Whether the Grace of Christ, As Head of the Church, Is the Same As
His Habitual Grace, Inasmuch As He Is Man?
Objection 1: It would seem that the grace whereby Christ is Head of
the Church and the individual grace of the Man are not the same. For
the Apostle says (Rom. 5:15): "If by the offense of one many died,
much more the grace of God and the gift, by the grace of one man,
Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many." But the actual sin of Adam is
distinct from original sin which he transmitted to his posterity.
Hence the personal grace which is proper to Christ is distinct from
His grace, inasmuch as He is the Head of the Church, which flows to
others from Him.
Obj. 2: Further, habits are distinguished by acts. But the personal
grace of Christ is ordained to one act, viz. the sanctification of
His soul; and the capital grace is ordained to another, viz. to
sanctifying others. Therefore the personal grace of Christ is
distinct from His grace as He is the Head of the Church.
Obj. 3: Further, as was said above (Q. 6, A. 6), in Christ we
distinguish a threefold grace, viz. the grace of union, capital
grace, and the individual grace of the Man. Now the individual grace
of Christ is distinct from the grace of union. Therefore it is also
distinct from the capital grace.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (John 1:16): "Of His fulness we all
have received." Now He is our Head, inasmuch as we receive from Him.
Therefore He is our Head, inasmuch as He has the fulness of grace.
Now He had the fulness of grace, inasmuch as personal grace was in
Him in its perfection, as was said above (Q. 7, A. 9). Hence His
capital and personal grace are not distinct.
_I answer that,_ Since everything acts inasmuch as it is a being in
act, it must be the same act whereby it is in act and whereby it
acts, as it is the same heat whereby fire is hot and whereby it
heats. Yet not every act whereby anything is in act suffices for its
being the principle of acting upon others. For since the agent is
nobler than the patient, as Augustine says (Gen. ad lit. xii, 16) and
the Philosopher (De Anima iii, 19), the agent must act on others by
reason of a certain pre-eminence. Now it was said above (A. 1; Q. 7,
A. 9) grace was received by the soul of Christ in the highest way;
and therefore from this pre-eminence of grace which He received, it
is from Him that this grace is bestowed on others--and this belongs
to the nature of head. Hence the personal grace, whereby the soul of
Christ is justified, is essentially the same as His grace, as He is
the Head of the Church, and justifies others; but there is a
distinction of reason between them.
Reply Obj. 1: Original sin in Adam, which is a sin of the nature, is
derived from his actual sin, which is a personal sin, because in him
the person corrupted the nature; and by means of this corruption the
sin of the first man is transmitted to posterity, inasmuch as the
corrupt nature corrupts the person. Now grace is not vouchsafed us by
means of human nature, but solely by the personal action of Christ
Himself. Hence we must not distinguish a twofold grace in Christ, one
corresponding to the nature, the other to the person as in Adam we
distinguish the sin of the nature and of the person.
Reply Obj. 2: Different acts, one of which is the reason and the
cause of the other, do not diversify a habit. Now the act of the
personal grace which is formally to sanctify its subject, is the
reason of the justification of others, which pertains to capital
grace. Hence it is that the essence of the habit is not diversified
by this difference.
Reply Obj. 3: Personal and capital grace are ordained to an act; but
the grace of union is not ordained to an act, but to the personal
being. Hence the personal and the capital grace agree in the essence
of the habit; but the grace of union does not, although the personal
grace can be called in a manner the grace of union, inasmuch as it
brings about a fitness for the union; and thus the grace of union,
the capital, and the personal grace are one in essence, though there
is a distinction of reason between them.
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