In the history of Christianity there have been several takes on how this works out. The first approach emphasizes the idea of propitiation, the second the idea of apocalyptic eschatology and the third the idea of Theosis.
Let’s consider propitiation first. Jesus was taken prisoner and executed, even though he presented no military threat. His followers experienced Jesus as alive and actively among them after his execution. His followers came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. That what had to be done to make things right with God, as required by the Covenant, was that a proper sacrifice be made. Sacrifice was the way that humans made right their failures before the divine. The problem was that no proper sacrifice was available. All were sinners and corrupted by the evil that permeated humanity. Augustine referred to this spiritual corruption as original sin.
God decided to overcome this problem by offering himself as the sacrifice, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus was the propitiation for both the sin of Adam, as well as the failure of the people to keep the covenant. As time passed and Christianity spread, the understanding of Jesus’ role as the propitiation for sin expanded to encompass all humanity. God is doing the work of propitiation. It is God’s sacrifice through Jesus of Nazareth that bridges the gap between the divine and humanity, brings us forgiveness and re-establishes a right relationship between God and humanity.
Apocalyptic eschatology begins with recognition of the sorry state of humanity and the experience of evil. From this perspective, it isn’t just a matter of propitiation to bring us into right relationship with God. Propitiation brings us forgiveness but staying in right relationship with God is the challenge. We are weak and corrupt. As soon as we are forgiven, the odds are that we will fall in sin once more. Apocalyptic eschatology is the idea that not only does God forgive us but God transforms us and the world around us, ushering in the Kingdom of God. This is the time when God overcomes all the evil in the world and establishes His divine kingdom, where the lion will lie down with the lamb and there will be peace on Earth. Oppression would end and all would experience justice as the norm. In the Jewish tradition, this is referred to as the Olam-Ha-Ba, the Reign of God. Again, God brings this about and it is inaugurated through the Messiah.
When the disciples saw that Jesus was resurrected, they knew that he was the promised Messiah because his resurrection demonstrated that death had been overcome. He was the “first fruits” of the dead. The Reign of God had been established in Jesus and we are living in the “end times” while the Reign of God is coming to full flower. Again, God is doing the work. It is God who transforms the world by sending his Messiah to inaugurate the Olam-Ha-Ba, the Reign of God, on Earth.
These first two understandings are more common in the Western Church (European Christianity), though both find their roots in the letters of Paul. The idea of Theosis is more strongly associated with the Eastern Church (Greek, Russian and Middle Eastern Christianity).
Theosis also begins with an acknowledgement of the sorry state of humanity. We function under a great burden of sin, a corrupt social system, self-seeking, willful ignorance and weakness. It acknowledges propitiation as taught by Paul as the foundation of our relationship with God. It also views apocalyptic eschatology as a reality, with the Reign of God having been inaugurated by Jesus. Again, it is God who is doing the heavy lifting through the Messiah in both cases. Theosis goes one step further, finding a place for humanity to participate in this divine work of transforming humanity and the world.
Theosis avoids the extreme of saying that we must earn our salvation. It is a free give of God. It is grace, pure and simple. However, it is a gift that we need to accept, it isn’t forced on us. It is like a powerful medicine. If we accept it and take the medicine, it begins to heal and transform us. Paul tells us to put on the “mind of Christ”, to be transformed into other Christs. We become more Christ-like in our attitudes and actions, for we are being healed of our disease and Christ is the perfect example of spiritual health.
Theosis brings the divine work of propitiation and apocalyptic eschatology down to the practical level of our individual lives. We can participate in the process at this point because we are making use of the grace God gives us and applying it to our lives daily. It finds expression in our prayer life, in our relationships with others, in our realization of virtue, in what we say and do. The focus isn’t so much on establishing a right relationship with God, as that has already been done through Christ. Rather the focus is on allowing that relationship to fully develop and produce fruit.
This is a powerful understanding of our relationship with God. God is not some neutral energy, like the Star Wars “Force”. God is not some superhero who battles with supervillains resulting in a great deal of collateral damage. This understanding of God sees the divine as a gracious lover who carries the burden of the relationship and is willing to make any sacrifice out of love for us. Yet this is a true relationship in which we are able to participate. It is not forced upon us. We are invited to the relationship and have the freedom to choose the relationship or not. It is our acceptance of the gift that is this relationship that allows that relationship to eventually transform us into other Christs.