Whether It Is Necessary for the Salvation of All, That They Should
Believe Explicitly in the Mystery of Christ?
Objection 1: It would seem that it is not necessary for the salvation
of all that they should believe explicitly in the mystery of Christ.
For man is not bound to believe explicitly what the angels are
ignorant about: since the unfolding of faith is the result of Divine
revelation, which reaches man by means of the angels, as stated above
(A. 6; I, Q. 111, A. 1). Now even the angels were in ignorance of the
mystery of the Incarnation: hence, according to the commentary of
Dionysius (Coel. Hier. vii), it is they who ask (Ps. 23:8): "Who is
this king of glory?" and (Isa. 63:1): "Who is this that cometh from
Edom?" Therefore men were not bound to believe explicitly in the
mystery of Christ's Incarnation.
Obj. 2: Further, it is evident that John the Baptist was one of the
teachers, and most nigh to Christ, Who said of him (Matt. 11:11) that
"there hath not risen among them that are born of women, a greater
than" he. Now John the Baptist does not appear to have known the
mystery of Christ explicitly, since he asked Christ (Matt. 11:3):
"Art Thou He that art to come, or look we for another?" Therefore
even the teachers were not bound to explicit faith in Christ.
Obj. 3: Further, many gentiles obtained salvation through the
ministry of the angels, as Dionysius states (Coel. Hier. ix). Now it
would seem that the gentiles had neither explicit nor implicit faith
in Christ, since they received no revelation. Therefore it seems that
it was not necessary for the salvation of all to believe explicitly
in the mystery of Christ.
_On the contrary,_ Augustine says (De Corr. et Gratia vii; Ep. cxc):
"Our faith is sound if we believe that no man, old or young is
delivered from the contagion of death and the bonds of sin, except
by the one Mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ."
_I answer that,_ As stated above (A. 5; Q. 1, A. 8), the object of
faith includes, properly and directly, that thing through which man
obtains beatitude. Now the mystery of Christ's Incarnation and
Passion is the way by which men obtain beatitude; for it is written
(Acts 4:12): "There is no other name under heaven given to men,
whereby we must be saved." Therefore belief of some kind in the
mystery of Christ's Incarnation was necessary at all times and for
all persons, but this belief differed according to differences of
times and persons. The reason of this is that before the state of
sin, man believed, explicitly in Christ's Incarnation, in so far as
it was intended for the consummation of glory, but not as it was
intended to deliver man from sin by the Passion and Resurrection,
since man had no foreknowledge of his future sin. He does, however,
seem to have had foreknowledge of the Incarnation of Christ, from the
fact that he said (Gen. 2:24): "Wherefore a man shall leave father
and mother, and shall cleave to his wife," of which the Apostle says
(Eph. 5:32) that "this is a great sacrament . . . in Christ and the
Church," and it is incredible that the first man was ignorant about
this sacrament.
But after sin, man believed explicitly in Christ, not only as to the
Incarnation, but also as to the Passion and Resurrection, whereby the
human race is delivered from sin and death: for they would not, else,
have foreshadowed Christ's Passion by certain sacrifices both before
and after the Law, the meaning of which sacrifices was known by the
learned explicitly, while the simple folk, under the veil of those
sacrifices, believed them to be ordained by God in reference to
Christ's coming, and thus their knowledge was covered with a veil, so
to speak. And, as stated above (Q. 1, A. 7), the nearer they were to
Christ, the more distinct was their knowledge of Christ's mysteries.
After grace had been revealed, both learned and simple folk are bound
to explicit faith in the mysteries of Christ, chiefly as regards
those which are observed throughout the Church, and publicly
proclaimed, such as the articles which refer to the Incarnation, of
which we have spoken above (Q. 1, A. 8). As to other minute points in
reference to the articles of the Incarnation, men have been bound to
believe them more or less explicitly according to each one's state
and office.
Reply Obj. 1: The mystery of the Kingdom of God was not entirely
hidden from the angels, as Augustine observes (Gen. ad lit. v, 19),
yet certain aspects thereof were better known to them when Christ
revealed them to them.
Reply Obj. 2: It was not through ignorance that John the Baptist
inquired of Christ's advent in the flesh, since he had clearly
professed his belief therein, saying: "I saw, and I gave testimony,
that this is the Son of God" (John 1:34). Hence he did not say: "Art
Thou He that hast come?" but "Art Thou He that art to come?" thus
saying about the future, not about the past. Likewise it is not to be
believed that he was ignorant of Christ's future Passion, for he had
already said (John 1:39): "Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who
taketh away the sins [Vulg.: 'sin'] of the world," thus foretelling
His future immolation; and since other prophets had foretold it, as
may be seen especially in Isaias 53. We may therefore say with
Gregory (Hom. xxvi in Evang.) that he asked this question, being in
ignorance as to whether Christ would descend into hell in His own
Person. But he did not ignore the fact that the power of Christ's
Passion would be extended to those who were detained in Limbo,
according to Zech. 9:11: "Thou also, by the blood of Thy testament
hast sent forth Thy prisoners out of the pit, wherein there is no
water"; nor was he bound to believe explicitly, before its
fulfilment, that Christ was to descend thither Himself.
It may also be replied that, as Ambrose observes in his commentary on
Luke 7:19, he made this inquiry, not from doubt or ignorance but from
devotion: or again, with Chrysostom (Hom. xxxvi in Matth.), that he
inquired, not as though ignorant himself, but because he wished his
disciples to be satisfied on that point, through Christ: hence the
latter framed His answer so as to instruct the disciples, by pointing
to the signs of His works.
Reply Obj. 3: Many of the gentiles received revelations of Christ, as
is clear from their predictions. Thus we read (Job 19:25): "I know
that my Redeemer liveth." The Sibyl too foretold certain things about
Christ, as Augustine states (Contra Faust. xiii, 15). Moreover, we
read in the history of the Romans, that at the time of Constantine
Augustus and his mother Irene a tomb was discovered, wherein lay a
man on whose breast was a golden plate with the inscription: "Christ
shall be born of a virgin, and in Him, I believe. O sun, during the
lifetime of Irene and Constantine, thou shalt see me again" [*Cf.
Baron, Annal., A.D. 780]. If, however, some were saved without
receiving any revelation, they were not saved without faith in a
Mediator, for, though they did not believe in Him explicitly, they
did, nevertheless, have implicit faith through believing in Divine
providence, since they believed that God would deliver mankind in
whatever way was pleasing to Him, and according to the revelation of
the Spirit to those who knew the truth, as stated in Job 35:11: "Who
teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth."
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