12:36; 13:11; Luke 1:15, 35, 41, 49, 67, 72; 2:25–26; 3:16, 22; 4: 1, 34; 11:13; 12:10, 12. John 1:33; 7:39; 14:26; 17:11; 20:22; Acts 1:2, 5, 8, 16; 2:4, 33, 38; 3:14; 4:8, 25, 27, 30–31; 5:3, 32; 6:3, 5; 7:51, 55; 8:15, 17–19, 39; 9:17, 31; 10:38, 44–45, 47; 11:15–16, 24; 13:2, 4, 9, 35, 52; 15:8, 28; 16:6; 19:2, 6; 20:23, 28; 21:11; 28:25. 1 Peter 1:12, 15–16; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 2:20; 5:7. Jude 1:20; Romans 5:5; 9:1; 14:17; 15:13, 16; 1 Corinthians 2:13; 3:17; 6:19; 12:3; 2 Corinthians 6:6; 13:13. Ephesians 3:5; 4: 30; 1 Thessalonians 1:5–6; 4:8; 2 Timothy 1:14; Titus 3:5; Hebrews 2:4; 3:7; 6: 4; 9:8, 14; 10: 15; Revelation 3:7; 4:8; 6:10; 15:3–4; 16:5). |
| This assumption clearly lies behind our Lord’s words that those in heaven rejoice over the repentance of a single sinner on earth (Luke 15:7), for how else could they know of the sinner’s repentance unless earth somehow lay open to the gaze of those in heaven? The same assumption also undergirds the image found in Hebrews 12:1, which uses an athletic race to portray the Christian struggle. We on earth are running the race of faith, cheered on by a “great cloud of witnesses” observing us from the heavenly stands. And then there is the Book of Revelation. This text must be used carefully, with a full recognition of its special genre. It does not offer a literal behind-the-scenes peak at what is going on in heaven, like a journalist allowed to wander around backstage behind the curtain. But it does reveal the assumptions held by the Church at the time regarding the state of those in heaven. From this we learn that the angels brought the prayers of those on earth to God (Revelation 8:3-4)—exactly as the Book of Enoch said. Regarding the departed Christians, we learn that they are with Christ and are being comforted by Him for their struggles on earth (Revelation 7:13f). We also learn that they seem to know what is happening on earth: in Revelation 6:9-11 they clamour impatiently for judgment to be poured out on their oppressors, and in Revelation 16:4-7 they exult after the judgment has been poured out. It is clear from this that they know what is happening on earth while they are in heaven. We may conclude from this close reading of the texts of the time that it was part of the Church’s faith in the first century that those in heaven interceded for those on earth. This intimate unity of the saints in heaven with the saints still on earth found increased strength through the Resurrection of Christ, for by His Resurrection He abolished death (2 Timothy 1:10). This not only means that death cannot separate us from Christ; it also means that death can no longer separate Christians from one another. If the living and departed are both united to Christ, they are by virtue of this union also united to one another. Even while on earth all Christians are united in a bond of mutual prayer and intercession (Ephesians 6:18)—how much more will our departed brethren pray for us when they are closer to Christ in heaven? Salvation consists of sharing the glory of Christ, and becoming by grace what He is by nature (Romans 8:29). This means that we not only share His sonship, but also His heavenly glory, being continually transformed from one degree of glory to another (2 Corinthians 3:18). If we share His glory in this life, how much more in the next, when righteous men are made perfect? (Hebrews 12:23) |
| For we too, coming to this spiritual meadow of the mighty works of Ignatius, and beholding not the flowers of spring, but the manifold and varied fruit of the spirit in the soul of this man, are confused and in perplexity, not knowing to which we are first to give our consideration, as each of the things we see draws us away from its neighbours, and entices the eye of the soul to the sight of its own beauty. For see, he presided over the Church among us nobly, and with such carefulness as Christ desires. For that which Christ declared to be the highest standard and rule of the episcopal office, did this man display by his deeds. For having heard Christ saying, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11), with all courage he did lay it down for the sheep. 