Kingdom

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about the Kingdom of Heaven as the central theme of Christ’s mission from the beginning of His ministry. The Kingdom is not a distant or future idea, but a spiritual reality that begins within the human heart and grows gradually through God’s grace and human cooperation.

1. The Beginning of the Kingdom’s Proclamation

From Christ’s first sermon: “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.”
The Kingdom began on the Cross, when the Lord reigned upon the wood, restoring to mankind God’s dominion which had been seized by Satan.

2. The Nature of the Kingdom

The Kingdom is spiritual and begins within the heart: “The Kingdom of God is within you.”
God reigns over thoughts, feelings, and will through love and freedom, not by force.
It is an everlasting Kingdom, for “of His Kingdom there shall be no end.”
It will be complete when “God is all in all.”

3. The Growth of the Kingdom in the Soul

Christ compared the Kingdom’s growth to a seed planted in the earth—it grows day and night, though man knows not how.
Similarly, spiritual growth occurs gradually through the work of the Holy Spirit.
It passes from stage to stage: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain.

4. Cooperation of Grace and Human Effort

God plants the seed (grace) in man, but man must respond with faith, virtue, and spiritual labor.
As Saint Peter said: “That you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world.”
Thus, man participates with God’s work, and his life bears holy fruit.

5. The Mystery of Spiritual Growth

Growth happens secretly—through light and darkness, in peace and hardship—because grace works continually.
Even in trials, the divine seed within keeps growing, transforming suffering into blessing.
The believer may not always feel this growth, yet God’s hidden work produces visible fruit in time.

6. Spiritual Maturity and the Eternal Harvest

When the seed matures and bears fruit, it symbolizes the believer’s perfection in holiness.
Then God “harvests” the soul into His eternal Kingdom.
Christian life is thus a continual growth toward union with God until the fullness of divine participation is reached.

Spiritual Message:
The Kingdom of God is not a faraway place but a life where God reigns in the heart.
Whoever accepts grace and strives in repentance and faith grows steadily into this Kingdom until eternal glory is fulfilled.

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