174. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Necessity and Nature as Habits

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Necessity of the Gifts for Salvation (Article 2) #

The Problem: Objections argue that gifts are unnecessary because:

• They exceed common virtue and relate to counsels (perfection), not precepts (necessity)
• Theological virtues perfect man regarding divine things; moral virtues regarding human things
• The seven vices contrary to the gifts can be remedied by virtues alone

Aquinas’s Solution: The gifts are necessary because of the imperfect possession of theological virtues:

• Man’s reason is perfected in two ways: naturally and supernaturally
• Supernatural perfection (through theological and moral virtues) is possessed imperfectly
• What imperfectly possesses a nature or power cannot act through itself but must be moved by another
• Therefore, man needs the gifts to be moved by a higher principle—the Holy Spirit

The Theological Basis:

• Romans 8:14: “Those who are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God”
• This suggests one is not fully a son of God through theological virtues alone without being moved by the Holy Spirit
• Psalm 142: “Your good spirit has led me into the right land” (inheritance of the blessed)
• For achieving the supernatural end, man must be led and moved by the Holy Spirit

Imperfect Possession and the Need for Divine Motion #

Why Theological Virtues Are Imperfect:

• Faith is not vision; hope is not possession; charity is imperfectly exercised
• Man cannot know with complete certitude that he possesses divine love (unlike natural love)
• The similitude between natural and supernatural love causes difficulty in discernment
• Reason perfected by theological virtues still moves according to a human mode

The Distinction Between Virtues and Gifts:

• Virtues: Perfect the powers (reason, will, appetitive) so man can act through himself
• Gifts: Dispose man to be promptly moved by the Holy Spirit as an external principle
• This is not opposition but elevation—gifts represent a higher mode of operation
• Analogy to Aristotle’s heroic virtue: exceeds the human mode, moved by something exterior

The Gifts as Permanent Habits (Article 3) #

Against Habit Status (Objections):

• Habits are difficult to remove, but the Holy Spirit comes and goes (e.g., Gregory’s teaching that the Spirit remains only in Christ in a singular way)
• Man is an instrument of the Holy Spirit; instruments don’t possess habits (the hammer has no art habit)
• Prophecy (another gift from the Spirit) is not a habit—it comes and goes

Aquinas’s Response: The gifts are habits:

• Christ is unique in the permanence of the Spirit, but the saints possess the gifts as remaining habits
• Key Distinction: Man is an animate instrument with free will, not an inanimate tool
• Inanimate instruments (the hammer) are merely moved, but man acts and therefore needs habits
• Likeness of Ratios: Moral virtues : appetitive power :: Gifts : human powers (all perfected by gifts)
  • Just as moral virtues dispose appetitive power to obey reason
  • The gifts dispose human powers to obey the Holy Spirit
  • Both are habits creating promptness and readiness in obedience

Scripture’s Support:

• John 14:17: “He will remain with you, and he will be in you”
• The Holy Spirit remains; therefore his gifts remain as permanent qualities

Prophecy Distinction:

• Prophecy is a gift for manifestation (sign to others), not necessary for salvation
• The seven gifts discussed here are necessary for salvation and thus remain in the saints
• Prophecy comes and goes; these gifts remain

Key Arguments #

The Core Argument for Necessity #

1. Premise: Things that imperfectly possess a nature cannot act unless moved by another
2. Application: Man imperfectly possesses theological virtues (by definition, they are not vision or possession)
3. Examples:
   • The moon imperfectly possesses light; it illuminates only when moved by the sun
   • The medical student imperfectly possesses the art; he cannot practice alone without the master’s instruction
4. Conclusion: Man needs the gifts to be moved toward his supernatural end

Against Counsels vs. Precepts Objection #

• Objection: Gifts exceed common virtue like counsels exceed precepts; counsels are optional
• Response: Gifts exceed virtue not in genus of things done (like counsels) but in mode of operating
  • The mode changes: man acts through being moved by a higher principle
  • This is necessary even though the specific works may vary

The Instrument Argument #

• Objection: Instruments don’t have habits; man is an instrument of God
• Response: The analogy fails because:
  • Inanimate instruments (hammer) only are moved
  • Man acts while being moved (he has free will)
  • Therefore he needs habits to bridge his own action and the Holy Spirit’s motion

Important Definitions #

Imperfect Possession (possessio imperfecta)

• Having something in a way that does not fully actualize its potential
• Theological virtues are possessed imperfectly: faith is not vision, hope is not possession
• Creates necessity for the gifts as an additional elevation

Instinct (instinctus)

• Motion from an external principle
• The Holy Spirit moves man through the gifts, elevating him beyond what reason alone can accomplish
• Scriptural: “led by the Spirit of God”

Habit (habitus)

• A stable quality difficult to remove
• Gifts are habits because they:
  • Remain in the saints permanently
  • Dispose the powers to prompt obedience to the Holy Spirit
  • Unlike prophecy, which comes and goes

Likeness of Ratios (similitudo rationum)

• Similarity in the formal relationship between things rather than material likeness
• Moral virtues relate to reason as gifts relate to the Holy Spirit
• This is a more distant but more important similitude than material likeness
• Plato’s warning: likeness is “most slippery”—one must discern precisely how things are alike

Examples & Illustrations #

The Moon and Sun #

• The moon, imperfectly luminous, cannot illuminate unless moved by the sun’s light
• Man, imperfectly possessing theological virtues, cannot act toward supernatural end without the Holy Spirit’s motion through the gifts
• The gift is the disposition enabling reception of divine motion

The Medical Student #

• A student who has not fully mastered medicine cannot practice independently
• The master must instruct: this is a higher principle directing action
• Similarly, man imperfectly possessing theological virtues needs instruction/guidance from the Holy Spirit

The Carpenter’s Tools #

• Hammer: inanimate instrument, moved only, no habit
• But man: animate instrument with free will, must act, therefore needs habits
• The gifts are the habits perfecting man to cooperate with divine motion

Dominican’s “Legally Dead” #

• Illustration of counsel vs. precept: a Dominican enters the order and becomes “legally dead”
• Must give up wife, property, and personal will
• Shows the difference between what counsels demand vs. what precepts require for salvation

Faith and Natural Love Confusion #

• Charity confused with emotion or natural affection
• Marriage vows ask for choice (act of will), not feelings
• Supernatural charity must be distinguished from natural love, yet both can coexist—source of difficulty
• Discerning genuine charity requires more than virtue; it requires the gift

Questions Addressed #

Article 2: Are the Gifts Necessary for Salvation? #

Resolution: Yes.

• Though theological and moral virtues are necessary, they are possessed imperfectly
• Man’s imperfect possession of supernatural perfection requires external elevation
• The gifts dispose man to be moved by the Holy Spirit toward his supernatural end
• Scripture emphasizes being “led by the Spirit”—this leadership requires the gifts

Article 3: Are the Gifts Habits? #

Resolution: Yes.

• The gifts are stable, permanent qualities in the saints (unlike prophecy)
• They function as habits analogous to how moral virtues are habits
• Man, as an animate instrument with free will, needs habits to dispose him to obey the Holy Spirit
• The gifts remain permanently while their matter of operation may vary with circumstances