2. And if you will, let us come first to the praise of his episcopate. Does this seem to be one crown alone? Come, then, let us unfold it in speech, and you will see both two, and three, and more produced from it. For I do not wonder at the man alone that he seemed to be worthy of so great an office, but that he obtained this office from those saints, and that the hands of the blessed apostles touched his sacred head. For not even is this a slight thing to be said in his praise, nor because he won greater grace from above, nor only because they caused more abundant energy of the Spirit to come upon him, but because they bore witness that every virtue possessed by man was in him. Now how this is, I tell you. Paul writing to Titus once on a time— and when I say Paul, I do not speak of him alone, but also of Peter and James and John, and the whole band of them; for as in one lyre, the strings are different strings, but the harmony is one, so also in the band of the apostles the persons are different, but the teaching is one, since the artificer is one, I mean the Holy Spirit, who moves their souls, and Paul showing this said, Whether therefore they, or I, so we preach (1 Cor. 15:11). This man, then, writing to Titus, and showing what kind of man the bishop ought to be, says, For the bishop must be blameless as God's steward; not self-willed, not soon angry, no brawler, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but given to hospitality, a lover of good, sober-minded, just, holy, temperate, holding to the faithful word, which is according to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in the sound doctrine, and to convict the gainsayers (Titus 1:7-9); and to Timothy again, when writing upon this subject, he says somewhat like this: If a man seeks the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. |
| Существуют веские доказательства использования данных пасторских посланий в раннехристианской церкви. Выявлены отдельные параллели между пасторскими посланиями и 1–м Посланием Климента, что подтверждает их использование до 95 г., хотя некоторые ученые оспаривают этот вывод. На два пасторских послания, по–видимому, ссылался Поликарп, а о том, что в последующий период эти послания не только имели хождение, но и пользовались высоким авторитетом, свидетельствуют факты. Тем не менее существует два обстоятельства, на которые часто ссылаются для опровержения ранней канонизации пасторских посланий. Одно из них состоит в том, что Маркион исключил их из своего канона (середина II в.). Поскольку Тертуллиан утверждает, что Маркион «вычеркнул их», резонно предположить, что ему были известны эти послания, но он их не признавал. Как явствует из канона Маркиона, он сформирован весьма избирательно. Другие основывают ход своих рассуждений на том, что пасторские послания не представлены в папирусах Честера Битти. И все же доказательства использования и высокого авторитета этих посланий настолько весомы, что сомнений, основанных на фактах такого рода, явно не достаточно, чтобы опровергнуть убеждение, что уже на раннем этапе христианской истории их бережно хранили и ценили как подлинные послания апостола Павла. Дополнительная литература Stott J. R. W. The Message of I Timothy and Titus, BST (IVP, forthcoming). – – – – – – – – , The Message of 2 Timothy, BST (IVP, 1973). Guthrie D. The Pastoral Epistles, TNTC (IVP/UK/Eerdmans, 1990). Fee G. D./and 2 Timothy and Titus, NIBC (Hendrickson, 1988). Первое послание к Тимофею Содержание 1:1–20 Павел и Тимофей 1:1–2 Приветствие 1:3–11 Евангелие и подделки 1:12–17 Личный опыт Павла в познании Христа 1:18–20 Завещание Тимофею 2:1–15 Богослужение и женщины 2:1–8 Общая молитва 2:9–15 Советы христианкам 3:1–13 Требования к церковным служителям 3:1–7 Условия для епископского служения 3:8–13 Условия для служения дьяконов 3:14–16 Церковь – дом Божий 4:1–16 Надвигающаяся опасность |
| “Our objective salvation is realized only in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, whereas our personal or subjective salvation, which in the language of the New Testament is called “righteousness”, “holiness”, or “salvation” (in the narrow sense), is realized as a continuance of this objective salvation, with our personal energy or activity acting in co-operation with Divine Energy or Grace.” It is the Orthodox teaching of personal (subjective) salvation that we intend to outline in the present work. CHAPTER 1. THE ORTHODOX TEACHING ON PERSONAL SALVATION 1.1 Personal salvation is the restoration of our original communion with God. The Orthodox teaching on personal salvation is based on the teaching on the purpose of God’s creation of man and the damage suffered by human nature as a result of the “original sin.” God created man “in His