Participating with God
God wants people to know His plan for the world—the end toward which everything moves. There are limits, of course, both because of man’s finite comprehension and capacities and God’s own ways that are beyond human comprehension . . . The revelation of God through the language of Paul in Ephesians contains a splendid declaration of God’s ultimate purpose. According to Paul, “The mystery of his [God’s] will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ” is “a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth”(1:9-10) . . . God is moving all things toward that ultimate goal, and He wants His people to know what is intended.34
For the Orthodox Church, theosis is God’s ultimate purpose.35 It is certainly important to qualify this doctrine of deification for, as Calvin admonishes, “nothing more outstanding can be imagined [!]. We must take account whence it is that God raises us to such a peak of honor . . . We should notice that it is the purpose of the Gospel to make us sooner or later like God; indeed it is, so to speak, a kind of deification.”36 Ware informs us that theosis does not mean to become God Himself; “the mystical union between God and man is a true union, yet in this union Creator and creature do not become fused into single being . . . man, however closely linked with God, retains his full personal integrity. Man, when deified, remains distinct (though not separate) from God.”37 Thus, deification is not some kind of pantheism:
Eastern theologians, both ancient and modern, uniformly and categorically repudiate any hint of pantheism. Whatever it means to ‘become god,’ the essence of human nature is not lost . . . There is a real and genuine union of the believer with God, but it is not a literal fusion or confusion [or] . . . the idea that humans participate in the essence or nature of God . . . Maximos writes, ‘all that God is, except for an identity in ousia’, one becomes when one is deified by grace.38
As with negative theology, perhaps the Orthodox doctrine of theosis merits more serious consideration in the West. With emphasis on Spirit baptism and the charismata, Pentecostal/Charismatics already highlight experiential/participative, dare I say mystical aspects of the faith. As deification is the highest aim of man unto God in these regards, these aspects of existing Pentecostal/Charismatic theology could be reinforced and unified. The conversations which some Pentecostal scholars have initiated concerning the value of Eastern Orthodox theology vis-à-vis classical Pentecostal and Charismatic theology stands to be developed further.39
Conclusion
Pentecostals/Charismatics have come a long way since the days of outright anti-intellectualism. I do not advocate a regression into that way. The faculties of logic and reason are invaluable and necessary in theological processes of any substantive integrity. The issue at hand is theologizing in a way by which these faculties do not go unbridled, but serve the highest end of man in glorification of God. An applied appreciation for Eastern Orthodox theological heritage might serve to help Renewal theologians foster better methods. In particular, the apophatic approach and the doctrine of theosis are of abiding significance. The appropriation of such emphases in the West could go a long way toward helping recapture a unified spirituality-theology, as well as promote the unity of the world-wide Christian Church and its subsequent witness to the world.
PR
Notes
1 Williams, J. Rodman, Renewal Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 18-19.
2 Ibid., 29. Consider the historically controversial doctrines (thought/creed) and practices (experience) regarding the Eucharist. Perhaps even more challenging than deciding which epistemological road to travel, is fully embarking on the journey.
3 Synan, Vinson, The Century of the Holy Spirit (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2001), 383.
4 Steven Land pleads that “doctrinally Pentecostals need to show how they display their theology in a systematic way and with a comprehensiveness that has been heretofore lacking. The missionary movement is only about a hundred years old—in terms of its intensive and extensive impact. But it is time to do more than write an evangelical theology with special added sections on Spirit baptism and gifts.” Christian Spirituality: Post-Reformation and Modern, Dupre, Louis and Don E. Saliers, eds. (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1989), 493.
5 Synan, 383. “The Worldwide Holy Spirit Renewal” is the name of Barrett’s chapter.
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