The spiritual world, comprised of many spiritual beings of a nature not composed of matter, but endowed with reason, has as its end the eternal, enduring bond and union with the Logos, the angel of the great counsel of God. This union is achieved through the free, deliberate obedience of the angels and of the whole angelic world to the Logos, co-equal with the Father.
The Logos was appointed by the eternal God, the creator of the angels, and is the centre of their activity, thought, will, and feelings. He is the commander-in-chief, to whom the angels rightly owe submission and obedience, by the law of freedom moving and acting freely, being themselves reasonable and free.
Reflect upon the Logos as a sun shining brightly. He sends forth His clear, golden-gleaming rays upon the world of the angels and gives it light to contemplate and know God and itself, and indeed, to know every object that may be known scientifically. Thus enlightened by the supernatural light of the Logos, the world of the angels sees the truth in the Logos, contemplates the eternal qualities of God and of the Logos, and understands God in proportion to the illumination which it derives from the Logos. Hence the world of the angels knows the truth, and through illumination and knowledge of the truth, is joined to and united with the Logos, who is the very truth itself, the icon and representation of the eternal God in the world of the mind and spirit.
While the union of the angels with the Logos is in the sphere of the intellect and of contemplation, it also has as a consequence their effective link and union with the Logos, the co-equal lord. The angels initially reflect upon the Logos and contemplate Him, and then they are attached to Him in a practical way, submitting to and obeying Him. The obedience of the angels to the Logos is the virtue by which they are joined to and united with the Logos, and become servants of the great counsel of God. Of this great counsel, the first, the supreme minister and instrument, is the Logos of God.
The virtue is the fruit and product of free will acting in obedience to orthos logos. If anyone acts in obedience to orthos logos, he becomes virtuous; he obtains virtue. If he acts contrary to it, he becomes evil; he obtains vice. But until one reaches the stage of acting freely in obedience to orthos logos, until he is accustomed to doing good, time is needed – a space of time in proportion to the experience needed and to the accomplishment of so great a task.
When a man has had practice in doing good and has been made perfect in virtue, he becomes virtuous and is not likely to fall into evil, because he makes himself a disciple of orthos logos. He lives and moves and operates in the Logos and through the Logos, united and bound up with Him morally. This dependence, bond, and union of the free will with orthos logos is moral and free, for it is the product of the freedom of the being. The moral bond and union of the free being with orthos logos is the moral perfection of the being. It is the achievement of his destiny and the realization of his moral goal.
There are many stages from simple obedience to the commands of orthos logos, to the achievement of virtue and the formation of the moral character of the will. The whole of this intermediate space demonstrates the law of the gradual developing and perfecting of beings. This is a general law in force everywhere, and is valid even in the spiritual and angelic world. The world of the angels, enlightened by the Logos from the beginning, gazes up to Him, and knows Him as the origin and focus of its activity. It knows Him gradually, because the Logos is not revealed immediately in the entire depth of His nature and being, to the angels.
He does not reveal to the angels the entire nature and will of God in depth. Each angel learns at the beginning what man also learns – about himself, the angels around him, and through the Logos, God. But this knowledge is very small initially, although it is capable of growth.
The final indication that the angels possess knowledge is their cognizance and understanding of the final plan of God. This is what they were called to serve, for they came into being to be its ministers and servants. Therefore, the Logos, in revealing knowledge to the spiritual world according to the law of progress from less perfect to more perfect knowledge, elevates it to the pinnacle of the knowledge and understanding of the final plan of God and of His final command.
When the spiritual world acquires an understanding of the final plan of God through the Logos, it is joined with the Logos harmoniously. It continuously thinks of the final, gracious will of God, and continues ever united in thought with the Logos, co-equal with the Father, who has perfect knowledge of the most perfect, final plan of God.
This in the realm of contemplation is the progress of the spiritual world and its way to perfection, and after it follows the more practical aspect. The contemplation and knowledge of the Logos engender in the angels submission and obedience to Him – the desire to act always according to the will of the Logos and according to the final bidding of God. Obedience to the Logos and the desire to act according to the final bidding of God, spurs them on to the habit of doing the gracious will of God and of practicing virtue which is acquired only through much practice.