Image and His likeness” (Genesis 1:26) – that is, God intended man to be god by grace. “The loss of the Kingdom of God was the most severe consequence of the fall. Adam and Eve lost blessedness that they had already tasted in Paradise.” “After his first fall, man himself departed in soul from God and became unreceptive to the grace of God which was opened to him; he ceased to listen to the divine voice addressed to him, and this led to the further deepening of sin in him.” Salvation is the restoration of the wholeness of God’s image in us, of the possibility of our union with God. It is the restoration of our original essence. “Holy Tradition teaches that… we will be saved when we become like Christ… Because of our faith in Him and our desire to become God-like, we are not so much saved all at once as slowly changed into the creatures we were created to be .” 1.2 Everyone is called to salvation. Salvation is not for the “elect”, or “chosen people”. God “will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Furthermore, “in every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with Him” (Acts 10:35). Christ said: “I… will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32). He “died for all , that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again…” (2 Corinthians 5:15). From Christ the Apostles “have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations…” (Romans 1:5). With the Apostles “we trust in the living God, who is the Savior of all men , specially of those that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). |
| The foolishness of greed, our hoarding possessions, is exactly what Jesus addressed in the parable of the man with the plentiful harvest (Luke 12:16-21). This farmer planned to build bigger barns to store his crops and goods, but his life was suddenly taken from him (another example of how “deadly” greed is). Jesus told his disciples, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15; emphasis added). Yet, there is a place for abundance in a Christian’s life: an abundance of spiritual understanding (Matthew 13:12; Philippians 1:9-11); an abundance of spiritual gifts (Matthew 25:29); and, an abundance of grace (Romans 5:15-17; 2 Corinthians 9:8-14), peace (1 Peter 1:2; 2 Peter 1:2), and love (1 Timothy 1:14, Jude 1:2). Jesus can provide us a spiritually abundant life (John 10:10); yet, this abundance from God is usually only available to us in proportion to how much we spurn the abundance the world offers (Matthew 5:3). What Can Be Done? Those of us possessing a worldly abundance need to confess our sin and repent. We would do well to heed Holy Scripture’s warning that the greedy will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:10; Ephesians 5:5). Second, we need to go on a lifestyle diet and shed some material possession weight. A business growing in popularity presently is that of renting storage units. Despite the fact the average house built today is 2-3 times larger than those built 50 years ago, we seemingly do not have enough room in our dwellings for all our things. Even if we don’t have a storage unit, many of us are on a continual quest for “home improvement”—renovating and replacing our functional fixtures and furnishings with more expensive decor. Yet, Solomon warned, “He who makes his own house lofty seeks destruction” (Proverbs 17:18). Third, we should severely limit how often we go shopping. Perhaps the biggest leisure activity today is that of browsing the malls, the internet, mail order catalogs, or TV shopping networks for new things to entice our eyes. This activity is contrary to what St. Paul stated as one of the distinctions of being a Christian: |
| Since this teaching about the eternity of hell is so unambiguous, Paul’s other words (which everyone acknowledges contain more ambiguity) must be interpreted in the light of them. In 1 Corinthians 15:28, for example, Paul teaches that at the end, all will be subject to God, so that He “will be all in all”. In its context, it is doubtful if this means more than simply all of God’s enemies including death (the main subject of the chapter) will be destroyed, and in the new heaven and new earth, righteousness will finally reign (compare 2 Peter 3:13). This is compatible with the lost no longer being found in the new heavens or the new earth, but in the darkness outside, excluded from the Kingdom (compare Matthew 13:41-43, 25:30). In other passages Paul writes that just as Adam’s