Jesus' human and divine nature

[MoNiCa4316]

:wave: I was at another thread, and saw this quote by St. Anthony:

"God is good, dispassionate, and immutable. Now someone who thinks it reasonable and true to affirm that God does not change, may well ask how, in that case, it is possible to speak of God as rejoicing over those who are good and showing mercy to those who honor Him, and as turning away from the wicked and being angry with sinners. To this it must be answered that God neither rejoices nor grows angry, for to rejoice and to be offended are passions; nor is He won over by the gifts of those who honor Him, for that would mean He is swayed by pleasure. It is not right that the Divinity feel pleasure or displeasure from human conditions. He is good, and He only bestows blessings and never does harm, remaining always the same. We men, on the other hand, if we remain good through resembling God, are united to Him, but if we become evil through not resembling God, we are separated from Him. By living in holiness we cleave to God; but by becoming wicked we make Him our enemy. It is not that He grows angry with us in an arbitrary way, but it is our own sins that prevent God from shining within us and expose us to demons who torture us. And if through prayer and acts of compassion we gain release from our sins, this does not mean that we have won God over and made Him to change, but that through our actions and our turning to the Divinity, we have cured our wickedness and so once more have enjoyment of God's goodness. Thus to say that God turns away from the wicked is like saying that the sun hides itself from the blind.23 [Chap. 150]-St. Anthony

Well first I'd like to say that this is really a great idea, and I love the last line :thumbsup: I believe that God is not angry but loving and compassionate, and always merciful... I don't believe that He is angry with people in hell, but loves them, the problem is that they reject His love. So I totally agree with that.

But there is one thing in this quote that I'm not really sure about...:help:

And it is this part:
"To this it must be answered that God neither rejoices nor grows angry, for to rejoice and to be offended are passions; nor is He won over by the gifts of those who honor Him, for that would mean He is swayed by pleasure. It is not right that the Divinity feel pleasure or displeasure from human conditions."
I mean the 'rejoicing' part. I've always believed that when we love God and others, God is pleased (even though if we don't, He still loves us). And that He indeed rejoices when we turn to Him. I'm talking specifically about Jesus here, I do not know about the Father...because Jesus has a human as well as a divine nature. In fact, (and this might sound very heretical to some people..I don't know) but I believe that Jesus actually longs for us to return His love, not because He is lacking in anything (being God) but because that is the only way we can have a relationship with Him. He was willing to suffer and die for us, and He desires to give us His mercy, and when we reject it you could almost say this hurts Him. yea this might sound heretical. But that's how I've always seen it.

What do you think? What does the Orthodox church say about this?

thanks! :)

[buzuxi02]

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[buzuxi02]

This is an interesting question. As crazy as it sounds, i havent found conclusive evidence from scripture that says God rejoices. But plenty about how the Body of Christ, the members of his Church rejoices over a repentant sinner. In the gospel of Luke, Christ gives a few analogies on this subject.

First it speaks of the man who lost one of his 100 sheep. He leaves the 99 to search for the one and when he finds it , he rejoices. "And when he cometh home he called together his friends and neighbors saying rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost. Isay unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, moreso than 99 just persons which need no repentance".(Lk15.6-7)

Jesus goes on to tell of a woman with ten pieces of silver who loses one. After she searches and finds it, Christ says, "And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together saying, Rejoice with me for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise , I say unto thee there is joy in the precense of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth". (Lk 15.9-10)

Then theres the parable of the prodigal son. After the prodigal returns home broke, his Father says, "And bring hither the fattest calf and kill it and let us eat and be merry. For this my Son was dead and is alive again , he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry". (Lk 15.23-24)

In each instance , the shepherd, the woman and the father have joy when a sinner repents. If each of these figures is a type for God , then we can say , God rejoices when a sinner returns to the fold. On the other hand, these scriptural passages demonstrate that the rejoicing is primarily among the friends. In the case of the lost and found sheep, heaven rejoices (the friends and neighbors). In the case of the woman the joy is from the angels of heaven. And the case of the prodigal "...they began to be merry" (v24). The "they" seem to refer to the prodigals old friends(see v29). "They begin to be merry" another words after the father gives the o.k.

I may be overanalyzing all this. The important thing though is that St Anthony tries to show that God cannot be bribed. You must act from sincerity, God knows the heart of all men so trying to appease him in order to obtain favor with him, simply wont work.

[Kirkhaven]

This is an interesting question. As crazy as it sounds, i havent found conclusive evidence from scripture that says God rejoices. But plenty about how the Body of Christ, the members of his Church rejoices over a repentant sinner. In the gospel of Luke, Christ gives a few analogies on this subject.

First it speaks of the man who lost one of his 100 sheep. He leaves the 99 to search for the one and when he finds it , he rejoices. "And when he cometh home he called together his friends and neighbors saying rejoice with me for I have found my sheep which was lost. Isay unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, moreso than 99 just persons which need no repentance".(Lk15.6-7)

Jesus goes on to tell of a woman with ten pieces of silver who loses one. After she searches and finds it, Christ says, "And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors together saying, Rejoice with me for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise , I say unto thee there is joy in the precense of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth". (Lk 15.9-10)

Then theres the parable of the prodigal son. After the prodigal returns home broke, his Father says, "And bring hither the fattest calf and kill it and let us eat and be merry. For this my Son was dead and is alive again , he was lost and is found. And they began to be merry". (Lk 15.23-24)

In each instance , the shepherd, the woman and the father have joy when a sinner repents. If each of these figures is a type for God , then we can say , God rejoices when a sinner returns to the fold. On the other hand, these scriptural passages demonstrate that the rejoicing is primarily among the friends. In the case of the lost and found sheep, heaven rejoices (the friends and neighbors). In the case of the woman the joy is from the angels of heaven. And the case of the prodigal "...they began to be merry" (v24). The "they" seem to refer to the prodigals old friends(see v29). "They begin to be merry" another words after the father gives the o.k.

I may be overanalyzing all this. The important thing though is that St Anthony tries to show that God cannot be bribed. You must act from sincerity, God knows the heart of all men so trying to appease him in order to obtain favor with him, simply wont work.

Well said. I agree with your reasoning here. I posted a similar response in OBOB.