41. The Mystery of Redemption
Part II
The Work of Redemption
After studying the Person of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ our Lord, we will go on to the treatise on the work of Redemption, also called soteriology or the science of salvation.
God created man and elevated him to the supernatural order by means of grace. Due to original sin, man lost this original state of sanctity. His nature was wounded, and he was placed under the dominion of death and the devil. God promised our first parents a Savior who would free them from the domination of sin.1
27. The Concept of the Redemption and the Redeeming Mediation of Jesus Christ
Redemption is the forgiveness of humanity’s sins, granted by God through Jesus Christ. The sole and perfect mediator between God and mankind is Jesus Christ, who is both God and man.2
The redeeming action of Jesus Christ is based in his divine-human condition, which makes him capable of being mediator between God and mankind. “There is only one God and mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tm 2:5–6).
Jesus Christ, as God and man, can exercise a physical mediation, since he participates in divinity as well as humanity. However, moral mediation is also proper to him, since the Word was incarnated precisely to reconcile the human race with God. The Word, as God, is equal to the Father, and therefore cannot be mediator, but he can be mediator insofar as he is man (i.e., has a human nature), for this allows him to suffer and atone for our sins.
His actions and passions, however, are endowed with redemptive value insofar as they belong to the Word, who sustains and directs the assumed human nature. Christ is, thus, mediator according to his human nature, though this is not independent of his divinity. The Redemption is the mediation of Christ in act, and this is concretely manifested in his priesthood.
28. Redemption: God’s Free Gift, Necessary for Salvation
A fundamental dogma of the faith of the Church declares the incapacity of the fallen human race to achieve its own salvation. Only God can restore the supernatural order that was lost through sin.
We will now study the voluntary nature of Redemption and its necessity for our salvation.
28a) Necessity of Redemption for Man
Fallen man cannot redeem himself (de fide).
The Magisterium of the Church teaches that one cannot redeem oneself from sin through one’s own power. God’s help is necessary for redemption. The Council of Trent condemned the heretics who affirmed the contrary, saying, “If anyone says that without divine grace through Jesus Christ man can be justified before God by his own works, whether they were done by his natural powers or by the light of the teaching of the [Mosaic] Law, let him be anathema.”3
Sacred Scripture teaches that only God’s grace makes one just, that is, enables one to abandon sin and enter into friendship with God. Grace is a gratuitous gift from God: “They are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Thus, only the saving work of Jesus Christ frees men from their sins, not their own efforts. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8).
The Fathers of the Church, with respect to people’s ability to save themselves, taught that God’s help is needed to be justified. St. Irenaeus wrote, “It was God himself who saved them because, by themselves, they could not have been saved.”4 St. Gregory of Nyssa affirmed, “Human nature could not evade death, if God had not imparted health to it.”5
Reason enlightened by faith shows us that sin is an infinite offense committed against God. Though it may be finite considered as an act of man, it contains infinite malice insofar as it offends God by one’s rejection of him and preference for creatures. Since a mere creature cannot satisfactorily atone for sin, it was necessary for God either to renounce just satisfaction or to atone himself on behalf of humanity. Further, since there was no proportion between natural human capabilities and the supernatural life, it was impossible for mankind to be saved through its own efforts, knowing that only divine mercy can restore supernatural life to fallen man.
28b) Freedom on God’s Part
There was neither an internal nor an external obligation on God’s part to redeem man (sent. certa).
If the original state of justice of Adam and Eve was a gratuitous gift from God, that is, due only to his love and mercy, then the restoration of this original justice is more so a free act of God.
Holy Scripture is absolutely explicit about the freedom and love that God exercised in redeeming us: “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph 2:4–5).
Commenting on this text, John Paul II said, “This truth, more than just something to be taught, is a reality that Christ has made present to us. To make the Father present in his love and mercy is, in the conscience of Christ himself, the proof of his mission as Messiah.… Christ, in revealing the merciful love of God, demanded from men at the same time to allow themselves to be guided by love and mercy in their lives. In a fuller way, Christ makes present and reveals the Father, the God rich in mercy, upon being converted in the incarnation of love, which is manifested with a peculiar strength to those who suffer, to the unhappy, and to the sinners.”6
The Fathers of the Church taught that God could have excluded the entire human race from the Kingdom of heaven without committing any injustice whatsoever.7
Gods’ freedom to redeem humanity is based on his not being in any way indebted to humanity. Mankind did not have any right to receive grace; God gave it gratuitously in the original state of justice. He again showed his freedom, afterwards, in restoring his people to the state of grace, which they lost through original sin. Further, God did not owe himself anything: his glory cannot possibly be increased. God, therefore, redeemed humanity with absolute freedom on his part in order to show his goodness and love.
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 410, 430.
2. Cf. Ibid., 618.
3. DS 1551; cf. CCC, 457.
4. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.21.2.
5. St. Gregory of Nyssa, Adv. Apoll. 51.
6. John Paul II, Enc. Dives in Misericordia, 3; cf. CCC, 456–460.
7. Cf. St. Augustine, De Nat. et Grat. 5.5.
The Work of Redemption
After studying the Person of the Redeemer, Jesus Christ our Lord, we will go on to the treatise on the work of Redemption, also called soteriology or the science of salvation.
