42. God’s Plan of Salvation
29. The Eternal Decree of God
God decreed to redeem all men from eternity, and this decree was promulgated in time (de fide).
God freely decreed the Redemption of the human race from all eternity. He carried it out in history through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God, in his infinite wisdom, knew about original sin before Creation and from all eternity decreed the redemption of mankind. After the fall of Adam and Eve, he promised them a Redeemer.
In the history of salvation, which started with God’s promise to Adam and Eve, one can distinguish two different stages. The first corresponds to the time before the coming of Christ during which God prepared the people of Israel. The second is the period during which he carried out the Redemption of the fallen human race through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The existence of God’s eternal plan to redeem mankind is revealed, among other places, in these words of St. Paul: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph 1:4).
With the following arguments, human reason can grasp why it is appropriate for God to decide to save people:
· God, who is just, is also merciful, and the Redemption splendidly manifests this divine attribute of mercy.
· Fallen man, as long as he is a wayfarer, can change and be purified, and it is fitting for the perfection of the universe that man, spiritual and material creature that he is, may not totally perish.
30. Incarnation and Redemption
According to the divine decree, the human race has been redeemed by the incarnate Son of God (de fide).
The symbols of the faith, innumerable testimonies of Sacred Scripture, and Tradition profess this truth. The Nicene Creed of a.d. 325 teaches that Jesus Christ, “for us men and for our salvation … came down, was made flesh, and became man.”1 The Council of Trent affirmed, “When the glorious fullness of time had come, the heavenly Father … sent Jesus Christ his Son to men. Christ had been announced and promised to many holy Fathers before the Law and during the time of the Law. He was sent that the Jews … might be redeemed, and the Gentiles … might secure justice, and that all might receive the adoption of sons.”2
Holy Scripture teaches that the Son of God was incarnated for the remission of the sins of all mankind. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10); “For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:17); “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tm 1:15). Still, one might wonder if this decreed Redemption could have been performed by means other than the Incarnation.
God could have redeemed mankind another way. To say the contrary would limit the omnipotence, wisdom, and justice of God; he would be limited to one possibility—the Incarnation of his only-begotten Son. This is clearly not the case. For example, he could save people without receiving any satisfaction whatsoever from sinful mankind.
But, if God wanted adequate satisfaction, the Incarnation of a divine Person was necessary (sent. certa), since the infinite offense against God demanded an infinite satisfaction that could be offered only by God himself.
We might also ask if the Incarnation would have taken place if Adam had not sinned. The most probable opinion, based on Scripture, states that God decreed the Incarnation only for the salvation of mankind. Therefore, according to the divine decree, if Adam had not sinned, the Son of God would not have been incarnated. Thus, St. Irenaeus taught, “If there had not been flesh to be saved, in no way would the Word of God have been made flesh.”3 St. Augustine, in like manner, wrote, “If man had not perished, the Son of Man would not have come.”4
31. Preparation for the Redemption in the Old Testament
God prepared mankind for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, Redeemer of mankind, by choosing the people of Israel and revealing himself to them through the patriarchs and prophets. In fact, the entire content of the Old Testament is a preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
Among the very first teachings of Scripture is found the promise of a Redeemer, made to our first parents by God after their fall. A descendant of Eve, he asserted, would vanquish the devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gn 3:15).
God established a covenant with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Later, he renewed and established it through Moses.
Throughout the history of the Jewish people, God gradually revealed the traits of the promised Messiah: He would be king, priest, suffering servant, son of David; he would be born of a Virgin and will be “God with us.”
Sacred Scripture also carefully points out that “he did not leave himself without witness” (Acts 14:17) to other nations. For this reason, the other peoples of the earth also received a remote preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
32. Fittingness of the Time of the Incarnation
The time of the Incarnation was determined by a supremely free divine decree. Thus, there was no human reason by which one may have determined the time it would be fulfilled.
The requirement of divine justice makes it appropriate that the Incarnation did not occur immediately after the fall, but only after a long period of preparation and anticipation. On the other hand, it did not seem proper for the Redemption to be postponed until the end of time, since the ignorance and concupiscence engendered by original sin would have caused such great harm by then that only very few would have been able to know Jesus Christ.
Footnotes:
1. DS 125.
2. DS 1522; cf. CCC, 456–457, 607.
3. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., 5.14.1.
4. St. Augustine, Serm. 174.2.2.
God decreed to redeem all men from eternity, and this decree was promulgated in time (de fide).
