Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

1. What is Theosis?

2. What Theosis is Not

3. Partaking of the Divine Nature

4. Manifestation of Such a Life

5. The Road Map to Theosis

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Notes

Copyright

About the Authour

Theōsis [noun] θέωσις

making divine

“thAY-oh-sis”

Preface

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

One of my all times favourite authours is the late C.S. Lewis. It was from his writings that I first began to learn about the mystery of another world— God’s world and that the people I live with and deal with are immortals. I began to feel within me a longing for the ‘other world’, a longing to become a part of it, while I live within my time and space. In his classic book, the Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis says:

At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendours we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumour that it will not always be so. Someday, God willing, we shall get in.

In the same book he writes: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in the world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

Nearly fifteen years ago I embarked on a lonely journey to know God in the light of the scripture in Apostle Peter’s writing, where God has called us and given us the invitation to be ‘‘partakers of the divine nature.’’1

My journey took me to the life and teachings of the early church fathers, the desert fathers and desert mothers, like St Antony, St Augustine and hundreds of ordinary human beings like us, who lived and reflected the life of God and not only understood godliness but lived like Jesus in their earthly life. I realise that there is a possibility of misunderstanding some of the statements I make in this booklet about partaking of the divine nature or Theosis. I wish to clarify that, when using those terms, what we are talking about is not that we humans can become divine by nature. Rather, if we participate in the eternal, uncreated essence, then the distinction between God Almighty and man would be abolished. The truth is, even as we live in the flesh as Jesus lived on earth, we can participate in God’s energies, explained in so many ways in the Scripture— such as glory, eternal life, love and power, etc. According to some early church fathers, we experience this other-world reality of Christ’s life through our commitment to a sacramental life and partaking of the Eucharist, when Christ’s Body and Blood become one with ours.

Finally, I do want to make it clear that nothing I write in this booklet is original. I am indebted to the writings of the early orthodox fathers of the church, Watchman Nee, A.W. Tozer, Major W. lan Thomas, Robert Webber, St Teresa and a host of contemporary authours that have written about the ancient church and spirituality like James K.A. Smith and many others.

Then too, I realise I have a long, long way to go to experience this truth, and many like St Athanasius and St Antony keep challenging me to press on even in the midst of pain and struggle. As C.S. Lewis said, by God’s grace, someday we shall get in!

God’s mercy be with you.

Dr K.P. Yohannan Metropolitan

Synod Secretariat

15 August 2018

Introduction

Why did God make man? God being the Creator, He must have had a purpose for creating man. That brings us to the question philosophers from time immemorial have asked—what is the meaning of life? Where did we come from? Where are we going? But again we find, beyond asking such big philosophical questions, there are things like why we feel this unease in our conscience when we do something wrong or say things we shouldn’t be saying? Or why do we feel troubled, worried and afraid? Where does this inner turmoil come from? We can continually ask questions without end, but what we want ultimately is an answer. Some kill themselves as they can’t deal with the lack of peace or the emotional pain in their lives anymore; they can’t find a purpose for their life.

Almost all invented things were made for a specific purpose. The creator of the lightbulb and maker of the automobile both knew the purpose of their inventions. The potter knows exactly why he made his pot of clay. When I was a small boy, I remember watching my mother cooking rice in a certain mann kalam (clay pot). I never saw her using her rice kalam (rice pot) for making sambar (vegetable stew) or any other side dish. For her, that pot was for rice and only rice.

In the same way, if we are to understand the purpose of our lives, we should seek answers from our creator. The source of our information comes from His Word, the Holy Scripture known as the Bible. In the very first book of Genesis, we read the statement: ‘‘Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’’’[1]

So, here we have the answer! God made us in His image that we may reflect His image and His nature in the visible realm! God is invisible. Man, His creation, like the moon reflecting the sun, is supposed to show forth or reflect the nature of the creator, God. So, when the purpose of a created object is fulfilled, then the meaning for its existence is realised. All our questions about life are answered when we understand that our creator, God, made us to live a life of beauty and bliss, as we allow Him to live through us; as Apostle Peter said, we “partake of His divine nature.” As St Augustine said: “Thou hath made us for Thyself, oh God, and our hearts are restless, till they find their rest in Thee.”[2]

There are people who misunderstand the whole purpose of God. They say man was created to be a good worker and take care of the earth. No. God could assign a million angels to do anything for Him. He didn’t have to create man for that.

Sadly, even some of those who claim to follow Christ live a life of conflict, shallow spirituality and restlessness. It’s all because they miss the deepest longing of God’s heart—that we may reflect His glory and reveal His nature through our lives here on earth.

St Peter, the great apostle says,

As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.[3]

The early church orthodox fathers called this event, that is the “partaking of the divine nature” as ‘theosis’. They taught that we can become like God by His nature working in and through us, without fusion. That is, we don’t become gods; but by our choice, our very nature and behaviour can be fully controlled by the eternal life of God placed in us by the Holy Spirit. This is demonstrated by Jesus the man. He is our perfect example of how God intended for us to live.

St Paul talked much about the exchanged life—“my life for His life”[4]—and in this booklet I seek to explain the road map to experience that in our life.

Honestly, I don’t feel qualified enough to write on this mystical reality—it has been only fifteen years since I personally embarked on this beautiful journey. I wish I could wait another twenty or thirty years before writing this. But the urgency of this truth compels me to undertake the task with God’s mercy. I too am a pilgrim, learning to live the life of theosis, and I pray your heart will respond to this mystery as it does in mine.

CHAPTER ONE

What is Theosis?

It was in December 1973, when on my first trip to Germany, I saw snow. I was like a little child, amazed by the heaps of snow piled up everywhere! Until then, I had seen snow only in pictures. But this was completely different. Now I was there, walking and playing in it. Although it was all around me and I was surrounded by it, I never became snow myself.

In the same way, by partaking of the divine nature, we are given the privilege to become godly (Godlike) by God’s divine nature working in us. Just like my experience with snow, although I did not become snow myself, its nature began to impact my whole being with its immediate presence around me. I know the illustration of my experience with a snow-covered landscape is not a good enough example to explain the infiniteness of the Almighty and the invisible God’s communion with human beings.

But in reality, there is a perfect way to grasp the meaning and reality of partaking of the divine nature or theosis, and that is by learning from the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, the ‘God-man’ who walked on earth two thousand years ago.

He lived on earth for thirty-three-and-a-half years as a perfect man and at the same time as God Almighty in flesh. He was fully God and fully man. He was God; He is God; He is the creator God. But how did He live as the God-man on earth?

The Scripture says, “Who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.” [1] In His person, He was still God when He lived on earth. God can never cease to be God. But He chose not to use His divine powers while living here on earth. While Adam was created by God, Jesus was the creator God who took on human form to live as a perfect, sinless man and show us the way of godliness or how to be partakers of the divine nature by His life.

We read in the Holy Scripture, “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.”[2]

Partaking of the divine nature or godliness is a mystery. Our finite minds cannot fathom the truth that God Almighty, the God of creation—who created the millions of stars and galaxies, the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and the seas and all things visible and invisible—was born as a child, became a human being and lived here on earth facing all human temptations, yet never sinned. A perfect man!

The almighty God thus became a man. Apostle John says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”[3] “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”[4]

The Scripture says Jesus was the second Adam, who came to save us from sin, curse and death. To begin with, He did not have a sinful flesh since He was not born of Adam’s race. He was born of the blessed Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.”[5]

While living as a man on earth, the God-like nature or behaviour of Christ, a life without ever commmiting sin, was not because He was functioning as God. If that was the case, then no one would have been able to see Him in His human body. He would be invisible, for God is a Spirit. And if He was behaving as God on earth, then He could not have behaved as a man; and if that be the case, then He could not be our example for us to follow.

