Whether in Christ There Was Ignorance?
Objection 1: It would seem that there was ignorance in Christ. For
that is truly in Christ which belongs to Him in His human nature,
although it does not belong to Him in His Divine Nature, as suffering
and death. But ignorance belongs to Christ in His human nature; for
Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii, 21) that "He assumed an ignorant
and enslaved nature." Therefore ignorance was truly in Christ.
Obj. 2: Further, one is said to be ignorant through defect of
knowledge. Now some kind of knowledge was wanting to Christ, for the
Apostle says (2 Cor. 5:21) "Him that knew no sin, for us He hath made
sin." Therefore there was ignorance in Christ.
Obj. 3: Further, it is written (Isa. 8:4): "For before the child know
to call his Father and his mother, the strength of Damascus . . .
shall be taken away." Therefore in Christ there was ignorance of
certain things.
_On the contrary,_ Ignorance is not taken away by ignorance. But
Christ came to take away our ignorance; for "He came to enlighten
them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Luke 1:79).
Therefore there was no ignorance in Christ.
_I answer that,_ As there was the fulness of grace and virtue in
Christ, so too there was the fulness of all knowledge, as is plain
from what has been said above (Q. 7, A. 9; Q. 9). Now as the fulness
of grace and virtue in Christ excluded the _fomes_ of sin, so the
fulness of knowledge excluded ignorance, which is opposed to
knowledge. Hence, even as the _fomes_ of sin was not in Christ,
neither was there ignorance in Him.
Reply Obj. 1: The nature assumed by Christ may be viewed in two ways.
First, in its specific nature, and thus Damascene calls it "ignorant
and enslaved"; hence he adds: "For man's nature is a slave of Him"
(i.e. God) "Who made it; and it has no knowledge of future things."
Secondly, it may be considered with regard to what it has from its
union with the Divine hypostasis, from which it has the fulness of
knowledge and grace, according to John 1:14: "We saw Him [Vulg.: 'His
glory'] as it were the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and
truth"; and in this way the human nature in Christ was not affected
with ignorance.
Reply Obj. 2: Christ is said not to have known sin, because He did
not know it by experience; but He knew it by simple cognition.
Reply Obj. 3: The prophet is speaking in this passage of the human
knowledge of Christ; thus he says: "Before the Child" (i.e. in His
human nature) "know to call His father" (i.e. Joseph, who was His
reputed father), "and His mother" (i.e. Mary), "the strength of
Damascus . . . shall be taken away." Nor are we to understand this as
if He had been some time a man without knowing it; but "before He
know" (i.e. before He is a man having human knowledge)--literally,
"the strength of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria shall be taken
away by the King of the Assyrians"--or spiritually, "before His birth
He will save His people solely by invocation," as a gloss expounds
it. Augustine however (Serm. xxxii de Temp.) says that this was
fulfilled in the adoration of the Magi. For he says: "Before He
uttered human words in human flesh, He received the strength of
Damascus, i.e. the riches which Damascus vaunted (for in riches the
first place is given to gold). They themselves were the spoils of
Samaria. Because Samaria is taken to signify idolatry; since this
people, having turned away from the Lord, turned to the worship of
idols. Hence these were the first spoils which the child took from
the domination of idolatry." And in this way "before the child know"
may be taken to mean "before he show himself to know."
_______________________