II. О ВСЕОБЩНОСТИ БЛАГОДАТИ И ОТНОШЕНИИ ЕЕ К СВОБОДЕ ЧЕЛОВЕКА

Contrary to the misconceptions of the Calvinists and Jansenites, that God bestows His grace only on certain people whom He has unconditionally predestined to righteousness and eternal bliss, and therefore bestows irresistible grace, the Orthodox Church teaches - a) that the grace of God extends to all people, and not to just those predestined to righteousness and eternal bliss; b) that God’s predestination of some to eternal bliss, others to eternal damnation, is not unconditional, but conditional, and is based on foreknowledge of whether they will or will not use grace; c) that the grace of God does not constrain the freedom of man, does not act irresistibly on it, and - d) that, on the contrary, man actively participates in what the grace of God accomplishes in him and through him (Episode of the Eastern Patr. on the Right Faith, Part 3). § 191. The grace of God extends to all people, and not only to those predestined to righteousness and eternal bliss 1) From those places St. Scripture, which says that God is equally the Father of all people, Jews and Gentiles (Matthew 6:9; 7:11; 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:6; Rom. 3:29.30), that He is good to everyone (Ps. 144:9), and He wants all people to be saved and to come into the understanding of truth (1 Tim. 2:4). If He, as the all-good One, fatherly desires for all people to be saved, then, without a doubt, He gives them all or is ready to give them His divine grace, without which none of the sinners can be saved. 2) From the passages of Scripture asserting that Christ the Savior gave his flesh for the life of the world (John 6:61), gave himself redemption for all (1 Tim. 2:6), died for all (2 Cor. 5:15; Heb. 2:9), and there is cleansing for our sins, not for ours specifically, but also for the whole world (1 John 2, 2). If Christ died for all people, then, undoubtedly, for all of them He acquired saving grace by His death. If He is the cleansing for the sins of the whole world, it means that He really gives saving grace to the whole world, without which the cleansing of the sinner is impossible. 3) From the evidence of Scripture that the Lord founded his grace-filled kingdom on earth for all people, he commanded to teach all languages, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:15; demolished Rom. 10:18; 1 Cor. 9:22; 10:32.33), and at the same time he himself internally calls for To each person: I stand at the door and say: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes I will give to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat with my Father on his throne (Ap. 3:20.21). Why preach the Gospel to all creation, teach all languages, call all people to the kingdom of grace, if the grace of God is not predestined for all of them, if the grace of God is not given to all? 4) From the evidence of Scripture that God, who gives his grace to the righteous to do good (John 15:5; Gal. 5:22), also grants it to sinners to convert them to good, and does not desire anyone’s destruction. As I live, the Lord said to Adonai in the Old Testament, I do not want the death of the sinner, but to turn the wicked from his way, and I live to be him (Ezek. 33:11; demolished 18:23). Come to me, said the Savior who later appeared in the world, all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28), for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13; 18:11); This is not the will of your heavenly Father, that one of the little ones should perish (18:14). The Lord is patient with us, St. Apostles, not even though some will perish, but let all come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9; demolished. Rom. 2:4). What would all these sayings mean if the Lord really did not give sinners his gracious help, when without grace it is impossible for anyone to convert (1 Cor. 12:3; Phil. 2:13), or to come to Christ (John 6:44), or to live (John 16:4-8)? 5) From the constant belief and action of the Orthodox Church, which has always called sinners to repentance, has always performed the sacrament of repentance for them, and has always taught that in this sacrament they are given the grace of God, cleansing them from sins and making them capable of reunification, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, with Christ, the source of all grace. 