Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
God's economy simply means God wanting to dispense Himself into man, so that may might become god. What does "become god" mean? It means man might partake of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). In short, God became a man so that man might become god. In general Christian theology this is called divinization (deification, making divine, or theosis).
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The Bible does not teach deification, it prohibits this teaching.
1st, Witness Lee cannot redefine words as he pleases. The word Deification: the act or an instance of deifying. Deify: to make a god of; exalt to the rank of a deity; personify as a deity. To adore or regard as a deity. Show me a credible dictionary with Witness Lee's definition of this word? Any reasonable person who hears that Witness Lee teaches “deification” will understand the word according to this definition. Witness Lee even admits that this is heresy and blasphemy. It is one thing to use obscure meanings of a word, that is a gray area, but to say that black is white it clearly deceitful.
“Actually, I do not use the word deification. It would be heretical to teach deification in the sense of claiming that believers attain to the Godhead. But it is according to the Scriptures to teach that because we have been born of God, we possess the divine life and the divine nature and that, in these two aspects, we have become the same as God. We definitely cannot participate in the Godhead or have the position to be worshipped by others as God; nevertheless, through regeneration we have God's life and nature.” (Witness Lee, Life Study of 2 Peter, Chapter 3, Section 3)
I don’t have an issue with 1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now we are children of God”, but I don’t ignore 1John 5:21 My little children, guard yourselves from idols.
I don’t deny 2 Peter 1:4 "partakers of the divine nature" but I understand that Peter’s point is 2Pet 3:11 “what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness”.
Everyone teaches John 1:12-13 says that we were born, regenerated, by God with His life. The issue we have with Witness Lee is that he went beyond the things written. (1Cor 4:6). Godliness, sanctification, and holy living are the things written. There is no need to use the term deification since his definition is equivalent to sanctification.