Whether, If Man Had Not Sinned, God Would Have Become Incarnate?
Objection 1: It would seem that if man had not sinned, God would
still have become incarnate. For the cause remaining, the effect also
remains. But as Augustine says (De Trin. xiii, 17): "Many other
things are to be considered in the Incarnation of Christ besides
absolution from sin"; and these were discussed above (A. 2).
Therefore if man had not sinned, God would have become incarnate.
Obj. 2: Further, it belongs to the omnipotence of the Divine power to
perfect His works, and to manifest Himself by some infinite effect.
But no mere creature can be called an infinite effect, since it is
finite of its very essence. Now, seemingly, in the work of the
Incarnation alone is an infinite effect of the Divine power
manifested in a special manner by which power things infinitely
distant are united, inasmuch as it has been brought about that man is
God. And in this work especially the universe would seem to be
perfected, inasmuch as the last creature--viz. man--is united to the
first principle--viz. God. Therefore, even if man had not sinned, God
would have become incarnate.
Obj. 3: Further, human nature has not been made more capable of grace
by sin. But after sin it is capable of the grace of union, which is
the greatest grace. Therefore, if man had not sinned, human nature
would have been capable of this grace; nor would God have withheld
from human nature any good it was capable of. Therefore, if man had
not sinned, God would have become incarnate.
Obj. 4: Further, God's predestination is eternal. But it is said of
Christ (Rom. 1:4): "Who was predestined the Son of God in power."
Therefore, even before sin, it was necessary that the Son of God
should become incarnate, in order to fulfil God's predestination.
Obj. 5: Further, the mystery of the Incarnation was revealed to the
first man, as is plain from Gen. 2:23. "This now is bone of my
bones," etc. which the Apostle says is "a great sacrament . . . in
Christ and in the Church," as is plain from Eph. 5:32. But man could
not be fore-conscious of his fall, for the same reason that the
angels could not, as Augustine proves (Gen. ad lit. xi, 18).
Therefore, even if man had not sinned, God would have become
incarnate.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (De Verb. Apost. viii, 2),
expounding what is set down in Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man is
come to seek and to save that which was lost"; "Therefore, if man had
not sinned, the Son of Man would not have come." And on 1 Tim. 1:15,
"Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners," a gloss says,
"There was no cause of Christ's coming into the world, except to save
sinners. Take away diseases, take away wounds, and there is no need
of medicine."
_I answer that,_ There are different opinions about this question.
For some say that even if man had not sinned, the Son of Man would
have become incarnate. Others assert the contrary, and seemingly our
assent ought rather to be given to this opinion.
For such things as spring from God's will, and beyond the creature's
due, can be made known to us only through being revealed in the
Sacred Scripture, in which the Divine Will is made known to us.
Hence, since everywhere in the Sacred Scripture the sin of the first
man is assigned as the reason of the Incarnation, it is more in
accordance with this to say that the work of the Incarnation was
ordained by God as a remedy for sin; so that, had sin not existed,
the Incarnation would not have been. And yet the power of God is not
limited to this; even had sin not existed, God could have become
incarnate.
Reply Obj. 1: All the other causes which are assigned in the
preceding article have to do with a remedy for sin. For if man had
not sinned, he would have been endowed with the light of Divine
wisdom, and would have been perfected by God with the righteousness
of justice in order to know and carry out everything needful. But
because man, on deserting God, had stooped to corporeal things, it
was necessary that God should take flesh, and by corporeal things
should afford him the remedy of salvation. Hence, on John 1:14, "And
the Word was made flesh," St. Augustine says (Tract. ii): "Flesh had
blinded thee, flesh heals thee; for Christ came and overthrew the
vices of the flesh."
Reply Obj. 2: The infinity of Divine power is shown in the mode of
production of things from nothing. Again, it suffices for the
perfection of the universe that the creature be ordained in a natural
manner to God as to an end. But that a creature should be united to
God in person exceeds the limits of the perfection of nature.
Reply Obj. 3: A double capability may be remarked in human nature:
one, in respect of the order of natural power, and this is always
fulfilled by God, Who apportions to each according to its natural
capability; the other in respect to the order of the Divine power,
which all creatures implicitly obey; and the capability we speak of
pertains to this. But God does not fulfil all such capabilities,
otherwise God could do only what He has done in creatures, and this
is false, as stated above (I, Q. 105, A. 6). But there is no reason
why human nature should not have been raised to something greater
after sin. For God allows evils to happen in order to bring a greater
good therefrom; hence it is written (Rom. 5:20): "Where sin abounded,
grace did more abound." Hence, too, in the blessing of the Paschal
candle, we say: "O happy fault, that merited such and so great a
Redeemer!"
Reply Obj. 4: Predestination presupposes the foreknowledge of future
things; and hence, as God predestines the salvation of anyone to be
brought about by the prayers of others, so also He predestined the
work of the Incarnation to be the remedy of human sin.
Reply Obj. 5: Nothing prevents an effect from being revealed to one
to whom the cause is not revealed. Hence, the mystery of the
Incarnation could be revealed to the first man without his being
fore-conscious of his fall. For not everyone who knows the effect
knows the cause.
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