THE
BIBLE HAS MUCH TO SAY about theosis. The most quoted verse for
theosis is one which seems rather isolated to some, i.e., II Peter
1:4, "...become partakers of divine nature," or as the NEB
translation says, "to share in the very being of God." Although II
Peter is a very explicit statement about theosis, there are many
other verses in the Bible that refer to salvation as "participation"
or "sharing" or "fellowship" with God.
St. Paul says that we are made to be "filled with the fullness of
... God" (Ephesians 3:19). What is being "filled with the fullness
of life and power that comes from God" but theosis?
The
Apostle John writes that God's Son and Spirit have appeared on earth
to bring God people and the world into the fullness of God's being
and the life of the Kingdom: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. And of His fullness we have
all received..." (John 1:14, 16).
In John 17:22-23, Jesus prays the prayer of theosis: "And the glory
which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We
are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in
one...."
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was
rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His
poverty might become rich" (II Corinthians 8:9).
"There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus... But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed
the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the
Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body
is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the
dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also
give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in
you" (Romans 8:1, 9-11).
Theosis, participation in the life of God, is further evidenced in
verses such as the following which speak of God in us: "If anyone
loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We
will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23). "...It is
no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me..." (Galatians 2:20).
Paul's desire is that "Christ is formed in you" (Galatians 4:19).
When the Apostle John says that "it has not yet been revealed what
we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is," he is referring to the future
theosis of those who were now made children of God (I John 3:2).
Psalm 82:6, which is quoted by Jesus in John 10:34 is another strong
reference to theosis: "'I said, "You are gods"'?" We see in this
verse that even in the Old Testament, which is the guardian of
monotheism, the word "gods," which Jesus quotes, was applied to
people. It speaks of the God-given potential of theosis.
When we unite ourselves unto Christ we become "transformed into the
same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord"
(II Corinthians 3:18). "And as we have borne the image of the man of
dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man" (I
Corinthians 15:49).
Christ took His human nature into heaven. There our glorified and
deified human nature already stands before the throne of God. "For
you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians
3:3).
"But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which
He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us sit
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-6).
"...Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). When Christ
dwells in us, His presence creates a unique "hope of glory."
Describing this "hope of glory," C.S. Lewis wrote in his book "The
Weight of Glory": "The promise of scripture may very roughly be
reduced to five heads... firstly, that we shall be with Christ;
secondly, that we shall be like Him; thirdly... that we shall have
'glory'; fourthly, that we shall in some sense be fed or feasted or
entertained; and finally, that we shall have some sort of official
position in the universe - ruling cities, judging angels, being
pillars of God's temple."
Truly, when we consider God's promise regarding theosis, "it does
not yet appear what we shall be" (I John 3:2).
The author of Hebrews takes this a step further when he speaks of
our share in or partaking "of the heavenly calling" (3:1), and he
declares that we are made partakers of Christ and of the Holy
Spirit. Finally, the Apostle Paul again affirms that those who rise
in Christ will "put on" God's own incorruptible immortality.
St. Paul speaks of the fullness of God's presence abiding in us,
when he prays, "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of
God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all" (II
Corinthians 13:13).
All these verses constitute only a small part of the many references
to theosis found in the scriptures.
