6. The Church: The Place of Man's Theosis
Those who wish to unite with Jesus Christ, and, through Christ, with God
the Father, recognise that this union is realised in the body of Christ,
which is our Holy Orthodox Church. Of course, this Union is not with
the Divine essence, but with the deified human nature of Christ. But
this union with Christ is not external, nor is it simply moral.
We are not followers of Christ in the way that one might perhaps follow
a philosopher or a teacher. We are members of Christ's body, the Church.
The Church is the body of Christ, the real body, not a moral one, as
some mistaken theologians have written, not having looked deeply enough
into
the spirit of the Holy Church. Despite our unworthiness and sinfulness,
Christ takes us Christians and incorporates us into His body. He makes
us members of Himself. We become real members of Christ, not just followers
of a code of morality. As the Apostle Paul puts it, ‘We are members
of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones’ (Eph. 5:30).
Certainly, depending on the spiritual state of Christians, they are sometimes
living members of Christ's body, at other times they are dead. Even as
dead members, we still do not cease to be members of Christ's body. For
example, someone who is baptised has become a member of Christ's body.
If he does not confess, does not take Communion, does not live a spiritual
life, he is a dead member of Christ's body, but when he repents, he immediately
receives divine life. This permeates him and he becomes a living member
of Christ's body. Someone like this does not need to be re-baptised. Someone
who has never been baptised, however, is not a member of Christ's body
even if he lives a moral life according to human standards. In order to
become a member of Christ's body, in order to be incorporated into Christ,
he needs to be baptised.
Since we are members of Christ's body, Christ's life is offered to us
and becomes our life. So we are enlivened, saved, and deified, yet we
could
not be deified if Christ did not make us members of His body; we could
not be saved if the Holy Mysteries of the Church did not exist. These
make us one body with Christ, and as, according to the Church Fathers,
we share
the same body and the same blood as Christ … we are in fact one
body and one blood with Christ.
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