https://t.me/Tech_freedom_chat?videochat=5717ca64bedc8d3281

Father, As we look at this topic that has been hushed up in Western Christianity for so long due to misunderstanding, I ask that you would send the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and hearts to grasp, or at least begin to grasp the truth of it. Help us to break through the molds of Western Christendom that have taught us that we are less than, or far away and need the Church to help us get closer to God. Help us to see that there really is not much difference between theosis and sanctification, other than language. Let the Spirit in which you prayed in John 17 permeate these brief thoughts. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen. What is theosis? Simply put, it is the ultimate goal or telos of salvation in Orthodox Christian traditions. What is it, though? It is the belief that Jesus came to earth as a man, so that by believing in Him, we humans might become one with Him. What is sanctification, then? The process of walking out our salvation, with the help of the Holy Spirit, until we become “perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect”. It is the process of becoming holy so that we are fit for heaven when we die. Do you see the difference in language? In stance? In Orthodox belief, original sin is not a reality. Was there a fall? Yes. Do they tend to see it as having or being a norming norm for humanity, in the way that many protestants, at least, see the doctrine of total depravity? No. Gregory of Palamas, whom we will look at over a couple of memesplanations in the coming week, believed that human passions were actually not native to us. He believed that they were things which were actually counter to our nature. The process of becoming holy (whether you term it sanctification, theosis, or divinization doesn’t matter much) is the process by which we grow closer to God, toward the end of becoming one with Him in heaven. Does this mean that we lose our individuality? No. It means that we gain communion with Him, for eternity. We get all of God, for eternity, and God gets all of us, His whole image, reunited. The way I see it, heaven is unity with God. What is this based on? There are several prooftexts, and a long tradition of thought about it among the Orthodox Churches. Ever wonder what the image of God is? Ever wonder why there is such an emphasis on unity in the New Testament, in particular? Theosis can explain some of that. The unity in question for the New Testament writers is not a top-down thing, but rather it is a Spirit-up kind of thing. The Holy Spirit comes and knits us together, and we grow in unity and love among ourselves as we grow closer to God. That is the unity I am talking about, mutually self-sacrificial love. That is what is supposed to characterize the Jesus Community, not infighting, empire building, or sniping at one another for doctrinal misunderstandings. I digress. So what is theosis, then? It is the process of walking out your justification, of, “Working out (y)our salvation with fear and trembling”. That is not a favorite scripture for many of us, I’d wager. That is not fluffy bunnies and rainbows, that is the meat of the Word, boys and girls. So what is sanctification, then? It is the process, aided by the Holy Spirit, of doing good works in response to the Love that we have received. I think that is more or less how most Western Christians would probably define that term, in a rough sense. It is the Holy Spirit working in and through us to realize the justification we received at the foot of the cross when we surrendered our lives to Jesus and made Him our Lord and Savior. How different are these terms, really? In practice, not very, in end goal, particularly in terms of linguistics, worlds apart. I touched on that earlier. In the West, we are nothing but poor, miserable sinners, saved by grace. That, while saying that we still in some small, corrupted way, carry the image of God in us. This line of thinking puts a great chasm between us and God, which only the cross can span. Most of the West would agree with these metaphors. In the East, man is still basically good to start with, but in need of a doctor and a hospital to heal and restore him, not a judge in a courtroom to merely declare him righteous. In the East, the cross does pave the way, but to wholeness and Communion, not to penal justice and rule keeping, to “stay within the boundaries set by the law”. In the East, we can be restored to full Communion, and that is the expected end of the Christian life. In the West, we simply “go to heaven when we die”. Personally, the Eastern concepts speak far more to me. I want you to really consider these things, as we walk through the next month of teachings on this, both in devotions and in soundbite form in the memesplanations during the week. Part of what I want to do in this study is to show that although we have come to use different terminology, the ends truly are the same. I want to show that we are not as different as we have come to see ourselves as being. I hope to stoke your sanctified imagination with new metaphors and understandings as we go. Next week, I will show you some of the Old Testament texts used to support theosis, as an echo of some of my memesplanations this week, then the following week, we will dive into the New Testament to see what is there. After that, we will wrap it up with a nice little bow at the end of the month.

If you know theology you know St. Thomas Aquinas. He is the “Angelic Doctor”, one of the best known academic theologians in the Western Tradition. He still saw this as the case, particularly in light of passages such as Philippians 2:12-13, 2 Peter 1:3-4, Psalm 82:6, and others. What does it mean that Jesus wants us to share in his divinity? After all, he did not consider his divinity a thing to be grasped or clung to, he emptied himself, so that we could be one with Him. That is good news, y’all. That is the nature of salvation, at least in the Eastern half of the Church.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons on the nature of salvation. In Orthodoxy, Original Sin is not a thing, though they do admit to nature being slanted toward evil. Jesus came to make us one with Him. God knows that we are separate from Him by nature, but He wants to be with us, for we bear His image in His world. Love makes it so that He does not force the issue, but that we would have the choice to live into that which we were designed for from the beginning: communion with Him and one another. That is Heaven, union with God and peace among humans on earth.

