Thesis 1: DIVINE REVELATION

“It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will” (DV 2)

I. Nature of Divine Revelation

A. Divine Revelation in Scriptures

Divine revelation is the process of God revealing Himself to man. It comes from the Latin word
“revelare” which means “to remove the veil.” The OT affirms that God cannot be seen or
known. But out of His initiative and goodness, God revealed Himself since the beginning (First
Parents, Noah, Abraham, Moses and the prophets). In the OT God revealed His name (Ex 3:13-
15) and his power (Ex 14:15-31). But in the NT, God revealed Himself totally through His Son,
Jesus Christ – the fullness of divine revelation. Being the definitive revelation, Christ fulfills all
the promises of God (2 Cor 1:20), such that after Him there is no need for further new public
revelation before the glorious manifestation of Jesus Christ (DV 4). [also see DV 2-6]

B. Fathers of the Church

The Fathers of the Church placed Christ at the center of revelation (Christocentric approach).
The Apostolic Fathers (e.g. Ignatius of Antioch) understood revelation as the “Good News” of
salvation which is embodied in Christ its supreme herald. The Apologists (e.g. Justin Martyr)
focused on the philosophical aspects of revelation and saw Christ as the “Word-made-flesh.”
The Alexandrians (e.g. Clement) held that Christ is the answer to our quest for truth. The
Cappadocians (e.g. Basil the Great) spoke of Christ as the means to gain access to the Father.

C. Magisterium of the Church

The Council of Trent (16th cent.), instead of speaking so much about the nature of revelation
itself, dwelt more on the sources (Tradition and Scriptures), in order to counteract the Protestant
Reformers’ claim that Scriptures is the only source of revelation. The First Vatican Council
(1869-70), against rationalism (reason only) and fideism (faith only), acknowledges the
capacity of human reason to know God from the created world, and the importance of divinely
revealed truths. Since the Middle Ages until before Vatican II, revelation was understood as
truth formulas of faith (propositional view of revelation) largely because of the Thomistic
theology. However, the Second Vatican Council, being more biblical in its treatment of
revelation, understood revelation as primarily God’s personal and total self-manifestation that
invites our personal response of faith (DV 2, 6) and secondarily as the communication of divine
truths (DV 7, 9, 10, 11, 26). God reveals in order to communicate Himself and the eternal
decisions of His will concerning the salvation of man (DV 6).

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D. Obedience of Faith

God wants man to respond to His revelation with the “obedience of faith” – committing his
whole self freely to God, offering the full submission of intellect and will to God who reveals,
and freely assenting to the truth revealed by Him (DV 5). This dynamic relationship between
God and man forms what we call tradition (content). And since God wants everyone to be
saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Ti 2:4), we have the duty to proclaim to all
people what He has revealed concerning our salvation (DV 7).

II. Transmission of Divine Revelation

The term “transmission of divine revelation” refers to the process of handing on, under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, what God has revealed to us in Christ from generation to
generation so that everyone will be saved (also called Tradition1). There are two ways of
transmission: Sacred Scripture & Sacred Tradition. Sacred Tradition is the transmission of
divine revelation, which culminated in Christ, by the apostles through their preaching,
examples, observances and institutions. Scripture is the transmission of divine revelation by the
apostles and other men associated with the apostles through writing.

III. Relationship between the Tradition & Scripture

Tradition (“tradere”) means to transmit or deliver the message of God’s love for his people.
Who is the subject of tradition? The transcendent subject is the Holy Spirit, while the historical
subject is the Church itself. Scripture, on the other hand, is the word of God committed into
writing. Both of them form one deposit of faith.2 Thus they are inseparable since they come
from one source (God’s revelation). Both make present the mystery of Christ. They are
different, however, in their mode of transmission. Scripture transmits the mystery of Christ
through writing. Tradition transmits the mystery of Christ in its entirety through preaching,
examples, way of life and worship. The Church, through the Magisterium, as the subject and
interpreter of divine revelation, derives her certainty about all revealed truths both from
Scripture and Tradition. [also read CCC pp. 31-34]

IV. Nature of Inspiration

A. Inspiration in Scriptures

1
Tradition (Lat. “transmission”) = the process of handing on (as act), or the living heritage that is handed on (as content).
2
Deposit of Faith = all that God has definitively revealed through Christ for our salvation, entrusted to the Church to be preserved,
interpreted, and proclaimed faithfully to all people until the end of time.

2
The Latin word “inpirare” means “to breathe out.” The meaning itself is already connected with
the action of the Holy Spirit). Biblical inspiration is the process by which the authors, under the
guidance of the Holy Spirit, commit into writing both what God wants them to write and what
they themselves want to write. Thus all the books in Scripture are inspired by God. In the OT,
divine inspiration can be found in the life of the prophets. God speaks through the prophets. In
the NT, Jesus also speaks of the sacredness of the OT. He came to fulfill the Law (Mt 5:17).
Paul also says that “all scripture is inspired by God” (2 Ti 3:16). Moreover, Peter says that
Scripture is the result of the movement of the Holy Spirit in the lives of men and women (2 Pt
1:19-21).

B. Fathers of the Church & Magisterium of the Church

The Fathers of the Church spoke of the authors as instruments of God. The Council of
Florence (1441) said that God is the author of both the Old and the New Testament. The
sacredness of the Scripture is due to the “inspiration of the Holy Spirit.” However, it did not
define the meaning of the word “inspiration.” The Council of Trent (1562), in accordance with
the Apostolic Tradition, included in the Canon of Scriptures3 all the books that were considered
to have been written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Providentissimus Deus (1893)
defined “inspiration” as the supernatural impulse by which the Holy Spirit moved the sacred
writers to write faithfully and express accurately all that God commanded them to write and
nothing else. Vatican II (Dei Verbum) speaks canonicity and inspiration. It says that everything
(whole and parts) in the Scriptures (OT & NT) are sacred and canonical because it was written
under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

V. Interpretation of Sacred Scripture

So the Scripture is 100 percent divine and human. So in order to interpret it faithfully, we have
to consider two things: God’s will and the author’s intention. There are three principles in
interpreting the Scriptures according to Dei Verbum: 1) be attentive to the whole and unity of
the Scriptures (because the Scriptures speak only of the one plan of God), 2) read and interpret
in the living tradition of the Church, 3) be attentive to the analogy of faith (the coherence
[harmony] of the truths of faith among themselves).

VI. Approaches to Inspiration4 and Hermeneutics

3
Canon of Scripture (Gr. “rule, measuring rod”) = the official list of divinely inspired books in the Church. Criteria for Canonicity: a.
Orthodox rule of faith, b. Apostolicity, c. Continuous usage in worship
4
Important Principles on Inspiration: 1) the books of the Bible do not only have one author; 2) Biblical inspiration is not an isolated
charism; 3) communitarian dimension [the actual writing was a) born from the faith of, b) was directed to, c) was connected with the
other charisms of, d) was normative for the life of the community].

