“Partakers of the Divine Nature”
by John Tvedtnes

Peter wrote:

Following this declaration, Peter listed the various qualities necessary for us, as God’s children, to “be partakers of the divine nature.” The apostle Paul similarly wrote that God “will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life” (Romans 2:6). In another of his epistles, he admonished the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” and noted that the Savior humbled himself and obeyed his Father, whereupon “God also hath highly exalted him” (Philippians 2:5-9).

To the Romans, Paul wrote, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17). The apostle John exclaimed, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure” (1 John 3:1). [1] Various other passages suggest that humans are destined to become Gods (see especially Psalm 82:1, 6-7, cited by Christ in John 10:34-36).

The concept that mortals are destined to become gods is called theosis or apotheosis in Greek (meaning divinization or deification) and was one of the most common teachings found in the earliest centuries of Christianity. Citing the words of Jesus in John 10, the second-century A.D. Christian philosopher Justin Martyr wrote, “let the interpretation of the Psalm be held just as you wish, yet thereby it is demonstrated that all men are deemed worthy of becoming ‘gods,’ and of having power to become sons of the Highest” (Dialogue With Trypho 124). [2] Another second-century Christian theologian, Irenaeus, cited Psalm 82 and commented, “For we cast blame upon Him, because we have not been made gods from the beginning, but at first merely men, then at length gods” (Against Heresies 4.38:4). [3] Irenaeus believed that the passage alluded to “those who have received the adoption . . . the Church” (Against Heresies 3.6:1). [4]

Other early Christian Fathers who read Psalm 82 in the same manner include Tertullian (died ca. A.D. 160), [5] Cyprian of Carthage (mid-2^nd century A.D.), [6] Clement of Alexandria (died A.D. 215), [7] Novation (3^rd century A.D.), [8] Maximus the Confessor (ca. A.D. 580-662), [9] Athanasius of Alexandria (A.D. 296-373), [10] Cyril of Jerusalem (A.D. 315-386), [11] Gregory Nazianzen (ca. A.D. 325-389), [12] John Chrysostom (A.D. 347-407), [13] Jerome (ca. A.D. 340-420), [14] Augustine of Hippo (ca. A.D. 354-371), [15] and the Persian Aphrahat of Syria (4^th century A.D.). [16]

Commenting on Peter’s message concerning the divine nature, an early ninth-century Syriac Church Father, John of Dara, wrote, “Human nature cannot imitate God or unite with him except by the divine gifts that it receives from him. Of all these, the most excellent is that of the priesthood, by which we participate in the divine nature.” [17]   It interesting that he tied theosis to priesthood, which finds agreement with LDS teachings that we can become kings and priests, queens and priestesses to God. Also relevant to this topic is D&C 131:1‑4, especially when read in connection with D&C 132, which describes eternal marriage as the way by which we can become gods.

Though Latter-day Saints have often been ridiculed for believing that humans are gods in embryo, it was one of the most common teachings found in the early Christian church. Indeed, it is still a prominent doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox churches [18] and is even acknowledged in passing in the current Roman Catholic catechism, of which paragraph 398 declares, “Created in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully ‘divinized’ by God in glory.” [19] Paragraph 1265 says that “Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte ‘a new creature,’ an adopted son of God, who has become a ‘partaker of the divine nature,’ member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy Spirit.” [20] Paragraph 460 reads:

In 1998, Jordan Vajda, O.P., a Roman Catholic priest, submitted his master’s thesis to the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Entitled “‘Partakers of the Divine Nature’: A Comparative Analysis of Patristic and Mormon Doctrines of Divinization.” In his first chapter, Vajda writes, “Members of the LDS Church will discover unmistakable evidence that their fundamental belief about human salvation and potential is not unique nor a Mormon invention. Latin Catholics and Protestants will learn of a doctrine of salvation that, while relatively foreign to their ears, is nevertheless part of the heritage of the undivided Catholic Church of the first millennium. Members of Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches will discover on the American continent an amazing parallel to their own belief that salvation in Christ involves our becoming ‘partakers of the divine nature.’” [22]

For additional material relating to this lesson, see: