The Son of God has become the Son of Man in order to make us, men, sons of God, raising our race by grace to what He is Himself by nature, granting us birth from above through the grace of the Holy Spirit and leading us straightway to the kingdom of heaven, or rather, granting us the kingdom of heaven within us, in order that we should not merely be fed by the hope of entering it, but entering into full possession thereof should cry: our 'life is hid with Christ in God.'
Baptism does not destroy our self-will and wilfulness, but it frees us from the tyranny of the devil, who can no longer rule over us against our will. After baptism, it begins to lie within our will either of our own accord to obey the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whose name were baptised, or to deviate from the right path, and return again to the devil, our adversary and foe.
- St. Simeon the New Theologian, *Practical and Theological Precepts* par. 120, 121
[I was struck by the similarity in thought in the second paragraph to the Formula's treatment in SD II:67, 68]
3 comments:
when you find a jewel like this, it is proof that instead of creating a new Church, the lutheran reformers were seeking to free the one true holy catholic Church from her babylonian captivity
Obviously the self-understanding of the Reformers is NOT that they were "creating" anything; however, whether that is the self-understanding of their theological heirs is another matter entirely...
exactly...and that is why i appreciate your patristic quotes!
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