I have here a series of note on 1 Peter. I had this ambition to process them into a concise essay, as if a scholar, but this ambition proved to be an error, a mistake, a sin, an impediment to progress in the faith.

The prophets and our fathers before us who presented the Word of God to us through inspiration, did so in the way that they did for a reason; we cannot simply present the Word of God as a packaged product to be consumed and forgotten; it must be studied, absorbed, and lived, poured over, with passion and insight, over and over again, during a period of a lifetime.

So keep studying, keep being a disciple, keep shaping the soul to justice.

Does the human being have a soul? If so, what is it worth? What should we do about it?

What are you doing about the human condition? Salvation of the soul is of supreme importance. Salvation comes through faith in God and in His Word.

Salvation of the soul is of supreme importance. The prophets inquired about it, the angels long to look upon it, we received it through Jesus Christ.

It is your job to know the Λόγος within you. Who is the Λόγος within you? The Son of God is the Word. God sent the Word to help us know the Λόγος within us.

We discover His Word through grace. Suffering and sacrifice are important because they purify and solidify the faith.

Suffering means growing up in the faith; sacrifice means giving up what is inefficient in the process.

Discipline, discernment, sacrifice

First, discipline your own soul. Some men dedicate their whole lives to just that. Some achieve discernment and are able to help others, sacrifice. Know your own soul, help your fellow souls to the extent that you are capable.

Sometimes the role of the good is to willingly sacrifice themselves as examples for those who are ignorant, for those who lack spiritual perception (αγνωσία).

The forgiveness of sin means that, through the grace of God, we can get back on the right path. But doing it seriously requires commitment and hard work, sometimes even to the point of blood. Because it is the suffering that burns the passions white pure, white purity through which the soul glows in glory.

Again, using Christ’s example of suffering (growing up in the faith), bodily suffering, dominate the passions of the body and live by the spirit. In other words, it is worth sacrificing the body for the sake of the soul, for the sake of the spirit.

A huge challenge, then, is to maintain sobriety, in every form, and channel the passions to faith and obedience to God’s Word.

Now, why God created humanity and faced him with this challenge to begin with is a great mystery, though we try to explain by saying that a soul saved is a reflection of His glory and that is simply the way it has to be.

If you do not have faith in the work that you are doing, including your work in the faith, then you will not come into His rest either.

Invest in the energy of faith.

The biggest, most important challenge of all in life is the relationship with Jesus Christ: do you have the will, the courage, and the fortitude to make the big sacrifices, to keep working at the faith?

We cannot restructure our lives, change our minds, without sacrifice, even to the point of blood where human life is concerned.

Dominate yourself and you will not be subject to the laws of men in your soul.

Working against this process is dissipation of the soul through dissolute living, turning away from God and His Word, rejecting His grace.

To the extent that you allow yourself to pursue the works of the flesh, you reject God’s grace and the opportunity to experience His glory.

In other words, it is the nature of the world that we are going to suffer, but you can choose whether you are going to suffer as a wrongdoer, and be glorified or condemned by men and certainly cut yourself off from God, or as a disciplined servant of the laws of God, and be glorified or condemned by men, and have the hope of experiencing the glory of God.

Sometimes doing what is right goes against the social circumstances of the day, and you will suffer for it. But it is better than doing the wrong thing, and God will credit you for it.

We have to have trust in God that doing good is the better deal.

Use energy efficiently or you will die. In a superficial way, this maxim applies to the current moment in the contemporary world in the midst of energy wars, just or unjust as they may be, but an examination of history reveals that this has always been the case, in one way or another, the ability to make iron, for example, and its use.
But much more importantly, this maxim applies to the energy of the soul and its ability to focus on the Word of God. Failure to focus this energy and its dissipation means death, while living up to the challenge, literally, means life.

The word of God is to some a stumbling block, to others it is the capstone on which stands the temple of justice.

In theory, at least, men with social power are supposed to punish the bad and praise the good according to God’s will. Sometimes the whole society is corrupt, or at least is afflicted, with many corrupt elements, and the quality of the rulers reflects that.
Even in the face of these circumstances, we must be like the living stone, for that is the role that God has assigned for us.

The current state of how men govern the world is, ultimately, none of your business, so accept it; it is the way it is for a reason. Do not trouble yourself, then, but use the natural freedom that you have to obey the word of God.

Not only do we have to live by the word of God in all circumstances, we must bear our proportion of the brunt of injustice while doing so, for only God judges justly; we must not follow the example of those who give up and throw their will to the vagaries of this world or uselessly try to uphold their own notion of justice as if they were adolescents, but give ourselves willingly to the just judgment of God and follow the example of Christ.

If it is true, then, that only God judges justly, then our own perception of injustice must be due to an error, a sin, an injustice in our own way of thinking, in our use of soul-power.

