FULLNESS OF LIFE IS YOURS
21/11/24 15:09
There is a difference between ‘being’ and person. A christian who is one with the being of God is a different being to a person who lives from instinct or the law. In oneness with God we are sons in spirit and in truth. In any kind of separation from God we are sons notionally, sons as persons but not sons in being. This difference in being and persons explains how one can be included in the Body of Christ as a person but not one with the Body of Christ in any real sense in being. Legalism stymies being and supports the illusion of life in ‘the letter that kills’. Every degree of letter living brings a degree of spiritual death.
HOLY COMMUNION
The Lord’s Table, Holy Communion and the eucharist, signal the reality of our life as persons who are ONE WITH THE BEING OF GOD. As the bread becomes us so Christ has become us in the mystery of the Spirit – incarnation. One with Christ we are one with the trinity. One with the Trinity we are one with life, love and wisdom.
QUALITY OF LOVE
The quality of community we have in the Body depends on the kind of union we have with Christ. If it is a union of words and positions - a variety of legalism - our communion with God and others will be more superficial than the oneness of being that is ours derived from the oneness of incarnation where we are participating in the being of God. When Jesus says, ‘Those who eat me will live because of me’ he speaks of the oneness with Himself that He has given us that is real life rather than superficial life. This oneness Jesus gives us is similar to the oneness that exists between the members of the trinity. It is from trinitarian communion that your communion and daily life with God is derived.
RELATEDNESS OF GOD IN US
Myk Habets following Torrance observes, “Torrance.. sees in the creation of men and women in the image of God an otherness and togetherness that is to be expressed in an inherent relatedness, which in turn is a creaturely reflection of a transcendent relatedness in the divine Being…
RELATIONSHIP NOT A WORD
“Onto-relations [being] work on two levels, vertically and horizontally. Vertically, one is justified and sanctified through a relationship with the triune God; horizontally, one is formed into communion with other believers in the Body of Christ, the church.
But these two levels are one integrated whole, not two separate spheres. What is clear is that theosis, communion with God, is a ‘personal’ activity and persons are defined as humans-in-relationship. The ultimate person is Jesus Christ; hence mature men and women are those who have been perfected by grace as they are united to Christ in the Holy Spirit. The church thus becomes the locus of theosis this side of the Parousia.” (1) Satisfying community is not the product of meetings. It’s the effect of the lived oneness with God that is ours now.
REALITY IS CHRIST OUR LIFE
One might strive to be a real person by seeking the ‘harmonious development of the physical, mental and spiritual powers’. But this is like a pig trying to fly. We are formed into whole persons in Christ as the manifestation of Christ. Formed into whole persons because Christ is has made us one with God. Because He is our life and because Christ is becoming us. This is our advance from glory to glory.
(1) Myk Habets, Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance, p.41.
HOLY COMMUNION
The Lord’s Table, Holy Communion and the eucharist, signal the reality of our life as persons who are ONE WITH THE BEING OF GOD. As the bread becomes us so Christ has become us in the mystery of the Spirit – incarnation. One with Christ we are one with the trinity. One with the Trinity we are one with life, love and wisdom.
QUALITY OF LOVE
The quality of community we have in the Body depends on the kind of union we have with Christ. If it is a union of words and positions - a variety of legalism - our communion with God and others will be more superficial than the oneness of being that is ours derived from the oneness of incarnation where we are participating in the being of God. When Jesus says, ‘Those who eat me will live because of me’ he speaks of the oneness with Himself that He has given us that is real life rather than superficial life. This oneness Jesus gives us is similar to the oneness that exists between the members of the trinity. It is from trinitarian communion that your communion and daily life with God is derived.
RELATEDNESS OF GOD IN US
Myk Habets following Torrance observes, “Torrance.. sees in the creation of men and women in the image of God an otherness and togetherness that is to be expressed in an inherent relatedness, which in turn is a creaturely reflection of a transcendent relatedness in the divine Being…
RELATIONSHIP NOT A WORD
“Onto-relations [being] work on two levels, vertically and horizontally. Vertically, one is justified and sanctified through a relationship with the triune God; horizontally, one is formed into communion with other believers in the Body of Christ, the church.
But these two levels are one integrated whole, not two separate spheres. What is clear is that theosis, communion with God, is a ‘personal’ activity and persons are defined as humans-in-relationship. The ultimate person is Jesus Christ; hence mature men and women are those who have been perfected by grace as they are united to Christ in the Holy Spirit. The church thus becomes the locus of theosis this side of the Parousia.” (1) Satisfying community is not the product of meetings. It’s the effect of the lived oneness with God that is ours now.
REALITY IS CHRIST OUR LIFE
One might strive to be a real person by seeking the ‘harmonious development of the physical, mental and spiritual powers’. But this is like a pig trying to fly. We are formed into whole persons in Christ as the manifestation of Christ. Formed into whole persons because Christ is has made us one with God. Because He is our life and because Christ is becoming us. This is our advance from glory to glory.
(1) Myk Habets, Theosis in the Theology of Thomas Torrance, p.41.