sin brought death to all men, so Christ’s work brought justification and life to all (Romans 5:18), and that “as in Adam all die so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Here Paul is speaking of the possibility of all men enjoying eternal life, not of the certainty of their eventual salvation. Paul teaches here that in Christ all have been made alive, and their redemption has been purchased—but whether one chooses to be and to remain “in Christ” depends upon their personal choice. According to Paul, life has indeed come to all, but that life is in God’s Son. No one will enjoy this life unless one is in the Son, “in Christ” (to use Paul’s term) and unless one remains in Him “stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel” (Colossians 1:23). Christ is truly the Saviour of all men (1 Timothy 4:10), but for men to be enjoy that salvation, they must believe, otherwise they will be condemned. In perusing the New Testament teaching, John’s gospel in particular, along with his epistles, shines not only with a universal offer of salvation to all the world, but also with this fundamental binary approach—the choice between light or darkness, faith or unbelief, salvation or condemnation. For St. John the key to enjoying this salvation is acceptance of Jesus as Lord and God. John is emphatic that Jesus came to save the whole world, and equally emphatic that a man must believe in Jesus to be saved. Thus “he who has the Son has life”, while “he who has not the Son of God has not life” (1 John 5:12). Universalism destroys this fundamental apostolic binary. A view of history as one of eternal cyclic return—of all the cosmos falling and then eventually returning to saving unity—might have resonated for many in Origen’s day and inspired his own view of apokatastasis , but it is alien and incompatible with the Hebrew and binary approach to life and salvation found in John’s Gospel, and in the rest of the New Testament. |
| Even if we decide that the all-male priesthood is correct, there is no harm in trying to figure out why it is. Someone said that this is like a fill-in-the-blank question: “Because of _____, _____, and _____, the Orthodox Church does not ordain women priests.” We know the conclusion of the sentence, but not what goes into the blanks in the first part. There are some arguments used by conservative Protestants and Catholics, but I actually don’t think they’re very good. When I was going to Episcopal seminary some years ago, and hoping to be ordained myself, I was confronted by these arguments and looked at them seriously, and concluded that they’re just not convincing. (I should say as an aside that I never was ordained. I finished seminary just when women’s ordination was legalized, and my husband and I were unable to find a bishop who would take both of us—in the Episcopal Church, you have to have a job before you can be ordained. So my husband and I decided that he would go ahead and be ordained—we were about to have our first child and things needed to be settled—and I would wait and try again later. As it turned out, after I’d had a few years exposure to what a pastor’s life is like from the inside, I said “I don’t want that job. That is a hard job.”) For example, opponents of women’s ordination often start by citing St. Paul’s requirement that women be submissive and silent in church (I Tim 2:11-15 and I Cor 14:34-35). Yet this can’t mean utter silence, because Paul honors many women in active ministry, like the deaconess Phoebe (Romans 16:1), and he hails Euodia, Synteche (I Cor 4:2-3) and Prisca (Rom 16:3) as synergoi (fellow-workers) in the gospel. Vocal prophetesses span the bible, from Moses’ sister Miriam (Ex 15:20) to the four daughters of St. Philip (Acts 21:9). The prophetess Anna spoke out in the temple, telling everyone about the child Christ (Lk 2:36-38). When read in context, it sounds like St. Paul’s primary concern is that worship be reverent and orderly. It’s not just women; he wants men to shape up, too. In I Timothy, he admonishes men to pray “without anger or quarrelling” and tells women to “be silent,” as if both men and women have been restless, noisy, and disruptive. The problem isn’t women speaking in church, it’s women talking in church Speaking in church would be something different, a way of participating in worship, which we can guess Philip’s daughters did when they functioned as prophets. |
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