As souls, we are temporarily subject to this world, and rulers are sometimes good and sometimes bad, depending on the state of grace of the body social and of the individual rulers. In this context, a good person may experience grief unjustly. But what is it to the soul? A man with insight to God is patient and continues to do good – just like a small plant that grows in the cracks in the asphalt – as is our calling: we have Christ as our example of how to pursue the soul, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, even in the midst of a corrupt body social; in extreme cases, the extreme sacrifice is necessary, but freedom of the soul is worth it in all circumstances.
As for the individual soul, the judgment of men does not matter insofar as they may be products of a corrupt body social, and there may be no reasoning with them, no Λόγος within them; only the judgment of God matters, and let the body social judge itself.

It is a bad investment, then, to think that the world is unjust; it is the way it is for a reason. It is always a good investment, however, to shape your soul to justice.

The crisis of our day in our corner of the world may be more subtle than in the time of the prophets and in the time of Jesus and the Pharisees of Jerusalem, but we must be like Noah, bringing faithful souls across time, purified by water, until the day that we can return to baptism by fire.

Men will judge you according to how you live by the body, God according to how you live by the spirit. Dominate the body, exercise control over the body and the base passions, and you will transcend the laws of men, regardless of the state of the body social, and be free to focus on the will of God.

Realize, then, the temporariness of the things by which men judge you, be wise and sober in prayer. Above all, have extensive love for one another, for love makes up for a multitude of sins. Love, if extensive enough, covers the gap between what is right and what is wrong, while perfection is focus on love of God and love of mankind with all your energy, in the way that God gave it to you, thus being good economists of God’s multifaceted grace, reflecting eternally the proportion of God’s glory within you, to the glory of God.

You are saved through good conduct, not because of some philosophy that you have learned, but because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

Being pure in heart is the key to being pure in soul, for purity of soul allows you to be obedient to the truth to pursue everlasting love.

It begins by being determined, bound up, tight, stable, in the loins of your mind, remaining perfectly sober, maintaining physical and mental discipline. On this basis can we hope to better receive God’s grace.

The living stone: the bedrock, the cornerstone of a worthy life in the Word, studying the Word, maintaining discipline in the Word, while the inside of this bedrock, this foundation, this house framed in rock, is the pureness of the finer fruits of the Holy Spirit such as humility, mercy, goodness, joy, peace, and love.

Studying the Word is a path to purity and growth in salvation: the Lord is kind and merciful.

physical/mental discipline (εγκράτεια)
gentleness, humility, kindness, mercy (πραύτης, χρηστότης)
goodness (αγαθωσύνη)
faith (πίστις)
patience (μακροθυμία)
joy, peace, love (χαρά, ειρήνη, αγάπη)

You grow in salvation through feeling and study and practice of the pure and straight Word. The several negatives – and by now we know what they are – lead us astray, throw off our focus, and lead us to misery. Instead, imbibe yourself in the pure and straight Word, for there is kindness and mercy.

In the same way that we can throw off one bodily vice, one bodily impurity, such as smoking – simply because it makes no sense, it is harmful and impure –, so we need to make the constant effort to throw off all bodily vices, and psychological vices as well. And so even as Saint Paul illustrated on several occasions, like the athlete must train and practice, through drill and exercises, so we too must practice staying focused on the pure and straight Word also through daily exercises.

Exercise your personal freedom under all circumstances. But what does this mean?

Realize, as souls, that this world, in which the body purses its course, is a temporary home, a temporary state in constant flux, tending towards corruption and decay. The soul is of paramount importance. Stay away, then, from the passions of the body, flee from the works of the flesh, which war against the soul . Be a stranger to the world, in this sense, then, but do not be a stranger to souls, rather let your life, your temporary stay here, be an example to other souls, and that also for the glory of God.

You see, this is not about scholarship, this is about salvation.

There is error, deception, and wandering in the soul’s relationship with itself, with the body that hosts it, and with the body social. Jesus, the shepherd of souls, sacrificed His body so that we could have an example of setting right not only those relationships from the point of view of the soul, but also the soul’s relationship with God.

In other words, we are easily swayed in mind and body by the distractions of this world, to the damage of the soul and we lose focus. The example of Christ is the example of spiritual life.

The soul reflects the glory of God when it is put to the fiery test of temptation, for the same reason that Christ was put to the cross, and overcomes it.
The soul is capable of facing any ordeal and coming out of it God-like, no matter what happens to the body.
No matter what the circumstances, we must continue to do good as a sign that we entrust our souls to the faithful Creator.

We assign the highest value to the experience that awaits us at death. This is the meaning of the love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Be humble in obedience to God. Be sober, be vigilant, avoid sin.

The God of all grace calls you into His eternal glory in Jesus Christ.

