조나단 에드워즈의 성화론 = Jonathan Edwards on Sanctification

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

According to Jonathan Edwards, the principles of sanctification are habit, universality, earnestness, and persistence. And the contents of sanctification are true virtue, beauty, love, and the change of nature(humiliation, meekness, love, forgiveness, and mercy). Habit is the principle of nature or the foundation for behavior. And the tendency of grace is the nature of grace and the principle of holy practice. In other words, habit is concerned with the power that perseveres persistently the state of grace and makes grace exerted. Grace works universally, earnestly, diligently, and persistently in the process of sanctification in a man`s whole life. Saints in the process of sanctification will mature the true virtue, beauty and love. The true virtue is the love for God who is the foundation and origin of being and beauty. Virtue and beauty and love are nearly the same thing for Jonathan Edwards. These virtue and beauty and love can possess a original figure only in relation to the whole. At this point, the relation to the whole is the relation to Being in general in the philosophical aspect, and the relation to God in the theological aspect. If something is seen virtuous and beautiful in relation to Being in general(or God), it is a really virtuous and beautiful thing. If it goes into the concrete realworld, it acquires the contents of humiliation, meekness, forgiveness, love, and tender spirit. To be short and clear, it is the change of nature. According to Edwards, true saint steps on the process of holiness-seeking through the change of human nature because of the grace of God. And so he becomes more and more mature as saint who is full of virtue and beauty and love.