3
On Inspiration:

1. Divine dictation = God dictates to the author what He exactly wants them to write (wrong!)
2. Condescension = the Holy Spirit illuminates the human author wherein the personality of the
writer is temporarily lost (wrong!)
3. Subsequent approbation = the books become sacred once approved by the Church (wrong!)
4. Negative assistance = the Holy Spirit lets them write and intervenes when they write
something wrong (wrong! [since everything is inspired by the HS]).
5. God is the author = (right!)
6. Prophetic theory = the Holy Spirit is the principal cause and the human author is the
instrumental cause (right!)
7. Verbal inspiration = everything written down is by the Holy Spirit’s inspiration (right!)

On Hermeneutics:

Hermeneutics comes from the Greek word “hermeneuein” which means “to interpret.” In the
broader sense, it refers to the art or science of interpretation. It includes: 1) exegesis (means to
draw out the meaning from the text), 2) to synthesize the meaning, 3) and to apply to life. In the
narrow sense, it refers to the methods and techniques of interpretation. In the strict sense, it
refers to the application of the meaning of the text to our life.

Approaches of Biblical Hermeneutics:

Before, we have source criticism, form criticism, tradition criticism and redaction criticism.
They are the old approaches. They go back to the past. They are called diachronic methods.
They are called historical-critical approach.5

Now, we have the literary approach or the synchronic methods. They are the following:
canonical approach, rhetorical approach, narrative approach, scriptural approach, and semiotic
approach.6

5
Diachronic Methods: (1) Source criticism – determines the presence of sources in the present texts and investigates where the
sources came from, how they were used and what they meant then and mean now in the present use of the text; (2) Form criticism
– this method aims at discovering the different literary genres in the text and then establishes the historical situations that give birth
to them or were connected to these genres; (3) Tradition criticism – situates texts and literary genres in the stream of tradition and
attempts to describe the development of this tradition over the course of time; (4) Redaction criticism – seeks to trace how the
author connected the different individual genres and why he put them in such and such a relationship.
6
Synchronic Methods: (1) Canonical approach – studies any part of the Scripture in the context of the whole (2) Rhetorical analysis –
invites the reader's personal interpretation so that the complete meaning can merge, formed by the reaction between the reader
and the text; (3) Narrative analysis – offers a method of undertaking to the form of story and personal testimony something
characteristics of Holy Scripture and of course, a fundamental modality of communication between human persons; (4)
Structuralism – studies the inner structures that can be discovered in order to go to the deep meaning of reality, a meaning that is

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VII. Relationship between the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT)

Both the OT and NT speak of the one plan of God. Thus they are connected to each other. They
are connected by means of typology. By typology we speak of reading the OT in the light of the
NT, and vice versa. The NT is prepared in the OT, and the OT is fulfilled in the NT. The NT is
hidden in the OT and the OT is unveiled in the NT.

Questions:
1. Is the translation inspired? Yes it is inspired, because of the communitarian dimension of
inspiration. The writer, redactor, translator are all inspired. Here, we speak of the
communitarian aspect of inspiration, because each book is written in and for the community.

4. Does the OT cease its value due to the NT? NO, because the Scripture (OT and NT) in its
entirety is sacred. So it still has a value since it is part of the divine plan.

5. How many stages in the formation of the Gospel? There are 3 stages: 1) the life and teachings
of Jesus, 2) Oral tradition (preaching of the Apostles), 3) Written Gospels

6. Are all inspired books canonical? We are not sure. Theoretically, yes, but they are not
canonical because they were lost. What if they are found—can they be appended to the Bible?
No. Part of the criteria is that it should have made an impact and should have been used by the
Church for a long time. Thus, the CANON IS CLOSED!]

Thesis 2: THE TRIUNE GOD

“Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19).

universal; (5) Semiotic analysis – is based on three main principles: (a) the principle of immanence – each text forms a unit of
meaning complete in itself; (b) the principle of the structure of meaning – there is no meaning given in and through relationship in
particular the relationship of difference; (c) the principle of the grammar of the text – each text follows a grammar, that is to say, a
certain number of rules or structures.

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I. Existence of God

The desire to know God is written in the human heart (CCC 27). Man is a religious being. This
means that he knows that he is not the principle of himself. He knows that there is a God who
exists. But to know that God exists is not enough. Man needs proofs. How can we prove that
God exists? Theologically, there are two ways of proving the existence of God through the
world7 and the human person8 (CCC 31-33). Through them we come to know that God exists.
In the OT, the Israelites believed in one God.9 We, Christians, believe in one God in three
Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (CCC). Our God is Trinitarian as revealed to us
by Jesus. Thus we speak of God as the Most Holy Trinity.10

This mystery is prefigured in the OT when at the time of creation God said, “Let us make
humankind in our image, according to our likeness” (Gen 1:26). This passage, along with the
other OT passages,11 seems to hint that there is some kind of plurality in God. Finally, when
Jesus came, He revealed the Father,12 the Son13 and the Spirit.14 Among the many passages that
reveal the Trinity are: the account of Jesus’ baptism (Mt 3:16-17) and the baptismal formula
(Mt 28:19).

II. Interrelationship of the Trinity of Persons in the Unity of God

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World = starting from movement, becoming, contingency, and the world's order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God
as the origin and the end of the universe.
8
Human person = With his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience,
with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God's existence. In all this he discerns signs of his
spiritual soul. The soul, the "seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material, can have its origin only in God.
9
“To you it was shown so that you would acknowledge that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him”. [Deut 4:35]
10
“The mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is the central mystery of Christian faith and life. . . . It is therefore the source of all the other
mysteries of faith, the light that enlightens them. It is the most fundamental and essential teaching in the "hierarchy of the truths of
faith." The whole history of salvation is identical with the history of the way and the means by which the one true God, Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit, reveals himself to men "and reconciles and unites with himself those who turn away from sin." [CCC 234]
11
Here are two other examples among many: Prov 8:23-31 (speaks of Divine Wisdom personified) & 1 Sam 10:6 (the Spirit of God as
identified with the “power proceeding from God”).
12
John 14:10 = “The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.”
13
John 20:17 = Jesus said to her, "Do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and
say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"
14
John 14:26 = “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you
of all that I have said to you.”

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The three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—are one God. We do not speak of three Gods
in the Trinity. The first two general councils (Nicaea [325] & Constantinople [381]) declared
that the three Persons are consubstantial (Gr. “homoousious” = “of the same substance”). It
means that the Trinity is not a sharing in the substance. It is one substance. The three Persons
are wholly and entirely one God.

Nevertheless, they are distinct from each other through their relationships. We can explain
these relationships by looking at the dynamic life in God Himself (Immanent Trinity).15 Here,
we are speaking of the interrelationship within the Trinity. God the Father is Father. God the
Son is Son. And God the Holy Spirit is Holy Spirit. The Father relates to the Son as father. The
Son relates to the Father as son. The Holy Spirit relates to the other Two as the bond between
them (the Two). These relationships are rooted in the processions that take place in God: the
Son comes from the Father (the “unoriginated” Origin) through generation (or begetting) & the
Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son through spiration.16 Thus in God we speak of
three Persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) because in Him we speak of three distinct
relationships (fatherhood, sonship and passive spiration).