For as long as you dwell in this earthly vessel, you will never be a sinless person, for to be such would mean to have perfect insight into the mysteries and riches of God, to have perfect command over all the energies of the creation.

But what you can do is to pursue the fruits of the Holy Spirit in all sincerity and at the top level of energy that the state of personhood that you have already achieved actually allows, with the hope that , through persistent, ongoing effort, God - through faith in Him, through love - will forgive your shortcomings and provide you will the energy that you need to bring your faith, and so your personhood, to a higher level and, eventually, the highest level.

In short, the essence of personhood is energetic faith.

Suffering means growing up in the faith; sacrifice means giving up what is inefficient in the process (even the body, for example).

Growing up in the faith is what protects us … and so the soul needs to be exposed to temptation and suffering like the body needs to be exposed to viruses and bacteria to stimulate it to build up the anti-bodies so that it can grow healthy and resistant to disease.

But this analogy only goes so far. The body is inevitably corruptible and corrupted, what is not corruptible is the living hope of our unfading inheritance in heaven, protected by faith, the salvation prepared for us when the time is right.

Therefore, protect your inheritance, suffer as a Christian, grow in the faith, sacrifice what is necessary to grow in the faith.

Our purpose here is salvation of the soul. We are passionate about this and it makes perfect sense. Εγκράτεια, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, is the agent by which we channel our passions, we focus all of our energy on the salvation of the soul.

Εγκράτεια means holding within, self-control; another word for self-control is discipline. Discipline also comes from the word for student, disciple, or learner.

Jesus said (Jn 8:31), if you stay within, hold to, my teaching, my Word (Λόγος), then you are truly my disciple.

We maintain self-control, then, to study the Word, Λόγος, so as to be able to pursue also the other fruits of the Holy Spirit, a chain of interlinked molecules, so to speak, including faith, that together form the eternal life of the soul.

Faith decides the matter; faith is how we feel in our hearts. This is what we must have the discipline to work on, a weak and dark heart to make it strong and full of light, full of faith.

Did you fill your heart with faith? Did you love your neighbor?

This will decide the matter between life and death, and the Word of God makes a difference … He sent His Word and healed them.

The forgiveness of sins, being bent out of shape and losing focus, means that, through the grace of God, we can get back on the right path in our pursuit of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, we can change our minds, restructure the “molecule”. But doing so requires commitment, hard work, and sacrifice.

The Lord, in His infinite wisdom, is not going to let us rest complacently in the faith for too long. We must keep working at the faith, making real sacrifices to make progress in the faith, until we come into the true Faith, the true sacrifice, as the day of Jesus Christ, and so finally into His Eternal Rest, which is really no rest at all, but Eternal creative energy in motion … hovering … woo, woo, woo … still, silent, and strong.

So the Covenant, the Διαθήκη, is like a plateau, a temporary resting place. We must periodically renew the Covenant, make the sacrifice of our temporary rest, and reach a new plateau, a new level of faith, a new Covenant, and so on.

Ultimately, I wish to be buried in a field of faith, thereby rising again in body and spirit, for faith is the fertilizer, the substance of the living life, faith is the agent by which we communicate with God, and εγκράτεια is the agent by which we focus all of our energy on faith.

Therefore, even as Saint Paul illustrated on several occasions (1Cor 9:25), like the athlete must train and practice through drills and exercises, as a student, disciple or learner, so we too must practice staying focused on the pure and strait Word also through daily spiritual exercises, through study of the Word.

(Based on 1 Peter)

Salvation of the soul is of supreme importance (thus salvation history). Salvation comes through faith in God and willing obedience to His Word. We discover His Word through grace.

Working against this process is dissipation of the soul through dissolute living, turning away from God and His Word, rejecting grace.

Thus a huge challenge (trials, temptations) is to maintain sobriety, in every form, and channel the passions to faith and obedience to God’s Word.

Now, why God created humanity and faced him with this challenge to begin with is a great mystery, though we try to explain by saying that a saved soul is a reflection of the glory of God.

(based on the Epistle of James)

God did not create us to willow away and die in sin, but to be fruitful - and not only fruitful -, to be among the first-fruits of His creation.

God gave us the will-power to dominate our own passions and use them in pursuit of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. Whether we are close to God in holiness or removed from God by the barrier of sin depends on our own free will, through Jesus Christ.

The perfect man is capable of controlling his whole body. If a man does not maintain discipline over even the smallest of the earthly passions, innocuous as it may seem, it could not only set aflame the whole body, but consume the soul in the ensuing fire. A man can use his body to bless and to curse, to pursue the works of the Holy Spirit and to pursue the works of the flesh.

Indeed, the spiritual battle unfolds in the willingness and power of the soul to master the relationship between the body and the rest of creation. The loser allows his will-power to be dispersed aimlessly through the uncontrolled members of the body, the winner focuses the energy of his mind and body on the most important pursuit of all: the soul’s relationship with the Holy Spirit.

