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Originally Posted by
Tj3
Christ's righteousness is imputed to those who believe - but it is HIS righteousness, not our. This has nothing to do with becoming "gods" or becoming God.
Here's the verse I quoted:
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Hebrews 12.10: "in order that we may share <or: participate> in his holiness".
This doesn't say anything about "imputation". It says, quite explicitly, that we share or participate in God's holiness. How many holinesses are there? Just one, right? God's. There is only one holiness, and it is in that one holiness that we participate.
Surely you aren't going to tell me that this verse doesn't mean what it says. I ask, because it says "share", not "impute".
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Ever heard of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit? God remains God, man remain man. It does not make man God.
Here's the verse I quoted:
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2Peter 1.4: "may become participants of the divine nature" (FYI: the divine nature is divinity--so we will participate in God's divinity).
This says nothing about the "indwelling" of the Holy Spirit. It says that we are to participate in the Divine nature. Again, I am assuming that the Scripture means what it says.
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1 Cor 15:28
28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.
NKJV
To claim that this suggests that man becomes gods or God is a major stretch. Especially if you take the time to read it in context:
Why, then, I guess it's a good thing that I didn't claim that it "suggests that man becomes gods [sic] or God". It does, though, say that "God may be all in all". We will become one with God, we will participate in God's nature, in his holiness. This is exactly what the doctrine of theosis and its Catholic counterpart say. If you dislike the use of the word "deification" then it seems likely that the reason for this is your poor understanding both of Scripture and of the Orthodox and Catholic teachings. (You make a telling remark below which appears to indicate that this diagnosis is on the right track.)
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Eph 1:7-10
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him.
NKJV
This is speaking of redemption, not making men gods or God.
Theosis is redemption. I thought you had studied this stuff.
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This is speaking also of being saved:
Acts 3:19-21
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
NKJV
This this is speaking of John the Baptist:
Matt 17:10-13
11 Jesus answered and said to them, "Indeed, Elijah is coming first and will restore all things. 12 But I say to you that Elijah has come already, and they did not know him but did to him whatever they wished. Likewise the Son of Man is also about to suffer at their hands." 13 Then the disciples understood that He spoke to them of John the Baptist.
NKJV
Again, you have led us to believe that you've studied this stuff. So I am to gather that you know nothing about apokatastasis? That's fine. We'll just set it aside. You should spend some time pondering what is meant by talk about the "restoration of all things".
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It does not matter how you explain it.
This is a very telling statement.
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Scripture is clear that men do not become gods. The only places that you find any mention of such a thing is when Satan tries to transfer his ambition to become god to man, and in Psalm 82 / John 10 when it is a condemnation / judgment against those who are unsaved and who have rejected the righteousness of God.
Scripture is clear that we will participate in the Divine nature. This participation in the Divine nature is called theosis by Eastern Orthodoxy and deification by Catholicism.
I have said nothing about Psalm 82 or John 10. You can take that up with Adam7gur, if you like.
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As for Mormons theology, I have, numerous times debated this very thing with Mormons and Roman Catholics who have joined together in agreement on their beliefs, defending them as a commonly held belief - one such catholic is a common participant on this board. Some people on another board thought for a while that he had converted to Mormonism, he was such a strong defender of their teachings for a period.
Since Catholic and Mormon theology are not in agreement on this matter, it seems likely that one or both of the following things were going on between these (fictional?) interlocutors: (a.) The Catholic and Mormon were in agreement with each other that you were mistaken, or (b.) one or both of them had a deficient understanding of the teachings of his own church. Either way, the anecdote contributes nothing to the present discussion.
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Their lack of adherence to sola scriptura is no doubt one of the reasons that we differ on this point, I agree. Scripture is very clear regarding the fact that men are not gods, and I stick by what it says.
I'd offer a slightly different diagnosis. You reject much of God's revelation to his people. You reject God's word, every bit of it that isn't written down in the canon of Scripture that you have chosen to use. Scripture is very clear that we will participate in the Divine nature. Since God's nature is his divinity, we will share in God's divinity. Perhaps if you were to avail yourself of the whole of God's word you would find yourself less prone to misunderstand Scripture.
Then again, since you are unwilling to be obedient to God's word when it tells us to uphold and abide by oral Tradition, it isn't altogether surprising to find you unwiling to acknowledge the truth of the doctrine of theosis/deification despite Scripture's explicit affirmation that we are to participate in God's holiness and nature, becoming one with God so that, in the fullness of time, God "may be all in all".