As regards the interrelationship of the Trinity concerning creation (otherwise known as

“Economic Trinity” = which refers to the function of the divine persons in the history of
salvation), we say that the Father sent the Son. The Son is sent by the Father. And the Holy
Spirit is sent by the Father and the Son.17

We can sum up our belief in the Trinity by saying that there is: 1 nature (God), 2 processions
(generation and spiration), 3 persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and 4 relationships
(fatherhood, sonship, active spiration and passive spiration).18

III. Trinity as the Model of Human Activity

Because the three Persons are consubstantial, and there is no distinction except in their
relationships, we say that the Trinity is communion and love. Since, the Trinity is communion
and love as a whole; the Trinity becomes the model of all our human activity. In this context,

15
The word “immanent” was referred to by the Fathers as “theology” (inner life) as distinguished from “economy” (outer life).
16
The Holy Spirit comes from the Father and the Son as from one principle, but principally from the Father.
17
The sending of the Son (by the Father) and the Holy Spirit (by the Father and the Son) is known as the divine missions.
18
Check the 5 notions.

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every human activity should aim at communion and love. The communion in the Divine
Persons speaks of the communion between Christ and the Church. It also speaks of the
relationship of communion between God and man. All our activity should aim at giving
ourselves totally to other people, just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit give themselves totally
to each other.

IV. Trinitarian Controversies

There are those who do not accept the doctrine of the Trinity. There are many Trinitarian
heresies but we can categorize them into two: Monarchianism19 & Subordinationism20.
Monarchianism emphasizes oneness but denies distinction of Persons in God. Subordinationism
emphasizes the distinction of Persons but denies the oneness and equality in God.

The following heresies fall under Monarchianism: Adoptionism (Jesus was God’s adopted son
through baptism.), Modalism (There is one God in three different modes.) and Patripassianism
(It was the Father who suffered on the cross.).21

The following heresies fall under Subordinationism: Arianism (Christ is not divine and not
equal to the father.), Semi-Arianism (Christ is similar to the Father.) and Macedonianism (The
Holy Spirit is not God.).22

Questions:
1. Can we find in an explicit way the dogma of the Trinity in the Scriptures? No. We know it through the
revelation of Jesus.23

2. How does the Trinity apply in our religious life? We are called by the Father to follow Jesus Christ through
the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

3. In what Council did the Church introduced the term “consubstantial”? It was introduced in Nicaea (325) and
Constantinople (381). In Nicaea, the Son was declared to be consubstantial with the Father. In Constantinople, it
was declared that the Son is begotten of the Father and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.

19
Monarchianism (Gr. “of one principle”) stresses the unity of God as to deny a truly divine Son with a distinct personal existence.
20
Subordinationism teaches that the Son is inferior to the Father, and the Holy Spirit is inferior to the Father and the Son.
21
Adoptionism is an eighth century Spanish heresy that held that, as God, Christ was by nature truly Son of God but, as man, only
God’s adopted son. Modalism (Lat. “aspect, facet”) stresses the divine unity as to assert that Father, Son and Holy Spirit are only
distinctions in the mind and are not personally distinct. Patripassianism (Lat. “suffering of the Father”)—a form of Monarchianism
and Modalism—asserted that it was the Father who had been born and had suffered on the cross.
22
Arianism asserted that God’s Son did not always exist and consequently was not divine by nature but only the first among
creatures. Semi-Arianism asserts that the Son is of a similar nature (“homoiousios”) to the Father but did not yet endorse the
doctrine of His being one in nature (“homoousios”). Macedonianism denies the divinity of the Holy Spirit.
23
The answer needs to be clarified.

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4. What is the basis in saying that God gives Himself totally to man? The basis is found in the inner life of God
Himself. The Father gives totally to the Son. The Son gives totally to Father. And the Holy Spirit is the bridge
of this total self-giving.24

5. Can you speak of some models of the Trinity? St. Augustine has proposed some very good models. The first
is concerning sensible knowledge: the Father as the object; the Son as the image in the mind; and the Holy
Spirit as the attention (connection between the two). The second is concerning memory (remembering): the
Father as the memory; the Son as the internal vision; and the Holy Spirit as the will. The third is concerning
human love: the Father as the subject loving; the Son as the object loved; and the Holy Spirit as the act of
loving. The fourth is concerning moral activity: the Father as the memory; the Son as the intellect; and the Holy
Spirit as the will.

6. What does Filioque mean? It means that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. In the East the
Holy Spirit proceeds from the father through the son.

7. What is “perichoresis” in the Trinity? It refers to the mutual presence or interpenetration of the Persons in
the Trinity. (Jn 10:30). Jesus says, “The Father and I are one” (Jn 10:30). It speaks of the life of communion in
the trinity...

8. What does the term “appropriation” mean? It means assigning a divine action or attribute, which is actually
common to all three Persons of the Trinity, to only one of them because they show a certain kinship with that
which is proper to that Person. Thus, creation is appropriated to the Father; redemption is appropriated to the
Son; and sanctification to the Holy Spirit.

Thesis 3: JESUS CHRIST

“The Lord and Christ whom God has made is this Jesus whom you crucified” (Ac 2:36).

24
The answer needs to be clarified.

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Introduction: The Name “Jesus Christ”

The name “Jesus” comes from the Hebrew word “Jeshua” which means “Yahweh (or God)
saves.”25 The title “Christ” is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah” which means
“the anointed one.”26

I. The Mystery of the Incarnation

Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was sent into the world at the appointed time for our
salvation (CCC 422; Gal 4:4-5). This action of God is also known as the Incarnation (Lat.
“enfleshing”) – which means that Jesus the Son of God assumed27 human nature. John 1:14
testifies to this when it says: “The Word was made flesh.” There are four reasons for this: 1) in
order to save us by reconciling us to God; 2) in order to show us the love of the Father; 3) in
order to be our model of holiness; 4) in order to make us partakers of the divine nature.

II. The Person of Jesus Christ

Because of the Incarnation, Jesus Christ has two distinct natures: divine and human. Jesus is
true God and true man. The Council of Ephesus (431) declared that He is equal with the Father.
The Council of Nicaea (325) declared that He is consubstantial with the Father.

Nevertheless, Jesus is one person. The reason is that we do not speak of a mingling or a mixture
or even a union of two substances (divine and human) in Jesus. In Jesus, we speak of the union
of two distinct natures (divine and human) that form one person.

