In this article I have been sharing some of the thoughts of the Greek Fathers of the Church on Theosis. I am sure that all of my readers know the famous words of St. Athanasius the Great: God became man that we might be made gods. In the Epistle reading for the Divine Liturgy on Christmas Day, where Paul identifies the Incarnation as the fullness of time, he also makes the following very important point:

But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And   because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Thus the purpose of Christ’s redemption of mankind is “that we might receive the adoption of sons” through union with Him, for thereby we receive the Spirit, Who cries in our hearts “Abba, Father;” and thereby we truly become “heirs of God through Christ.”

It is in Christ Jesus, therefore that we not only encounter true and perfect God, but also true and perfect man. In other words, we see in Him not only the great God and Savior, but also what we have been called to become.

In Christ Jesus we find man’s true place, “on the right hand of the Father,” sharing in the divine life; but, as with the two natures in Christ, united without confusion; in other words, we never cease to be His creatures, for He alone is Uncreated and Pre-eternal.

It is much like the case of our earthly fathers. We become equal to them in every way except for the fact that we can never say that we gave them life. They always remain the source of our lives.

Throughout the History of Salvation – in the Old  Testament as well as the New – it was this same Son and Word of God, Who was in the beginning with the Father, Who of old revealed Himself to our spiritual forefathers. In other words, it was the Pre-Incarnate Word, He Who by His Incarnation became the Christ, it was He who visited Abraham under the Oak at Mamre, it was He Who wrestled with Jacob, it was He Who spoke with Moses and the Prophets. This is He of Whom the Prophet-King David tells, “The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

Although we think of Jesus coming into human history at a certain time, we must remember that there is no time in God. Christ always was Incarnate. What does this mean to you?

Think about this. It is important to understand!