Chapter 2: Do You Love the World? The one who is intimate with God has the same attitude towards both body and soul. He treats all persons alike, whether they are his neighbors, his servants, or his legally declared enemies. He does not despise his brother, who, according to the divine law, is of the same father and mother. He helps those in need by giving comfort and encouragement, and by providing the necessities of life. He gives to all who need, but he does so justly, according to what each one deserves.
So the one who is intimate with God grows to the point of knowing to whom he should primarily give, how he should give, when he should give, and how much he should give. The practice of giving liberally, which prevails among us, is properly called righteousness, but the power of discerning who deserves what amount of assistance is a form of the very highest righteousness. He even gives to the one who persecutes and hates Christians if that person has need.
He doesn't care if people think he is helping his persecutor out of fear. He knows that his motive is not fear, but is only to give help. So when we know God intimately, we share our belongings with our enemies. We hate evil even when it's done to our enemies. How much more so, then, are we filled with love for those who belong to us? Who could become the enemy of a man who gives no cause for hatred in any way? Isn't that how it is with God? We see that God treats no one as an enemy, for he is the creator of all.
So we declare that those who are disobedient and who don't live by God's commandments are the ones who treat God as an enemy. They are hostile to his covenant. So the one who is intimate with God can never view or treat anyone as an enemy. Rather, those who follow a different path are the ones who treat the man of God as an enemy. Some people practice control over pleasures in a very crude way.
They're like the pagans, for some pagans abstain from earthly delights simply because they have no way of obtaining them, or because they fear what others will think, or because they want even greater pleasures. Likewise, some believers exercise self-restraint only because of the promise of reward or out of fear of God. Of course, this kind of self-restraint is a start, it's the basis of knowledge, and it's the first step towards something better. It's an effort after perfection.
For it is said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs 1:7. But the perfect man bears all things and endures all things out of love. 1 Corinthians 13:7. He does it not to please man, but God. 1 Thessalonians 2:4. Although praise may follow him as a result, he doesn't do things to receive praise. He does them for the benefit of those who do the praising. He also does them to set an example for others.
To put it another way, the person who merely controls his wrong desires is not truly a moderate man. The true man of moderation is one who has also mastered good attributes. He has acquired the great things that come from intimacy. He produces godly qualities as a fruit of this knowledge. The one who is intimate with God is never dislodged from his way of life, even in an emergency.
The good he possesses through intimate knowledge of God is firm and unchangeable, for he has the knowledge of things both divine and human. This type of knowledge can never turn into ignorance any more than good can turn into evil. The one who is intimate with God eats, drinks, and marries not as ends in themselves, but simply as necessary things. I include marriage in this list only to the extent the word dictates and only as it is suitable.
For having become perfect, the one who is intimate with God has the apostles as examples. One is not really proven to be a man by the choice of a single life. But the one who has been disciplined by marriage, the raising of children, and the care of his household surpasses other men. When he cares for his household without pleasure or pain, he becomes inseparable from God's love. For he's withstood all temptations arising through children, wife, servants, and possessions.
But he that has no family is free of temptation to a large degree. But to the extent possible, we must subject the soul to various disciplines so it will be more open to receive knowledge. For example, wax first has to be softened before it can be imprinted with a stamp. Likewise, copper has to be purified before it can be stamped. Death is the separation of the soul from the body. Likewise, knowledge is a sort of death caused by reason.
It separates the spirit from the desires of the flesh, and it leads the spirit into a life of doing good so that the spirit can say with confidence to God, "I live as you want me to." He who makes it his purpose to please men cannot please God, for the crowd does not choose what is eternally profitable, but what is pleasant. But when we please God, we also win the favor of good people. How can the things concerning meat, drink, and passionate pleasure be compatible with the man of God?
He is suspicious of anything that stimulates fleshly pleasure: a word, a pleasant movement, or a thought. For no one can serve two masters, God and Mammon. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "Mammon refers not simply to money, but to the pleasure money can buy." In reality, it is impossible for the one who truly knows God to serve pleasures that oppose God. There is only one who is free of immoderate desire his whole life. That was the benevolent Lord who became man for us.
Whoever tries to receive the stamp imprinted by him must try to be free of immoderate desires. And this takes practice. The one who has fallen to immoderate desires but thereafter restrains himself is like a widow who becomes a virgin again by celibacy. 1 Timothy 5:9-10. Such is the reward of knowledge, refraining from evil and doing what is good, by which salvation is acquired. These things are rendered to the Savior and the Teacher as he himself has asked. People make a living doing what they have been taught.
In the same way, the one who is intimate with God is saved. He attains life itself by what he knows. But he who does not desire to completely uproot the sinful desires of the soul kills himself. So it seems that ignorance starves the soul and knowledge sustains it. Prayer life. The souls of those who know God are likened by the gospel to the consecrated virgins who wait for the Lord. Matthew 25:1-13. They are virgins in the sense of refraining from what is evil.
