Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The really good news

"What's good news to us now isn't just that He died for us, though that is good news. It isn't just that He's with us, though that is good news. It isn't just that He's in us, helping us, though that is good news. The really good news is that He is in us, living His life as us. He has joined His Spirit with our spirit. In the unseen and eternal, there's Deity inside us. We are not that Deity, but we are containers of that Deity."— The Rest of the Gospel: When the partial Gospel has worn you out, page 62

<idle musing>
The Church Fathers called it theosis. Watchman Nee called it The Normal Christian Life; Hudson Taylor called it the exchanged life. There have been various names for it over the years, but I call it Life!
</idle musing>

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Theosis doesn't seem to be a particularly strong protestant doctrine. Do you know of any good literature explaining it more fully and arguing for it?

jps said...

Andrew,

I can recommend two:
Theosis by S. Finlan, published by Pickwick (http://www.eisenbrauns.com/item/FINTHEOSI) and Inhabiting the Cruciform God by M. Gorman (http://www.eisenbrauns.com/item/GORINHABI)

James