What sort of thinking should one adopt in order to accomplis

[Vlad]

What sort of thinking should one adopt in order to accomplish both the extremes?

[joasia]

INDEED HE IS RISEN!

I think that you are confusing yourself. For one thing, St. Nicodemos didn't write in English, so the translation might seem a little off.

Even in English the term "means" that you use in both examples implies a different context. By "no means" implies with no exception. Whereas, "all his means" implies within every capacity he has. See the difference?

You seem to be applying the term as the same context.

What he is saying is that we cannot trust in ourselves as above what God wills...it is out of the question(by no means). Whereas, in the second part he is stating that we should put all our efforts(all his means) into applying the Commandments to our lives.

What sort of thinking should one adopt in order to accomplish both the extremes?

It's not so much a form of thinking but a development of spiritual discernment that God grants us. We either understand the meaning or we don't. For some it can take a lifetime.

This is the dilemma of the protestants. They tend to interpret the Holy Scriptures and the holy fathers with logic. They don't realize that the translations are just that...translations from other languages. To translate from Greek, for example is a very precise study. The words in Greek are choosen very carefully in order to express a specific idea. The Greek language is very rich. One word can mean a complete idea. So to translate the meaning into another language must be done with the utmost care and respect.

Joanna