THEOSIS,

IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS 1

THEOSIS In Light of the Doctrine of Glorification

Geoff Hill

2 THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS Introduction For some, engaging the topic of theosis, or deification, returns thoughts and images of some distant pagan religions. Theosis is certainly a doctrine that needs

explanation. As well, like many doctrines within Christianity, theosis doesnt necessarily work by itself, but must fit within a framework of a given systematic theology. Like the doctrine of Predestination, for example, theosis requires other established and agreed upon doctrines beside, underneath, and on top of it to properly understand how it works. Alone, and separated from other doctrine and dogma, theosis may carry no weight of validity within the Christian circle or academia, and may be cast aside as heresy or unorthodoxy. The aim, then, must not be to focus solely on making a

convincing argument for theosis, but, rather, establishing its place in the whole of a systematic theology. Nevertheless, prior to establishing that place, a brief definition of theosis must be realized. Within patristic and Scriptural accounts where theosis is discussed, the vocabulary of deification is often absent, while the content often is present. This can be seen in what is called the admirabile commercium, or formula of exchange, in that, as St. Augustine writes, God wanted to be the Son of Man and He wanted men to be the sons of God.1 John Calvin describes this exchange in detail: This is the wondrous exchange made by his boundless goodness. Having become with us the Son of Man, he has made us with himself sons of God. By his own descent to the earth he has prepared our ascent to heaven. Having received our mortality, he has bestowed on us his immortality. Having undertaken our weakness, he has made us strong in his strength. Having submitted to our poverty, he has transferred to us his riches.
1 Trac. In Io. 12. 8; St. Augustine, Tractates on the Gospel of John 11-27, trans. John W. Rettig,

Fathers of the Church, vol. 79 (Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1988), 36.

THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS 3

Having taken upon himself the burden of unrighteousness with which we were oppressed, he has clothed us with his righteousness.2 In other words, It could be said that theosis is the doctrine of the believers transformation into the likeness of God; the restoration of the unity between God and man that was lost at the fall3. Essentially, God imparts onto us His likeness, by having taken on our likeness. The Christian doctrine of theosis was never seen as a doctrine of god making, or the idea that Christians become little gods, but, rather, the idea that God will restore perfect communion between Himself and His creation; that we will be, in essence, one with Christ4. Scripture reveals this idea by stating that believers are conformed to and transformed into the image of Christ. Pauls words, in Romans 8:29, by no means makes this ambiguous by saying, For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers5, and in 2 Corinthians 3:18 by stating, and we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.6 Though not many would disagree with these suggestions, what, then, is the problem with theosis, and where does the term deification come into the discussion? The Problem With Theosis In most Western Christian traditions, when understanding deification in an ontological dimension, theosis seems to speak against the idea that humans will forever
Inc., 1997).
2 John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, (Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems,

3 See Romans 3:29 5 ESV Rom 8:29

4 See 1 John 3:2, Romans 8:17 6 ESV 2 Cor 3:18

4 THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS remain in relation to God in a creator-creature relationship. It may be argued that Christians on the journey of sanctification may obtain qualities and attributes of divinity (namely holiness, love, and wisdom), but never, themselves, become divine in essence, as theosis may seem to suggest. 7 As Orthodox bishop Kallistos Ware writes, In the age to come, God is all in all but Peter is Peter and Paul is Paul. Each human continues to retain his or her own nature and personal identity, yet, the individual, at the same time, is filled with Gods divine attributes and perfected as creature.8 The Orthodox Study Bible boldly states: What deification is not: When the Church calls us to pursue godliness, to be more like God, this does not mean that human beings then become divine. We do not become like God in His nature. That would not only be heresy, it would be impossible. For we are human, always have been human, and always will be human. We cannot take on the nature of God.9 Typically, those who are opposed to the orthodox understanding of theosis are found partially agreeing with its theological implications (namely, being transformed into the likeness of God, entering into perfect oneness with God, etc.), while rejecting its terminology. In addition, they tend to inadvertently dilute or modernize it according to their socio-political context by finding a more dynamic theological equivalent to the term.
10

