Quote:
Originally Posted by Sons to Glory!
Yeah, yer right . . . sorta. It was just all this discussion - back and forth and forth and back - it all kinda got lost in the sauce for me and I was hoping to get it distilled down into something, sorta, kinda, basically ineligible.
What I'm realizing these days is - if it ain't simple to grasp, it probably aint the Lord.
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Fair enough.
The simplest passages I can think of are these ones:
2 Peter 1:4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you
may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
Romans 8:29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be
conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers and sisters.
2 Peter 1:4 shows that it is God's will for us to participate in the divine nature.
Romans 8:29 shows the goal of salvation to be conformed to the image of Christ and share in God's family as Jesus's brother.
2 Peter 1:4 and Romans 8:29 is basically theosis. The gospel is about bringing many sons to glory.
John 3:16 has been interpreted by many that salvation is to not perish (in hell) and live forever (in heaven).
In contrast, the early church seems to have seen salvation in light of 2 Peter 1:4 and Romans 8:28. The EOC seems to have retained this early church tradition of keeping theosis as the focus. If that is what the early church believed, then the apostle Paul must have contained theosis as part of his gospel such as - Hebrews 2 and Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.