Orthodox Reflections (@Orthodoxreflections)

In the West, salvation means nothing more than the avoidance of the wrath of God and Hell. In Orthodoxy, we are not just saved from “going to” Hell by “going to” Heaven, as though Heaven and Hell are places where “we go.” For the Orthodox, Salvation means spiritual transformation. This process begins in this life and culminates after the Resurrection of the Dead. We are saved from something (sin, death, and the devil) for something else (our union with God, which is Theosis or Deification). Because God is infinite and eternal, this journey towards God’s likeness begins in the Liturgical and Sacramental life of the Orthodox Church, where we receive the immaculate Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion. This begins the progressive spiritual transformation of our humanity, where the Eucharist progressively unites us with God starting here and now. At the Resurrection, our bodies will be physically transformed and glorified in the same manner as the glorified, resurrected body of Christ, who is the first born of the dead, and who awaits all those who love Him, at the right hand of the Father (Ephes. 1:20; Heb 1:3; Mark 16:19; Matt. 26:64; Mark 14:62; 1 Peter 3:22, Psalm 110:1). There, the redeemed will join Him as co-heirs of His Heavenly Kingdom (Romans 8:16-17; Galatians 3:29; Colossians 1:12; Ephesians 1:3-14). Their union with Him will continue to progress eternally, advancing redeemed Humanity from Grace to Grace and from Glory to Glory. https://orthodoxreflections.com/part-x-of-the-western-series-sacrifice-and-redemption/