Theosis: Transcending Our Initial State of Being

Last updated on: June 23, 2019 at 5:44 am by Henry Karlson

Theosis: Transcending Our Initial State of Being 2019-06-23T05:44:07-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Țetcu Mircea Rares: Urișiu de Sus, Mureș /Wikimedia Commons

We are made in the image and likeness of God; while sin has defaced us, blotting out that image, the teaching of the Christian faith is that Jesus came not only to heal us from the defilement of sin, cleansing that image and making it visible again, but to deify us, to make us greater what was given to us at creation.

We must not consider our nature to be static: though it is good, though it is meant to imagine and present a representation of God to the world, it is not a closed nature incapable of transcendence. We are called to participate in the divine life, to become greater and greater, to take on more and more of the divine life into ourselves, to become more and more like God, so that what we were according to creation will be far less, indeed infinitely less, than what we will be in beatitude. “In its ultimate glory and ultimate beauty and in the happiness promised it, the human soul will be similar to its creator.” [1] Not only will we be similar to its creator, we will become more and more like our creator as we are deified; this would not be possible if human nature were some sort of closed-off pure nature which limits our potential.

So long as we become attached to ourselves, to the form which we think we are meant to be, incapable of transcending that form, we will cut ourselves off from what God intends for us. Satan, it is said, fell due to pride, pride in the glory which he saw in himself, a glory which he became so attached to that he was unwilling to go beyond himself and take the deifying grace of God which would have led him to become something even better. It is this pride which limits us: by trying to hold on to some false notion of the self, to some false notion of human nature, kept pure in and of itself, we lose even what we originally had, but if we, on the other hand, open ourselves up, see the fluidity of our nature when it is mixed with grace, we will be able to grow beyond our initial stage of being into deified beings. Thus, our walk with Christ must be seen not only as the restoration of the divine image within us, but the growth of that image as we ascend to God.

It is not by nature but by grace this is possible. “For nothing created is by its nature capable of actualizing divinization, since it cannot grasp God. For this is the property of divine grace alone, that is, to grant the gift of divinization proportionally to created beings, brightly illuminating nature by a light that transcends nature, actively elevating nature beyond its proper limits through the excess of divine glory.”[2]

If we are transformed to be like God, truly imagining God in our being, we will act like he acts. According to some of the Tannaitic sages, this means we will be longsuffering, showing mercy and grace to others just as God shows it to us:

Abba Saul says, “It means that one should imitate Him. As He is gracious and merciful, so should you be gracious and merciful.”[3]

When we are far from this, when we do not represent the love of God to others, we must work with grace to transform ourselves, to purify ourselves from all that is unlove, that is, all that which is sin or tempts us to sin. Spiritually speaking, this is what most of us are called to do, to engage an active life in the world, transforming ourselves so that we imitate the benevolent acts of God towards others. Julianus Pomerius, who hoped to lead his readers beyond the active life and into the contemplative life, nonetheless understood the active life was needed before one was ready for the contemplative life; he explained what was expected of us in that stage of our spiritual evolution:

The follower of the active life, by harboring the stranger, clothing the naked, governing the subject, redeeming the captive, protecting him who is oppressed by violence, is continually cleansing himself from all his sins and enriching his life with the fruit of good works.[4]

The more we follow the principles of love, the more we reflect love, the more sin is removed from us and the more godlike we reveal ourselves to be. The dictates of the law and prophets, the dictates of Jesus in the Gospels, tell us what this means: the active life is a life seeking justice for those who suffer injustice, a life of charity to those who need to experience love and grace, and a life of self-discipline which helps us move after any undue attachment to false notions of the self (and human nature) so that we freely receive the transformative grace of God in our lives.

If we transcend the active life and find ourselves ready for a contemplative life, it will be a transformation which does not deny active life, but rather will establish us in a contemplative life which continue to work for and engage the needs of others. We might do so in different ways, but the point is we will not be selfishly attached to ourselves and our own desires; we would forego contemplation if it turns us away from a godlike life. The contemplative life is good, but it can be dangerous when it is engaged by those without proper spiritual preparation or direction, that is, by those who continue to be trapped with a love for the self alone instead of love for all.

The contemplative life is for those who have overcome a base mind, for what is in the mind will be reflected back at us in our meditation. The active life helps purify the mind, making it reflect God from within as we turn it into an image of love. On the other hand, insofar as our hearts and minds remain defiled, when we engage a contemplative existence, we will see and experience things according to that defilement; sometimes it will not cover up our experience, and we will receive something good, but sometimes it will cover it up, causing us to encounter God and the world in monstrous forms. This is why the active life is first, and we must judge to see if our mind is base or not, if it still suffers from the defilement of unlove. Origen, then, explained what we should look for to see if we still have a base mind, defiled mind which needs to be transformed by an proper engagement with the active life: “For example, it is certain that a man who is filled with iniquity, malice, profligacy, and greed has not approved to acknowledge God and belongs to the number of those whom God has handed over to a base mind.” [5] What we must seek is an active life where the passions generated by sin are overcome. Once this is established, we have truly fulfilled the active life and can be said to truly engage it in full, and we will continue to do so when we engage contemplation. “A mind engaged in the practical life is one that always receives the mental representations of this world in a manner free from passion.”[6]

God is love. We are called to be reflections of that love. When we free ourselves from the defilements of unlove, thanks to the active life, then we will be able to see God all in all, both outside of ourselves but also within. This should be our goal, to see God in all things, so we can love all things. The Father loves the Son, and the Son loves, the Father, forming a bond of love between the two of them, the bond of the Holy Spirit. We, too, are called to love, to be beings of love, reflecting the love found within the Trinity. God will love us, and we will love God, with the bond which ties us together, the bond of the hypostatic union of the God-man, Jesus Christ. But if we want to assume some closed, static nature for ourselves, we will never know this love, for “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1Cor. 2:9b). Thus, let us welcome the transformative grace in our lives, to accept what God desires for us instead of closing it off due to our own conceptions of human nature, conceptions which come from what we have seen and heard from the past instead of what we can receive in eternity.

[1] William of Auvergne, The Trinity, Or The First Principles. Trans. Roland J. Teske, SJ and Francis C. Wade, SJ (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1989), 172.

[2] St. Maximos the Confessor, On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture: The Responses to Thalassios. Trans. Fr. Maximos Constas (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2018), 153.

[3] Reuven Hammer, trans. and ed., The Classic Midrash: Tannaitic Commentaries on the Bible (New York: Paulist Press, 1995), 104.

[4] Julianus Pomerius, The Contemplative Life. Trans. Mary Josephine Suelzer, PhD (Westminster, MD: The Newman Bookshop, 1947), 32.

[5] Origen, Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans: Books 1-5. Trans. Thomas P. Scheck (Washington, DC: CUA Press, 2001), 100.

[6] Evagrius, “Reflections” in Evagrius of Pontus: The Greek Ascetic Corpus. Trans. Robert E. Sinkewicz (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 212.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you have liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

Previous Post

June 20, 2019

Life and Death: A Reflection on the Need to Comfort The Dying

Next Post

June 24, 2019 What Is Going On In John 21?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz