Fellowship with God
The lecture affirms that the spiritual life is not merely receiving God’s grace from one side; rather it is a real fellowship between man and God. It is not enough to know that God loves us only; we are required to reciprocate His love and share with the Holy Spirit in spiritual work by effort, obedience, and repentance.
Main idea
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Divine love is real and vast (John 3:16 and others), but acceptance of salvation is not automatic for all people — there must be human acceptance and response.
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Love must be mutual: God loves us and we must love Him with our hearts and our works, not with empty feelings or words only.
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Grace works by God’s power, but it works with us not instead of us: we must work with grace, struggle, discipline the body, and show the fruits of the Spirit.
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A warning against adopting some Western/Protestant thought that contradicts Orthodox thought if it omits the element of spiritual diligence and practical work.
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A call to watchfulness and readiness (like the parable of the lamps), because grace does not replace striving against sin nor facing our spiritual enemy.
Spiritual dimension and teaching from a Coptic Orthodox perspective
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Fellowship with the Holy Spirit is necessary: the blessing is the love of the Father, the grace of the Son, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit; the person must participate practically in this fellowship.
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Repentance, obedience, and keeping the commandments are signs of true love; those who do not accept are not called children of God despite God’s general love for the world.
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The saints and martyrs are examples of labor and endurance for the Lord; we must imitate them in struggle and sacrifice.
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True faith is shown by works and fruits: a living faith, active in love, fruitful with the Spirit’s peace, joy, and long-suffering.
Practical summary
Do not lie down on the part of grace and forget work; we must examine ourselves and remain steadfast in faith with work and love, and be watchful and vigilant, reciprocating God’s love with living work and continued obedience.
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