The Scripture says:

No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.[6]

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.[7]

Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.[8]

In order to be seen, He had to become a man.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.[9]

But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.[10]

In other words, we can say that in order for Jesus to perform on earth the role for which God had created the first Adam (man), this creator God, imposed upon Himself human limitations by laying aside His God powers. Jesus allowed His Father as His God to be the cause (origin) of all His behaviour as a man, so that Jesus’ behaviour, godliness and nature as a man would be derived directly and exclusively from the activity of the Father in and through Him.

In His sinless and perfect humanity, Christ became the sole expression of the glory of God. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.[11]

If Jesus had lived and acted as God, then He could never be tempted, for God cannot be tempted. But He was!

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God” for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.[12]

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.[13]

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.[14]

Jesus had the perfect (sinless) human body and human soul (mind).

Then too, God cannot be taught or has no need to learn anything; but Christ was taught and had to learn! “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”[15]

God is omniscient (knows everything). Yet the Scripture says, Jesus had to come to inspect the fig tree to find out there was no fruit on it.

And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.[16]

As a man living on earth, Jesus did not know His own second coming. But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.[17]

All these incidents show that Jesus emptied Himself of His divine power while He lived on earth.

When we observe the life of Jesus, the many events and actions of Jesus as a man, all healings and miracles, all His teachings, everywhere He went and didn’t go, even every word He spoke, originated in the Father.[18]

Look at the following examples.

• Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.[19]

• He spent all night in prayer to the Father before selecting the disciples. In Gospel according to St John Chapter 17, we read Jesus saying to the Father, “Those You have given me.” That means, while Jesus called His disciples, it was the Father who chose the apostles and gave them to His Son.

• In the many statements of Christ, He said that He did not do anything by His own will and desire— “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”[20] “For I have not spoken on My own authority.”[21]

• When the disciples asked Jesus to show them the “Father,” Jesus replied saying, “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.”[22]

In all of these, what we see is that He emptied Himself of all His divine powers and was completely obedient and directed by His Father. The invisible God, the Father, was operating visibly through His Son, who was a man. And that is godliness or theosis.

The word theosis is unfamiliar to much of the Protestant (evangelical) world, yet the orthodox fathers of faith of the early centuries used this term to accurately and biblically explain the privilege God gave to us, those who believed in the Lord Jesus, to participate in the life of God through the Holy Spirit. The eastern fathers of faith never intended this to mean that the spiritual state of us humans is the very essence of God. The only one and begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, shares in the nature and the very essence of God, and also shares in the essence of man. In no way did they mean that our human essence is absorbed or lost into divinity through this union with God.

One of the eastern church fathers, Gregory of Nyssa, of the fourth century explained about the mystery of theosis in this way: “the soul grows by its constant participation in that which transcends it; and yet the perfection in which the soul shared remains ever the same and always discovered by the soul to be transcended to the same degree.”[23]

The whole idea is, when we believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and apply His redemption through His holy blood, we become children of the living God through the Lord Jesus. And now we are given the privilege to grow into the likeness of Christ,[24] who is the image of God. The more we grow, the more we learn how lost we are from attaining the perfection we see, and this growth is a constant spiritual journey becoming more and more like the Lord Jesus.

In our case, as children of the first Adam born with a sinful nature, we have the privilege to ‘‘partake of the divine nature’’ by our choice to obey the voice of the Holy Spirit in our human spirit and the Word of God. By doing so, we become like the Lord Jesus, growing from one degree to the next.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.[25]

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.[26]

A total dependence on God for everything is a choice we make. We too, by our absolute and total surrender to God—just as innocent children depend on their mothers—can enter into the secret chamber to be guided by His voice and receive power to live godly lives through our earthen vessels.

Jesus, living on earth with both human and divine will as a man, totally and completely behaved on our behalf to reverse the rebellion of the first Adam, through the absolute submission of His own free will to the will of God, His Father.

There was a theological controversy about the ‘will’ of Jesus when He lived on earth as a man. This was known as the monothelite (one will) controversy. The proponent of this theory thought that Jesus had only one will, which was the divine will. This implied that Jesus was motivated in all His actions by the divine will He possessed.

This false teaching was rejected at the church council in Constantinople in AD 681, and the church affirmed the unity of the two wills, the human and the divine. Also, these two wills—the human and the divine were affirmed as the union of the two natures in the one person in the Chalcedon Creed in AD 451.

This is one of the most important aspects of understanding true biblical godliness.

Adam chose to rebel against the will of God, but Jesus willed to completely submit and live in obedience to His Father; thus becoming the forerunner showing us that we too may will to do the will of God by laying aside our own will. Because Jesus has attained our spirituality through His choice to live through His own human will by the Spirit, so we too can live our spiritual life through our free choice to act by the divine will. Godly life is lived by making a total and passionate choice to do nothing but the will of God. Jesus became our model for us to deny our own will and partake of His divine nature.[27]

Western theology used the word ‘sanctification’ for this concept, which is mentioned in the Bible, for the transformation that takes place within us. But the fundamental difference between the western theology and the eastern theology is that the western one emphasises self-effort—our obedience, by our decision—such as the endless teachings on discipleship methods, etc. This all can lead us to the world and life of the Pharisees which is a “righteousness of our own.”[28] St Paul says that I seek a righteousness not of my own;[29] the difference being the source of the righteousness. The eastern orthodox fathers throughout church history and the desert fathers and mothers taught through yielding, surrender, prayer and meditation, we allow God to work in us and through us in bringing about this mystical transformation.[30]

Evangirus of Pontus (AD 399), Macarius (AD 389) and John the Hesychast (AD 400) are only a few examples of the early fathers that taught on this most important spiritual reality. In other words, partaking of the divine nature does not happen by self-effort—loving the right things by our own fleshy, soulish strength, but through allowing God to be God in us, through our childlike trust, praying without ceasing, contemplation, silence and confession of our nothingness.

Reading the life of St Antony was an eye-opener for me to get a glimpse of what St Paul talked about in his letter to the Corinthian Christians.[31]

CHAPTER TWO

What Theosis is Not

Success today in Christian work and ministry is sometimes perceived as having a large following, ability to gather massive crowds, powerful oratory skills, miracles and supernatural powers. But as the saying goes, all that glitters is not gold, and imitations of outward activity or a perception of being authentic should never be taken as true biblical godliness or living by the life of God.

When Lucifer became Satan, he did not lose his supernatural powers. He still has a massive following. As a matter of fact, he is now the ‘god’ of this world.[1] But he has nothing to do with the Holy God. The Scripture says that Satan presents himself as the angel of light and his servants too can look like one hundred percent real, original and authentic servants of God.[2]

Jesus says in Gospel according to St Matthew 7:21–23,

Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

Notice, God did not say that they were lying about their claims. They did do these miracles, drive out demons, preach the Bible and all. But this was all done not in the power and life of God. All these activities were done from human ingenuity, lust for power and with demons energising them. The source made all the difference.

Another example is found in the book of Acts Chapter 16, where a girl who foretold the future kept following St Paul and shouting out, “these men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” All that the girl shouted out was right; but St Paul realised that she was saying those things prompted by the evil spirits inside her. As we read the story, it says that St Paul turned to her, rebuked the evil spirits out of her and they left her! She no longer could prophesy!

Just like there are authentic miracles, there are also counterfeit miracles. (See Appendix 2 for a longer discussion on miracles.) In the life of Moses, when he faced the king of ancient Egypt, demanding that his people be set free from slavery, the Pharaoh demanded proof of this God whom Moses was talking about. There we read of several miracles Moses did by the power of the living God. But to challenge Moses or make a mockery of God, Pharaoh’s witchdoctors were called in and they too did miracles!

