T.F Torrance: Theosis and Union With Christ

T.F Torrance was one of the great theologian of 20th century. He was influenced by Barth, Calvin and reformed tradition but he also bring an advancement of certain theological ideas and correcting several nuances of theological doctrines. One of the key theology he bring about is the doctrine of "Union with Christ" as Myk Habets wrote, "Union with Christ is a central theme in Torrance's Theology". In reformed Theology, Union with Christ is related to the issue of salvation (Soteriology). Both Reformed and Catholic embrace doctrine of union with Christ but with different emphasis on the detailed matter of the relationship between Justification and Sanctification (as the after effect of the union).

Base on the Scholarship of Torrance, his idea of reconciliation with Christ can be said or expressed as "union with Christ" (Here Torrance follow Calvin exactly) or the other language that Torrance use is Theosis. Dick O Eugenio in his book Communion with the Triune God argue, "considering Torrance's integrative approach, it is more appropriate to conclude that Torrance employs Theosis and union with Christ interchangeably to articulate reality of our salvation in Christ, not in the manner of categorizing one under the other. "Hence, actually there is no incompatibility to say that there is a connection between the notion of Theosis and the reformed doctrine of the union with Christ. 

Apart from the misconception on Theosis, Torrance himself goes on to clarify that actually the goal of the doctrine of Theosis or union with Christ is not to become God in essence but to fulfill completely the reality of creature in light of their true human personhood.  In other words, they finally can become what they able to be and to do in Christ Jesus. It is a mistake to think Theosis as divination but as Torrance Himself says, "Theosis does not mean divinization, as is so often supposed, rather to the utterly staggering act of God in which he give himself to us and adopt us into the communion of his divine life and love through Jesus Christ and in His one Spirit." This notion of Theosis are different totally with Manichean emanationism and also Platonic Mysticism which are proposing the idea that we will be one in God in essence or in ontological reality. 

Distinctive of Torrance's language, he mentioned the idea of cognitive Theosis/union with Christ in the realm of cognitive. What does it mean to be united cognitively? Cognitive union is whereby the believer come to know the Father through sharing the personhood of Christ. Through Christ, we are now are given an access to the Father but as Torrance said in his work Trinitarian Faith and The Doctrine of God, the union is not of nature but of grace. Because Jesus is the way, the truth and the life as the Bible says, no one can come to the Father  except through Him (John 14:6).Moreover, in line with Barth idea of Revelation, Torrance agree that apart from Christ, there is no knowledge of  God. Jesus is the embodied container of the true truth of God.  

We can say Torrance bring epistemology and ontology closely related through this idea of cognitive Theosis. Our knowledge of God happened as we shared the communion of the Incarnate Son with the Father in the spirit (Torrance put the emphasis of the union on the Work of Holy Spirit). And this idea of cognitive union is the first step of Theosis, the epistemological basis of the identification of our human nature to Christ. 

Apparently, the term Theosis can mislead people to think doctrine Theosis as proposing pantheism (all are in God) rather than projecting the Union with Christ. Michael Allen mentioned how until recent time, Theosis is considered to be equal to deification. Torrance disagree with this, he himself quote Georges Florovsky wrote how Theosis need to be understood relationally, and not ontologically, "the term Theosis is indeed embarrassing, if we could think of it ontological categories. Indeed man simply cannot become God. But the Fathers were thinking in personal terms, and the mystery of personal communion was involved at this point. Theosis bas mean personal encounter. It is the ultimate intercourse with God, in which the whole human existence is, as it were, permeated by divine presence." At best, to understand the doctrine of Theosis, one best try to substitute it with the notion of the Union With Christ or if we are going still to use the language of Theosis, as Torrance himself says, follow the "intention of the word" Theosis, not the popular miss-attribution and misconception of it.