To rephrase himself, here is another quote from St Irenaeus. Jesus is the Word, the Son of God and the Son of man: he became like us, so that we might become like Him through communion with Him. That is how we become sons of God in Him. This is theosis, the end goal for the Christian walk in Eastern Orthodox belief. One of the things that I love about Orthodoxy is that they have allowed mystery to be a real part of their spirituality, rather than having cut & dried answers for every little thing under the sun, as we Western Christians believe that we must, for the most part.

This Psalm seems to be talking about the Heavenly council, the word used in Hebrew is elohim, and God is talking to the rulers in his council, whom we know as elders and perhaps some angels, or perhaps his seven spirits. Yes, the seven spirits of God. But Jesus, in quoting it, seems to imply that, in the vein of Psalm 8, God may have been talking to us, after all. In Him, we become sons of God, and can look forward to living in perfect communion with Him, the Holy Spirit and the Father. That is the essence, if you’ll pardon the pun, of theosis.

I have talked a bit about St. Gregory in the past, but as we begin this journey into looking at theosis, about which he had much to say, it is important to ground who he was. He was a hesychastic monk and priest in Greece during the 14th century, well educated, well spoken, ascetic, and deeply spiritual. From this font sprang volumes of theology, among which was this quote. Our response to God’s grace, in his opinion, should lead to ascetic purity and mental prayer, such as the Jesus prayer, which we talked about around a month ago. This purity and devotion, not lessons on theology, will lead to revelation about union with God. Because we are slow, and descendants of the”enlightenment”, we will go through this month of introduction to the idea, it is up to you what you do with it. Will you choose to press in in ways that Gregory Palamas would encourage you to do, or will it stay as simple information for you?

Check out my devotion on Sunday, we'll talk through a couple of passages from the Psalms which suggest this interpretation... you make your own call in that regard. https://rumble.com/v2cju4w-theosis-in-the-old-testament.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y

How does theosis work, Gregory? We come into communion with God through prayer, purity, and praise. It is simple, but not easy. What are these godlike virtues? St Gregory would tell you that they are natural similitudes with God, and they begin with the end of our impassioned throughts, which he says are contrary to nature. As we pursue these “godlike virtues”, or things which are in keeping with our true natures, they become “divine passions” and move us into position to receive the grace of being able to unite with God through prayer and praise.

St. Athanasius talking of the divine exchange that was enabled at the cross. Jesus became incarnate that we might be reunited with God in the way that Adam and Eve were in the garden. That is what the rescue operation was about. That is why Jesus came, showed us what communion with the Father looked like, then gave himself to unlock this for us. This is salvation. We will talk about this over the next few weeks.

This Sunday, we will continue our gloss of Theosis, this time in the New Testament. https://rumble.com/v2dim2u-theosis-3-theosis-in-the-new-testament.html?mref=2jfr3&mc=anr3y

Here’s a thought from Gregory’s dear friend, Basil. If we have been given the Holy Spirit as the seal of our inheritance as Children of God, then what is is that children are in relation to their parents? We tend to be just like them, don’t we? As kids, we think that our parents are the greatest human beings on earth (unless they do something to destroy that belief, thus little Johnny and little Billy and the classic “my dad could beat your dad up” thing), and we want to be just like them. If we are the Children of God, then we have the potential to be just like our Dad. That is what this is about.

Another thought from a great Church Father... Ordered to become God... That is heavy. What does that mean? Is this ordered in relation to commanded, or ordered in relation to put in place? If God became man in Jesus (which we all believe as Christians), then perhaps he came to restore the order that had been broken through pride and ignorance when man chose to bypass relationship for deity in its own right in the Garden. That was the nature of the temptation for Eve and Adam. Pride over relationship with God. God created us to be one with Him, that we would be able to enter into the great eternal community that is God. That is what salvation offers us, according to the Orthodox Traditions.

This is very similar to the thought of St. Athanasius from Monday. He was another Church Father, and the only Syrian Father to be considered a Doctor of the Church by both the West and the East. Why would God choose to empty Godself of all glory and break the created order by entering it fully through incarnation, if not to effect something massive? Turning humanity into persons able to fully commune with Him, then through that, restoring creation to His original intent. That was why Jesus came, not to simply make it possible to go sing and play a harp for eternity, rather than burning in Hell or being annihilated for eternity.

Most translations have this as “a little lower than the angels so as not to cause scandal in the West, but this is a better translation, as the Hebrew term in this passage is elohim. Elohim is one of the names of God. “For who is man...” The truth is that in the big picture, we are actually above the angels, we have the right to command them as well as to judge them, because that is the place we were given in creation. The angels cannot commune with God, they are more “other than” Him than we are, as we get the privilege to receive grace. They do not, and they marvel at it. If that does not speak to how God values us, then I don’t know what does, that God would come, show us how to be, then sacrifice Himself to put us right with Him, so that our nature can be restored, along with all things. It gives me the shivers, you guys.

Here, we see Jesus taking on the meanest of tasks, washing the foul, filthy feet of his disciples, who had been walking around in sandals through the dusty streets of Jerusalem and the Judean countryside. Peter tries to deny Jesus the task, but then Jesus told him that if he did not allow Jesus to wash his feet, then Peter would have no part in Him. This is a symbol of the kenosis we spent so much time on last week. If the Lord wants to wash your feet today, let Him. This is has been a public service announcement from Spirituality & Tech.

Father, Send Your Holy Spirit to guide us and knit us together in love, that we would learn to love. That we would truly prefer one another and have that as a testimony in the world, rather than legalism and fractious competition. Let that shift in each of us unlock the way forward to greater unity with You. Help us to take the meat, so to speak, and throw out the bones. Help us to grasp the depth of this topic and cause that to birth a greater desire for you. In Jesus’ name, Amen In the last month, we have looked at definitions and scriptural references for the concept of theosis. I have a suspicion that if we grow closer to God on an individual level, then the larger divisions in the Church will start to fall away. I really love John 17, and you’ll see a glimpse of that in Saturday’s memesplanation. So, what is theosis? Theosis is the doctrine, from the Eastern Orthodox side of the family tree, that teaches that the purpose of salvation is that we would be able to be united with God in some way. This takes not only identity work, but a complete 180 in how we relate with the world. I say that it takes identity work because until we realize who and whose we are, in Christ, this whole process is unlikely to ever take place in us. We need to know that we do not need to defend ourselves because our Father will always protect us. We need to know that we are so loved by Him, that even were it only for one of us, He would have still sacrificed Himself to be reconnected with that one human being. Yes, even you. Yes, even me. Then, as we become rooted and grounded in that love, the next step is to allow it to flow out from us. Love on people. Bless them. Do not be concerned with reciprocation, let God deal with those who don’t handle it well. Love without boundaries or limits, as the Lord guides you. Yes, as you grow closer to to Him, you will begin to hear His voice more and more clearly. His voice will become life to you. His heart will begin to unite with yours. That is the essence of theosis, divinization, glorification, Christian Perfection, or deification, and I would even hazard that sanctification is not really that far off from this, either. Then we opened the Bible, first looking at the Old Testament (very quickly) for hints that that is something we should expect or not. I was not anywhere near exhaustive, but there were a few passages which I pulled at which seem to suggest these sorts of things. The most famous passages are in the Psalms (8 & 82, to be precise), and could be understood in multiple ways, given context. Maybe not the strongest argument for it, however, the notion of being “created in the image of God” from Genesis seems to be the strongest foundation for this line of thinking, at least in my opinion. Then, last week, we looked at a handful of passages in the New Testament. This is where we find the bulk of support for this idea. Jesus Himself, in John 17, and other places, not only taught that His Father is ours as well (which makes us Sons of God [son, here, is a neutral term. Women are not excluded or minimized in any way]) but prayed that we would live in a love-based communion, just as God does, and that that would draw the nations unto the Kingdom, and through that, change the world. Philippians 2 also speaks to the nature of Jesus’ love for us, a kind of love that we are exhorted to grow into in the Johanine and Petrine epistles (those from Peter and John), as well as elsewhere in Paul’s letters. As children of God, see Romans 8, we must share in our Father’s nature in some way, and we also stand to inherit all He is, but we must accept Jesus’ suffering as our own in order to fully activate that promise and become One with God. Without the suffering, we would simply revert to pride, and take the power and authority for granted, using it in precisely the opposite spirit to that of Jesus. What do you guys and gals think? Is Theosis a line of thought and belief that is worthy of more thoughtful and prayerful engagement? Let me know what you think in the comments.

This passage seems to clear up yesterday’s question marks, quite nicely, doesn’t it? Here, Jesus quotes Psalm 82:6 indirectly, and it is another “Elohim” situation, to almost throw it in the Pharisees’ faces. Looking at Western commentaries seems to refute that Jesus was literally calling humans “gods” here as a defense for the Jews calling him a blasphemer for stating that he is the Son of God, and thus equal to Him, in short order after healing and forgiving the paralytic who was lowered through the roof of the home where he was teaching that day. I leave this up to you and your discernment. Should we take this literally, or more metaphorically? How do we make that decision and cherry pick which verses to take literally and which ones are metaphorical? How do we do this without the active help of the Holy Spirit working alongside and inside us? You tell me.