The difference would only be seen at the end. Moses put his walking cane down as God told him and it became a snake. The ungodly evil men threw their canes down and they too became snakes. But in the end, the snake that was the product of the real God working through Moses swallowed up the snake of the angel of light!

Sadly, this is exactly what’s happening today in many parts of the Christian world. There is so much ministry of power and great preaching that goes on in the name of Christ. Yet, while it looks so real and to be representing the Holy Church, at best it is produced by man’s cleverness, flesh and demon energy! Biblical godliness is not proven by outward success and works.

Gideon was called by God to fight the battle. He needed help. Some 32,000 came to join him.

And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’.”[3]

They all looked real, but God knew their hearts. After God directed Gideon to find the real ones, only 300 remained. That was less than one percent of the people that came to fight the battle.

In the Gospel according to St John, we read that Jesus did not commit himself to the many who proclaimed to believe in Him and wanted to follow Him.

Now when He was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name when they saw the signs which He did. But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.[4]

Jesus did not commit Himself to these men even though they believed in Him because while outwardly they looked real and even godly, in their hearts, they were not genuine about following him.

It is good for us to remember that Jesus Christ was not moved or influenced by the needs and voices around Him. He spoke, acted, healed and raised the dead all because He was committed to do only the will of His Father. The cause of all what Jesus did was the Father working in and through Him by the power of the Holy Spirit. It should be the same with us today. That is true godliness and being partakers of His nature.

In the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus took the five loaves of bread and two pieces of fish, looked up and thanked God. And then the miracle happened; all were fed and food was even left over. Have you wondered as to whom Jesus looked up to in heaven, gave thanks and prayed? Jesus is God. Did He pray to Himself or give thanks to Himself? No! Remember, He had laid aside His privilege of divinity and was living a life totally dependent on His Father. In other words, He was thanking God, His Father, and asking Him to do the miracle. Jesus the man is showing us the example of what it means to be partakers of the divine nature or having godliness (God-like) in our life here on earth.

In the case of raising Lazarus from the dead, we see another example. Jesus was informed, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”[5]

They didn’t have to say, Jesus please come soon, please tell your Father to say a prayer for his healing, etc. They knew, just by hearing the news, that Jesus would rush to their home; for Jesus loved them much. The home of Martha, Mary and their brother Lazarus was like His own home filled with love and acceptance!

But when Jesus was told the news about Lazarus being sick, He did not go right away to heal him. He waited two more days. And Lazarus died. Only after Lazurus was dead and had begun to decay did Jesus go to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead.[6]

Why this apparent delay in responding to a need? When Jesus heard the news of Lazarus’ sickness, He must have asked His father what He must do. I imagine, in Jesus’ own human will He must have desperately wanted to do something or anything to heal Lazarus. But He chose not to do what He wanted to do and what others asked Him for. He sought His Father’s will and did exactly only that.

And what did Jesus say when He heard that Lazarus was dead? He said: “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”[7]

What is this “glory” Jesus is talking about? Is it giving credit to God, praising and worshipping God like we humans praise people? No, it is much more than that. This “glory” Jesus talks about is the life, the nature of God—God Himself. In other words, Jesus is saying, “I will heal and raise him up, not now but later, so that all will know it is not me doing the miracle or raising Lazarus from the dead, but it is God the Father working in and through me that’s doing it.”

This is a clear demonstration of the life of God, working through the visible flesh and soul of the God-man Christ who was living on earth in total dependence upon the Father. This is what we read, as to the purpose for which man (first Adam) was created—that he may reflect, live out the nature of God through his earthen vessel.

St Paul said: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.”[8]

Can you see the difference between living and serving God in our human strength, with our abilities and personal ambitions, and living and serving God genuinely by being partakers of the divine nature?

Many modern so-called churches are going after finding methods, ideas and plans to make the church spiritual and godly. Discipleship organisations abound. The cry of the multitude is “tell us what we must to do to be spiritual!” And the pulpit cannot give them the answer because many of the pulpits are not godly nor is God working in and through them. The man who stands before the hungry crowd himself is carnal, fleshly and empty.

The Church in Corinth had brilliant earth-shaking preachers and teachers, but these men were not godly fathers as St Paul was.[9] He knew what it was to “represent God.” It was not in his strength, but he was only a channel for God to work through his earthen vessel.[10] He knew that all that man can produce by his own self has no eternal value before God. St Paul confesses: “For I know that in me [that is, in my flesh] nothing good dwells.”[11]

The fundamental question we should then ask ourselves is, by whose strength are we living and doing the work? Who is the source of our life and nature?

William Law says,

Our temperament or our nature may have many covers under which our inner life may lie concealed from the eyes of men for a long time. But when some “accident” takes place, it removes the cover, and what was hidden underneath becomes evident to all. If our inner life is indeed the life of Christ, then only goodness can come out of us, however or whatever we may be struck with.[12]

Surely our external behaviour can reflect what we are on the inside. In our personal life and church life, visible things such as bowing, kneeling, raising hands, crying, making the sign of the cross, our attire, clergy clothes, incense, Eucharist, reading and teaching of the Word, giving offering, blessing the people and liturgical worship are all important and needed. But we must make sure they are not just lifeless and empty self induced actions; rather that they are God directed, God-driven and God dependent—a product of partaking in His divine nature.

CHAPTER THREE

Partaking of the Divine Nature

God became man so that men might become gods.

—St Athanasius

One of the major strategies used by Satan is to confuse the minds of God’s people by raising questions and planting doubts about God’s Word— if not directly, at least indirectly. I believe this has been done through the tons of books written by liberal Protestant, evangelical writers from the West, which have encouraged us to question God’s Word, understand it using our logic and reasoning and apply it by our own culturally relevant interpretations. This has deceived many and kept them from truly knowing God.

Take a look at these verses: “God presides in the great assembly, he gives judgment among the gods … I said you are ‘gods’; you are all sons of the Most High.”[1]

How do we explain these verses? What does it mean when it says “you are gods?” Of course we can try and use our logic and reasoning to explain the meaning of it; but it won’t work!

Faith is not against logic, it is beyond our logic and reason. It is not possible to fully figure out the things of God, like Trinity, salvation, forgiveness and many other things we read in God’s Word. At best, we can try and get a glimpse into all the glorious things of the divine, but much is concealed to us.

Things of God are meant to be experienced rather than just being intellectually comprehended.

The early church fathers referred to our union with God as deification, illumination and theosis. I am sure, this sounds heretical to some, but if we think about the scriptures that talk about this subject, like the verses mentioned above in Psalm 82 we will be encouraged to seek God more earnestly and to know Him more intimately.

The orthodox fathers of our faith never taught that partaking of the divine nature meant that human beings could merge with the almighty God, or that there was any kind of fusion between God and man. Intrinsic divinity is never ascribed to man or to anything that was created. God’s presence is everywhere, but God is not in everything. The Sun, Moon and stars declare the glory of God, but these created entities are only a means of seeing God. But they can never be God.

God is incomprehensible in His essence, but His energies are part of His nature and we are given the privilege of partaking in His divine nature by the power of the Holy Spirit that dwells in us.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.[2]

God allows us to know Him through His divine energies—those actions through which He reveals Himself to us. His love, mercy, grace, compassion, redemption, power and Christ living in us and our life in Him—are proof enough of the truth that, we live and our being is in Him, through Him, for Him.

We become part of God’s family, in communion with God, by grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, the second person in the Holy Trinity, who is God, came in flesh and reconciled us to God through His suffering and sacrificial death on the Cross. And through the indwelling of Christ in us by the Holy Spirit, we are transformed into His likeness, nature or image from one degree to the next (from glory to glory), and some call it the work of sanctification.

