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Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty · Catechism · 1321

Faith Q&A › Catechism › 12. Christian Faith and Liberty

What is the relationship between free will and the kingdom of God that is within us through divine grace?

The answer

St. Cyril of Alexandria says, “‘For behold! The kingdom of God is within you.’ For ask not, He says, about the times in which the season of the kingdom of heaven shall again arise and come [Luke 17:20–36]: but rather be in earnest, that you may be found worthy of it, for ‘it is within you,’ that is, it depends upon your own wills, and is in your own power, whether or not you receive it. For every man who has attained to justification by means of faith in Christ, and is adorned by all virtue, is counted worthy of the kingdom of heavens.”1065

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Notes

1065 St. Cyril of Alexandria, A Commentary upon the Gospel According to St. Luke: Part II, trans. R. Payne Smith (Oxford University Press, 1859) 117: p. 542–543 amended.

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volumes 1 and 2, Books 1–7. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.