The Grace and Knowledge of Christ (Aquinas 101) 

You're welcome! It's a privilege to communicate the peace of Christ through the knowledge of His salvation.

I totally agree with your comment .

Edward, thank you for your compliment. More resources-such as longer podcasts, recommended readings, etc.-for each topic can be found at Aquinas101.com.

@@ThomisticInstitute Thank you very much, I will take all you have to offer. Your videos here have already inspired me to put more of such ways of thought into my own writings.

Thanks for your kind words, and for taking the time to watch and comment! May the Lord bless you.

You're welcome, Frank!

For your information and research and the sake of discussion, I'll give an extract from St. Thomas Aquinas found in Chapter XXXVI, Article 2 ('I answer that' section): We derive a knowledge of the same truth from the very order of nature itself. For we nowhere find that several things proceed from one without order except in those which differ only by their matter; as for instance one smith produces many knives distinct from each other materially, with no order to each other; whereas in things in which there is not only a material distinction we always find that some order exists in the multitude produced. Hence also in the order of creatures produced, the beauty of the divine wisdom is displayed. So if from the one Person of the Father, two persons proceed, the Son and the Holy Ghost*, there must be some order between them. Nor can any other be assigned except the order of their nature, whereby one is from the other. Therefore it cannot be said that the Son and the Holy Ghost proceed from the Father in such a way as that neither of them proceeds from the other, unless we admit in them a material distinction; which is impossible. Hence also the Greeks themselves recognize that the procession of the Holy Ghost has some order to the Son. For they grant that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Son; and that He is from the Father through the Son. Some of them are said also to concede that He is from the Son; or that He flows from the Son, but not that He proceeds; which seems to come from ignorance or obstinacy. For a just consideration of the truth will convince anyone that the word procession is the one most commonly applied to all that denotes origin of any kind. For we use the term to describe any kind of origin; as when we say that a line proceeds from a point, a ray from the sun, a stream from a source, and likewise in everything else. Hence, granted that the Holy Ghost originates in any way from the Son [as both are from the Father]*, we can conclude that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son. P.S. Information in the square brackets and the square brackets themselves as well as asterisk added by me for easier reading.

Thanks for your engagement with the Catholic teaching. If you want to read St. Thomas's arguments for the procession of the Spirit from the Father and the Son in greater depth, you can find it here: aquinas101.thomisticinstitute.org/st-ia-q-36#FPQ36A2THEP1

I think it goes back to the Mystery of the Hypostatic Union. Remember that Christ has two nature: Divine and Human. The Divine Nature is Simple and Immutable/Unchanging, while the Human Nature is Complex/Composed and Mutable/Changing. So the Divine Intellect of Christ which He shares by common Nature with the Father is still absolutely simple, as being united with all the other powers and attributes of God as Classical Theism claims. Jesus' human intellect, however, on virtue of His human nature, is distinct from His human will, His senses, His appetite, etc. which compose His human nature. It is hard to understand, especially without grace, but that is why it is a mystery.

This issue is covered in another video, "Jesus Christ, True God and True Man." ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xphsJLRF9v8.html The divine Son joins a human nature to himself in person, so that one person now has two natures. The divine nature remains unchanged and absolutely simple, but the person of the Son now has another nature with another (human) intellect. Often this kind of question has a background presupposition about what it means to be a person: a person is a unique consciousness. On that view, having two "consciousnesses" would seem to involve a change. But the classical Christian tradition does not equate a person with consciousness, so it is possible for one person (the Son) to have two distinct minds or consciousnesses -- and likewise, for three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to have one divine intellect.

Thanks for your reading. Yes, that's right, Jesus used human nature to teach. But also, his teaching was only one aspect of how he transformed human nature. In Christ, God perfected human nature, becoming a new Adam, and therefore a new mystical source of life, just as the old Adam was a source of death, for all people. The grace of his humanity overflows to us, as something flowing from the head into the members of the body.

@@ThomisticInstitute Need further explanation on how Christ's grace overflows to us. Does it require an act of our will to accept His grace or does His grace activate or merely motivate our will? My guess is that His grace does both but will not save us without our agreement to follow His will.

@@michaeldowd2614 how does grace relate to nature but through the union of natures in Christ which is itself a grace. He assumed all of humanity into his person in the incarnation. Just as all fell in Adam all are united to God in the incarnation by grace

@@neuronneuron3645 Then if all are united to God in the incarnation by grace does that mean we are all saved? And if that is the case what is the point of Baptism and being a Catholic?

Primarily over authority, but I would argue that the Catholic position is also more scriptural.

For your information and research and the sake of discussion, I'll give an extract from St. Thomas Aquinas found in Chapter XXXVI, Article 2 ('I answer that' section): We derive a knowledge of the same truth from the very order of nature itself. For we nowhere find that several things proceed from one without order except in those which differ only by their matter; as for instance one smith produces many knives distinct from each other materially, with no order to each other; whereas in things in which there is not only a material distinction we always find that some order exists in the multitude produced. Hence also in the order of creatures produced, the beauty of the divine wisdom is displayed. So if from the one Person of the Father, two persons proceed, the Son and the Holy Ghost, there must be some order between them. Nor can any other be assigned except the order of their nature, whereby one is from the other. Therefore it cannot be said that the Son and the Holy Ghost proceed from the Father in such a way as that neither of them proceeds from the other, unless we admit in them a material distinction; which is impossible. Hence also the Greeks themselves recognize that the procession of the Holy Ghost has some order to the Son. For they grant that the Holy Ghost is the Spirit of the Son; and that He is from the Father through the Son. Some of them are said also to concede that He is from the Son; or that He flows from the Son, but not that He proceeds; which seems to come from ignorance or obstinacy. For a just consideration of the truth will convince anyone that the word procession is the one most commonly applied to all that denotes origin of any kind. For we use the term to describe any kind of origin; as when we say that a line proceeds from a point, a ray from the sun, a stream from a source, and likewise in everything else. Hence, granted that the Holy Ghost originates in any way from the Son [as both are from the Father]*, we can conclude that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son. *Square brackets added by me for easier reading.

It is true that there are historical difficulties over the inclusion of the term "filioque" in the Creed, but St. Thomas follows the earlier tradition of St. Augustine in arguing that, if the Spirit does not proceed from the Father and the Son, then there is no way to distinguish the Spirit and the Son. Both proceed from the Father; the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Christ assumed a human nature, which means He took on a human nature, which did not affect His divinity. So His divine nature does not change in anyway but now because of the Incarnation, He also is human. Does this help?

Thanks for your question! Jesus, God the Son, took a human nature, but this was not a development of his divine nature. His coming into existence applies to the human nature that he took. The divine nature, on the other hand, does not change.

Yes.

@@ThomisticInstitute That means, he believed in the salvation by faith only, without works and any "sacraments"? The latter is something, which even M. Luther had struggle with ("hoc est corpus meus", discussion with Zwingli). Had Aquinas no problem with his church having read the bible cover to cover multiple times? Cannot believe it. Even I have a masive problem with my church after an intense bible study, and i am not even a Catholic...

@@ZondyYT Seeing as how "salvation by faith only, without works and any 'sacraments'" is a heretical doctrine, St. Thomas Aquinas did not hold to it while undergoing theosis here on earth, nor does he hold to it while enjoying the Beatific Vision currently in Heaven.

Jesus Christ created the everything in this world with his father you heretic