God freely decreed the Redemption of the human race from all eternity. He carried it out in history through our Lord Jesus Christ.
God, in his infinite wisdom, knew about original sin before Creation and from all eternity decreed the redemption of mankind. After the fall of Adam and Eve, he promised them a Redeemer.
In the history of salvation, which started with God’s promise to Adam and Eve, one can distinguish two different stages. The first corresponds to the time before the coming of Christ during which God prepared the people of Israel. The second is the period during which he carried out the Redemption of the fallen human race through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The existence of God’s eternal plan to redeem mankind is revealed, among other places, in these words of St. Paul: “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph 1:4).
With the following arguments, human reason can grasp why it is appropriate for God to decide to save people:
· God, who is just, is also merciful, and the Redemption splendidly manifests this divine attribute of mercy.
· Fallen man, as long as he is a wayfarer, can change and be purified, and it is fitting for the perfection of the universe that man, spiritual and material creature that he is, may not totally perish.
30. Incarnation and Redemption
According to the divine decree, the human race has been redeemed by the incarnate Son of God (de fide).
The symbols of the faith, innumerable testimonies of Sacred Scripture, and Tradition profess this truth. The Nicene Creed of a.d. 325 teaches that Jesus Christ, “for us men and for our salvation … came down, was made flesh, and became man.”1 The Council of Trent affirmed, “When the glorious fullness of time had come, the heavenly Father … sent Jesus Christ his Son to men. Christ had been announced and promised to many holy Fathers before the Law and during the time of the Law. He was sent that the Jews … might be redeemed, and the Gentiles … might secure justice, and that all might receive the adoption of sons.”2
Holy Scripture teaches that the Son of God was incarnated for the remission of the sins of all mankind. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Lk 19:10); “For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him” (Jn 3:17); “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tm 1:15). Still, one might wonder if this decreed Redemption could have been performed by means other than the Incarnation.
God could have redeemed mankind another way. To say the contrary would limit the omnipotence, wisdom, and justice of God; he would be limited to one possibility—the Incarnation of his only-begotten Son. This is clearly not the case. For example, he could save people without receiving any satisfaction whatsoever from sinful mankind.
But, if God wanted adequate satisfaction, the Incarnation of a divine Person was necessary (sent. certa), since the infinite offense against God demanded an infinite satisfaction that could be offered only by God himself.
We might also ask if the Incarnation would have taken place if Adam had not sinned. The most probable opinion, based on Scripture, states that God decreed the Incarnation only for the salvation of mankind. Therefore, according to the divine decree, if Adam had not sinned, the Son of God would not have been incarnated. Thus, St. Irenaeus taught, “If there had not been flesh to be saved, in no way would the Word of God have been made flesh.”3 St. Augustine, in like manner, wrote, “If man had not perished, the Son of Man would not have come.”4
31. Preparation for the Redemption in the Old Testament
God prepared mankind for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, Redeemer of mankind, by choosing the people of Israel and revealing himself to them through the patriarchs and prophets. In fact, the entire content of the Old Testament is a preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
Among the very first teachings of Scripture is found the promise of a Redeemer, made to our first parents by God after their fall. A descendant of Eve, he asserted, would vanquish the devil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gn 3:15).
God established a covenant with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Later, he renewed and established it through Moses.
Throughout the history of the Jewish people, God gradually revealed the traits of the promised Messiah: He would be king, priest, suffering servant, son of David; he would be born of a Virgin and will be “God with us.”
Sacred Scripture also carefully points out that “he did not leave himself without witness” (Acts 14:17) to other nations. For this reason, the other peoples of the earth also received a remote preparation for the coming of the Messiah.
32. Fittingness of the Time of the Incarnation
The time of the Incarnation was determined by a supremely free divine decree. Thus, there was no human reason by which one may have determined the time it would be fulfilled.
The requirement of divine justice makes it appropriate that the Incarnation did not occur immediately after the fall, but only after a long period of preparation and anticipation. On the other hand, it did not seem proper for the Redemption to be postponed until the end of time, since the ignorance and concupiscence engendered by original sin would have caused such great harm by then that only very few would have been able to know Jesus Christ.
Footnotes:
1. DS 125.
2. DS 1522; cf. CCC, 456–457, 607.
3. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haer., 5.14.1.
4. St. Augustine, Serm. 174.2.2.