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The question is not only whether the old self has been crucified with Christ, but how that reality becomes visible in a person’s life. Paul’s words that “our old self was crucified with him” (Romans 6:6) do not mean that self-centredness, disordered desires, or wrongdoing disappear as soon as someone comes to faith. If they did, Christian life would leave no need for repentance, watchfulness over our thoughts, or learning to love. Paul himself says that he has not yet reached perfection, but presses on toward the goal for which Christ has taken hold of him (Philippians 3:12–14). What has happened in Christ is both gift and calling: sin no longer has to rule us, yet we must learn to live in this new freedom.
The “old self” should not be understood as the destruction of a person’s personality or individuality. What is put to death is not our capacity to think, choose, love, or take responsibility. What is brought to the cross is self-centredness: the tendency to make ourselves the measure of life, to use others for our own ends, and to treat God as an extension of our own will. Christian self-denial is neither self-hatred nor passivity. It is the reorientation of a self-centred will toward love and a life directed to God. Paul puts it this way: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). The “I” does not disappear; what changes is whose I am and what my life is turned toward.
We can therefore say that the rule of the old self has been decisively broken through Christ’s cross, while the work of undoing its effects continues. Christians may still do wrong because habits, fears, self-deception, and the desire to remain in control do not vanish in an instant. The reality of the cross becomes visible in repentance, self-examination, forgiveness, self-control, and service to one’s neighbour. We must turn our attention toward ourselves, not to condemn ourselves endlessly or become trapped in our own psyche, but to see the truth about ourselves before God and let that truth lead to change.
Jung’s Self as Psychological Integration, Not the Final Goal of Deification
Here we can draw a comparison with Carl Gustav Jung’s concept of the Self. In Jungian psychology, the Self denotes the wholeness of the psyche and its deeper organising centre; the ego is the conscious part of that whole, not the whole psyche itself. Individuation is the process through which a person learns to encounter the shadow, unconscious motives, and contradictions they have not yet acknowledged. The person does not become flawless, but more integrated and self-aware.
From a Christian perspective, movement toward Jung’s Self can be viewed as one stage of psychological development. It may help a person stop projecting the shadow onto others, take responsibility for their actions, and become more inwardly honest. But it should not be equated with salvation or theosis. Psychological integration may support a more mature faith, yet someone can become more self-aware and remain self-centred; equally, a person can grow in love even while psychological conflicts remain unresolved. The Jungian Self is not God, nor does the human person become God. Jung himself cautioned that the Self does not take the place of God, though it may be understood as a vessel of divine grace.
This development can be described as follows: a person begins by noticing the shadow and inner division (Hebrews 4:12), and may then move toward greater psychological integration, which Jung calls the Self. The Christian spiritual journey does not end there. In this account, development of the Self is a limited stage because psychological wholeness does not answer what human beings are created for or with whom they are called to live in communion. Theosis encompasses the whole person—thoughts, will, relationships, and body—and directs that person toward the likeness of Christ. It is more than inner balance; it is a life transformed by God’s grace.
This distinction protects both ideas. If theosis is reduced to individual psychological development, communion with the living God and grace disappear from the picture. But if a Christian uses faith to avoid the shadow, deny personal motives, or evade responsibility, spiritual language becomes disconnected from life. Psychological self-knowledge can expose self-deception; the Gospel gives that self-knowledge direction and hope.
The Theanthropos Principle and the Ground of Theosis
At the heart of this relationship is the theanthropos, the God-Man: Jesus Christ, fully divine and fully human. Classical Christian teaching holds that his divinity and humanity are united in one person without confusion or separation. Christ is not simply an exceptionally developed human being whose psychological growth led to divinity. His incarnation is God’s unique act: “The Word became flesh” (John 1:14).
Christ is the archetype and measure of humanity’s true calling. He is “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15), while human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26–27). In this sense, Christ is the archetype of a renewed humanity. Yet the distinction must remain clear: Christ alone is the theanthropos; human beings are created persons who bear God’s image and are called to share in God’s life. We are not God-Men by nature. We become like Christ through grace and communion with God.