6) Finally, from the teaching of the teachers of the Church: St. Clement of Rome: “Let us look at the blood of Christ, and see how precious His blood is before God, which, having been shed for our salvation, brought the grace of repentance to the whole world. Let us go through all the centuries, and we will learn that the Lord has always given those who wished to turn to Him time to repent. Noah preached repentance, and those who heeded him were saved. Jonah predicted destruction for the Ninevites, but those who repented of their sins propitiated God with prayers and received salvation, although they were far from God. The servants of God's grace, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, spoke about repentance; and the Lord of the whole world himself spoke about repentance with an oath: as I live, says the Lord, I do not want the death of the sinner, but repentance (Ezek. 33:2)” 754. St. John Chrysostom about: “If (Christ) enlightens every person coming into the world (John 1:9): how can people remain without sanctification? He truly enlightens everyone. But if some, voluntarily closing the eyes of their minds, do not want to accept the rays of this light, then their stay in darkness depends not on the nature of the light, but on the misfortune of those who voluntarily deprive themselves of the gift. For grace was poured out on everyone... and those who do not want to use such a gift should, in justice, impute to themselves their blindness" 755. St. Ambrose: “He, like the mysterious sun of truth, rose for all, came for all, suffered for all, rose for all... If anyone does not believe in Christ, he deprives himself of universal benefit” 756. Blazh. Augustine: “God did not send his Son into the world to judge the world, but let the world be saved by him (John 3:17). So, as for the Physician: He came to heal the sick; and he who does not want to fulfill the Doctor’s commands destroys himself. The Savior came into the world: why was He called the Savior of the world, if not because His goal was to save the world, and not to judge the world? Don't you want to be healed by Him? You yourself will be your own judge” 757. It is unnecessary to add that a sound mind, at the mere thought of God, who is infinitely good and just, cannot but agree that He equally desires to save all sinners, and that if they need grace for this, He gives or is always ready to give it to everyone as well. § 192. God's predestination of some to eternal bliss, others to eternal damnation, is conditional, and is based on foreknowledge of whether they will or will not use grace If the Word of God says that God has predestined some to eternal glory (Rom. 8:29), others to eternal damnation (Jude 4): this does not mean that He does not want to save all people, does not grant His grace to everyone, and has predestined both without any reason, according to His unconditional will alone. It only means that God, who wants everyone to be saved and gives grace to everyone, since from eternity he foresaw who would and who would not want to take advantage of His grace: then, in accordance with this, he predestined some to salvation, others to destruction. Because – 1. The Word of God itself very often preaches that the eternal fate of each of us after death, eternal glory or eternal torment, will be the reward for our deeds in this life, that it is fitting for us all to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that everyone may receive what he has done with his body, either good or evil (2 Cor. 5:10; St. 1 Cor. 3:8), that God He will reward everyone according to his deeds for the patience of those who seek good, glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: but those who zealously resist the truth and obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger (Rom. 2:6-8; cf. Matt. 16:27), that those who believe in Christ will be saved (John 3:36; 6:47 ), will become partakers of His grace in the sacraments (John 3:5; 6:54) and, with its help, will do the will of the Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21); and whoever does not have faith in the Son will be condemned (Mark 16:16); Whoever is not reborn by water and spirit and does not do the will of the Heavenly Father will not enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5; Matt. 7:21). How can we reconcile all these places of St. Scriptures with his teaching about the eternal predestination of God, if we do not agree that God predestined some to eternal bliss, others to condemnation, not according to his unconditional will, but under the condition of their own deeds, good or evil, which He, the omniscient, undoubtedly foresaw from eternity? 2. There are other places of Scripture in which it is directly expressed that God’s predestination is conditional. Thus, the Savior himself depicts his future judgment at the world court as follows: then the king says to those on his right hand: come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For you were hungry, and gave me food: you were thirsty, and you gave me a drink: you were strange, and you knew me: you were naked, and you clothed me: you were sick, and you visited me: you were in prison, and you came to me (Matthew 25:34-36). Then he says to those who are on his side: Depart from me, cursed, into eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angel. For you were hungry, and did not give me food: you were thirsty, and did not give me something to drink: you were strange, and you did not know me: naked, and you did not clothe me: you were sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me (- 41–43). Isn’t it clear from here that if God prepared the kingdom for some from the foundation of the world, and eternal fire for others, it was not because he loved some and hated others without any reason, but because some turned out to be worthy of the kingdom, and others - eternal fire, according to their own deeds, which God saw and knew from the foundation of the world as already accomplished, not being limited by time? (see also 2 Peter 1:10; 2 Tim. 2:20; Rom. 8:17; 1 Cor. 9:27). 