For example, instead of using the words theosis, deification, and

Michael Christensen, and Jeffery A. Wittung. Partakers of the Divine Nature: the History and Development of Deification in the Christian Traditions. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007). 28 8 Kallistos, The Orthodox Way (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimirs Seminary Press, 1986), 168 9 The Orthodox Study Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993), 561. 10 Michael Christensen, and Jeffery A. Wittung. Partakers of the Divine Nature: the History and Development of Deification in the Christian Traditions. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007). 29
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divinization,11 it could be evident that explanations such as Christian perfection, made holy, sons of God, and glorified are often substituted. Michael Christensen, in an essay on theosis, writes: The idea of deification sounds blasphemous or too pretentious to some and totally absurd and non-Christian to others.12 That being the case, if different terminology is simply substituted in place of theosis, examining the theological implications of these terminologies may be the key to unlocking the door in finding the place for theosis in theology. Theosis in the Ordo Salutis In the mid 1720s, Lutheran theologians first used the term Ordo Salutis13 to attempt to define and organize the consecutive steps in the work of the Holy Spirit in the appropriation of salvation.14 This sequence of events, as seen in reformed theology, follows as: Predestination, Election, Calling, Regeneration, Faith, Repentance, Justification, Sanctification, Perseverance, and Glorification.15 Against the criticisms of theologians such as Karl Barth, who sees organizing salvation as running the risk of "psychologizing" salvation, and Gerrit Berkouwer, whos concern is that the ordering does not do justice to the "fullness" of salvation,16 establishing an intellectual or cerebral organization of salvation enables the Christian to think coherently about particular

Not to be confused with the term divination. Ibid. 29, 30 13 S.B.Ferguson 'Ordo Salutis,' New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988): 480. 14 'Ordo Salutis' Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge http://www.ccel.org/s/schaff/encyc/encyc08/htm/ii.vii.htm#ii.vii Retrieved 06 Nov 2011. 15 Different Christian denominations and traditions may hold to a different sequence and may or may not add to or exclude attributes shown above. 16 S.B.Ferguson 'Ordo Salutis,' New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1988): 480.
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6 THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS elements of salvation.17 One aspect of the Ordo Salutis in particular that appears most relevant to the topic of theosis is glorification.18 Acceptable definitions of glorification can be stated as: the ultimate perfection of believers in which the believer will be made glorious, holy, and blameless bringing participation in the kingdom of God and a partaking of God's own glory,19 the process that was begun at conversion is brought to completion, made co-heirs with Christ, believers are perfectly blessed, enjoying oneness with God for all eternity20 and our ultimate destiny is infinite oneness with Christ in the limitless reaches of Gods glory.21 The language employed, that Christians become one with God, is often used when illustrating glorification, but are its implications neglected? Consider the High Priestly Prayer in the 17th chapter of the book of John when Jesus prays: I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in usthe glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me.22 Christ is not only explaining that the same glory that had been given to Him has also been given to believers, but He takes the promise further as to explain there will be, in fact, a perfect union between the believer and Christ in the same way Christ is unified with God the Father. It is necessary to realize that what the text is making clear is unity
Ibid, 481 Although theosis in its comprehensive study would include the entire ordo salutis as a whole, and even reaches beyond the subject into soteriology, Christology, and anthropology, the most relevant to the discussion at hand is glorification. 19 http://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/bakers-evangelical-dictionary/glorification.html 20 Jon Bennett, Ordo Salutis , Ad Fines Terrae, (http://adfinesterrae.com/2011/10/20/glorification) Accessed 06/11/11 21 David Morsey, Glorified Together, (http://www.harvestermission.org/messenger%5C198607.pdf), 1986, Accessed 04/11/11 22 ESV Jn. 17:20-23
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THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS 7