This transformation may not happen overnight, but as we yield our life, denying our own will, we will grow more and more into His nature, like a child grows and develops into an adult. “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.”[3]

The Lord Jesus Christ is our example as to how to live on earth. “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.”[4]

We are called to follow in the footsteps of Him who committed no sin. “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: ‘Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth.’”[5]

C.S. Lewis understood this concept and says in his book, Mere Christianity:

The command “Be Perfect” is not idealistic gas nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we are “gods” and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him—for we can prevent Him, if we choose—He will make the feeblest one filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creatures, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a brought stainless mirror which reflects back to Him perfectly (though of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are for. Nothing less. He wants what He said.[6]

God at Work

A good example of our becoming partakers of the divine nature can be seen from the life of Apostle Peter, one of the disciples of Christ.

His life, in some ways, was like the potter who takes the formless, lifeless, colourless, dirty clay and puts it on the turning wheel while using his hands to bring out the design in his mind. Finally, a beautiful vessel is formed and goes into the kiln, for it to be a priceless piece of art.

We have much to learn and be encouraged by looking into the life of this ordinary man who became one of the leading apostles of the Holy Church.

It all began with Christ asking him for his fishing boat for a little while so that He could step in and teach the multitudes that followed the Lord.

So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”

For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.[7]

It is said that among the disciples of Christ, Judas may have been the only educated one since he was from the southern part of Judea and people like Peter, the unschooled fisherman, was by any human reasoning the most disqualified to fit in with the apostolic band. But the choice of God is opposite to what we think. The Scripture says, “God has chosen the foolish of the world to put to shame the wise.”[8]

We humans work with time and space. But for God, the past, the present and the future all are present for Him. God, before the foundation of the world, saw the rough impulsive Peter as the great apostle that he was destined to become. And no one could see or believe this could be possible, going by what he was like in the beginning of his journey with Jesus.

There was a time when Jesus had to rebuke Peter. “But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men’ .”[9]

It is hard to believe that Peter, who had a revelation from God the Father about who Jesus was,[10] would right after that allow demons to influence and speak through him!

This is the same experience that we too often go through in our walk with the Lord. Even after years of knowing the Lord, we still stumble and fall. But God is working in us. “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”[11]

Then we see Peter, faced with the temptation to protect his life deny Jesus. In a way, he too did what Judas had done. Peter denied the Lord. He said he did not know who this Jesus was. After living with the Master for three-and-a-half years, how could he deny Jesus? But he did.[12] Was God surprised by it? No! The Lord knew this was the journey Peter would take in his desire to become more like Christ and this failure too was part of the journey.

Jesus could have prevented Peter from denying Him. Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him, but Jesus did not pray that Peter should not fail and fall in sin. But He prayed that when the testing did happen, that, “his faith will not fail.”[13] This is learning godliness through suffering that comes from our failure as humans.

With grief and remorse, Peter backslid and went back to his own fishing business after his denial of Christ. Christ was crucified and Peter could not forgive himself nor believe that God still loved him and would ever forgive him. This was the end of the journey as far as Peter was concerned![14]

But after His resurrection, the angel tells Mary at the open tomb to go and tell the news. He said to them: “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”[15]

Here we see that Jesus did not change His mind about who Peter would become. His love for him never waned. Then we see Jesus going to where Peter was fishing and rekindling the flickering light with hope and a new beginning.[16] Peter is back. Then in Acts 2, we see St Peter leading the apostolic band to begin the first church in Jerusalem. Reading the life journey of St Peter in the book of Acts, we see the supernatural illumination and miracles he was able to do, representing the risen Christ.[17]

As St Peter and the disciples of Christ grew in their intimacy with God, they could work miracles, heal the sick and their union with Him caused even the dead to be raised by their touch. Even the clothes they wore emanated the power of the living God.

So that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.[18]

Believe it or not, this happens even today in the church, just as it was in the early centuries.

It doesn’t take much thinking to see the theosis in the life of St Peter. He was being changed from glory to glory by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tradition says that St Peter was martyred by enemies of the Christian faith. When they decided to crucify him, just as they had Christ, St Peter pleaded with them saying, “I am not worthy to be crucified like my Lord; crucify me upside down.” They did so and this shows his deep humility, love and commitment to the life of Christ even at the point of being killed because of the love for his Master. I wonder if his murderers saw St Peter’s face shining as in the case of the story of Stephen,[19] and wondered what kind of man he was. What they did not know was that the supernatural, invisible life of God was shining forth through his weak, fragile body.

This is possible even today. Though we are weak and failing people, we still are given the opportunity to be partakers of His divine nature and as we do so, we will see the change.

CHAPTER FOUR

The Manifestations of Such a Life

I remember meeting one of my friends in the United Kingdom some time back. We had spent a considerable amount of time together in India while I was young. But what baffled me when I saw him recently was the way he spoke. He was speaking to me in pure British English—to the extent that I had difficulty understanding what he was saying! Yet, years ago when we were both in India, he hardly spoke any English! But, knowing him, I knew that he was not making it up or purposely changing his accent. His years of association with people who spoke that kind of an accent and their influence on him had changed his own way of speaking without he himself noticing it! This is the power of influence.

Influence has much to do with our behaviour. Peer pressure causes a lot of damage to the young. They are influenced and forced to do things that are dangerous to themselves as well as to others! Today’s era of consumerism has driven global society to shift its entire thinking about its values and lifestyle.

We are talking about the result of our communion with God and the results of our partaking of the divine nature. It is obvious that if our life is guided by divine values, then surely all that we say and do will have the nature of God in it. In other words, we become godly on an ongoing basis. Partaking of the divine nature is accomplished by the indwelling Holy Spirit working in us and through us. If that be so, the most obvious thing that will happen is that we will manifest the nature of God—as explained in St Paul’s teaching of the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.[1]

Love

The Scripture says, “God is love.”[2] This tells us that in everything God does, there is nothing that does not originate in His eternal love. If someone is in real communion with God, it becomes evident in his or her love toward God and man.[3]

If people say they know God, but are unable to love others, then they are liars; the Scripture declares this.

God’s love was so great, that He was willing to lay down His life for His enemies—us sinners. It doesn’t take much reading of the Scripture to see the compassion, mercy and love of God towards the suffering and hurting.[4] Jesus, who lived on earth as a man, was often moved to pain and tears for the demon-possessed, the sick and the helpless. And He healed them, fed them, forgave them, listened to them and suffered with them. He was living out the nature of God in Him.

Once I was reading through the four gospels, all the while marking with a pencil the portions that describe the man Jesus and how He lived on earth. I was surprised by the discovery I made and was deeply convicted and challenged by the normal life led by Jesus, the Man who is my example. I ask you to do this exercise; it will help you more than you realise.

Yes, we worship Him as Lord and God, but we are also called to follow in His footsteps. It is easy to say He was God and I being a man cannot be like Him. Yet, Jesus lived as a perfect man, showing us that through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can live as He lived.

Humility

One of the obvious changes that will take place in our lives while in communion with God is the quality of being humble. Jesus said, “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”[5]

Further we read in Philippians,

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.[6]

Humility is not something God does for us; it is something we choose to do by taking the low road in our dealing with others.

Lord, I am not proud and haughty. I don’t think myself better than others. I don’t pretend to “know it all.” I am quiet now before the Lord, just as a child who is weaned from the breast ... O Israel, you too should quietly trust in the Lord— now, and always.[7]

This is true. One cannot be in fellowship with God, partaking of the divine nature, and yet maintain a proud and arrogant life. It is impossible not to reflect the true heart of brokenness and humility if we are in communion with God.

Suffering

Another outcome and blessedness of knowing God is seen in the power of God that works in and through us in suffering. One cannot help but see this in the thirty years of history in the book of Acts; it is as if almost every chapter is like a trail of blood—the apostles, priests, deacons and the believers at large, persecuted as they live the life of Jesus.