3. St. Apostle Paul clearly teaches that God’s predestination is based on foreknowledge, testifying: those whom God foreknew, those he also predestined, conformed to the image of his Son..., and those he predestined, them he also called: and those he called, these he also glorified (Rom. 8:29.30). He did not just provide, says the Apostle, but he provided because he foresaw; - whose merits he foresaw, those he predestined, or, as Blessed Jerome puts it, “those whom God knew would be conformed to His Son in life, those He predestined to be conformed to Him in glory itself” 758 . 4. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church, especially the Eastern ones, agreed that God’s predestination is accomplished under the condition of human merit, known in advance to God. For example: a) St. Irenaeus: “God, who foresees everything, has prepared worthy dwellings for everyone; to those who seek pure light and strive towards it, this light is abundantly given; for others who turn away and run away from it, and therefore seem to blind themselves, He has prepared darkness corresponding to those who turn away from the light, and thus subjects them to a worthy punishment” 759; b) Hilary: “whom (God) foresaw, he also predestined” 760; “So, election is not a matter of an indifferent court, but a distinction is made according to the assessment of merit” 761; c) St. John Chrysostom - on behalf of the heavenly Judge (Matt. 25, 34–44); “Before you came into existence, this was already prepared and arranged for you from Me; for I knew that you would be such (good or bad)” 762; and in another place: “God predestined us not only for love, but also for our virtue; for if it depended on love alone, then everyone should be saved (because God loves everyone); if from our virtue alone, then the coming of Jesus Christ and everything that He arranged for our salvation would be unnecessary” 763; d) St. Ambrose: “God did not predetermine before he foreknew; whose merits he foresaw, to those he predetermined the reward” 764; d) blessed Augustine: “one must unshakably adhere to the rule known from the Divine Scriptures that sinners, before they came into the world, were foreknown in their iniquities, but were not predestined to that (i.e., to iniquities); the punishment was predetermined for them, because they were foreknown” 765; e) blessed Theodoret: “whose disposition he foresaw, those from above he predestined, and, having predetermined, he called them” 766; g) Gennady, Patriarch of Constantinople: “Sinners are rejected by God before they are born, not because God wanted to reject them from eternity, but because He knew from eternity that they themselves would reject and render all His care for them useless” 767. Justin the Martyr, Origen, Eusebius, Jerome, Cyril of Alexandria, Gregory the Great and others taught in a similar way. 5. There is truth in St. There are passages in Scripture that seem to favor the doctrine of the unconditional predestination of God. These are: a) The words of the Apostle: (God) chose us in Him (in Christ) before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love (Eph. 1:4), and so on. He chose not because he foresaw our holiness and good deeds, but in order for us to become saints, he chose not according to our merits, but according to his own will. But here and in other similar places (2 Sol. 2:13; 1 Cor. 2:7) of course election or predestination is not for glory (Matthew 25:34), which, as we have seen, undoubtedly happens according to the foreknowledge of the merits of each person; but election, predestination, calling to grace in Christ Jesus, which really does not happen according to human merit, but for the conversion of people to faith and good works, and depends on one infinite goodness and mercy of God (2 Tim. 1:9). And this calling to grace in Christ Jesus does not apply only to some people who will certainly be saved, but extends to the entire human race. The Apostle says: God chose us (Eph. 1:4), called us (2 Tim. 1:9), or chose you (2 Thess. 