First of all, believe with all your soul that whatever we said according to the divine and god-inspired Scriptures, are all true, and that whoever believes in the Son of God has to become this, because He granted us power to become sons of God, and if we want it, nothing can stop us. (...) For it is certain, that if you won’t believe in these, that they happen indeed this way, you won’t ask for them to happen at all, and if you won’t ask you won’t receive. Because He says, "Seek, and ye shall find, ask, and it shall be given you" (Matt. 7.7). If you believe, follow the divine Scriptures and do what they say and you will find everything without exception as it is written - rather, you will find much more than what is in the godly Scriptures. And what are these? ‘What eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man’, the gifts ‘which God hath prepared for them that love him’ (1 Cor. 2.9). These gifts, if you believe with certainty, as we said, you will see, without any doubt at all, just as Paul, so you too - and not only this, but you will also hear ineffable words, since, as you understood, you will be seized to Paradise, even now. Which Paradise? Where the thief entered together with the Christ, and there now remains.

Πίστευσον οὖν ἐν πρώτοις ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς ὅτι οὕτως ταῦτα πάντα ἃ εἴπομεν κατὰ τὰς θείας καὶ θεοπνεύστους Γραφὰς ἀληθῆ εἰσι καὶ οὕτως ὀφείλει γενέσθαι πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἐπειδὴ ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν ἐξουσίαν υἱοὺς γενέσθαι Θεοῦ, καὶ ἐὰν θελήσωμεν, τὸ κωλύον οὐδέν. (...) Καὶ γάρ, εἰ μὴ πιστεύσεις ταῦτα οὕτως ἀληθῶς γίνεσθαι, πάντως οὐδὲ ζητήσεις· εἰ δὲ μὴ ζητήσεις, οὐδὲ λήψῃ· “Ζητεῖτε γάρ, φησί, καὶ λήψεσθε· αἰτεῖτε καὶ δοθήσεται ὑμῖν” (Ματθ. 7.7). Πιστεύων δέ, ἀκολούθει ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς καὶ ὅσα σοι λέγουσι ποίησον, καὶ εὑρήσεις πάντα ἀνελλιπῶς καθὼς γέγραπται, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πολλῷ πλείονα τῶν ἐν ταῖς θείαις Γραφαῖς. Ποῖα δὲ ταῦτα; “Ἃ ὀφθαλμὸς οὐκ εἶδε καὶ οὖς οὐκ ἤκουσε καὶ ἐπὶ καρδίαν ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἀνέβη” τὰ ἀγαθὰ “ἃ ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Θεὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν.“ (Α' Κορ. 2.9). Ταῦτα, εἰ πιστεύσεις βεβαίως, ὡς εἴρηται, θεάσῃ ἀναμφιβόλως ὡς ὁ Παῦλος καὶ σύ· οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀκούσεις ἄρρητα ῥήματα, προαρπαγεὶς δηλονότι εἰς τὸν παράδεισον. Ποῖον τοῦτον; Ὅπου ὁ ληστὴς μετὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ συνεισῆλθε καὶ νῦν ἐκεῖ ἐστιν.

Cf. GREGORY THE THEOLOGIAN : God with Gods is being united ||| GREGORY OF NYSSA : Everything that is free will be united with virtue ||| PETER DAMASCENE : What is true faith? ||| GREGORY PALAMAS : Calling everything near Him