They wait out of love for the Lord, and they light their lamps in expectation of the things to come. They are wise souls, saying, "Lord, we have long desired to receive you. We have lived by what you have counseled, disobeying none of your commandments. So we also claim your promises. And we pray for what is beneficial since it is not necessary to ask of you what is most excellent. We shall view everything you bring to us as being good.
This is so even though the trials we face, which you bring on us to train us in steadfastness, may appear evil." When a person knows God intimately, his whole life is prayer and conversation with God. If he is pure from sin, he will certainly obtain what he wishes. God says to the righteous man, "Ask, and I will give to you. Think, and I will do." If what he asks is beneficial, he will receive it at once. If it is harmful, he will never ask for it, so he will not receive it. In this way, it shall be as he wishes.
However, someone may say, "Even some sinners get what they request." My reply is that this rarely takes place because of God's righteousness and goodness. But God answers those people who are capable of doing good to others. So the gift is not given for the sake of the one who asked. Instead, God gives it because he foresees that someone will be saved because of it. So the gift is still given for a righteous purpose. Truly, good things are given to those who are worthy even without their asking.
Whenever a person is righteous by free choice, not from necessity, fear, or hope of reward, this is called the royal road. For truly royal people travel it. Other roads are slippery and steep. For example, look at the most famous of the philosophers who speak so boldly. If the motives of fear and fame were removed, I doubt they would be willing to endure hardships any longer. Working for God. Lust and other sins are called briars and thorns by the Lord. Matthew 13:7.
So the one who is intimate with God labors in the Lord's vineyard. He plants, prunes, and waters. He's the divine gardener of what is planted in faith. Those who have simply abstained from evil deeds think they deserve the wages of ease. But he who has done good deeds out of free choice demands his pay as a good workman. He shall certainly receive double wages. God will reward him both for the good he has done and for the evil he has not done.
The one who is intimate with God is not tempted by anyone except with God's permission. Then it would be for the benefit of those who are with him. God strengthens them for faith, encouraging them by brave endurance. Surely the apostles were brought to trial and martyrdom for the same reason. By their sufferings, they established and confirmed the churches.
The one who is intimate with God hears a voice ringing in his ear, saying, "You should have compassion on the ones I plan to punish." He pleads that such persons will repent, even though they hate him. For the public punishment of criminals along the highways is not even for children to witness. The one who is intimate with God, who has trained himself in righteousness, cannot enjoy or learn from the punishment of his enemies. He is unable to be softened by pleasures, and he never falls into sin.
So he is not corrected by the examples of other men's sufferings. He has shown a noble contempt for the rewards held out in this world. So he receives no enjoyment at all from earthly pleasures and entertainment. Not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord," shall enter into the kingdom of God, but he who does the will of God. Matthew 7:21. This is the laborer who knows God. He has mastered worldly desires while still in the flesh. He regards the unseen future to be more real than the earthly things around him.
This competent workman rejoices in what he knows. Still, he feels cramped because of having to take care of life's necessities. So he uses his life as if it belonged to another. Fasting. The one who is intimate with God understands the real purpose of fasting on Wednesday and Friday. His very life is a fast, a fast from envy and sensuousness. For all sins stem from those. The one who is intimate with God fasts according to the laws of Christ. That is, he abstains from evil deeds and evil thoughts.
As I've said, temptations are brought before him, not for his purification, but for the good of his neighbors. He treats trials of labor and pain with disdain, passing them by. The same is true of pleasure. When someone has been tempted by fleshly pleasures, it is a supreme achievement for him to abstain from pleasure. What great thing is it if a man restrains himself when he is not tempted?
So according to the gospel, a person keeps the Lord's day when he abandons an evil nature and when he takes on the nature of one who is intimate with God. He thereby glorifies the Lord's resurrection in himself. When he understands through knowing God, he feels as though he has seen the Lord. Of course, he still sees the evil things of this world with his literal eyes, even though he would rather not. But he directs his eyes towards invisible things.
He disciplines his eyes when he realizes that he is enjoying the things he sees in this world. 1 John 2:15-17. For he would rather see and hear only those things which concern eternity. When he looks at the souls of his brothers, he also sees the beauty of their flesh. For his soul has become accustomed to look solely upon that which is good, without carnal pleasure. They are truly his brothers because God created them. Furthermore, they have the same character and the same deeds.
They do think and speak the same holy and good works endowed with the feelings that the Lord wishes the elect to be inspired with. A common faith is demonstrated by their choosing the same things. A common knowledge is demonstrated by their learning and thinking the same things. And a common hope is shown by their desiring the same things.