2:13), etc. means all the Christians to whom he wrote and among whom, without a doubt, not all of them were chosen or saints in the proper sense. And in other places the same Apostle testifies: the grace of God has appeared, saving all mankind, punishing us, so that, having rejected ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live chastely and righteously and piously in this present age (Titus 2:11.12); or: there is one mediator for God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself redemption for all (1 Tim. 2:5.6). b) Words of St. The Apostle about Esau and Jacob, that even though they were not yet born, nor had they done anything good or evil, God had already said to their mother: for the greater will work for the lesser..., I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. And the words that follow: Moses says: If I have mercy on him, I will have mercy, and I will spare him, even if I have mercy... Moreover, even if he wants, he has mercy; and if he wants, he hardens (Rom. 9: 11-13. 15. 18). But, firstly, in the entire ninth chapter, as in the entire dogmatic part of the letter to the Romans, the Apostle actually speaks about the calling of people to grace or justification in Christ Jesus (9: 30-32), and proves, contrary to the Jews, that calling and justification do not depend on the works of their law, according to which the Jews only acquired for themselves the right to be sons of the kingdom of the Messiah, excluding from it all the pagans, but they depend on the mercy of the Almighty, who, being completely free in distributing his gifts and distributing various destinies to people (which he showed in the example of Esau, Jacob, the Jews under Moses, and Pharaoh), actually called for justification in Christ by one of his mercy, not just from the Jews, but also from the tongue (9, 24) - so that without this mercy the people themselves could not do anything 769. Secondly, saying that God distributes His gifts to people according to His mercy alone and assigns one one fate and another another fate, completely freely and even before their birth, the Apostle, however, not only does not reject the idea that God acts in this case on the basis of his foreknowledge of human actions, on the contrary, it is necessary to presuppose it: for he teaches that in this case God acts in truth (9, 14), and that if He hardens and executes some people, then precisely those who themselves, like To Pharaoh, they made themselves vessels of wrath, and punished already by much long-suffering (9, 22). “Why,” asks St. Chrysostom, when explaining the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, is one (Jacob) loved, and the other (Esau) hated? Why does one serve and the other receive services? Because one was vicious and the other was good; but before they were even born, one was honored and the other condemned. Even before they were born, God said: “For the greatest will do the work of the least.” Why did God say this? Because He does not wait, like a man, for the end of the matter in order to see who is good and who is not; but, on the contrary, before this he knows who is vicious and who is not.” And a little further: “the main intention of Blessed Paul was, through everything he said, to teach that God alone knows those who are worthy, and none of men; and although many imagine themselves to know, they are often mistaken in their conclusion. And he who knows the secrets of the heart knows completely who is worthy of crowns, and who is worthy of punishment and torment. Therefore, He exposed and punished many who were considered good, and crowned many who were considered wicked and testified that they were not so. He pronounces sentence not on the recall of slaves, but on his own strict and impartial court; He does not wait for the end of the matter to recognize one as worthy, and the other not... Therefore, he said: I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau. That this is true, you know by the consequences; but God knew it completely even before the fulfillment; It requires not only the manifestation of deeds, but free will and immaculate feelings" ... And further: “Pharaoh was a vessel of wrath, that is, a man who, with his hardness of heart, inflamed the wrath of God. Having repeatedly experienced God's patience, he did not become better, but remained incorrigible. Therefore, the Apostle called him not only a vessel of wrath, but also perfect for destruction, that is, prepared for destruction, however from himself and by his own will. Just as God did not leave anything that served to correct him, so he himself did not leave anything that served to his destruction and to make him inexcusable. However, God, foreseeing this, showed a lot of patience; for he wanted to bring him to repentance. And if I didn’t want this, I wouldn’t have endured it for so long. since Pharaoh did not want to take advantage of God’s patience and repent, but prepared himself for wrath; then God used him to correct others, in order to make others more thorough through his punishment, and thereby show his power” 770. 