with Christ is brought about due to the glory that He has given us. If we are not unified with Christ, as He is unified with His Father, then, contrary to John 17, He has not given us the glory that was given to Him. We can go further in examining what specifically this glory is that Christ has so graciously blessed the Christian with by looking at John 17:4-5, when again Christ Prays: I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 23 And what was Christs glory before the world existed? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.24 It seems apparent, then, that the glory we will receive, will be that in which Christ has received: oneness with God. Be aware, also, that while partaking in the divine nature, being conformed to the image of Christ, being transformed to His likeness and becoming a son of God is explicitly obvious; there is absolutely no reference to the notion that humans will in essence become another god, but, rather, that we will be one with God. Combining this previous passage with 1 John 3:2 proves beneficial when attempting to understand the language of unity in glorification, Beloved, we are Gods children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.25 Matthew Henry, a Presbyterian minister and Biblical exegete, wrote the following commentary on 1 John 3:2: The sons of God will be known and be made manifest by their likeness to their head: They shall be like himlike him in honour, and power, and
ESV Jn 17:45. ESV Jn 1:1. 25 ESV 1 Jn 3:2 -The literal Greek translation for this text reads, when He appears like him we will be
24 23

8 THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS glory. Their vile bodies shall be made like his glorious bodythey shall be transformed into the same image by the beatific view that they shall have of him.26 It is obvious that glorification brings man into more than simply a legal or forensic state of holiness, purity and righteousness before God, but goes even further to bring man into an ontological state of Gods nature, acquiring God-like attributes, in unity with God, and possessing an essence that is like Gods. Glorified by Partaking in His Divine Nature One of the foundations of the doctrine of theosis is found in 2 Peter 1:4, where Peter is telling of Gods promises that He has granted to believers: by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature27 The Greek word for partakers in this passage is (koinonos), which can be defined specifically as a participant who mutually belongs and shares fellowship; a "joint-participant."28 In other words, the believer is not merely sharing a portion of the divine nature, but taking part in the divine nature fully and completely. This truth is explained further within Thomas Aquinas works, when he wrote, The only-begotten Son of God, wishing to make us partakers (koinonos) in His divine nature, assumed our nature, so that He might make men gods.29 For the human mind and will could never imagine, understand or ask that God become man, and that man become God and a sharer in the divine nature. But he has done this in us by his power, and it was accomplished

Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible : Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1996), 1 Jn 3:13. 27 ESV 2 Peter 1:4 28 Strongs Concordance, #2844- koinonos 29 Thomas Aquinas, Opusc. 57; trans. Andrew Louth, Manhood in God, 74
26

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in the Incarnation of His Son: That you may become partakers of the divine nature30 St. Augustine makes use of 2 Peter 1:4 and paraphrases the use of partakers of the divine nature in saying That Godhead equal to the Father was made partaker of our mortality, not of his own store, but of ours; that we too might be made partakers of his. 31 It may seem like a bit of a stretch in correlating partakers of the divine nature, as seen in 1 Peter 2:4, with making men gods, regardless of the ontological and spiritual attributes of God believers may obtain upon being glorified with Christ. However, when Scripture is examined in what Christs nature is explained to be, in relation to what Scripture says believers will be made to be, the conflict may only lie in subjective feelings that the phrase making men gods seems to bring about. Glorified as Sons Of God A primary title given to Christ, which is by far the most used language when describing the identity of Christ, is Son of God. Examples of this are for He said, I am the Son of God, Truly this was the Son of God! You are the Son of God! and Are You the Son of God, then? And He said to them, Yes, I Am. 32 just to name a few. It is important to realize the term Son of God is primarily a reference to Christs divinity. As the angel Gabriel announces, And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holythe Son of God33. Mark Tuckett unpacks this idea further by commenting that:
In Eph. 3:19 [182]; Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Saint Pauls Epistle to the Ephesians, trans. And intro. Matthew L Lamb (Albany, NY: Magi, 1066), 147 31 Augustine, Ennar. In Ps. 138. 1; NPNF, 1st series, vol. 8, 635 32 NASB, Mt. 27:43, Mt. 27:54, Mk. 3:11, Lk 22:70. 33 ESV, Lk 1:35.
30

