Quote:
Originally Posted by UntoHim
Since the inception of the church, the common, orthodox understanding of this matter is that we receive the life of God and partake of his divine nature. We do not "become", rather we receive. Witness Lee is just one of many false teachers who have made the unbiblical claim that we are becoming god in life and nature. He wasn't the first and he won't be the last.
"Tis mystery all the immortal dies
who can explore his strange design"
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The early church quotations use the word "become" so I don't know how you can claim that. The word become is the correct translation of Athanasius (also Irenaeus,Clement, Hippolytus et al. ) :
"For the Son of God became man so that we might become God." ~ Athanasius
"Αὐτὸς γὰρ ἐνηνθρώπισεν, ἵνα ἡμεῖς θεοποιηθῶμεν (Migne, Patrologia Graeca, 25, 192 B De incarnatione Verbi, 54: literally, "... that we might become ...". Grammatically, the verb θεοποιηθῶμεν could be translated as "be made God" Himself or "be made gods."
While it is correct that we receive God's life and nature, that comes with some transformation aspect, or to "become".