Jesus is truly man. He became all that we are in every detail except sin (Heb 2:17). He
experiences hunger,28 gets angry,29 He cries,30 feels pain,31 etc. These experiences point to the
25
The name “Jesus” expresses both the identity (God) and the mission (saves) of the Son of God. Only God can forgive since sin is
always an offense against God (CCC 430-431). Also, the name signifies that the very name of God is present in the person of his Son.
26
The title “Christ” is proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that “Christ” signifies – to
inaugurate God’s kingdom definitively (CCC436). There are two titles of Jesus mentioned in the CCC 454 & 455: a) Son of God (Mt
16:16-17) = signifies the unique and eternal relationship of Jesus Christ to God His Father [He is the only Son of the Father and He is
God Himself]; b) Lord (Phil 2:11) = indicates divine sovereignty.
27
When we speak of the Incarnation, we do not speak of the Son of God “becoming” flesh in the sense that what remains of Jesus is
only his humanity. Instead we, speak of the divinity of Christ assuming (taking on) the flesh. By saying this, we assert that the divinity
of Christ did not disappear, but remained.
28
“He fasted for forty days and forty nights, after which he was hungry” (Mt 4:2).
29
“So they reached Jerusalem and he went into the Temple and began driving out the men selling and buying there; he upset the
tables of the money changers and the seats of the dove sellers” (Mk 11:15).
30
“Jesus wept” (Jn 11:35).
31
“This, in fact, is what you were called to do, because Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his steps” (1 Pt
2:21).

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fact that Jesus is truly human. The Fathers of the Church look at the humanity of Christ as the
means of salvation. Gregory of Nazianzus said “What is not assumed is not saved.” It means
that in order to save humanity, God has to assume human nature through Jesus Christ.32

Jesus is truly divine. He performed many miracles.33 Moreover, He forgave sins.34 The Fathers
of the Church talk of Jesus as Lord35 – meaning divine. Even Paul’s earliest document already
spoke of Jesus Christ as Lord (1 Thess 1:1). Regarding the Magisterium of the Church, there are
two important councils concerning the divinity of Jesus: Nicaea (325) and Chalcedon (451).
The council of Nicaea proclaimed that: “We believe in one God, Jesus Christ only Son of our
Lord, only begotten of the Father, consubstantial with the Father.” The council of Chalcedon
defined the person of Jesus in two natures: divine and human. Today, the Church declares: 1.
Jesus is true God and true man in the unity of His divine person 2. His nature is both divine and
human, not mixed, but united 3. As true God and true man, He has human intellect and will,
perfectly attuned and subjected to His divine intellect and will.36

At the beginning there were those who denied the human nature of Christ. Later on, many
began to deny the His divinity. Among the heresies are: Adoptionism (Jesus was only an
adopted son of God at baptism.), Arianism (Being created, Jesus is not the same substance with
the Father.), Nestorianism (There are two persons [divine and human] in Jesus.) and
Monophysitism (The human nature of Jesus is gone when the divine nature assumed it.).

To answer these heresies, the Council in Constantinople II (553)37 used the term hypostasis (Gr.
“substance”). They said that the union of two natures in Jesus is a hypostatic union. It means
that there is only one hypostasis (person) who is our Lord Jesus Christ – the Second Person in
the Trinity. Everything that Jesus did is attributed to His person as the Second Person in the
Godhead.

III. Jesus Christ as the Primordial Sacrament of Salvation

32
Only a true human being can represent us before God. And yet only God can become the perfect sacrifice.
33
“Then he gave the messengers their answer, 'Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind see again, the lame
walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, the good news is
proclaimed to the poor” (Luke 7:22).
34
“Seeing their faith he said, 'My friend, your sins are forgiven you'” (Luke 5:20).
35
Clement of Rome: “The Lord Jesus Christ, the Scepter of the Might of God.” Ignatius of Antioch: “The Physician is One, of the flesh
and of the spirit, begotten and not begotten, who was God in Flesh, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Irenaeus: “Jesus Christ is rightly called the
one and only God and Lord, in that all things are said to have been made by him.”
36
For that which is perfectly human is perfectly attuned to God’s will.
37
The Second Council of Constantinople is the 5th General Council.

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And because He is true God and true man at the same time, He becomes a sacramentum
(mysterion38) – a sign. Jesus Himself said that anyone who sees Him sees the Father, who is
God Himself (Jn 14:9). He is a sacrament39 because in Jesus we see the Father Himself. So the
Fathers of the Church call Jesus sacramentum Dei (sacrament of God) or myterium Dei
(mystery of God). Thomas Aquinas referred to Jesus as the fundamental sacrament, not only
because He is a visible sign that points to the Father or that from Him we receive salvation, but
also because from Christ all the other sacraments flow. He is the primordial40 sacrament
because in him rests all the other sacraments (including the Church) as their origin.

IV. The Mission of Jesus Christ

Being the primordial sacrament of salvation, Jesus has a twofold mission: 1) to establish the
kingdom of God 2) and to save mankind which finds its fulfillment in the Paschal Mystery.
Jesus came to establish the kingdom of God.41 Also, Jesus came to save us from our sins.42

V. The Dynamics of the Paschal Mystery

The Paschal Mystery refers to the passion, death and burial, resurrection, and ascension of
Jesus. That’s why we speak of dynamics of the Paschal Mystery. “The Paschal Mystery of
Christ's cross and Resurrection stands at the center of the Good News that the apostles, and the
Church following them, are to proclaim to the world. God's saving plan was accomplished
‘once for all’ by the redemptive death” (CCC 571).

The passion and death of Jesus is the free offering of Jesus Himself by shedding His blood for
our salvation. “I have the power to give it up and get it back again” (Jn 10:18). Handed over by
Judas, He was condemned to death and died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures (1
Cor 15:3) in order to save us from our sins, and to show His love for us. This free gift was His
initiative.

He was buried (Jn 19:42). It means that He truly died. It is the proof of Jesus’ humanity.

38
Mysterion = (Gr. “hidden reality”)
39
Sacrament is a sacred sign, perceptible to the senses, that points to a sacred reality through which we receive graces.
40
The word “primordial sacrament” was termed by Carl Feckes (20th century).
41
“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is close at hand” (Mk 1:15).
42
“She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins” (Mt
1:21). “The Son, therefore, came, sent by the Father. It was in Him, before the foundation of the world, that the Father chose us and
predestined us to become adopted sons, for in Him it pleased the Father to re-establish all things. To carry out the will of the Father,
Christ inaugurated the Kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us the mystery of that kingdom. By His obedience He brought
about redemption” (LG 3).

12
Jesus’ resurrection, which is a historical and transcendental event, speaks of His divinity. It
can be proven through the: 1) empty tomb, 2) and the appearances of the risen Lord 3) and the
condition of Christ’s risen humanity (He can be touched. He can eat.). Jesus’ resurrection was
the work of the Trinity: 1) the Father raised Jesus up (Gal 1:1); 2) the Son raised Himself up (“I
have power to give and take it back” [Jn 10:18].); 3) and the Holy Spirit raised Jesus up (Rm
8:11).43

VI. The Threefold Office of Jesus Christ

Through His Paschal Mystery Jesus fulfilled His threefold office: 1) priestly office (He freely
offered Himself as the High Priest as the perfect, dedicated and consecrated victim in order to
give perfect praise to God and sanctify all men.); 2) prophetic office (a. He proclaimed the
word of God with authority; b. He accompanied His teachings with miracles and mighty deeds;
c. He died as a martyr); 3) and kingly office (As King He rules over the universe. Nature and
demons obey him. For His kingly office has one aim: to serve and save mankind. “For the Son
of man himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”
(Mk 10:45). His office is the office of service.

