John Owen & the Divine Nature, Question

[turmeric]

Quoting John Owen in his book [i:5bc521054e]The Glory of Christ[/i:5bc521054e],

"He...communicates Himself to us, by the formation of a new nature, His own nature, in us; so that the very same spiritual nature is in Him and in the Church."

"It is not enough for us that He has taken our nature to be His, unless He gives us also His nature to be ours, implants in our souls all those gracious qualifications, as to the essence and substance of them, wherewith He Himself, in His human nature is endued."

Questions;
1) If Christ's human nature is like a glove on His divine nature, the hand, how can He give us His human nature?

2) What does Owen (and St. Peter) mean when they say that we are "partakers of the divine nature"?

Thanks.

 

[C. Matthew McMahon]

What Owen is asking is "What does it mean to be conformed into his image?" (Romans 8). Owen would never say that we are God, or that God is us.

"This is that new man, that new creature, that divine nature, that spirit which is born of the Spirit, that transformation into the image of Christ, that putting of him on, that worship of God whereunto in him we are created, that the Scripture so fully testifieth unto, John 3:6; Romans 6:3-8; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:17; Ephesians 4:20-24; 2
Peter 1:4."

"Hereby is there a continual communication from his all-fullness of grace unto the whole church and all the members of it, unto all the ends and duties of spiritual life."

"I might add hereunto the mutual inbeing that is between him and believers by love; for - the way of the communication of his love unto them being by the shedding of it abroad in their hearts by the Holy Ghost, and their
returns of love unto him being wrought in them by an lmighty efficiency of the same Spirit - there is that which is deeply mysterious and glorious in it."

"which we are to behold here by faith, and hope that we shall do so by sight hereafter, consists in the mysterious communication of himself, and all the benefits of his mediation, unto the souls of them that do believe, to their present happiness and future eternal blessedness."