Let us take the life of the Apostle Paul as an example. He says, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”[8] And later Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.”[9]

Even a casual reading of 2 Corinthians 11:16–28 will show us the extend of physical and emotional turmoil St Paul had to go through. And yet the Apostle Paul says, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”[10]

What St Paul means is that he began to choose the way of suffering, not to become more spiritual, but to become more like Christ. We read Agabus, a true Godsent prophet, telling St Paul that he would be a bound prisoner if he chose to go the way he was going now.[11] Yet, St Paul not only chose to go and eventually be bound but also said he was choosing this path despite knowing all about the hardships that awaited him. He chose to go in the faith that he could finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus had given him![12]

You see, God works outside of time and space. In Acts 7, we see one of the most godly individuals, a man named Stephen, being brutally murdered. The Bible says that even while going through that excruciating physical suffering, “He gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.”[13]

God saw this as one of the events that would bring about the transformation of a young man named Saul. Later we read of how in that divine encounter near Damascus, God asks him, “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?”[14] But when Jesus called this highly educated, powerful Jew named Saul to follow Him, God speaks to Ananias, a faithful disciple and says, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”[15]

Can suffering be a means God uses to accomplish His purposes in our lives? Yes, indeed God can and does use it. In fact, Christ Himself suffered and died for us so that the world could be redeemed.

This should warn us about the teaching of the ‘prosperity gospel’ which tells people that if you live right and follow Christ, not only will you have to face no suffering but also that you will receive those socalled blessings—houses, cars, material things and all what the world has to offer. This is not what the Bible nor the early church fathers taught.

Passion

Read the book of Acts to see the normal life of people that knew God and how they were used by God, supernaturally by the power of the Holy Spirit. “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”[16]

Jesus said,

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.[17]

The primary purpose of the Holy Spirit’s work in us is to transform us into Christ’s image and nature, so that we can live and do what He wanted to do through His body, us, His church.[18]

And knowing God intimately will create in us the passion He has for those that don’t know Him and we are called to embrace His burden and go to the whole world and be His witness.

In Gospel according to St John Chapter 4, we read about the Samaritan woman’s story. There you find that the Lord Jesus makes that long journey (not taking the shortcut) to minister to one woman who did not know the Father’s love. He said, “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”[19] God’s heart is for all to come to repentance and be in heaven with Him.

If someone says he or she knows God and does not have any concern, burden or passion for those who have never heard of the hope in Christ, then I would say, their experience of God is not real. It is faulty! You cannot get into a river and not get wet!

St Paul had this intimate fellowship with the divine, which resulted in his lifelong passion to reach those living without knowing the love of Christ.

St Paul says, “Woe is me if I don’t preach the Gospel.”[20] “I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise.”[21]

Imprisoned for preaching the Gospel, he says, “But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel.”[22]

Think about it. Why did Jesus come to this earth? He came to “seek and save that was lost.”[23] And He died on the Cross to save sinners. The Father sent Him for this purpose.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.[24]

Yes, we are called to be partakers of the divine nature. If so, we will manifest the very nature of our loving God for those that are outside the fold of the Good Shepherd.[25] This also means that we pray for others to know Him, we go ourselves as His witness and pray that our children will serve Him. We will also live with our basic needs met, then give all resources we can to tell the world of His love.

CHAPTER FIVE

The Road Map To Experiencing Theosis

After talking all about theosis or partaking of the divine nature, the natural question then is—what must we do to enter into this reality?

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory.[1]

God who is invisible, became visible by taking on a body and lived as the man Jesus, but chose to empty Himself of His divine powers and lived in full dependence upon His Father. We learn of godliness from watching and learning from Christ.

There are two sides to godliness. One is the instruction from the Word of God, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, given to us. Second, our absolute obedience to walk on this ‘narrow road’. “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”[2]

Deny Self

One of the first spiritual qualities you need to embrace to attain godliness is denial of self. Now this is not to be confused with ‘self-denial’, which is giving up luxuries, material wants and desires. On the contrary, it is saying no to the wants and wishes of the self—that is I, my and mine. Denying self is death to self-life. It is like exchanging ‘my right and my life’ to ‘Christ’s life for my life’.

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.[3]

Denial of self means total submission to the Lordship of Christ. The self is dethroned and the Lord Jesus becomes the Lord and ruler of our life. Not only do we choose to deny the self, but also take up the cross to follow Him. The cross is not some sort of physical suffering. This is a road of dishonour and reproach for the sake of being His follower. Jesus said: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”[4]

Jesus came not only to save us from sin, death and hell, but also to deliver us from our self. Our self-life is our worst enemy that keeps us from entering into deep communion with God.

Just as Adam and Eve were given the free will to choose, we too have the same freedom to choose. God will not force us to obey. He invites us and gives us the choice to accept the instruction He gave us.

The cross makes us accept the death of our own will. We now wish and care only about Christ’s will and His purposes being fulfilled through us. The world and its attractions will have no value for us when we understand His love that caused Him to give His very life for us. “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified for me, and I to the world.”[5]

Throughout Jesus’ life on earth, He said that He does nothing of His own. “I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me.”[6]

He only spoke and acted based on the Father’s wish. He laid down His will completely to obey His Father.

Denial of self means a death we willingly choose so that He can live through us.

May I encourage you to read books like The Way of the Heart by Henry Nouwen, Life of St Antony by St Athanasius, The Story of a Soul, the autobiography of Thérèse of Lisieux and Touching Godliness. These books will help our journey on this road of self-denial and towards theosis.

Solitude

God will remove all the scaffoldings, powers and support we lean on and lead us to be alone, in solitude, which is the “furnace of transformation.”[7]

The story of Jacob in the book of Genesis is an example for us. Before he was born, God promised that the blessing will be his. But Jacob was too clever, too smart. He was not willing to give up his soulish self-life, and let God do what He had promised. In the end, he wasted twenty years of his life. Finally Jacob came to the place of being alone, having given up all hope of depending on himself. God changed his name from Jacob, meaning deceiver, to Israel, meaning prince of God. (Read Genesis Chapters 27–32 for the full story.)

Once I asked the senior priest of a very large parish with several thousand members, how much time each day he spent alone with God in prayer. To my utter dismay, he said hardly half an hour! Sometimes we are too busy doing God’s work that we miss God Himself! Even if you are a full time Christian worker, a priest or bishop, much of what you do may be your doing instead of Him doing it through you. Detachment from ourselves will help spirituality and ministry to become one and the way to that is solitude.

We find John the Baptist, St Antony, St Benedict, Sadhu Sunder Singh, Moses and even Jesus walking into this season of being alone, solitude—not as psychologists suggest for break and rest— rather as a place of conversation, listening with the heart, when the old self, ‘I’ or ‘me’ dies and a new self is born; when the life of God overshadows all things and we realise there is nothing good that dwells in our self. This is what happened to the disciples of Christ, Peter, John and James when they went to Mount Tabor and saw the glorified humility of Christ.[8] It was a glimpse of the ‘god-like life’. They were alone with the Lord, and now they no more wanted to go back to what they had before.

In Isaiah Chapter 6, when the prophet of God saw the glory of God, he suddenly realised his nothingness in the presence of God. He was alone with God. His heart longed for God’s touch and that is what happened. And the theosis took place. God touched his being, and everything turned new.

The first epistle of St John says,

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.[9]

Do you see the mystery here? The unseen, invisible almighty God, now becomes very much a part of men like St John, who by being alone with Christ, even in the midst of the multitude, came to know Jesus as the only reason for all things. They were completely transformed by His life.

Thomas Merton in his introduction to The Wisdom of the Desert says the following:

Society … was regarded [by the desert fathers] as a shipwreck from which each single individual man had to swim for his life … These were men who believed that to let oneself drift along, passively accepting the tenets and values of what they knew as society, was purely and simply a disaster.[10]

Unless we are willing to forsake all, like our powerful self, world, sins and even our own life, we still will not be able to enter into the beauty of Christ.

