The Wisdom of God

THE SECOND person of the Holy Trinity, God the Son, is the Hypostatic Word of the Father. This dogma gave Father John the inspiration often to express in his writings the power and action of every word, not only God's word but also man's.

"The Word is the Creator and our God; every word of His is truth and action. Such should our word also be, (for we are created in the image of God)." "The Word is the expression of truth, the very truth, the life, and the deed. The Word precedes every creature, everything, as the cause of existence, in the past, present, and future." "How much then must one cherish especially all that which comes forth from the Very Hypostatic Word, the Gospel words, the writings of the Church Fathers, and the prayers." "Christian! Cherish every word, be attentive to every word; be firm in word; be trusting toward every word of God, and the words of saintly persons, the words of life. Remember that the word is the beginning of life." "The word must be revered strongly because in one word there is the omnipresent One, the One that fulfills all, one and undivided Lord.... in one name is He Himself, the Lord..." "Remember that in the very word is contained the possibility of action; only one must have strong faith in the power of the word, in its creative capacity. With the Lord the word and deed are inseparable. So ought it to be with us also, for we are images of the Word, in its creative capacity. With the Lord the word and deed are inseparable. So ought it to be with us also, for we are images of the Word..." "The word is power... And of people it is said: he has an extraordinary power of words. So you see, the word is power, spirit, life." "Every word, every kernel will bring you spiritual benefit. Who from among those who pray has not experienced this? Not in vain did the Savior compare the seed with the word, and the heart of man with the earth." "We must believe that as the shadow follows the body, so action follows the word; as with the Lord, word and action are inseparable; for He speaks and it is; He orders and it is done... The trouble is that we are of little faith, and separate words from deeds, as body from soul, as form from content, as shadow from body."

It is evident that in the majority of thoughts expressed, Father John speaks about prayer, about the power of prayerful words spoken with faith.

Not every word retains its power in action. Father John observes: "The word on the lips of some is spirit and life, and on the lips of others, dead alphabet (for example during prayer or sermon)." Finally, the word can be a negative force. "With the devil, who fell away from God, there remained only the shadow of a thought and word without truth, without the essence of a deed, a lie, a shadow; and as the true word being the image of God the Word, and proceeding from Him, is Life, so a false word from. The devil, being his image, is death; a lie is inevitable death, for, naturally, that brings death to the soul which itself had fallen from life into death."

The Second Person of the Holy Trinity is also called Hypostatic, i.e., Personal Wisdom of God. Why do we believe that the Wisdom of God has a personal attribute? Father John answers: "How could God be without wisdom, and not be personal, how could God not be the Creator, how could He be without His own living self-existent Wisdom? Look at all in this world, how wonderful it all is! Can you imagine how God, having created innumerable reasonable, personal, wise, living creatures, could not Himself generate from within Himself Personal Wisdom? Is this wise? Is this possible? Is this in conformity with the perfection of God? In God there must be the Hypostatic Wisdom, or the Hypostatic Word of the Father, equal as the Life-Giving Spirit, Who proceeds from the Father and rests in the Son."