In my last post, I tried to give a proper Christology. I attempted to magnify this wonderful God-man, who is both fully God and fully man. Eventually, I wrote about all that our Lord has done for us. He has assumed humanity, lived it perfectly, died for the unrighteous, resurrected as a glorified man (thus bringing humanity into glory), and ascended as the man on the throne. Now I’d like to discuss what this wonderful Christ is doing in His heavenly ministry as a result of His earthly ministry.
Begetting
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name, who were begotten not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12-13
As the resurrected and ascended Christ, the Lord can now dispense His very life into us, i.e. the life of God. This life begets and regenerates us as children of God. This begetting is not merely a matter of adoption, as our modern understanding of the word would imply, but is completely a matter of life.
I am a son of man because I have received the life of man. My parents begot me by their life, and I am thus a genuine child of theirs. In the exact same way, we were begotten of God, making us His very sons:
“Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will” Ephesians 1:5
“You have received a spirit of sonship in which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!'” Romans 8:15
“And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba, Father!'” Galatians 4:6
God-men
In begetting us as sons and allowing us to participate in the life of God, we are now both god-men and in the process of becoming god-men. I will explain the paradox later, but I first need to add a disclaimer.
When I say we are “god-men,” I do not mean becoming part of the Triune God in His God-head. That is clearly off limits. I also do not mean a participation in all the wonderful “omni’s” that may be attributed to God. And lastly, I do not in any way mean to give the impression that we shall be objects of worship, for the Triune God alone is the only one worthy of such.
However, everything (and I truly mean everything) else that is included in God, in all His virtues, life, nature, oneness, and glory, we have been predestinated to inherit and participate in:
“Who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:14
I’d like to dive deeply into this matter, but unfortunately I am told that I need to be mindful of my word-count, so I will stop wasting words with this disclaimer and briefly discuss how this can be.
In the Divine Image
“And God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” Genesis 1:26
Because we were made in the image and likeness of God, we are able to be made into what God is. While the image and likeness make us like God, they are not enough to give us the title “god-men.”
With the Divine Life
“He who has the Son has the life” 1 John 5:12
We have received the divine life, i.e. the Son. This gives us the very life of God as mentioned earlier and makes us a brand new creature. Though that wouldn’t be very true either given that there was one who came before us, namely, Jesus our forerunner (Heb. 6:20).
Partaking of the Divine Nature
“Through which He has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.” 2 Peter 1:4
We are now able to partake of the divine nature. This truly gives us all that God is in His divinity, energizing us to live Christ and be fully conformed to His image.
One in the Triune Oneness
“That they all may be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me.” John 17:21
We have even been placed into the very oneness of the Triune God! To realize and experience this, we must learn to touch our spirit where God dwells.
Displaying the Divine Glory
“And the glory which You have given Me I have given to them” John 17:22
“When He comes to be glorified in His saints and to be marveled at in all those who have believed (because our testimony to you was believed) in that day.” 2 Thessalonians 1:10
Lastly, we have been given God’s very own glory! Actually, the result of the divine life, nature, and oneness being displayed in man who is created in God’s image is glory! The way for God to obtain glory (which in it’s most basic definition means expression), the way in which God has ordained for Himself to be glorified, is through the deifying of created men that they may be god-men.
How Else Can You Interpret These Verses?
“Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conform to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers” Romans 8:29
“And to know the knowledge-surpassing love of Christ, that your may be filled unto all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19
“My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you” Galatians 4:19
“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and through whom are all things, in leading many sons into glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of One, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brothers” Hebrews 2:10-11
“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been manifested what we will be. We know that if He is manifested, we will be like Him because we will see Him even as He is.” 1 John 3:2
We are being made into the exact same thing that Christ was and is. This is not something to fear in regards to a potential heresy (for all the church fathers and reformers believed such). Rather this is something to rejoice over and consider deeply in prayer and meditation upon the Word. If we are considered God’s very own inheritance (Eph. 1:11, 18), it must be because He is in the process of making us the very same as His Son, the beloved, the God-man!
Lord Jesus, sanctify us wholly, in our spirit, soul, and body. Make us the very same as You are. Praise You that this is the goal of our salvation. Lord Jesus we love You!
Pieces from Reese 