To echo Psalm 8, here is the writer to the Hebrews. This establishes more of the traditional understanding of Psalm 8:5, which places us lower than the angels, which also throws a wrench of sorts into this series, doesn’t it? This is a direct quote from the Septuagint version of Psalm 8, and whenever we translate something, we have to interpret it, don’t we? Indeed, whenever we hear or see something in our own language, we must interpret it in order to understand it. Context must help in this, as text without context is a pretext for a misunderstanding. I’d love to come up with some pithy remark, but I think that ambiguity and mystery are important, so why don’t you wrestle with this condundrum and let me know what you come up with.

If we are God’s children, then we are heirs. If the Cross and the empty tomb enable us to be joined with Christ, then all that is His is ours. However, as I mentioned over the last couple of days, there is a catch: the catch is that we must daily pick up our cross and follow Him. If we do that, then His glory, his divinity will be ours. Does this mean that we should seek suffering? No, Jesus didn’t do that. He pled with the Father to “Take this cup from me” in the Garden. Face suffering when it comes, but do not seek it out, as it will come on its own, most likely. Face persecution which is steadily growing, even in the West (which was never really as safe as we thought it was, as it was merely culturally “Christian”... Again, I could talk about that for a good while, but not today). When suffering comes, accept it, empty yourself as Jesus did, seek to serve more than to be served (I echo St. Francis of Assisi here, who echoed the Bible), and you will find yourself on the path toward Communion with God.

Jesus poured Himself out like a drink offering. He emptied Himself of the glory and power He had to become, as we discussed yesterday, a servant to all, even to the point of washing feet and becoming sin for us. All the way to dying, separate from the eternal common-unity that is God. Godself was broken on the cross in some mysterious way, and as I said in my song “Worthy”, Jesus showed us how to truly be human. He raised us up through His self-negating sacrifice. He did the unthinkable, the unfathomable, that we might have the option to join in the communion that is God.

Through Jesus’ power, we have full access to all that we need in order to become like God, to attain communion with Him. We simply have to choose to walk that path, through trusting Him. It is yours. Appropriate it through faith, which looks like humbly submitting yourself to His Way, rather than trying to do your own thing for God. Baptizing your ambition and drive without being transformed by the Holy Spirit working in your life through community and the Word leads to horrible things in the end. I could say much about this, but now is not the time.

John 17, Jesus’ prayer for us. How can we be One as God is One? How can we have God’s glory? That sort of unity, that sort of love has not been seen in the Church as a whole since the end of the First Century, at least. Since then, we have tended to grow more and more concerned with doctrinal minutiae, and justifying our own factions’ existence. Holy Spirit, I ask that you would bring unity in the Body of Christ. Help us to love one another as You, Jesus, and the Father love one another. Help us to focus on what really matters, and depend on you for the rest, that we would stop sniping at each other across the lines of tradition and stream.

Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead, praying to the Father in a loud voice. Earlier in the passage, Jesus assures Martha that they will see glorification here on earth. That certainly sounds like theosis. If we are in Christ, then we have access to that promise, as I understand it. We have talked about how we get to that place over the last 4 weeks, do you think that this passage suggests this reality? if we are in Christ, then His Father is our Father. Our Father is able to do far more than we could ever ask, through and for us. When we are one with Him, our desires will be in line with His, and He will grant whatever we ask.

Here we see Jesus call Peter and Andrew to “Follow Me”, this process would utterly transform these fishermen into two of the best known figures in Christianity, and by extension, the world. They were both martyred in different ways in different places, but they never would have had the cojones to speak the Name of Jesus if they had chosen to stay on the boat, with what they knew. Little did they know that their lives would change so radically based on the choice to follow Jesus. Little did they know that they would learn to Love so completely...

Back to Paul today, here, he tells us that Jesus has started the work in us to become like Him, and He will complete it. He tells us that the Holy Spirit is working to make us COMPLETELY HOLY and flawless. This sounds like Wesleyan perfection, but also lends itself to the current discussion, doesn’t it? Does this sound like “a sinner, saved by grace”? Orthodoxy does not deny the struggle of Flesh versus Spirit, but the focus is on what is to come, should we choose to take the path of self-denial that is kenosis, which is the heart of the Christian walk. That is how we can be completely holy and flawless before God. Learning to love one another as He loves us.

God’s perfect love removes fear. Fear of punishment, fear of man, fear of lack, fear of failure, fear of rejection. It also paved the way for us to join in with the existence of the trinity, that of perfect love and community. Jesus has raised us up to have that which He stepped out of when he became incarnate, through His love for us. God wanted all of His image-bearers to be able to be united in Him, so He sent Jesus to show us how and to make it possible for us. That is the nature of the Love of God, it gives godself without thought of godself. Let that blow your mind today.