1 THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS 0 Of all the Christological titles used in the New Testament, Son of God has had one of the most lasting impacts in Christian history and has become part of the profession of faith by many Christians. In the mainstream Trinitarian context the title implies the full divinity of Jesus as part of the Holy Trinity of Father, Son and the Spirit.34 The divinity of Christ is praised and exalted, as well as clearly defined, in Hebrews 1:2-6: But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son, today I have begotten you? Or again, I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son? And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, Let all Gods angels worship him. 35 If the title Son of God so unequivocally expresses divinity when spoken of Christ, what can be said, then, when the same language is applied to the Christian? Numerous passages in Scripture reveal that believers have been predestined for adoption as sons,36 that we are no longer strangers and aliens37 but that we are Gods children now38 and will forever remain in Christ Jesus as sons of God.39 On being sons of God, scripture makes use of the term adoption in many occasions to affirm the legal transaction that had taken place to secure our sonship. For example, Romans 8:15 employs adoption as such, For you did not receive the spirit of

34 35

Christopher Mark Tuckett, Christology and the New Testament, 2001 ESV, Heb 1:26. 36 ESV, Eph 1:5 37 Eph 2:19 38 1 Jn 3:2 39 Gal 3:26

THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS 1 1

slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father!40 On this, F.F. Bruce comments, In the Roman world of the first century an adopted son was a son deliberately chosen by his adoptive father to perpetuate his name and inherit his estate; he was no whit inferior in status to a son born in the ordinary course of nature, and might well enjoy the father's affection more fully and reproduce the father's character more worthily.41 John, in Revelation 21:7, makes this God-Son relationship clear by writing Christs words, The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son and will share in Christs reign, as He will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 42 In other words, this passage is indicative of the fact that the believer literally, be it ontologically or spiritually, becomes Gods son in the same way Christ is the Son of God, and will partake of his glory with Him, by joining Him on His throne. The language that is used, sit with me on my throne, reveals a perfect union, or communion, in being one with Christ. It should be avoided to argue that the language sons of God when applied to the believer is figurative, while the language Son of God when applied to Christ remains literal. This notion is elementary and immature at best, and goes far to diminish the intent and integrity of Gods promises to the Christian. Is it merely figurative language when Paul writes in Philippians 3:21 that the Lord Jesus Christ will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body? If the language sons of God is limited to simply figure

ESV Romans 8:15 F. F. Bruce. The Letter of Paul to the Romans: an Introduction and Commentary. (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity) 1985, 232 42 ESV Rev 3:21
41 40

1 THEOSIS, IN LIGHT OF THE DOCTRINE OF GLORIFICATION, HAS A PLACE IN THE ORDO SALUTIS 2 of speech, then Christians are not truly sons of God at all, as Scripture so plainly states that they are. Theosis and Glorification For much of Western theology, the doctrine of theosis appears to make humans into gods, while glorification seems to make easy the idea that we become like God. The difference, it seems, is that theosis claims to take on an ontological dimension, not only making perfect our spiritual state before God, but also making our essence one with God; rather than simply obtaining Godlike attributes in a perfected human body. However, this is not the case. T.F. Torrance acknowledges that the exaltation of human nature into the life of God does not mean the disappearance of man or the swallowing up of human and creaturely being in the ocean of the divine being, but rather, that human nature, remaining creaturely and human, is yet exalted in Christ to share in Gods life and glory.43 If one can soberly acknowledge and appreciate the similarities between the doctrine of theosis and the doctrine of glorification, as well as objectively wrestle with the ideas that theosis presents, we may understand, more fully, that being united to Jesus Christ the God-man, and through that relationship, we may be gathered up in Christ Jesus and included in his own self-presentation before the Father; and in that relationship partake of the divine nature.

Word count: 3490

43 T.F. Torrance, Space, Time and Resurrection, (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 135