Questions / Points:

1. The human will is subject to the divine will. The Son of God assumed (not replaced) human
nature. Because He is truly human, His knowledge is limited. He has to learn. That’s why He
has to grow in knowledge and wisdom. But as the Son of God He has the power to penetrate
human knowledge, to know the human mind. There are two wills in Jesus. The human will is
perfectly attuned and subject to the divine will.

2. Those who killed Jesus cooperated actively. It is not only because of our freedom, but also
because in God every moment is present because He is eternal. Everything happens in God. We
are not passive. Nor did it happen by chance. Everything happened according to the mystery of
God.

3. What is the meaning and significance of Jesus’ resurrection in our life? 1. The resurrection is
a confirmation of all Jesus’ works and teachings 2. It is the fulfillment of the promises of the
OT and NT. Jesus said that those who believe in him, he will raise up on the last day. But how
can he raise them up if He Himself is not raised? 3. It affirms the divinity of Jesus Himself.

4. Did Jesus die? Jesus died because He is truly human. But because He is truly God, He is
resurrected.
43
“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead has made his home in you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead
will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you” (Rm 8:11).

13
Thesis 4: THE CHURCH
“On this rock I will build my church” (Mt 16:18).

Introduction: The Church44

44
Images of the Church: sheepfold, cultivated field, building of God, Jerusalem which is above, mother, spotless spouse of the
spotless lamb. Models of the Church by Avery Dulles: institution (emphasizes the hierarchy), communion (emphasizes family),

14
The word “church” usually refers to the building where people gather to worship God. But this
is not what we are talking about here in this thesis. In the Scriptures, the word “church” (Gr.
“ekklesia”45) refers to the assembly of the chosen people of God. In the Old Testament (OT), this
assembly primarily speaks of the assembly on Mt. Sinai, where God revealed himself and gave
the Ten Commandments. It comes from the Hebrew word “quahal” which basically means “a
convoked assembly.”46 In our Christian understanding, Church refers to the following: 1) the
liturgical assembly [where the congregation is gathered together]; 2) the local community [the
diocese]; 3) the universal church.

I. The Relationship of the Church to the People of Israel

In the OT, the Church was already foreshadowed at the time creation as its foundation (book of
Genesis). God created man and woman to live together in the communion and form a society.
Later on, in the history of salvation, God prepared the Church by choosing and gathering Israel
so that through them all nations will be gathered to the Lord.

In the New Testament (NT), Jesus established the Church by preaching the Good News of the
coming of the Kingdom of God (LG 5). It took shape in the choosing of the Twelve Apostles
among God’s people of the OT (the link between the OT and NT Church). At Easter (the
resurrection of Jesus), the Apostles, together with Mary and some women, form the first
community (Acts 1).

Here, we speak of two points: continuation and interruption. As for the point of continuation,
God chose men among the people of the OT. And as for the point of interruption, through the
event of Christ, the word “Church” took on a new meaning. It became a community through
which Christ continues to be active. The Church in the OT is seen as a preparation that finds its
fulfillment in the Church in the NT that was established by Christ and revealed by the Holy
Spirit (CCC 763-768).

Today, in the spirit of ecumenism, we refer to the People of Israel as our older brothers (from
John Paul II), because we share in the faith in one God and in the treasure of the Old Testament.

II. The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Foundation and Growth of the Church

sacrament (emphasizes the human and spiritual dimensions), herald (emphasizes proclamation), servant (emphasizes action),
community of disciples (emphasizes connection to Jesus, his mission, and those who believe).
45
The word “ekklesia” is derived from the verb “ekkaleo” which means “to call out.”
46
In the strongest sense, it means “the assembly of Israel convoked by God.”

15
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended in order to empower and give courage to the disciples
to continue the work of Jesus and make the first community grow. This is the foundation of the
Church. To accomplish this, the Holy Spirit gave them gifts.47 The Holy Spirit was sent in order
to sanctify the church and thus all those who believe may have access to Christ in the Holy
Spirit. Also in order to aid the Church, the Holy Spirit both equips and directs the Church with
“hierarchical and charismatic gifts” (LG 4) and adorns with his fruits.48

However, when we speak of the Church’s growth in the Holy Spirit, it does not refer to the
Holy Spirit only as an addition to the Church. No. The Holy Spirit unites the community of
disciples. The Church grows in the Holy Spirit. Thus He is an inseparable element in the
Church. There is no Church without the Holy Spirit.

III. The Church as the Universal Sacrament49 of Salvation

Since the Church is the continuation of the mission of Jesus to bring salvation to men, the
Church becomes the sacrament of salvation for all people. “I have made you a light to the
nations, so that my salvation may reach the remotest parts of the earth” (Acts 13:47). Thus the
Church is the universal sacrament of salvation.

The term, however, developed only in the twentieth century. Henri de Lubac said that: “If Jesus
Christ could be called the sacrament of God, then for us the Church is the sacrament of Christ.”
It is because the Church makes Christ present. Later on, Karl Rahner gave shape to the idea of
the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. It means the through the Church, all people
can see Jesus in order to attain salvation.

However, the term can also speak of the inner structure of the church (the invisible = where
Christ is present and accomplishes His work of salvation in it). The visible aspect of the Church
should become the sacrament of the invisible aspect of the Church.

This term, however, should be understood from the eschatological point of view. It means that
the salvation can be fully obtained at the end of time, when God will be all in all (1 Cor 15:28).
47
Gifts of the Holy Spirit: utterance expressing wisdom, utterance expressing knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, the
power of distinguishing spirits, different tongues and the interpretation of tongues” (1 Cor 12:8-10). Also: wisdom, understanding,
counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord (Is 11:1-2).
48
Fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23)
49
The Greek word “mysterion” was translated into Latin by two terms: mysterium and sacramentum. In later usage the term
sacramentum emphasizes the visible sign of the hidden reality of salvation which was indicated by the term mysterium. In this sense,
Christ himself is the mystery of salvation: "For there is no other mystery of God, except Christ." The saving work of his holy and
sanctifying humanity is the sacrament of salvation, which is revealed and active in the Church's sacraments (which the Eastern
Churches also call "the holy mysteries"). The seven sacraments are the signs and instruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the
grace of Christ the head throughout the Church which is his Body. The Church, then, both contains and communicates the invisible
grace she signifies. It is in this analogical sense, that the Church is called a "sacrament."

16
IV. The Church as One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic (CCC 813 - 865)

These are the four characteristics of the Church: 1) one, 2) holy, 3) catholic 4) and apostolic.
They were proclaimed in the Council of Constantinople (381). The Church is one because of
her: 1) source (Holy Trinity – one God in three Persons), 2) founder (Jesus – one persons in two
natures) 3) and soul (Holy Spirit [the principle of unity] – bringing all into communion with
God.50 The Church is holy because she is: united with and sanctified by Christ who is holy. The
Church is catholic because: Christ (who is for all people) is present in the Church & she is sent
to all people (Mt 28:19). The Church is apostolic because: 1) she was built on the Apostles, 2)
with help of Holy Spirit preserves and hands on the teachings of the Apostles, 3) she is
continually taught, sanctified, and guided by the Apostles through their successors (the college
of bishops).

