Nature-Grace Parallel
The doctrine that what God is by nature — in every possible good, not only virtues but natural, spiritual, and every kind — the soul becomes by grace (2 Peter 1:4: partakers of the divine nature; Psalm 82:6: “you are gods”; John 10:34-35: those to whom the divine word comes receive real participation); the soul’s participation is not limited to specific divine attributes but extends universally to “all possible goods,” constituting a theosis in which the grace-life of the soul corresponds without limit to the nature-life of God (2 Corinthians 3:18: transformed into the same image from glory to glory; Romans 8:29: predestined to be conformed to the image of the Son; 1 John 3:2: we shall be like him when we see him), grounded already in the creation-gift of the divine image (Psalm 8:5; Romans 11:33-36: from him and through him and to him are all things). (E)
Anchors: 2 Peter 1:4; Psalm 82:6; Psalm 8:5; Romans 11:33-36; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2 — Appearances: 25. Full Registry entry.