The Doctrine of Grace ......................................................................

Lecture 12

Now we come to a doctrine that’s really about who we are as human

beings. The overarching label for this is “soteriology,” a technical term

meaning the doctrine of salvation. The key concept we’ll be discussing

in this lecture is the concept of “grace,” a New Testament term that has

developed in all sorts of rich and powerful and fascinating ways in the

history of Christian theology.

T

he patristic doctrine of grace was shaped by a contrast between nature
and grace. Its prime concern was how believers in Christ became
children of God: Only Christ is Son of God by nature, but believers
become children of God by grace. A fundamental biblical metaphor for this
was adoption: Whereas Christ is born Son of God, believers are adopted
children of God. Adoption by grace was not just a change of status but a
change in human nature, since it involved the gift of everlasting life, which is
not natural to us. Since everlasting life means immortality, and an immortal
is a god, it is not so surprising that this change came to be described as a kind
of dei¿ cation. Everlasting life therefore meant a “participation in the divine
nature” (1 Peter 1:4). Hence the patristic formula: God became human so
that humans could become divine. In Trinitarian terms, it arose from union
with Christ, who is God.

Augustine shifted the focus of the nature/grace distinction from overcoming
death to overcoming sin. He rejected Pelagianism because it meant that
believers had no need of a transformative divine grace to be saved. Augustine
found in Pelagius’s writings the idea that human nature was capable of living
without sin, so long as it was properly taught. The necessity of grace was
Augustine’s key claim: We cannot overcome sin without the help of an inner
gift of divine grace which not only forgives past sin but gives our souls the
power to love God and neighbor wholeheartedly.

Augustine’s most widely-accepted argument for the necessity of grace is
based on the practice of prayer. The basic premise is that Christians pray
for God to help change their will and give them a deeper love for God and