When the angels are accustomed to performing the will of God as it is revealed to them, they are bound closely with the Logos and are united with Him. Then they are forever incapable of falling, and live the good and gracious life. This is the practical bond and union of the angels with the Logos. It is an eternal union, never in any way to be broken or disturbed.
Therefore, there are two unions: one in the realm of contemplation from the point of view of the knowledge of the final will of God, and the other along practical lines from the point of view of service to and fulfillment of the final will of God. These two unions of the spiritual world with the Logos, confirm the spiritual world in its obedience to the Logos forever, keep it in virtue and perfect it, and make it resolute for all eternity. It already is understood that the spiritual world is comprised of innumerable spiritual beings who think and will and move in freedom around the Logos of God, and that from the Logos they receive the spirit of intelligence and knowledge, and the power to do good.
The Logos, the angel of the great counsel of God, is the angels’ food and source of strength, for they are intelligent beings, fed and strengthened by Him. Since they are bodiless and do not carry about with them a physical body as we do, they contemplate the will of God in the Logos and through the Logos, without any obstruction, and perform it. Because they have knowledge of the will of God and contemplate the Logos, from the beginning, they are not liable to any fall from grace or to any sin because of ignorance or any other natural weakness. They are free from all of these because they do not carry about with them a physical body and flesh having needs and desires. Being free and moving around the Logos in freedom, they may fall into sin, but only deliberately and with forethought, in full knowledge of the sin, and they may alter their good nature and become evil.
The world of the angels is the minister and servant of the will of God, which the Logos of God declares. That world must obey the Logos of God and carry out His commands; it is the great duty of the world of the angels. Could the angels do this if they did not understand it, if they had not learned it previously? Of course not.
In the angels, knowledge came first and action followed. First they knew the will of the Logos, then they performed it. They came to know it by degrees until their knowledge of it was perfect. Then, in proportion to the knowledge of the divine will which they received, they fulfilled it.
Through the incarnation of the Logos, about which they knew nothing in advance, they came to know the final will of God, which the Logos alone knew and which He alone could establish. Therefore, as the angels are minds capable of understanding the will of God, and are powers strong enough to carry it out, they understand the will of God as it is revealed to them by the Logos, and contribute to its performance and realization.
As intelligent beings, they are capable of understanding everything that is revealed to them by the Logos, so that they may proclaim it in the world. As powers they are capable of fulfilling their duty. As free beings they choose to contemplate the truth and do the will of God, to know the will of God and perform it, and to serve it faithfully.
As we understand the spiritual world prepared by and forever based on the Logos, the true and faithful instrument of God’s commands, we understand the arrangement, the relationships within it, the harmony, and the competence of this world which came into being out of the non-existent and was created for the purpose of fulfilling God’s commands. God, being good and gracious, wished to bring into being a host of reasoning, free beings, among whom there would be one being above all. This being would represent Him and would be His icon. This is the perfect man whose ministers and servants are the angels and the whole spiritual world.
When God created the world of the angels through His Logos, He appointed it the minister of the Logos. He gave it the duty of remaining faithful to the Logos and doing His gracious will. From non-existence He brought it into existence. From ignorance He brought it to the knowledge of the divine will, gradually, up to its perfection and the contemplation and knowledge of the perfect, final will of God. From simple obedience to the Logos, He raised it to its perfection in virtue, to the achievement of perfect obedience and submission to the Logos, and to its moral bond and union with the Logos, which is eternal and unshakable. When examined from both points of view, this progress may be illustrated in the following schematic forms:
Even now the spiritual world continues to be established firmly and founded forever upon the divine Logos, both united with Him and joined to Him, thinking, working, and acting, according to the will of the Logos. who is co-equal with God the Father and commander-in-chief of the angelic hosts. The world of the angels performs the gracious will of God freely, living in immortality and in the life of the Spirit.
The plans and designs of God are effected and fulfilled by the world of the angels, which ministers to establish the success of the great counsel of God. This is revealed through the divine Logos, for He is the angel of the great counsel of God, even Christ Jesus, our only lord and saviour.
And now, all honour, majesty, and worship be
unto the perfect Father, the righteous
Son, and the truthful Spirit, ever
one in three and three in one,
now and ever, unto
ages of ages.
Amen.
Apostolos Makrakis 