Category: Thy Kingdom Come

On deification – 3

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Deification versus Salvation

He was made man that we might become god (Athanasius of Alexandria, De Inc, 54.3). 

Through Christ, the Word made flesh, man has access to the Father in the Holy Spirit and comes to share in the divine nature (Paul VI, 1965).

Many, especially in Western Christianity, tend to commingle the terms deification and salvation as though they have the same meaning, but this manifests poor understanding of the two terms as originally meant by the Fathers of the Church. In fact, when the language and context of deification and theosis are replaced with the language and context of salvation, Patristic theology becomes, in effect, displaced by Reformation language (Kharlamov, 2010), with the consequent loss of the original meanings. Salvation is part of deification, but

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On deification – 2

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Is it not written in your Law: I said, you are gods? (Jn 10:34).

He has given us most great and precious promises: that by these you may be made partakers of the divine nature (2 P 1:4).

Two kinds of deification exist. The first kind refers to the

elevation of man to the highest level of his natural powers, or to the full realization of man…[when] the divine power of grace is active in him…[The second kind refers to the] progress which man makes beyond the limits of his natural powers, beyond the boundaries of his nature, to the divine and supernatural level (D. Staniloae, 2002, p. 363).

For man to pass from the first kind of deification which is well-known, to the second Continue reading “On deification – 2” →

On deification – 1

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What is deification?

Deification is the attaining of likeness to God and union with Him so far as is possible (Dionysus the Aeropagite, EH 1.3, PG 3.376a).

God, you see, wants to make you a god; not by nature, of course, like the One whom He begot but by His gift and by adoption (Augustine of Hippo, Serm. 166.4).

Deification can be defined as “God’s perfect and full penetration of man” (Staniloae, 2002, p. 362). The deification or divinization of man is not “an identification with God; it is only an assimilation, a very eminent restoration of the original divine likeness…[whereby one] participates by grace in the perfections that God possesses by nature . . . Continue reading “On deification – 1” →

Are the Orthodox part of the Roman Catholics in the Book of Revelation?

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The question was asked, “Are the Orthodox part of the Roman Catholics in the Book of Revelation?” In brief, the answer is a resounding “yes, of course!” I was surprised when I found the above question because the Book of Revelation does not pertain to a single denomination, no matter how much various denominations of one stripe or another may desire to hijack this part of Scripture – indeed, any part of Scripture, if we come to that – to accomodate their self-serving, self-righteous agendas. It is also not non-denominational as the term is currently understood, to be crystal clear.

What is presently happening in our world is a sifting – of those who truly desire the Triune Continue reading “Are the Orthodox part of the Roman Catholics in the Book of Revelation?” →

For the people

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“When the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughter of Zion and cleansed Jerusalem of the blood shed in her with the blast of judgment and the blast of destruction, Yahweh will come and rest on the whole stretch of Mount Zion and on those who are gathered there, a cloud by day and smoke, and by night the brightness of a flaring fire. For, over all, the glory of Yahweh will be a canopy and a tent to give shade by day from the heat, refuge and shelter from the storm and the rain” (Is 4:4-6).

What does it mean to be a child of God?

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To be a child of God means to be an adoptive member of the Divine Family.

When we become children of the living God by taking steps to rediscover our true heritage and giving the Almighty Father our fiat with sincerity of heart, in essence and in fact, we become adoptive members of the Divine Family. The Family – the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and, yes, even the Mother* – take us in. They take us into Their Hearts and envelop us in Their bosom, showering us with all we need to become gods by grace (2 P 1:4; Ps 82:6).  Continue reading “What does it mean to be a child of God?” →

The Heart of the Father by Thomas W. Petrisko

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HeartoftheFatherCov-final__53107_stdThe Heart of the Father: Why the Paternal Heart of Life is the Answer to the Culture of Death by Thomas W. Petrisko (2013) of Saint Andrew’s Productions.

“”We raise our voices and pray that the Love which is in the Father,” Pope John Paul II writes in Dives in Misericordia, “may once again be revealed at this stage of history…that it may be shown to be present in our modern world to be more powerful than evil, more powerful than sin and death.”

“Now, in our time, our Heavenly Father shows us the means to see this great Love of His that is so merciful, so wanting to be discovered – it is through His Heart of Life, His Divine Paternal Heart!  Continue reading “The Heart of the Father by Thomas W. Petrisko” →

Thy Kingdom come – 1 – Thought for the day

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“Thy Kingdom come:” how beautiful and profound are those three words in the Lord’s prayer. Inherently, though some are still unaware of this, those three words of Jesus Christ, which He taught us to say daily, mean that we are asking our beautiful Father to come and live in us as we live in Him. This as wherever there is the Almighty Father there is the Kingdom, because the Father Himself is the Kingdom and provides the kingdom for His faithful children to enjoy. Ergo “Thy Kingdom come” is the coming and reigning of the Divine Will on earth.