The ground of deification is not the human ability to rise to God’s level, but God’s coming to humanity in Christ. The Son of God assumes human nature, heals it, and opens it to communion with God. In theosis, a person shares in divine life by grace but does not become God by nature or cease to be a creature. This is communion, not identity; participation, not self-deification.
Peter’s second letter gives this idea a strong biblical foundation: God has given precious promises so that through them we may “become partakers of the divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4). This must be read in the light of Christ’s incarnation, death, and resurrection—not as a claim that human beings become God in essence. The theanthropos is both the ground and the measure of theosis: deification means growing into the likeness of Christ, not elevating the ego to a divine status.
Christ lives in a person through the Holy Spirit; this is not a new incarnation of Christ in each person’s psyche. Paul calls this “Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27) and says, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Christ’s indwelling does not erase the person’s individuality; it heals and redirects it. Christ does not merge with the human ego or become a part of the psyche. Rather, the person learns to live in communion with Christ and according to his love and will.
The Word of God and the Transformation of the Heart
Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, and “judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” The image of dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, expresses the Word’s power to penetrate and expose: before it, motives, self-deception, and inner contradictions cannot remain hidden. The next verse adds that no creature is hidden from God’s sight. The Word does not give a person a new morality merely as an external code; it brings the inner life into the light of truth and calls the person to repentance and change.
Theosis as an Unfinished Journey on Earth and in Heaven
Theosis begins in earthly life, where it is expressed through repentance, prayer, love, sanctification, and communion with Christ. This does not mean that a person reaches a perfect state in this life. Paul writes that we are being “transformed into the same image from glory to glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18), while also acknowledging that he has not yet reached the goal (Philippians 3:12–14). The transformation is real, but unfinished.
The Bible also directs our attention to future fulfilment. “We are God’s children now,” John writes, “and what we will be has not yet been revealed”; when Christ appears, we will be like him (1 John 3:2). Paul speaks of Christ’s return and the transformation of our bodies to be like his glorious body (Philippians 3:20–21). These passages support the understanding that human transformation does not end with earthly life: its fulfilment belongs to the resurrection and the life to come.
Some of the Eastern Church Fathers, especially Gregory of Nyssa, describe this eternal growth with the term epektasis: an unending reaching toward the infinite God. If God is infinite, the created person never exhausts the knowledge of God or reaches a point where there is no possibility of receiving God more deeply. On this account, heavenly life is not deficient or unfinished; it is an ever-deepening communion with God. This should be presented as a theological interpretation, supported by Gregory of Nyssa’s teaching and associated, for example, with Paul’s words in Philippians 3:13 about “reaching forward.” The Bible itself does not describe in detail how each person’s growth after death takes place.
We can therefore hold together two claims: theosis begins here, but is not completed here; it continues in the life to come and reaches a new, embodied fullness in the resurrection. “Eternal growth” does not mean that people in heaven must remain anxious about their shortcomings. It means that knowing and loving the infinite God can never be exhausted. Paul describes creation’s final end as the time when “God may be all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28). This does not swallow up creation or personal identity: the human person remains human and lives by sharing in God’s life.
Conclusion
The crucifixion of the old self does not destroy the person; it frees that person from the rule of self-centredness. Movement toward Jung’s Self can be an important psychological stage: it can help someone acknowledge the shadow and become more inwardly integrated. But it is not the endpoint of theosis and is not the same as salvation. Theosis is the growth of the whole person in communion with God. It begins in earthly life, passes through death, and opens toward unending communion in the hope of the resurrection.
At the centre of this account is the theanthropos: Christ, the God-Man. He is not merely a symbol of psychological self-realisation, but the living ground on which human nature can be healed and united with God. The disciples saw Christ’s glory on Mount Tabor; the Christian’s calling is to let that glory transform life until they become like Christ—not by their own power or by becoming God in essence, but by grace and in communion with God.
Trough all this I want to declare this is all from God and to God. All Glory to Him!
