As the Lord gives greater insights and deepens His instruction I am compelled to share that with you.
My blog here largely reflects my spiritual journey and I share what God has been teaching my soul over time. Up until recently this instruction has been mostly of the personal revelation kind corroborated with scripture.
Last Tuesday My father in heaven felt fit that I find corroboration and solace from a different source. Corroboration - for the world needs to know that this is not the ramblings of an individuals' mind, solace - because I've been feeling very alone in my understanding, and that not many are getting what I say.
Last Tuesday I attended our Catholic small groups at Uni with Fr. Mannes - we were discussing the Incarnation of Christ and why Jesus came. After I suggested that Jesus came so that we can become like Him, Father actually alluded to the fact that Thomas Aquinas has quoted St Athanasius to say that we may become like God. I was surprised at first and then excited. But it was only today that I had the time to look into it, and when I did, I realised that it is true --there is indeed a well documented Catholic belief, recorded in none less than the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the ultimate 'end' of the transformation that I have been banging on about in my previous blog articles. In actual fact the CCC does not expound on the process to get there but notes the 4 reasons for the incarnation as follows
1. The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God
2. The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love:
3. The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness:
4. The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature"
Point 4 goes on to read "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."
I am sure that the first two points are those that the vast majority of Christians are familiar with and sometimes maybe even the third. But how often do we hear the fourth point even mentioned?
I also came to realise that not only the CCC, but much earlier than that, several of the early church fathers like Irenaeus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Justin the martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Hippolyticus and Athanasius of Alexandria held quite similar views.
St Athanasius clearly states "Therefore He was not man, and then became God, but he was God, and then became man, and that to deify us" "For he was made man that we might be made God"
In Eastern Orthodox Theology, deification or Theosis is the goal of every Christian - it is possible for man to become God by grace. They also describe this transformation as having three stages - katharsis or purification, theoria or illumination, and theosis or deification (to becomes Gods by grace / reconciliation, union with God).
So yes indeed my dear friends - our goal in life is to attain this deification or God likeness. This is the condensed essence of the entire Gospel - to become as He is and was, to emulate His love for the creator Father, to be merciful as He is, be Holy as our Father in heaven is Holy. And none of this is possible without walking the path of relationship.
My blog here largely reflects my spiritual journey and I share what God has been teaching my soul over time. Up until recently this instruction has been mostly of the personal revelation kind corroborated with scripture.
Last Tuesday My father in heaven felt fit that I find corroboration and solace from a different source. Corroboration - for the world needs to know that this is not the ramblings of an individuals' mind, solace - because I've been feeling very alone in my understanding, and that not many are getting what I say.
Last Tuesday I attended our Catholic small groups at Uni with Fr. Mannes - we were discussing the Incarnation of Christ and why Jesus came. After I suggested that Jesus came so that we can become like Him, Father actually alluded to the fact that Thomas Aquinas has quoted St Athanasius to say that we may become like God. I was surprised at first and then excited. But it was only today that I had the time to look into it, and when I did, I realised that it is true --there is indeed a well documented Catholic belief, recorded in none less than the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the ultimate 'end' of the transformation that I have been banging on about in my previous blog articles. In actual fact the CCC does not expound on the process to get there but notes the 4 reasons for the incarnation as follows
1. The Word became flesh for us in order to save us by reconciling us with God
2. The Word became flesh so that thus we might know God's love:
3. The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness:
4. The Word became flesh to make us "partakers of the divine nature"
Point 4 goes on to read "For this is why the Word became man, and the Son of God became the Son of man: so that man, by entering into communion with the Word and thus receiving divine sonship, might become a son of God." "For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." "The only-begotten Son of God, wanting to make us sharers in his divinity, assumed our nature, so that he, made man, might make men gods."
I am sure that the first two points are those that the vast majority of Christians are familiar with and sometimes maybe even the third. But how often do we hear the fourth point even mentioned?
I also came to realise that not only the CCC, but much earlier than that, several of the early church fathers like Irenaeus, St. Clement of Alexandria, Justin the martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Hippolyticus and Athanasius of Alexandria held quite similar views.
St Athanasius clearly states "Therefore He was not man, and then became God, but he was God, and then became man, and that to deify us" "For he was made man that we might be made God"
In Eastern Orthodox Theology, deification or Theosis is the goal of every Christian - it is possible for man to become God by grace. They also describe this transformation as having three stages - katharsis or purification, theoria or illumination, and theosis or deification (to becomes Gods by grace / reconciliation, union with God).
So yes indeed my dear friends - our goal in life is to attain this deification or God likeness. This is the condensed essence of the entire Gospel - to become as He is and was, to emulate His love for the creator Father, to be merciful as He is, be Holy as our Father in heaven is Holy. And none of this is possible without walking the path of relationship.
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