V. The Petrine Primacy

The Petrine primacy refers to the power to teach, govern and rule over the universal church.
Jesus singled out Peter among the twelve and gave him an honorable place among the Apostles.
“You are Peter and on this rock I will build my community” (Mt 16:18).51 Lumen Gentium 18
says: “In order that the episcopate itself might be one and undivided, Jesus placed Blessed Peter
over the other apostles, and instituted in him a permanent and visible source and foundation of
unity of faith and communion.” CCC 881 says: “The Lord made Simon alone . . . the ‘Rock’ of
his Church. He gave him the keys of His Church, and instituted him shepherd of the whole
flock.”

However, the primacy of Peter, or of the pope, should be understood as the perpetual and
visible source and foundation of the unity of the Church. This primacy speaks of a mission
based on the words of Jesus to Peter to strengthen his brothers (Lk 22:32). Thus, he should be
the source of unity in the college of bishops and among the people.

VI. The College of Bishops as Successors of the College of Apostles

The pope, like Peter, is not alone in leading the Church. He has the college of bishops (as
successors of the Apostles) with him. This college of bishops will have to work in communion
with the pope, for they have no authority to govern unless they are united with the pope.

50
“There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit” (1 Cor 12:4).
51
Also the following passages give witness to Petrine primacy: a) 1 Cor 15:3-7 = Peter is presented as the first witness of the
resurrection of Jesus Christ; b) Lk 22:32 = “You must strengthen your brothers”; c) Lk 5:1-11 = The vocation of Peter appears as the
original form of the apostolic call.

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VII. The Lay People in the Church

The lay people are those who are members of the Church who are not in the hierarchy and are
not religious. Their vocation is to seek the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and
ordering them according to the plan of God. They sanctify the secular world. Through baptism,
they share in the threefold office of Christ: 1) priestly (They bring their daily sacrifices to offer
to God as a sacrifice to atone for their sins and of the people.), 2) prophetic (They proclaim and
give witness to the Gospel through their daily activities.), 3) kingly (They share in governing the
temporal affairs and—for those competent—in the functions of the Church.) [LG 34-36].

VIII. Justification for Juridicity in the Church

As a visible and human society,52 the Church has to be governed by the chosen members among
the people. This juridicity is to bring service so as to foster communion in the Church.

Thesis 5: THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

“The angel Gabriel was sent by God to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph; and the
virgin’s name was Mary” (Lk 1:26-27).

I. The Place of the Virgin Mary in the History of Salvation

At the beginning, after the sin of Adam and Eve, God’s revealed His plan of salvation when He
promised that a child, born of a woman, will crush the head of the serpent (Gen 3:15).53 Being
prefigured by the woman in the passage, Mary’s role in the history of salvation already began at
52
“The Church is both visible and spiritual, a hierarchical society and the Mystical Body of Christ. She is one, yet formed by two
components, human and divine. That is her mystery that only faith can accept” (CCC 779).
53
The passage is known as the “protoevangelium” (Gr. “first gospel”) which is understood as the first promise of salvation.

18
this point. This promise increased in the prophets especially in Isaiah 7:14: “The virgin shall be
with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.” In the OT, some women, like
Hannah, are inserted in order to prefigure the image of Mary in the history of salvation.54

To fulfill the promise, the angel Gabriel had to come and ask Mary’s “fiat” (which refers to her
acceptance of God’s will). Her “fiat” is important inasmuch as without it God’s son will not be
conceived in her womb. The “yes” of Mary brought about salvation to humanity.

Mary was always with Jesus in all the important events of His life: the annunciation, the
presentation in the Temple, the losing and finding in the Temple, the first miracle at Cana, the
death of Jesus (which is the culmination of her participation in Jesus’ work of salvation), at the
beginning of the Church (in prayer room in the gathering of the apostles [Acts 1:14]). She was
always in coordination with Jesus. Her place in the history of salvation is due to the fact that she
is the mother of Jesus. This is the reason why God endowed her with so many graces to fulfill
her role.

II. The Role of the Virgin Mary in the Life of the Church

Since Mary has a very important role in Jesus, who is the Head of the Body (the Church), she
also has a very important role in the Church. She, who was present at the beginning of the
Church, plays two roles in the life of the Church: as an intercessor55 and as a model.

Mary’s intercession is a participation in the role of Jesus as mediator. She does not take it away
from Him. Her intercession cannot replace the role of Jesus. In fact, her role flows from the role
of Jesus. Now, this role comes from Mary’s motherhood (a mother always intercedes to the
father for her children) – since she is the mother of the Church also (which includes interceding
for her children). Put simply, her role as intercessor is that of participation and is subordinate to
the role of Jesus.

Secondly, she becomes a model for the Church in her holiness (because of her close union with
Jesus). The Church, as the Body of Christ, should also have close union with Jesus, the Head,
just as Mary is close to Jesus. Just as her holiness comes from Jesus, so also should the
Church’s holiness come Him. There are two ways in dealing with Mary’s role as model in the
Church: 1) she is presented to the Church as a whole as its type in both her virginity (the Church
must be a spotless bride like Mary) and motherhood (the Church should become the mother of

54
Remember that we cannot speak of Mary without speaking about Jesus. There is an inseparable link between Mary and Jesus. This
can be seen, for example, in Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14.
55
It must be clear that only Jesus is the mediator between God and man. “For there is only one God, and there is only one mediator
between God and humanity, himself a human being, Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5).

19
all people just as Mary is the mother of Jesus) & 2) she is presented as the model for all of us in
the way of holiness (due to her close union with Jesus).

In Mary, we contemplate the Church in her fulfillment in heaven (eschatology). The image of
the Church is a bride (the spouse of Jesus). The Church, in her pilgrimage, looks at Mary’s
close ties with the Son as her own fulfillment at the end of time.

Because of her important role in the history of salvation and the Church, she “was enriched by
God with gifts appropriate to such role” (LG 56). By this, we speak of the four dogmas
concerning Mary: 1) Immaculate Conception, 2) Divine Motherhood, 3) Perpetual Virginity, 4)
and Assumption into heaven.

III. The Immaculate Conception of Mary (proclaimed by a pope)

The question concerning this dogma is not biological (mother’s womb only), but theological.
Because this dogma is linked with her role with Jesus, it is a question of theology. The term
“conception” is defined as the “absolute origination of a person in the plan of God.” It not by
human desire but by God’s will. There are three stages in the conception of Mary: 1) Mary was
already conceived in the mind of God at the beginning, 2) in history, Mary was conceived in the
people of God (Israel), 3) Mary was conceived in her family (in her mother’s womb).