6. The doctrine of the unconditional predestination of God is contrary to common sense. He is convinced that God is just, and so on. cannot, without any reason, predestine some to eternal bliss and others to eternal damnation. I am convinced that God is infinitely good, and so on. cannot, without any reason, condemn anyone to eternal destruction. I am convinced that God is infinitely wise, and, therefore, cannot, having given man freedom, constrain it with his unconditional predestination and take away all the moral value from her actions. § 193. The grace of God does not constrain human freedom, does not act irresistibly on it Although God is active in us, and who wills, and who works for good pleasure (Phil. 2:14), and without His grace we can neither undertake nor accomplish anything truly good: however, this power of God, acting in us and through us, does not in the least constrain our freedom, does not irresistibly attract it to good. That's why - 1. People are commanded in St. Scripture, so that they open their hearts to receive grace and do not harden them against its effects. Behold, says the Savior, I stand at the door and understand: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me (Apoc. 3:20). Today, if you hear a voice, do not harden your hearts, repeated the priests. writers in the Old and New Testaments (Ps. 94:7.8; Isa. 55:3; Heb. 3:7; 4:7). What would all these sayings mean if a person could not resist grace, if it had an irresistible effect on him? 2. The Word of God, indeed, testifies that people can resist grace, and resist stubbornly, despite all its measures. What more will I do, God himself said in the Old Testament about the people of Israel, what more will I do to my grapes, and I will not do to them... (Is. 5:4); I have stretched my hands all day long to people who do not submit and speak against people, who do not walk the true path, but follow their sins (65:2). And I will choose their reproach, and I will repay their sins: because I called them, and did not listen to me: they spoke, and disobeyed, and did evil before me, and chose what they did not want (66, 4; demolished 65, 12; Proverbs 1, 24; Jeremiah 7, 13). The cruelty and uncircumcision of the heart and ears, St. exclaimed in the New Testament about the Jews. Martyr Stephen, you always resist the Holy Spirit, just like your fathers, so do you (Acts 7:51). Let us sweat, convinces Christians, St. The Apostle Paul, pointing out this pitiful example of the Jews, lead into peace (of God), so that no one will fall into the same parable of disobedience (Heb. 4:11). 3. In general, in the priesthood. books, as everyone knows, contain countless admonitions, promises, and threats to incite a person to virtue. What is the purpose of all these admonitions, promises and threats, if grace acts on a person necessarily, so that he cannot help but do virtue when he is drawn to it by the power of God? 4. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church unanimously preached that man acts freely in choosing and doing good deeds and is not embarrassed by God’s grace. Let us point out, for example, the words: a) St. Justina: “That we happened in the beginning was not our business; but so that we follow Him (God), through the rational powers with which He has endowed us, choosing what is pleasing to Him, to this He convinces us and leads us to faith” 771; b) St. John Chrysostom about: “God does not force anyone; but if He wants, but we don’t want, then our salvation is impossible, not because His will is powerless, but because He does not want to force anyone” 772; c) St. Gregory the Theologian: “the human will does not always follow, but very often contradicts and opposes the will of God” 773; d) St. Basil the Great: “The Spirit abides in each of those who receive Him, as inherent in him alone, and sufficiently pours out complete grace to all, which those who partake enjoy, to the extent of their own acceptability, and not to the extent of what is possible for the Spirit” 774; d) St. Macarius of Egypt: “human nature is capable of accepting both good and evil, divine grace and contrary force, but cannot be forced to do so” 775. “Without the consent of the human will, God himself does not produce anything in man, although he could, because of the freedom with which man is gifted” 776. “For the Apostles themselves, perfect in grace, grace would not have forbidden them to do anything of their own accord, even if they wanted something contrary to grace, although they could not sin, because they did not exalt themselves, being illuminated by such light and awarded such grace” 777. “And from the perfect the Lord requires the will of the soul to serve the Spirit, so that will and grace are consistent with each other: for the Apostle says: Do not quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:10)” 778. 