Approved for distribution by the Publishing Board of the Russian Orthodox Church PB 13-314-2075 48 pp. Priest Daniel Sysoev. God’s Love and God’s Will. Daniel Sysoev Inc, New Jersey, 2018. ISBN: 978-5-4279-0073-0
God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 Jn. 4:16). Hence, this love is the core of perfection. Love is the source of trust in God: a person who does not trust God has never truly loved Him and cannot do His will, which is able to lead us out of our wandering in the darkness of this world. This booklet describes the paths to divine love, on which a person learns to do God’s will.
Booklet 1 of 12 from a series of talks given by Priest Daniel Sysoev entitled “How to Inherit Eternal Life.”
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© Daniel Sysoev Inc, 2018 © Yulia Sysoeva, 2018
CONTENT
ON DIVINE LOVE God’s Love and Its Gifts ���������������������������������������� 4 The Path to Divine Love ���������������������������������������� 9 Understanding Divine Love ������������������������������ 14
GOD’S WILL Everyone Must Know the Creator’s Will ������������������������������������������������ 32 The Properties of God’s Will �����������������������������33 Why Do We Need God’s Will? ��������������������������33 How is God’s Will Manifested? ������������������������34 Recognizing God’s Will Through Holy Scripture ����������������������������������������������������������������35 How Are We to Learn God’s Will Where Holy Scripture is Silent? ������������������������ 37 Other Ways of Discovering God’s Will ������������40 Practical Advice ��������������������������������������������������42 What is Incompatible with Understanding God’s will? ������������������������43 How to Determine God’s Will in Various Circumstances ����������������������������������43
ON DIVINE LOVE
God’s Love and Its Gifts
Christians frequently lose sight of the goal they
must always seek. They suffer a loss of spiritual perspective, and their spiritual growth is stunted. Saint John of the Ladder notes that we must constantly evaluate the stage of our spiritual growth. The goal we must always seek is set by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who said that all the law and the prophets may be reduced to two commandments: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Mt. 22:37–40). The commandments of love are the goal to which all the other commandments must lead. The Lord says, A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another (Jn. 13:34–35). As the apos4
tle Paul says, For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself (Gal. 5:14). Love for God and neighbor are not compatible with sin of any kind. Love is the very heart of perfection. What is love? The apostle John the Theologian gave this definition of love: God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him (1 Jn. 4:16). Saint John of the Ladder, recounting the 30th step of perfection—the step that leads a man to heaven, i.e., divine love—said that “Love, by reason of its nature, is a resemblance to God,” and “God is love. So he who wishes to define this, tries with bleary eyes to measure the sand in the ocean.” Love is the Lord God in Trinity. Love by reason of its nature is resemblance to God, insofar as people are capable of achieving this. Many think that love is a feeling, but this is not the case. It is a state of the will. If love were a feeling it would not be a commandment. Naturally, love is accompanied by certain feelings, but in essence it is a state of the will. In its activity it is inebriation of the soul, and by its distinctive property it is a fountain of faith, an abyss of patience, a sea of humility. A person’s soul seeks this fountain in which it can quench its thirst 5
Priest Daniel Sysoev
GOD’S LOVE AND GOD’S WILL Translator and Editor in Chief Priest Nathan Williams Layout and design Kyrill Zubchenko Daniel Sysoev Inc was founded as a USA-based subsidiary of the Rev. Daniel Sysoev Missionary Center Benevolent Fund in 2014. The company offers a wide assortment of Orthodox literature in Russian and English, liturgical items, and jewelry. We distribute our products throughout the USA and Canada, on attractive terms and with significant discounts for wholesalers, Orthodox church bookstores, and monasteries. Detailed descriptions of our products may be found at mission-shop.com, with e-book editions of our titles available at danielsysoev.com mission-shop.com danielsysoev.com mission379@gmail.com +1(609)605-70-76