As the mother of Jesus, Mary had to be endowed with the graces appropriate to that role (LG
56). In order to conceive Jesus who will free us from sin,56 God has to give Mary the grace of
being conceived free from sin. For how could someone who is tainted with sin, free from sin?
That is why it is made clear that Jesus is like us in everything (Phil 2:7) except sin (Heb 4:15).
It follows then that Mary, from whom Jesus comes, should not also be tainted with sin.

The Fathers of the Church saw Mary in the victory of Jesus over sin in Genesis 3:15. For Mary
to be part in the victory over sin, she should not be under the influence of sin. Not all Fathers
believed in this. Even Thomas Aquinas denied the immaculate conception of Mary. It was John
Duns Scotus who provided the explanation and support of this doctrine. According to him,
“Mary is redeemed in anticipation and therefore first.” It asserts that Mary is primarily a
member of the humanity that requires redemption; however, for the sake of her Son’s honor,
from the beginning of her conception she was preserved from the stain of original sin through
his redemptive merit and received into the original communion with God. Her redemption (in
anticipation) is that of preservation and not liberation from sin. In other words, Mary has been

56
Jesus cannot be born of a person who is affected by sin, because if Mary is affected by sin, then Jesus would also be affected by sin
due to the human nature of Jesus that comes from Mary. Remember that the original sin of Adam affected the whole of human
nature.

20
chosen and given grace for the deepest living union with Christ; this expresses in a positive
manner what preservation from original sin formulates negatively.

This dogma was proclaimed on Dec. 3, 1854 by Pius IX in his Bull Ineffabilis Deus. But years
before that, in Dec. 8, 1661, it was already declared by Pope Alexander VII in his Bull
Sollicitudo Omnium.

This dogma supports the mission of Jesus, which is to establish the kingdom of God and to save
mankind (redemption). Also, this dogma speaks of how Mary was saved.

IV. The Divine Motherhood of Mary (proclaimed by a council)

The biblical foundation of this is in Genesis 3:15. But the clearest one is when Mary visited
Elizabeth: “And how does this happen to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me”
(Lk 1:43)? Since Jesus is not only true man, but also true God, it is therefore right to call Mary
the “Theotokos” (Gr. “God-bearer” = one who gives birth to God) or the Mother of God. This
dogma was declared in the Council of Ephesus (451). Actually, this question about the mother
of God was a Christological question. This dogma was defined as the conclusion of the
controversy between Nestorius of Constantinople and Cyril of Alexandria. Nestorius57 said that
Mary would not be the mother of God, since Mary, being human, cannot give birth to the
divinity of Jesus. He preferred to call her only as “anthropotolos” or “Christotokos.” But the
argument against him is that Mary did just give birth to a nature. She gave birth to a person
(Jesus who is true God and true man). Thus Mary is the mother of God, being the mother of
Jesus who is true God (and true man).

This dogma defends the identity of Jesus; that He is God Himself.

V. The Perpetual Virginity of Mary (dogma without clear proclamation)

The divine motherhood of Mary is the intervention of God. In the Scriptures, Mary conceived
by the power of the Holy Spirit (Lk 1:34-35). There is no human intervention. Then even after
giving birth to Jesus, Mary remained a virgin all her life. However, the topic on Mary’s virginal
conception of Jesus was originally about Christology, since it speaks of the origin of Jesus. If
we say that Mary lost her virginity when she conceived Jesus, then she must have conceived
through human intervention. Then Jesus will have a human father rather than God Himself.

57
He came from the Antiochene School, which emphasized the humanity of Jesus and the distinction of the two natures in Him. Cyril
on the other hand came from the Alexandrian School, which emphasized the divinity of Jesus and the oneness of person.

21
There are three things to remember: 1) Mary’s virginity manifests God’s absolute initiative in
the Incarnation; 2) Jesus is conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit; 3) it speaks of us later on
who will be born in the faith through the power of the Holy Spirit in baptism.

The virginity of Mary is: before giving birth, during58 giving birth, and after giving birth. The
simple reason here is that there is no human intervention involved. She never had sexual
intercourse because of her total dedication to God.

This dogma defends the divine origin of Jesus and the fatherhood of the Father.

VI. The Assumption of Mary (proclaimed by a pope)

Because of her close link with Jesus, God does not want the corruption of her body. There is no
biblical foundation unlike the other three dogmas. It came from the tradition of the Church. The
assumption of Mary is described in Lumen Gentium 59: “The Immaculate Virgin, preserved free
from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and
soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be
the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death.”59
This dogma was proclaimed by Pius the XII on November 1, 1950 in the apostolic constitution
Munificentissimus Deus.

This is a singular participation in the resurrection and ascension of Jesus due to her close link
with Him.

Thesis 6: DIVINE FILIATION

“God said, ‘Let us make man in our own image, in the likeness of ourselves’” (Gn 1:26).

Introduction:

58
Christ birth “did not diminish his mother’s virginal integrity but sanctified it” (LG 57).
59
Different from the ascension of Jesus, the assumption of Mary connotes passivity on her part.

22
Divine filiation is defined as the condition of being an adopted child of God (Eph 1:4-5)60; and
thus become a partaker in the divine life (2 Pt 1:4)61 – which means to live in communion with
God. It (DF) is at the core62 of Christianity in a sense that Christ did not merely save us from
sin; He saved us to become children of God.

I. The Creation of the World with the Human Person as its Apex

Let us start with the story of creation, not from the point of view of science, but from the point
of view of the Scriptures. In the Scriptures, creation is seen or understood as the work of God,
which cannot be separated from the covenant of God with man. In the Old Testament, creation
is a confession of Israel’s faith in God who saves. What came first was not the belief in the
God who created them, but in the God who delivered them from slavery in Egypt. From that
belief, came the belief in God who creates. The act of creation is therefore the act of the God
who saves. In this context, we see why the story of creation is linked with sin and the promise
of God.

In the Yahwist account, creation speaks of a God who is faithful to His people. This account
speaks of creation as the handiwork of God where He is the artisan. Here, God is very close to
man. The Priestly account, on the other hand, portrays creation in a more majestic way. Here,
God creates everything by His word. But in the two accounts, we have to remember that
creation is a spontaneous initiative of God for the benefit of man. Here we see that the human
being has a very important place in creation. In the Yahwist account, this importance is shown
by the fact that God created male and female in His own image and likeness (Gn 1:26-27). In
the Priestly account, God told them to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over all (Gn
1:28). To connect the two, we say that because man is created in the image and likeness of God,
he is endowed with the gift of dominion over the rest of creation. It must however be kept in
mind that this dominion is a sharing in the dominion of God. This dominion must be seen as
that of stewardship.

Creation is not the answer to the question of the origin of the world in a sense that its aim is not
to give a detailed description of how the world came to be. This belongs to the domain of
science. Creation in the Scriptures is about the belief (not a proof) in the God who exists and
creates. Creation is the action of God, with the human person as its apex (being created in His

60
“Thus he chose us in Christ before the world was made to be holy and faultless before him in love, marking us out for himself
beforehand, to be adopted sons, through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:4-5).
61
“Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the
divine nature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire” (2 Pt 1:4).
62
According to John Paul II, divine filiation is “the deepest mystery of the Christian vocation” and “the culminating point of the
mystery of our Christian life.”