I encourage you to take some practical steps to make sure you spend enough time alone in solitude with God. Take three days in a year to go away and be with God; or one day in six months or even half a day each month, just to be with God; alone.

It’s when our solitude brings us to our nothingness, that God can be all in all in us, through us.

Brokenness

Our choosing the life of brokenness is essential if we want to experience theosis.

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.[11]

The woman who came to anoint the Lord Jesus, carrying a very costly and precious ointment, broke her jar and filled the room with fragrance. If the jar had remained unbroken, it would never have filled the room with such fragrance.[12] Gideon’s army of 300 men was told to carry light in a clay pot. At the right time, the clay pots were broken for the light to shine out.[13] And that was how the men won their victory over the enemy. The broken clay pots represent our outer life. Unless our hard shell of pride is broken, the light inside will not shine out.

Unbrokenness is a fearful thing. All of God’s goodness, mercy, healing, love and power (divine nature) is hindered by the unbroken self. This is one of the reasons why the orthodox fathers of faith told us to pray, many times a day, the prayer of Jesus: “Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me [a sinner].”[14]

In Psalm 51 we read the story of King David’s life of repentance after he had sinned and fallen into a life of emptiness and pain. In this confession to God he says,

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.[15]

David repented, admitting his sin. He calls his sacrifice a broken heart, something that God would never refuse.

Submission

As we live this life of constant communion with God, one of the most obvious things we should do is to live in submission to the Lord and those He places in authority over us.

Lucifer, the most glorious angel God had created and who possessed great spiritual leadership in heaven, became Satan through his pride and self-elevation. He no more wanted to live in submission to God who was his authority.[16]

Lucifer lost the life of God and light by his rebellion against authority. He tempted Adam and Eve to choose insubordination and they too lost the divine life by choosing to disobey God’s command. Rebellion is the seed of Satan. One of the clear evidences of someone living a godly life, partaking in the divine nature of God, is seen in their life of submission to God by their submission to the authority God has placed over them. Any form of rebellion, either active or passive, is the work of the evil one and we must repent and reject it constantly if we must remain godly in our life and behaviour. We must guard our hearts from any form of rebellion or insubordination which can create massive damage to our inner life and block the flow of God’s life through us.

Why is it that our flesh hates submission? It’s because submission requires brokenness and humbling ourselves; choosing to become a lamb, not a wolf. Christ is the picture of brokenness for us: “Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”[17]

Jesus humbled Himself to the extent of embracing death on the Cross. Nobody humbled Him. He chose it. There was no rebellion in Christ. He was the embodiment of submission and surrender, even though at the same time, He was God.[18]

A few years ago, I was with an archbishop, not far from our Synod Secretariat in Kerala. The archbishop had an assistant who was well known for his brilliance in delivering lectures on political science. As I was leaving, this priest accompanied me to my car. I then asked him: “Father, would it be possible for you to come sometime and give a talk in our seminary at Thiruvalla?” He smiled gently and with kindness as he responded: “Please, let me ask our father.” He meant the archbishop. That is all he said. If he had said, “sure, I will do that,” I’m sure the archbishop would in no way stop him or say no to it. But the priest’s attitude was, ‘I am not free to decide where I can go and what can I do. I have an authority over me.

I need to ask him before I can say yes or no to you’. Obviously, he knew the meaning of godly submission.

Recently, I watched a short fifteen minute documentary about a young girl who was to be a nun in a cathedral in New York. She was from an affluent background, extraordinarily beautiful and had just finished her postgraduate studies.

They showed the family riding to the cathedral for the ceremony. I was quite surprised to see her dressed up in a very beautiful wedding gown. “What’s this?”, I thought for a second. The film rolled on, and I saw her father walking her up the aisle to the altar. But there was no groom waiting for her. Her father left her to kneel at the altar and quietly walked back to his seat beside his wife and their other children.

The bishop-in-charge, along with three priests to assist him, then began the liturgical ceremony.

There was one section that griped my heart and made me cry. That was when the bishop handed a sheet of paper and a pen to the young woman. Facing the altar she began to read every word very carefully. She was reading her vow to the Holy Trinity, the Holy Church and to all the visible and invisible angels and heavenly hosts. Part of her vow went something like this, “I have renounced all my will, my decision and wishes for my life. I choose to obey my Lord Jesus Christ by obeying my superiours.”

I was silent and sat in my seat for a long time thinking. Then I recalled my vow when I was ordained a priest and later an episcopa and metropolitan of Believers Eastern Church. The church gave me a ring which means, I am married to my church, and my commitment is to live, and if need be, lay down my life for the flock of God.

My prayer for you is that you too should so thirst and hunger after God, and that you will never be satisfied until you have crossed the line of this world and all its authority into the mystical word of godliness of His world.

Sacramental Life

Sacramental life can be understood only through a life of prayer. The Scripture says, “Pray without ceasing.” That is, pray all the time. It is a non-stop life habit, like breathing. When all the scaffoldings of our human dependence are taken away, then we are left with nothingness and suddenly we find out all the things and people we leaned on were shadows. We also discover the mystery of God that Job experienced.

When all was lost, God then became all to Him, even more than his very life.[19]

One of the obvious evidences of communion with God and being partakers of the divine nature is seen in the conversation that is constant between the visible man and the invisible infinite God. Is this not what we see in the life of the man Jesus when He said, “I do not seek my own will, but the will of the Father who sent me.”[20]

It simply means His inner ears were always in tune with the Father to hear what the Father wanted Him to do and say.

That also means Jesus, as a man was, in constant fellowship and communion with the Father. How did He do it? In all situations, Jesus must have talked to the Father. We call this prayer. For example, before going out to call the disciples, Jesus spent all the night in prayer! Before going to the cross, He knelt down in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane. Before feeding the hungry, He prayed for the bread and the fish. These are only a few examples that give us the clue to what it means to live a godly (God-like) life here on earth. The disciples of the Lord understood this and followed the example of their Master.

Denying self, brokenness, solitude, meditation, partaking in the Eucharist (see Appendix 1) and dozens of other spiritual exercises all run on the tracks of prayer whereby we live in the presence of God always. This is a sacramental life.

For the desert fathers and desert mothers, hesychia (Greek) is the term which refers to spirituality of the desert. The word means, ‘come to rest’ and for the desert fathers and mothers, this meant pray always. A hesychast is one who seeks solitude and silence by living in the presence of God while living on earth in the physical body.

Prayer is conversation. Often while I used to drive or ride my bicycle, I kind of imagined that Jesus was next to me in the seat or riding next to me and I found myself talking to Him. Then prayer ceases to be a oneway conversation. You talk to Him and then pause to listen what He has to say to you.

Jesus told us: “I am with you always till the end of time.”[21]

Do we believe it? If so, why are we not taking this seriously, to live in His company and communion by maintaining the instruction, “pray without ceasing?”

Pray always. When you cook, drive or climb trees, when you are in the office at your desk, while walking, always be in conversation with Him. This is theosis or partaking of His nature.

One final note: please read through the Scripture and see the lives of godly people and learn from their example. Then please find writings from the early orthodox church fathers who lived this life of theosis we talked about.

Appendix One

Eucharist

When Christ was on earth, His followers were with Him—here and then; but then He died and rose again and He promised that He would be with us always. For the first church, almost all converts were from the Jewish background who had previously never believed Jesus as Lord and Messiah. Now they began to worship Him and they met in the temples and synagogues as usual on Saturdays; but then on Sunday morning (the Lord’s Day) they gathered to partake of the Eucharist, and usually the table of the Lord (altar) was in the middle, and all sat around it. The table of the Lord carrying the bread and the wine represented Christ just as He was with them in the upper room.