5. Sound reason, for its part, cannot fail to notice that if the grace of God constrains a person’s freedom and draws it forcibly towards good, in this case every incentive to virtue is taken away from a person, every merit is taken away from his good actions, and in general all his morality is undermined, and all this is to blame - God himself! Is it possible to allow such thoughts? True, reason is not able to explain how the powerful power of God, acting on a person, leaves his freedom inviolable, and to determine with accuracy their mutual relationship 779; but nevertheless, this mystery should be beyond all doubt for us, when we have so many reasons to believe that a person not only is not deprived of freedom when grace influences him, but actively participates in its actions performed in him and through him. § 194. Man actively participates in what the grace of God accomplishes in him and through him 1. In St. The Scriptures very clearly depict that the entire work of man’s sanctification from beginning to end is a work of the grace of God and, at the same time, of man himself. This is what it says: a) about the conversion of a person: convert me, and I will be converted (Jer. 31:18), and on the other hand: turn to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you (Zech. 1:3); or: draw near to God, and he will draw near to you (James 4:8); be reconciled to God (2 Cor. 5:20); b) about following Christ: no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him (John 6:44), and on the other hand: whoever does not accept his cross and comes after me is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:38; fn. 19:21); c) about rebirth: unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5), and together: repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins: and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38); d) about updating; And I will give them another heart, and I will give them a new spirit, and I will pluck out the stony heart from out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my commandments, and that I may keep my excuses and do them (Ezek. 11:19. 20), and together: cast away from yourselves all your wickedness, in which you are ungodly towards me: and create for yourself a new heart, and a new spirit, and do all my commandments (Ez. 18:31; demolished James 4:8); e) about union with Christ: be in me and I in you (John 15:4), and further: whoever is in me, and I in him, he will produce much fruit (- 5). 2. The same truth is expressed by St. Scripture, when it testifies that it depends on a person’s freedom: a) to be good or evil: if you want, and listen to me, you will destroy the good of the earth; If you don’t want to, listen to me; you will girdle your sword (Isa. 1:19.20); b) follow Christ: if anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after me (Matthew 16:24); c) strive for the highest perfection: if you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor: and have treasure in heaven: and come after me (Matthew 19:21). 3. Finally, the same truth is expressed in places of Scripture where a person’s good deeds: a) are called his own: so let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good deeds (Matthew 5:16); be a firmament, untroubled, always abundant in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not empty before the Lord (1 Cor. 15:58; 1 Thessalonians 1:3; Heb. 6:10); b) are imputed to him as a merit: take heed to yourself, so that you do not destroy what you do good, but so that you may receive a full reward (2 John 8); everyone will accept his reward according to his labor (1 Cor. 3:8). Whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water to drink, only in the name of the disciple, Amen, I say to you, he will not lose his reward (Matthew 10:42). I fought the good fight, I died, I kept the faith. Otherwise, the crown of righteousness will be kept for me, which the Lord will reward me on the day he is a righteous judge: not only to me, but also to all who loved his appearance (2 Tim. 4:7.8; taken down. Matt. 5:12; 1 Cor. 4:5, 15:58; Rev. 22:15). 4. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church preached: St. Cyril of Jerusalem: “It is God’s work to plant and irrigate, but yours to bear fruit; It is God’s business to send down grace, and yours to receive and preserve. Do not despise grace because it is given to you, but, having received it, keep it reverently” 780. St. Gregory the Theologian: “Virtue is not a gift only of the great God, who honored his image; because your desire is also needed. She is not the product of your heart alone; because the most superior strength is required. Although my vision is very sharp, it does not see visible objects by itself and not without a great luminary, which illuminates my eyes and is itself visible to the eyes. And for my success I need two shares from the great God, namely: the first and the last, and also one share from me. God created me receptive to goodness, God gives me strength, and in the middle, flowing in the field. I am not very light on my feet, but not without hope of reward I strain my muscles in running; for Christ is my breath, my strength, my wonderful wealth” 781. St. John Chrysostom: “It is in our will, upon receiving grace from above, to do good or evil” 782. “God opens hearts that desire (to know the truth)... The woman who sells porphyry is spoken of, whose heart the Lord opened, heeding the words of Paul (Acts 16:14). Next, opening the heart was the work of God, and listening was the work of the