God created man and elevated him to the supernatural order by means of grace. Due to original sin, man lost this original state of sanctity. His nature was wounded, and he was placed under the dominion of death and the devil. God promised our first parents a Savior who would free them from the domination of sin.1
27. The Concept of the Redemption and the Redeeming Mediation of Jesus Christ
Redemption is the forgiveness of humanity’s sins, granted by God through Jesus Christ. The sole and perfect mediator between God and mankind is Jesus Christ, who is both God and man.2
The redeeming action of Jesus Christ is based in his divine-human condition, which makes him capable of being mediator between God and mankind. “There is only one God and mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Tm 2:5–6).
Jesus Christ, as God and man, can exercise a physical mediation, since he participates in divinity as well as humanity. However, moral mediation is also proper to him, since the Word was incarnated precisely to reconcile the human race with God. The Word, as God, is equal to the Father, and therefore cannot be mediator, but he can be mediator insofar as he is man (i.e., has a human nature), for this allows him to suffer and atone for our sins.
His actions and passions, however, are endowed with redemptive value insofar as they belong to the Word, who sustains and directs the assumed human nature. Christ is, thus, mediator according to his human nature, though this is not independent of his divinity. The Redemption is the mediation of Christ in act, and this is concretely manifested in his priesthood.
28. Redemption: God’s Free Gift, Necessary for Salvation
A fundamental dogma of the faith of the Church declares the incapacity of the fallen human race to achieve its own salvation. Only God can restore the supernatural order that was lost through sin.
We will now study the voluntary nature of Redemption and its necessity for our salvation.
28a) Necessity of Redemption for Man
Fallen man cannot redeem himself (de fide).
The Magisterium of the Church teaches that one cannot redeem oneself from sin through one’s own power. God’s help is necessary for redemption. The Council of Trent condemned the heretics who affirmed the contrary, saying, “If anyone says that without divine grace through Jesus Christ man can be justified before God by his own works, whether they were done by his natural powers or by the light of the teaching of the [Mosaic] Law, let him be anathema.”3
Sacred Scripture teaches that only God’s grace makes one just, that is, enables one to abandon sin and enter into friendship with God. Grace is a gratuitous gift from God: “They are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom 3:24). Thus, only the saving work of Jesus Christ frees men from their sins, not their own efforts. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God” (Eph 2:8).
The Fathers of the Church, with respect to people’s ability to save themselves, taught that God’s help is needed to be justified. St. Irenaeus wrote, “It was God himself who saved them because, by themselves, they could not have been saved.”4 St. Gregory of Nyssa affirmed, “Human nature could not evade death, if God had not imparted health to it.”5
Reason enlightened by faith shows us that sin is an infinite offense committed against God. Though it may be finite considered as an act of man, it contains infinite malice insofar as it offends God by one’s rejection of him and preference for creatures. Since a mere creature cannot satisfactorily atone for sin, it was necessary for God either to renounce just satisfaction or to atone himself on behalf of humanity. Further, since there was no proportion between natural human capabilities and the supernatural life, it was impossible for mankind to be saved through its own efforts, knowing that only divine mercy can restore supernatural life to fallen man.
28b) Freedom on God’s Part
There was neither an internal nor an external obligation on God’s part to redeem man (sent. certa).
If the original state of justice of Adam and Eve was a gratuitous gift from God, that is, due only to his love and mercy, then the restoration of this original justice is more so a free act of God.
Holy Scripture is absolutely explicit about the freedom and love that God exercised in redeeming us: “But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph 2:4–5).
Commenting on this text, John Paul II said, “This truth, more than just something to be taught, is a reality that Christ has made present to us. To make the Father present in his love and mercy is, in the conscience of Christ himself, the proof of his mission as Messiah.… Christ, in revealing the merciful love of God, demanded from men at the same time to allow themselves to be guided by love and mercy in their lives. In a fuller way, Christ makes present and reveals the Father, the God rich in mercy, upon being converted in the incarnation of love, which is manifested with a peculiar strength to those who suffer, to the unhappy, and to the sinners.”6
The Fathers of the Church taught that God could have excluded the entire human race from the Kingdom of heaven without committing any injustice whatsoever.7
Gods’ freedom to redeem humanity is based on his not being in any way indebted to humanity. Mankind did not have any right to receive grace; God gave it gratuitously in the original state of justice. He again showed his freedom, afterwards, in restoring his people to the state of grace, which they lost through original sin. Further, God did not owe himself anything: his glory cannot possibly be increased. God, therefore, redeemed humanity with absolute freedom on his part in order to show his goodness and love.
Footnotes:
1. Cf. CCC, 410, 430.
2. Cf. Ibid., 618.
3. DS 1551; cf. CCC, 457.
4. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. 3.21.2.
5. St. Gregory of Nyssa, Adv. Apoll. 51.
6. John Paul II, Enc. Dives in Misericordia, 3; cf. CCC, 456–460.
7. Cf. St. Augustine, De Nat. et Grat. 5.5.