This is what we should be seeking, what we should be asking for: passion and discipline working together in the pursuit of the relationship with the Holy Spirit.

And that is why the Apostle James writes “obey God”, obey His statutes and the teachings of Jesus, resist the devil and the devil will flee from you, draw near to God and God will draw near to you. Wash your hands, purify your heart, harness the energy of mind and body under the direction of the soul in the pursuit of one goal.

Therefore, if you lack perfection in pursuit of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, ask of the Lord what is lacking. But do so with unshakable faith: we do not achieve perfection in doubt, duplicity, and instability.

In faith, then, listen to the Word, keep the passions in check. Cast aside all impurities and runaway passion in gentleness and humility so as to nurture the Word implanted within you that gives eternal life to your soul: tend the garden, be the worker in the vineyard, dig out the weeds, so that the seed can grow and produce fruit.

Be patient, then, like the farmer waiting for the autumn rain in the planting season - strengthen your heart - and the late rain in the season of the harvest - produce fruit.

Put in another way, the goal is to achieve complete personhood, from genesis to eternal life of the soul. Listening to the word as passive entertainment or studying the word as a self-indulgent intellectual exercise is self-deception. The doer is the true poet: keep the passions in check, listen to the Word, study the Word, and put it into practice. This is the law of freedom in Jesus Christ which allows us to produce the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

(Mt 5:5, Mt 11:25-30, Mt 21:5, Lk 6:35, Ja 1:21, Ja 3:13, 1Pe 2:3, 1Pe 3:16, Ro 11:22, 1Cor 13:4, 2Cor 6:6, 2Cor 10:1, Eph 2:7, Eph 4:2, Eph 4:32, Col 3:12, 1Tim 6:4, 2Tim 2:25, Titus 3:2-4)

Gentleness and humility, kindness and mercy, are attributes of God, among the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the pursuit of and perfection in which make men - created in the image and likeness of God - sons of God and heirs worthy of eternal life.

So put into practice the teachings of Jesus, learn from the Lord kindness and humility of heart; this is the lighter and more merciful load than that of any other teaching and idolatry, and you will learn to be light of soul, kind, humble, gentle, merciful, and again, worthy of eternal life.

The Lord himself is kind and merciful, with the kindness and mercy that are eminences of His life-giving love.

The Lord is kind and merciful even to the ungrateful and evil, for it is God’s gift of grace, by His love through Christ, that saves us in faith. Therefore, love even your enemies, the idolaters, because they may receive the same grace of God and change their minds. For God through His kindness and mercy saves the faithful, regardless of their past, purifying their hearts so that we may be heirs of the hope of eternal life.

Gentleness and humility, kindness and mercy, then, are key to putting aside idolatry, to removing impurity, to focusing on the Word and the teaching of God, even subduing knowledge and wisdom to this purpose.

So remember in your dealings with your fellow men, that you too once pursued the works of the flesh, you too were an idolater. Forgive them as Christ forgave you. Be kind to everyone, treat and educate idolaters and those who miss the mark with all gentleness and humility, so that they too may change their minds and accept that same grace of God that saves you.

One day the fire is going to sweep through and show you what you are made of. How you handle the vagaries of this world is proof of the nature of your soul and its faith.

Let the fire come, let it rage and burn away all that is impure.

James 1:3-4

Patience, deep-rooted stability, is the necessary quality for faith to complete the work of a tested, unwavering soul, standing on its own regardless of the vagaries of creation, as God commands.

2Pe 3:1-18

Doubters and atheists and revelers want proof of God’s presence and significance, and yet they take no lesson in the miracles, the prophets, and the calamities of history.

We alone as human beings, as we are, as we shape our own will on our own, cannot bring justice to our lives, individually or collectively. However, we can try, we have the teachings and commands of the fathers, the prophets, and Christ, the messengers and Son of God on earth, and we have the promise of the new heaven and the new earth. And we have a role to play in preparing the way towards the new heaven and the new earth because our behavior and the shape of our will contribute, in one way or another, to the shape of the new heaven and the new earth. It is in this attempt, based on faith, that we can go as far as possible in bringing justice to our lives.

The creation unfolds and God has His reasons. In the midst of it all, His will for souls, endowed with their own free will, is that they remain at peace and virtuous, reflecting His glory. He understands how souls, endowed with their own free will, may interact with the vagaries of creation, but He has patience - a watch in the night, a day, a thousand years or ten thousand years - that souls may deeply root themselves in peace, justice, virtue and love, and one of the things that He asks of us is patience in achieving these very goals, in achieving a harmony of wills, so that we may be as shining stars, a positive element, as co-workers of God, as the creation unfolds, as, through water and fire, the new heaven and the new earth are firmly put into place, as God sees fit.