Good morning Justin,



You wrote:



>>By adopted Sons, do you mean men who are to be exhalted? I do not know where the scriptural supprt exists that God will adopt us as Sons. Are we not already sons of God?>>



Me: I mean believers who have been redeemed by Jesus Christ. Like many of the motifs used to describe the nature of the redemption, there is a sense in which believers are already adopted sons, and a sense which is future. St. Paul wrote:



Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!"



Romans 8:23 And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.



Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will?



>>I can agree with this. The question you ask is valid. However, the issue as I see it is: At what point has God clearly stated that ALL of His attributes will bestowed? This is part of my original question. I think it is reading too much into the scripture. (Eph 3:14-19)>>



Me: I believe other passages strongly indicate that ALL of God?s attributes are involved, not just some.



In this thread I have already mentioned Rom. 8:29 which states that we are to be ?conformed? to the image of God?s Son (Christ). One of the most respected Evangelical NT Greek Dictionaries had the following to say about this verse:

QUOTE:
The passage presupposes that Christ is the → image of God. In Christ God is really present. Again symmorphos means that we shall not only be similar to or like Christ but that we shall come into the same realm of power as he. We shall be identified with the same substance as he, and enter into the same essential nature as Christ. One might even speak in the same vein as the Hel. mystery religions and speak of a ?divinization? of ?Christening?.(Colin Brown ed., Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1975 6th ed., vol. 1, p. 707.)

We also have 2 Cor. 8:9; 1 John 3:2; 2 Peter 1:4; and many other passages which, when examined together, give support to my thesis.



>>My read of the scriptures is that God himself is unchanging. Not just His nature. I do not rule out that God has always been creating. In fact, this rules out the possibility of other Gods. The endless hierarchy of creating Gods is unnecessary in a universe in which God is all-powerful and eternal. Rather, I submit that at best our understanding of the nature of God is limited due, in part, to our inability to fully comprehend the nature of infinity. This is why I think that we must be very conservative in our read of the scriptures and their implications.>>



Me: The apostle Paul said it beautifully in his first epistle to the Corinthians:



1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.



Notice that though we only know in part now, in the future we shall ?know fully just as I also have been fully known?.



Now, I can certainly understand the need to be ?very conservative in our read of the scriptures and their implications?; but keep in mind that it was just such a methodology that led Arius and his followers to affirm full divinity to God the Father alone. I think the following from my book I am working on sums up some important implications:

QUOTE:
When one objectively, and reverently, reflects on the attributes, authority, and titles that God the Father has given to His Son, Jesus Christ, it is difficult to escape the conclusion that because Jesus Christ shares so deeply in the nature and divine life of God, He too must be of the same order of being as God the Father. One must water down the motifs of ?image of God?, ?Son of God?, ?life within Himself?, ?immortality?, ?heir?, ?kingly rule?, etc. in order to avoid the clear teaching that Jesus Christ truly shares in God the Father?s ?divine nature.?



However, many of the same Christians who have embraced the concept that Jesus Christ is divine, then fail to make a similar connection with God?s other sons, His adopted sons, His sons by grace. We have seen in this chapter that the very same concepts used to describe the relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ are in fact the same concepts used to describe the relationship between redeemed mankind and Jesus Christ. Consistent, honest, reflection forces one to conclude that if Jesus Christ truly shares in God?s divine nature, then so too God?s adopted sons (His sons by grace?i.e. redeemed mankind). This belief that redeemed mankind truly shares in God?s divinity is the essence of the doctrine of theosis, and as we have seen, is the clear teaching of the Bible.

Looking forward to your comments.



Grace and peace,



David