Apostle Paul said: “As often as you meet, partake of the Eucharist” Jesus also said in Gospel according to St John Chapter 6 that, “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no part in me.”

Eucharist is the mystical presence of Christ and we are given the privilege to partake of it just as we inhale oxygen that gives life. It is the means for his followers to experience His life and grace. But if we try to understand with our logic and reason we will fail. For a better understanding and further explanation, read the book Eucharist.

Appendix Two

Role of Miracles

Being partakers of His divine nature also means that we can become the conduit for miracles and healing in the lives of others. Take the many examples we find in the New Testament—the woman being healed after touching the hem of Jesus’ garments; people coming and laying the sick on the ground that at least Apostle Peter’s shadow might fall on them; people being healed and delivered of demonic oppressions when they touched Apostle Paul’s handkerchief, and Apostles Peter and Paul raising the dead.

The book of Acts was actively promoted by the orthodox fathers not as a theology book, but as a blueprint or model for living the true Christian life, and even today we can experience this life! Miracles have been always a means for God to make himself felt and known to His people.

In Believers Eastern Church, we have hundreds of stories of people being set free from demonic powers and saved through unbelievable miracles. Constructive and restorative miracles have happened. This is like the book of Acts all over again! This happens out of the concern we have for people around us; seeing them oppressed and suffering in the hands of the devil and the intense desire to see them delivered and freed from oppression. Yet the real point of miracles is to direct us towards Jesus Christ and to believe in Him. And by believing in Him, that we might have life in His name.

The apostles themselves were really concerned about those prophets and people who used the gift of healing and prophesy going around and using these gifts as a means of making money. In the Didache— it’s very clearly stated that the key thing to knowing if someone was real or genuine was to see whether the person who worked miracles and wonders and had the power to heal and prophesy was using it for self-promotion or making money out of it. And it’s very strict in its warning to the people of God. Have nothing to do with them and don’t even let them enter your homes! Like already mentioned, just as authentic miracles are there, counterfeit ones are also there.

If this book has been a blessing to you, I would really like to hear from you. You may write to: Believers Eastern Church Publications Synod Secretariat, St Thomas Nagar, Kuttapuzha P.O., Thiruvalla-689103, Kerala India. Please send an email to publications@bec.org.

Notes

Introduction

1. Genesis 1:26.

2. Augustine, of Hippo, Saint. The Confessions of Saint Augustine. Mount Vernon :Peter Pauper Press, 19401949. Print.

3. 2 Peter 1:3–4.

4. Galatians 2:20.

Chapter 1

1. Philippians 2:6–7.

2. 1 Timothy 3:16.

3. St John 1:1.

4. St John 1:14.

5. St Matthew 1:18.

6. St John 1:18.

7. 1 Timothy 1:17.

8. 1 Timothy 6:16.

9. St John 1:14.

10. Philippians 2:7–8.

11. Colossians 1:15.

12. St James 1:13.

13. Hebrews 4:15.

14. Hebrews 2:18.

15. Hebrews 5:8.

16. St Mark 11:13.

17. St Mark 13:32.

18. St John 11, St Mark 4:35–41, St Matthew 14:13–21, St Luke 7:1–10, St Mark 2:1–12, St John 4, St John 2:1–10, St Matthew 8:1–4, St Matthew 5, 6, 7, St Mark 10:17–22, etc.

19. St Matthew 4:1.

20. St John 5:30.

21. St John 12:49.

22. St John 14:7.

23. From Glory to Glory: Texts from Gregory of Nyssa’s Mystical Writings.

24. Romans 8:29.

25. 1 Corinthians 3:28, 1 John 2:6.

26. Romans 12:1–2.

27. 2 Peter 1:4.

28. Romans 10:3.

29. Philippians 3:9.

30. Philippians 1:6, 2 Peter 1:4.

31. Corinthians 3:18.

Chapter 2

1. 2 Corinthians 4:4.

2. 2 Corinthians 11:14.

3. Judges 7:2.

4. St John 2:23–25.

5. St John 11:1–3.

6. St John 11:1–44.

7. St John 11:4.

8. 2 Corinthians 4:7.

9. 1 Corinthians 4:15.

10. 2 Corinthians 4:7.

11. Romans 7:18.

12. William Law, quoted in the book The Beauty of Holiness, A Compilation published by Christian Fellowship–India, p. 48.

Chapter 3

1. Psalm 82:1, 6.

2. 2 Corinthians 3:18.

3. Romans 8:29.

4. 1 John 4:17.

5. 1 Peter 2:21–22.

6. C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (Macmillan, 1952), p. 174.

7. St Luke 5:1–11.

8. 1 Corinthians 1:27.

9. St Matthew 16:23.

10. St Matthew 16:16.

11. Philippians 1:6.

12. St Luke 22:54–62.

13. St Luke 22:32.

14. St John 21.

15. St Mark 16:6–7.

16. St John 21.

17. Acts 3:1–16, 9:33–35;.

18. Acts 5:15–16.

19. Acts 7.

Chapter 4

1. Galatians 5:22–25.

2. 1 John 4:8.

3. 1 John 4:20.

4. St Matthew 8–9.

5. St Matthew 11:28–30 NIV

6. Philippians 2:3–8.

7. Psalms 131 TLB.

8. Philippians 1:29.

9. 2 Timothy 3:12.

10. Philippians 3:8.

11. Acts 21:10–14.

12. Acts 20:24.

13. Acts 7:55.

14. Acts 9.

15. Acts 9:15–16.

16. Acts 1:8.

17. St John 16:13–14.

18. Romans 8:28–29, 2 Corinthians 3:18.

19. St Mark 8:36.

20. 1 Corinthians 9:16.

21. Romans 1:14.

22. Philippians 1:12.

23. St Luke 19:10.

24. St John 3:16–17.

25. St Luke 15:3–7.

Chapter 5

1. 1 Timothy 3:16.

2. St Matthew 7:14.

3. Galatians 2:20.

4. St Luke 14:26–27.

5. Galatians 6:14.

6. St John 5:30.

7. Henry Nouwen, The Way of the Heart, HarperCollins, 1991, p. 25.

8. St Matthew 17:1, 9:2, 17:5.

9. 1 John 1:1–4.

10. Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert, New York: New Directions Publishing Corp, 1960, p. 3.

11. Isaiah 57:15.

12. St John 12:3.

13. Judges 7:16–22.

14. St Luke 18:39.

15. Psalm 51:16–17.

16. Isaiah 14:12–15.

17. 1 Peter 2:23 NASB.

18. Philippians 2.

19. Job 2:10.

20. St John 5:30.

21. St Matthew 28:20.

Copyright

Theosis

Faith and Tradition Series

by Dr K.P. Yohannan Metropolitan

Copyright © 2018 Authour

All rights reserved.

No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without prior written permission from the publisher.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org

Scripture quotations marked (TLB) are taken from the Living Bible Version. Public domain.

Produced by Liturgical Commission Authorised by The Metropolitan

Published by Believers Eastern Church Synod Secretariat, St Thomas Nagar, Thiruvalla - 689 103, Kerala, India.

Printed in India

For information about other materials, visit our website: www.bec.org.

Dr K.P. Yohannan is Metropolitan of the Believers Eastern Church. He has authoured more than 250 books and is an internationally known speaker.

You can follow him on social media at facebook.com/drkpyohannan

Believers Eastern Church

Believers Eastern Church has its faith and practices rooted in God's Word, the apostolic doctrines, the Nicene Creed, and holy traditions of the ancient church. We are thoroughly evangelical in nature, eastern in worship, democratic in function and episcopal in governance.

