Wesley and Eastern Orthodoxy both speak of real communion with God and “partaking of the divine nature,” but Wesley frames this primarily as moral–relational perfection in love, while Orthodoxy grounds it in participation in uncreated divine energies and sacramental/mystical union.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
## Shared themes
– Both see salvation as more than legal acquittal: it is real **participation** in God’s life, described in terms of “partakers of the divine nature” and restored God‑likeness.[2][3][6][1]
– Both stress that union does not erase the Creator–creature distinction; humans never share God’s essence or become gods by nature.[3][5][6]
## Wesley on divine communion
– Wesley glosses 2 Peter 1:4 as believers “being renewed in the image of God, and having communion with Him, so as to dwell in God and God in you,” so communion is mutual indwelling tied to image‑renewal.[7][1][2]
– This communion is realized through justifying and sanctifying grace, faith working by love, and the ordinary “means of grace,” producing Christian perfection as a life where love wholly rules the heart and conduct.[8][9][10]
## Orthodox theosis on divine communion
– Eastern Orthodoxy understands theosis as real union with God through participation in the **divine energies**, not the divine essence: God remains incomprehensible in essence yet truly communicative in energies.[4][5][6][3]
– Communion is sacramental, ascetical, and mystical: through baptism, Eucharist, prayer (especially hesychast practice), and ascetic struggle, believers are illumined and deified, gaining incorruptibility and godly qualities.[6][11][3][4]
## Key differences
– Ontological framing: Orthodoxy explicitly articulates an essence–energies distinction and calls the process theosis; Wesley does not use that metaphysical schema and instead speaks of renewal of the imago Dei and perfected love.[5][1][2][3][4][6]
– Goal emphasized: many Orthodox accounts highlight immortality/incorruptibility and participation in uncreated energies; Wesley emphasizes freedom from sinful desires, holiness of heart and life, and constant love as the telos of communion.[12][3][5][6]
## Complementary accents
– You can present Wesley as offering a practically oriented, affective‑ethical **version** of deification: communion with God is experienced as increasing participation in holy love, expressed in concrete virtues and means of grace.[9][10][1][8][12]
– Orthodoxy can then supply the more explicit metaphysics of participation and liturgical–mystical horizon, within which Wesley’s language of “dwelling in God and God in you” fits as a Western, Methodist accent on the same broad participatory aim.[2][3][4][5][6]
If you’d like, I can build a side‑by‑side table (columns: “Wesley on communion” vs “Orthodox theosis”) keyed to specific teaching points for a seminar session.
Sources
[1] (PDF) A Wesleyan Virtue Ethics of 1 John – Academia.edu https://www.academia.edu/
[2] 2 Peter 1 Expositor’s Dictionary of Texts – Bible Hub https://biblehub.com/
[3] Theosis: Partaking of the Divine Nature | ssppdetroit https://www.ssppdetroit.org/
[4] Divine Energies and Orthodox Soteriology – Theopolis Institute https://theopolisinstitute.
[5] The Meaning of Theosis As the Goal of Christian Life https://www.tgoc.ut.goarch.
[6] Salvation as Theosis: The Teaching of Eastern Orthodoxy https://www.
[7] [PDF] John Wesley’s Pneumatology – EBIN.PUB https://ebin.pub/download/
[8] [PDF] Reading Wesley’s Theology Through the Lens of Process Thought https://digitalcommons.du.edu/
[9] CHRISTIAN PERFECTION from “Wesley and Sanctification” by … https://www.craigladams.com/
[10] John Wesley on Sin and Holiness – wesleyscholar.com https://wesleyscholar.com/
[11] Partnering with the Divine Energies https://c4ort.com/essays/
[12] Partakers of the DIvine Nature: Theosis and Christian Perfection https://aniceplace.wordpress.
[13] Tabernacled Among Us – John 1:14 | conversant faith https://conversantfaith.com/
[14] [PDF] Jørgen Thaarup – Gupea – Göteborgs universitet https://gupea.ub.gu.se/
[15] [PDF] 2 Med venner i lys vi tale oktober 2019 Jørgen Thaarup https://www.umc-ne.org/wp-
[16] Is Theosis similar to Wesleyan Entire Sanctification/Christian … https://www.reddit.com/r/
[17] John Wesley on Theosis – Michael J. Christensen, ‘Donkey’s Delight’ http://donkeysdelight.