23
image and likeness).63 He is endowed with the freedom to choose to be with God or to reject
Him. Man was put to the test (in the sense that he was free to make a choice) and failed
(through the sin of disobedience). From this failure of man came that which we call “original
sin”.

II. The Nature of Original Sin64

What is original sin? It is a personal sin, committed by our first parents, whose nature is the
loss of original justice. This “loss of original justice” refers to the rupture in our relationship
with God, among ourselves (oneself and others), and with the rest of creation (nature). The
original sin has affected all of us, through transmission, inasmuch as we all come from our first
parents, whose human nature is tainted with original sin. The original sin is not our personal
sin; yet it affects all of us, such that we all bear in ourselves the mark of original sin. Therefore,
original sin (understood as the condition of every human being) is sin only in the analogical
sense. It is contracted, not committed; it is a state, not an act.

From the explanation above, we can discern two realities when we speak of original sin: 1) the
sin of Adam and Eve as narrated in the Book of Genesis (“peccatum originale originans” =
original sin as originating) and 2) the condition of sin, guilt and debility in which humans find
themselves prior to their own choice of good or evil as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve
(“peccatum originale originatum” = original sin as originated).

III. The Regeneration of the Human Person in Christ

The question of original sin came about during the question of the universality of Christ’s
redemption. Because Christ brings salvation to all, it means that all need salvation. By saying
that all need salvation, we are saying that everybody sinned. For if Christ did not die for all,
then not all have contracted the original sin.
63
Of all visible creatures, only man is “able to know and love God his creator” (GS 12), and the only one that God has willed for its
own sake (GS 24).
64
Development of the doctrine of original sin:
1) Scriptures: OT (Genesis 1-3) & NT (Rom 5 = dominant theme: original sin is seen in the light of salvation; Adam [origin of
death] & Christ [origin of resurrection from the dead])
3) Augustine = original sin due to disobedience; speaks of our participation in the “reatus culpae” (guilt of sin) and “reatus
poenae” (punishment = death)
4) Council of Carthage (418) = OR is passed on through generation; removed by baptism
5) Council of Orange (529) = Adam’s fault has affected all; sin brings death to the soul; bodily death has a character of
punishment
6) Thomas = OR (loss supernatural [innocence, ignorance, malice, concupiscence, etc.] & preternatural gifts [burdened by
death])
7) Trent (1546) = baptism removes original sin (Luther = man is totally corrupt; baptism does not removes OR; only faith
8) Vatican I = OR is transmitted to all; a true sin before any personal sin; distinguishes between formal element and
concupiscence
9) Pius XII (Humani Generis) = Adam stands for all; his sin is transmitted to all

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However, when man sinned, God did not leave man alone, but promised him salvation in the
fullness of time. Through Jesus Christ, the firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15), a new creation
began (2 Cor 5:17)65. Through Jesus, we are born anew in the creation of God which is
accomplished in baptism by God’s grace.

IV. The Nature of Grace66 and the Dynamics of Divine Adoption

Grace67 (Lat. “favor”) is above all an undeserved gift from God to make us His adopted
children (Rom 8:14-16) and partakers in the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). It is first and foremost
the gift of the Holy Spirit from whom we receive justification68 (freedom from sin) so that we
may be sanctified69 (being made holy). Through the original sin of our first parents, we lost our
orientation towards God. We turned our face against Him. The grace of justification and
sanctification helps us re-orient ourselves toward God by giving us an open disposition to turn
toward Him; in order that we may move toward union with God and become more like Him.
Because of the grace of justification and sanctification, we become adopted sons and daughters
of God through our baptism. Moreover, according to St. Augustine, through the grace of
adoption, we become sons and daughters and partakers in the kingdom of God.

V. Love at the Core of Divine Filiation

65
“So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor 5:17).
66
Development of the doctrine on grace:
1) Scriptures: OT = “hesed” (loving kindness of God); NT = Jesus Christ gives grace and is grace itself; Synoptics = “charis”
(“merit” or “God’s favor”)
2) Augustine = grace is a means to salvation, but not salvation itself
3) Thomas = permanent accidental quality that transforms the soul
4) Neo-Thomists: uncreated grace = God Himself; created grace = gifts and effects of God’s grace in man; grace of creator =
original state of grace; grace of redeemer = grace of Christ; elevating grace = raises man to a new level; healing grace = heals those
wounded by sin; external grace; internal grace = touches the interior (core); grace of ministry = for certain functions; sanctifying
grace = justification and sanctification
5) Pelagius = salvation through natural effort
6) Council of Carthage (418) = grace justifies the sinner
7) Trent = unconditional necessity and priority of grace; inability of man to earn it; infused by the Holy Spirit as an interior
reality
8) Catholic theology = grace as God’s self-sharing; (Evangelical theology = grace is God)

67
Some distinctions of grace: sanctifying grace = a habitual gift, a stable and supernatural disposition that perfects the soul itself to
enable it to live with God and to act by His love; [habitual grace = the permanent disposition to live and act in keeping with God’s
call; actual grace = refers to God’s interventions, whether at the beginning of conversion or in the course of the work of
sanctification]; sacramental graces = gifts that are proper to the different sacraments; special graces = otherwise known as charisms
(like the graces of state that accompany the exercise of a particular ministry in the Church); grace of adoption = refers to the grace
by which we become sons and daughters and partakers in the kingdom of God.
68
Justification refers to the saving gift of righteousness that makes human beings acceptable to God.
69
Sanctification refers to God’s action in enabling human beings, whose sins have been forgiven, to participate more fully in the
divine holiness and perfection.

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As sons and daughters of God, who are called to partake in the divine life, we are called to live
a life of love.70 The core of divine filiation is love itself. The reason is that it is because of
God’s love for us that we became his adopted sons and daughters (Eph 1:4-5). God is love
Himself (1 Jn 4:16). And it is through the same love of God that we respond to Him in love (Mt.
22:38-39).71

In the beginning, we turned our face against God because we didn’t realize that God loves us
through creation (creation is an act of god’s love for us). Now, that we know how much God
loves us, we respond to this love with love itself. Thus we are called to love by God who loved
us first, through the grace of adoption to become His sons and daughters.

VI. The Eschatological Destiny of Humanity

When we live this life of love to toward God, we are moving towards the original plan of God
that we are created in order to be in union with God in paradise, which was cut off due to sin.
This is the eschatological72 destiny of man – to be in paradise with God . . . to be in union with
God . . . to be in communion with God.

70
Love (charity) is a theological virtue by which we love (free, self-transcending, self-giving) God above all things for His own sake
and our neighbors as ourselves for the love of God (CCC 1822).
71
Jesus Himself calls us to love God and neighbor (Mt 22: 38-39).
72
The word eschatology (Gr. “eschaton” = “last”) refers to “the last things”, especially the second coming of Jesus on the last day.

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