woman herself, so it was both the work of God and man” 783 . St. Basil the Great: “Human intentions in thinking about good will not be accomplished without help from above, and help from above will not descend on someone who has not made an effort about it. On the contrary, to achieve virtue, both must be combined - both human zeal and help coming from above by faith” 784. St. Macarius of Egypt: “God commands that man first know good with his mind, having known it, love it and do good with his will. But the strength to act in the mind, to endure labor and to do work, this gives grace to those who want and to those who believe” 785. Blazh. Theodoret: “The Apostle called the gift of God both to believe and to suffer gloriously (Phil. 1:29), not rejecting the participation of free will (human), but teaching that will in itself, devoid of grace, cannot accomplish anything good. For both are necessary: ​​our readiness or desire to act and God’s assistance. And just as for those who do not have this desire, the grace of the Spirit alone is not enough, so, on the other hand, desire alone, not supported by grace, cannot accumulate the wealth of virtues” 786. St. Gregory the Great: “The Supreme Holiness first does something in us without us, so that, when our free will follows, it can accomplish with us the good that we have desired” 787. “Thus, with antecedent grace and subsequent good will, what is the gift of almighty God becomes our merit” 788 . 5. Let us turn to our own experience and history: we will find new confirmation of the truth being presented. Direct consciousness and close observation of ourselves assures us: a) that we, reborn by water and spirit, do not feel any compulsion from grace when we decide to do and do a good deed; on the contrary, we completely freely choose and perform the known from among many good actions, and often, not yet completing it, we abandon it of our own free will; b) that good deeds are not accomplished by us without labor, not without special effort and participation on our part, and for this we must sometimes strive even to the point of bleeding (Heb. 12:4), waging constant warfare, with the help of grace, against the enemies of our salvation; c) that, finally, often after many exploits, after prolonged exercise in piety, we again return to our previous path of wickedness and vices, contrary to the voice of divine grace. And the story of St. Christian ascetics provides us with striking examples of the great labors it took for them to gradually advance in virtue, and of how sometimes, even having reached the highest degrees of moral perfection, a person can fall into sin. Epist. ad Corinth. n. 1, 7 (in Chron. Thu. 1824, XIV, 245). ή μεν γάρ χάρΐς εις πάντας εκκέχοται . In Joann. homil. VIII, no. 1, Opp. t. VIII, ed. Montfauc. Serm. VIII, no. 57, ed. Maur. Joann. tract. XII, n. 12. In Epist. ad Rom. cap. VIII, vers. 29. Advers. haeres. IV, 39, n. 4. On Ev. Matt. conversations LXXIX, in Russian. translation Part III, p. 362, M. 1839. In Ephes. homil. 1, n. 2.Cfr. in Rom. homil. XV, no. 1. 2. Opp. t. VII, fol. 460, Venet. 1584. In Rom. VIII, 30. Cfr. in Ephes. 1, 4; in Ps. LVII, 4. Vid. Opp. Basilii Graeco-latin. t. II, sub finem p. 220. Paris. 1618. Justin. Apolog. 1, n. 44. 45; Origen. in Rom. VIII, 28; Euseb. in Ps. LVII, 8; Hieron. in Malach. 1, 2; Cyrill. Alex, in Malach. 1. 2. 3. (Xp. Thu. 1842, III, 10–14); Greg. Magn. Dialog. lib. 1, p. 8. “When the Apostle says: neither the one who wants nor the one who is, he does not thereby destroy freedom, but shows that not everything belongs to man, but, on the contrary, he needs grace from above. Although one must want and strive; however, one must rely not on one’s own exploits, but on God’s love for mankind, as the Apostle said elsewhere: “not I, but the grace of God which is with me (1 Cor. 15:10).” (St. Chrysostom on the last to Roman. conversations XVI, p. 420, M. 1844). St. Chrysostom on the last to Rome conversations XVI, pp. 406. 407. 411. 418. Apolog. 1, n. 10, in Chr. Thurs. 1825, ХVII, 2, 3. De nomin. mut. homil. III, no. 6.Cfr. in Joann., homil. X, n. 2. 3. Words o theologian IV, in TV. St. Father III, 90. About the Holy Spirit Ch. 9, ibid VII, 265–266. A word about exaltation. mind point 16. In the Middle Ages, scholastics came up with many opinions or systems to explain this mystery, of which the most famous are four: the system of Thomists, Augustinians, Molinists and Congruists. But all these systems have their drawbacks and remain in use only within the school. Anyone can see the presentation and analysis of these four systems in the dogmatists of Perrone, Lieberman, Feyer and others. Publicity instructive 1, paragraph 4, pp. 20–21. Pesnop. sacraments oh man. virtues, in TV. St. Father church IV, 255. In Genes, homil. LIV, no. 1; cfr. in Joann. homil. X, n. 2. 3. In Act. homil. XXXV, n. 1. Charter ascetic Ch. 15, in TV. St. Father IX, 423. ... έπικουρίας ... In Phil. 1 30. In Ezech. homil. IX, n. 2. You might be interested in: