The spiritual life is the highest expression of human nature, unifying all our physical and intellectual faculties and capabilities. The body and soul are not separate entities; rather, their union constitutes the entirety of human nature. We believe, hope, and love not with our reason, willpower, or spirit, but with our entire and unified human nature.
This divine essence of love, integrating faith and hope, is a drop of the divine nature. It embodies our original image, giving life to our human nature. It develops and determines our material nature and imbues it with the perfection of its supernatural spiritual capacity. As Paul the Apostle rightly said, we are planted in the material world, destined to rise as spiritual beings. Our mortal nature will attain immortality (1 Corinthians 15:53). Therefore, we must remain steadfast and not be swayed like trees shaking in the wind by the chaos and stupidity that surround us (Isaiah 7:2).
Our human nature is not rooted in the earthly paradise, nor do our origins derive nourishment from the waters of the Euphrates, Tigris, or Nile. Instead, our Heavenly Father grafted us into the vine of His Only Begotten Son through the sacrament of Baptism. The Holy Spirit flows through our veins, transforming us into His temple of eternal salvation.
We enter this sanctuary of our eternal salvation, the New Covenant established by our Lord Jesus, through the main gates of faith (Narek, Prayer 10.2). These gates give us access to the holiness of the arch of our salvation.
In the majesty of this temple, God’s peace blooms as our own flower, and the fruit of our abundant harvest of wheat is consecrated through the power of Jesus’ word. It is offered as an acceptable sacrifice and the Father consumes to His satisfaction the fruit of immortality and rests His favor upon us. (Matthew 3.17)
Saint Paul firmly asserts that only through the Holy Spirit can one utter the declaration, “Jesus is Lord” (1 Corinthians 12.3). We must be vigilant and ready to comprehend the essence of this confession. We must recognize that our faith is not an intellectual endeavor, but rather a declaration, a conversion, and a complete return to the Father. Faith is the act of drawing our entire human nature towards the Heavenly Father, propelling us towards our incorruptible and eternal transformation.
Confession, penance, and conversion are not about asking for forgiveness in our limited understanding of God’s mercy. Instead, they are about being filled with the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ’s inexhaustible mercy. By pushing our roots into the unfailing New Covenant fidelity of our God, we are established in the courtyards of God’s Temple, protected from the scorching heat of evil.
Our Heavenly Father anoints and seals us with His divine seal, bestowing upon us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of His unequivocal saving justification. He unites all—past, present, and future—in the new nature of the Body of Christ (2 Corinthians 1.21–22), His New People.
