We drew our attention to this fragment of the Gospel Icon (John 3) because it contains the beginnings of the teaching about the Holy Spirit. And we said that Christians are Spirit-bearers, anointed by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, we must have an idea of the fruits by which we can recognize the boundaries of the Church in this world. The Lord proclaims the action of the Holy Spirit in people: “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.” For every person (especially the catechumen), who is to be born from above, it becomes necessary (as once for the teacher of Israel) to be able to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit within themselves. Let us say something about what these words of the Lord about the Holy Spirit might mean.
The main part of this figurative formula is the middle part: “you hear its sound.” The first and third indicate the properties of the Spirit acting in a person. “You hear its sound.” A person hears within themselves a voice as if not their own, although it sounds like their own (it may not sound, but be like a thought). And the spiritual person absolutely clearly distinguishes in this voice, in this thought, not their own desire, not their own thought, but the Lord’s address to themselves. St. Basil the Great speaks of this voice thus: “The saints do not hear the word of God with the physical ear, not by the shaking of the air, but since the rational soul has its own (that is, inner) hearing, without any voice (without the shaking of the air), it reaches the hearing all that is transmitted by God.” Sometimes this word is perceived not as a word, thought, but as a special feeling… The more spiritual (humble) a person is, the more immovable, clearer, more specific the voice of the Holy Spirit sounds in them: commandments, instructions, advice, requests of Christ fill our life, although all this in the context of free will – as if friendly help in difficult circumstances – without any compulsion. And the voice of God does not sound in one who is in a state of not fulfilling the word of Christ (the will of God), who came with love.
There is an evil, foreign voice. Usually, it tries to merge with human desires and not reveal its presence in our passionate, sinful life. It can also speak… We will talk about demonic thoughts and spiritual warfare (and the laws of spiritual life) in the following parts, but now we have only briefly reminded of them for the completeness of the picture (the Holy Fathers describe this in detail in their works – read eucharistically-parochially, that is, together with the parishioners of the Eucharistic community, of which you are an organic member).
“The wind blows where it wishes.” This indication of the property of the Spirit acting in a person testifies that there is nothing legalistic for Him, nothing limiting, no spatial-temporal constraints – this is absolute freedom in relation to everything existing. In previous parts, we talked about the significance of the name of God, with which the Lord revealed Himself to Moses on Sinai, – YHWH (“Ehyeh asher Ehyeh,” where the verb “hayah” means to be present), which means: I am present as I am present; I will be present as I will be present – this is absolute presence and absolute freedom in relation to everything. How, when, why, where: as He wishes, where He wishes, when He wishes, why He wishes, to whom He wishes (the Holy Spirit is not bound by any rites, canons, sacred orders: the Sacrament (the gift of the Grace of the Holy Spirit) does not depend on the rite of the sacrament, that is, the rite of the sacrament (baptism, marriage, Eucharist…) can be performed flawlessly, but the Sacrament (communion of Grace) did not happen! People baptize
you, and if you are hypocritical (approaching the Sacrament formally, without repentance), then the Holy Spirit will not baptize – see Parts I and II).
“You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from and where it goes…” – this is a description of our inner state when we hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. To avoid hindering our free will, the voice of the Holy Spirit, which conveys to us the will of the Lord, only momentarily captures our attention: suddenly it sounds (comes as if from nowhere, St. John Chrysostom in his commentary compares its coming to the breath of the wind) and disappears; it passes through our heart, consciousness, without merging with them. Completely separate from our thoughts, it does not depend on our mood (although it always takes it into account – see about God’s providence in Parts I and II). We do not know either the cause or the consequences of His address to us (if He does not wish to reveal them). Thus, the voice of the Holy Spirit does not absorb our will, does not force our free attitude towards Him – appearing, immediately after appearing, leaves us in absolute solitude, like any meeting or casual thought: and it is not in us, as if it was not. However, for one who loves Christ, a light touch to the heart (consciousness) of His will is enough to ignite an irresistible desire to fulfill it.