Our church represents more than three-hundred languages, ministering inter-culturally, near-culturally and cross-culturally. We represent the orthodox faith in a relevant way, never compromising with the culture, but actively bringing Christ's love to all of humanity in word and deed, regardless of caste, creed or religion.

We follow the liturgical tradition of worship established by the church fathers, with Holy Communion as the central rite of regular worship. Worship should be Spiritfilled and personal. Simultaneously, the Spirit breathes life into the rites of community worship and unites us to worship Jesus as one Body. Believers Eastern Church believes that the sacraments are a means to receiving grace and are essential to the spiritual growth of God's people.

We are episcopal in governance, which means we affirm the ancient and traditional form of church leadership of episcopas, priests (presbyters) and deacons as demonstrated in the Book of Acts and brought to maturity by the church fathers.

For more information, visit www.bec.org

BELIEVERS EASTERN CHURCH

Faith And Tradition Series

A Journey with Jesus to the Cross

Season of Lent is a journey to spiritual growth, renewal and an opportunity to know the Lord Jesus more intimately and closely. We must hear the Lord speaking to us all along the way as the journey continues so that our heart-attitude will become more like His. The way to attain this is by deliberately choosing an attitude of confession, denying of self, fasting, meditation, prayer and supplication. And, the life is enriched with humility of Christ and service to others. This daily devotional will do just that: bringing the focus upon Jesus and enabling spiritual renewal in our walk with the Lord.

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Believers Eastern Church

We live in a synthetic world of make believe and pretense. We long for reality, but lack of authentic information often leaves us confused. With tens of thousands of christian denominations, one wonders which one is authentic and represents the truth that we all seek. Is there a plumb line, a touchstone that will help us find what is real? The authour of this booklet believes that there is an answer to our dilemma. He explains where we may find guidance, and why that guidance is sure and true.

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Bible Reading Calendar

Reading and meditating on God’s Word is like oxygen for our spiritual life. Accordingly, this must become a daily habit for each individual and family. This Bible reading calendar will help you read through the entire Bible in a year, and be your guide on your journey through the seasons of the church year.

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Celibacy and Church Leadership

Why some eastern churches mandate celibacy for their bishops? It is a reasonable question to ask since ‘Believers Eastern Church’ adheres to the Eastern ‘lineage of the church’, and in most of these churches, bishops are required to be celibate (that is, they don’t marry). Another question is regarding the official ceremonial outfit that bishops were, specifically the skull cap or masanapsa. Is it connected to this mandate of celibacy? What does the Bible say about bishops’ celibacy? Is there a holy tradition of the church to support this view?

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Censing in Worship

Why do some churches use incense during their worship service? Are we just copying what other religions do or are we just following the Old Testament pattern? If we are following the Old Testament pattern, is it still relevant today? Do we have any proof that the historical church used it? I’m sure when you read the title Censing in Worship, some if not all of these questions came up in your mind. Maybe you’ve asked these questions and received no answers or never been satisfied with the answers you received. In this book, not only will you get answers to these questions, but you will be taken on a journey; one in which you will come to appreciate the deep meaning of the use of incense, the relevance of it in our lives today and get a glimpse of what the orthodox fathers called “beautiful worship.”

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Core Values

This booklet outlines the Core Values of Believers Eastern Church worldwide. Included with each core value is an explanation and practical application for godly transformation. In the measure in which each member of our church becomes devoted to Christ, they become godly in their life. And as they change more and more in the image of Christ, they will become more effective as living witness to the Lord Jesus. For this reason, we have developed the ten core values that are based on the Word of God and the teaching of the holy traditions of the ancient church.

Download this book for free at www.bec.org/store/core-values-ebook

Don’t Call Any Man Father

Is it wrong to use titles like Father, Priest, Vicar, Episcopa etc. who are leaders of the Holy Church? Some people are vehemently against using titles for church leaders such as Father, Priest, Reverend, Clergy, Metropolitan, Catholicos, Pope, Holy Father, Vicar General, Archbishop and so on. They insist that using these terms to refer to people is the same as taking God’s name for them. They have an argument against each title. Even calling somebody a priest, they say, is to live under the Old Covenant. But we read in St Matthew 23:9 that Jesus said “Do not call any man your Father” (NIV). What does it mean? Is it wrong to call our biological parents ‘father’ or our instructors in school and college 'teacher?' In this booklet we discuss the background and the meaning of Christ’s statement.

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Eucharist

Eucharist is one of the sacraments of the Holy Church that the Lord Jesus told us to do. The sacrament of Eucharist is the most important sacrament. Known as the crown of sacraments, Holy Communion is one of the holy mysteries of the apostolic church, which was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ. In this booklet, we will explain this unexplainable and awesome mystery to the extent that we can understand it.

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Guiding Principles

Two harsh realities we must recon with. One - western Christians must come to grips with the harsh reality that they are living in the post-christian era. “Today” as Rod Dreher, the authour of the book ‘The Benedict Option’ says, “a new post-christian barbarism reigns. Many believers are blind to it and their churches are too weak to resist.” Is there any hope for recovery? Two – eastern nations are in the pre-christian era. The Himalaya size challenge is, how are we going to fulfil the Great Commission among these nations? Yet, the timeless, unchanging promise of Christ remains firm – “I will build my church” – not by human methods or strategy, but by the Holy Spirit and the suffering of His people. This is the true orthodox faith of the ancient church and the Fathers who taught us…if only we will obey. In this book, the authour explains timeless principles that will help us to find our way out of this maze we are in and become part of the 'one, holy, catholic (universal), and apostolic church.'

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Head Coverings

This book is for every sister who has ever been asked, “why do you wear that thing on your head?” and for everyone who has ever asked this question. In this simple yet informative booklet, Dr K.P. Yohannan Metropolitan addresses the topic of head covering for the church today. In an era in which we are encouraged to question everything, he provides compelling answers from the Scriptures, showing how this long-standing symbol means much more than it seems.

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Holy Unction

There are times in our life when we need God’s help desperately. The Holy Unction is one of the sacraments meant to meet our needs during times of sickness, to bring hope and healing for body, soul and spirit through prayer and through anointing with holy oil.

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Hours of Prayer

The faith and holy traditions of the Believers Eastern Church go back to the directions and rituals that the apostles handed down to the church fathers, and the church fathers to us. The hours of prayer is one of the most significant aspects of the personal and co-operative spiritual lives of the people of God. This booklet explains the significance of the Hours of Prayer and how we can become part of this beautiful journey year after year.

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Thablitha

The symbols and godly traditions of our holy faith help us to retain our identity, which is based on the One Holy Church. The Thablitha is an important symbol and component of the celebration of the Eucharist, which speaks of the Cross of Christ and His eternal sacrifice for our redemption.

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The Seasons of Lent

What is Lent? Why does the church observe Lent? How do we benefit by adhering to the Lenten faith? Are there practical guidelines for observing Lent? Questions like these and many more, find their answers in this booklet.

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The Sign of the Cross

In the history of the world, there is one event that stands above all others. That event is the crucifixion of Christ. He gave His life for our salvation. From the beginning of the church, the sign of the cross has been the symbol of Christian faith and hope. Making the sign of the cross is a ritual that binds us together as people of God. In this booklet, you learn the depth of meaning behind this symbol, and how this ritual can bring you blessing and hope.

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The Worship of the Church

The break-up of the church is one of the darker aspects of the Protestant Reformation during 1500 under Martin Luther of Germany. Now there are fourty-two thousand denominations, each of which claims to be the true and authentic church in their faith and practice! In this brief booklet, the authour tries to help the reader travel back in time to the first five-hundred years of the early orthodox faith of the church, to help us answer questions about a crisis of the modern-day church. The booklet explores how man has become the centre of worship instead of God, who should be the audience in our worship, and the follies of this new way..

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