23. The Order of Assumption in the Incarnation

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Temporal vs. Natural Order Distinction #

• All parts of human nature (flesh, soul, spirit) were assumed simultaneously in time
• However, there exists an order of nature based on causality, dignity, and dependence
• This distinction prevents misunderstanding the Incarnation as involving temporal succession
• Natural order does not imply temporal priority

Whether Flesh Is Assumed Through the Soul #

• Central Question: Is the soul a necessary middle between the Word and flesh?
• Key Principle: Flesh is not human flesh except through the soul as its substantial form
• The soul is the forma substantialis (substantial form) that makes flesh human
• Before the soul comes, matter exists only in potentia (potency) to human flesh, not actual human flesh
• Therefore, flesh cannot be assumed except through the soul

The Special Case of Christ’s Assumption #

• In ordinary generation, the human father cannot dispose matter and bring form simultaneously
• In Christ, the Holy Spirit (an agent of infinite power—agens infinitae virtutis) does both at once
• This difference in origin does not entail a difference in Christ’s nature from ours
• The difference concerns only the mode of origin, not the nature itself

The Question of Soul Before Flesh #

• Objection: In ordinary generation, flesh is conceived before the rational soul arrives
• Response: This is true for ordinary generation but not for Christ’s assumption
• The reason: what is conceived first is not yet human flesh; human flesh requires the soul
• Therefore, the soul and flesh are united together in Christ, not sequentially

The Assumption of the Whole vs. Parts #

• Objection: Parts are simpler and thus more like God; shouldn’t the whole be assumed through the parts?
• Response: In God alone, simplicity and perfection coincide; in material things, the more complex is more perfect
• The whole human nature is more like God (as more perfect) than its parts
• According to the intentio agentis (intention of the agent)—not the order of operation—the whole precedes the parts
• Example: A builder intends the whole house before constructing individual parts
• Therefore, the Word assumed the parts by means of the whole human nature

Grace and the Assumption #

• Question: Was human nature assumed by means of grace?
• Two Senses of Grace in Christ:
  • Gratia unionis (grace of union): The personal being freely given to human nature; the very terminus (endpoint) of the Incarnation, not a means to it
  • Gratia gratum faciens (habitual grace): An accidental quality perfecting the soul’s operations; an effect of the union, not its cause
• Grace cannot serve as a formal middle in the assumption because it is accidental, while the hypostatic union concerns subsistence (hypostasis)
• Grace is the efficient cause (God’s will acting freely), not a formal middle

Key Definitions #

Substantial Form vs. Accidental Form #

• Substantial form (forma substantialis): That which makes something what it essentially is (e.g., the soul makes flesh human)
• Accidental form (forma accidentalis): A quality added to a substance that does not constitute its essence (e.g., grace)
• This distinction explains why grace cannot be the middle in hypostatic union

Soul (ψυχή / anima) #

• The first act of a natural body composed of organs (organa)
• The substantial form that makes matter into a living, human body
• According to Aristotle: includes vegetative, sensitive, and rational powers, with the rational soul being the form of the whole composite

Spirit (πνεῦμα / spiritus) #

• The rational part of the soul—the understanding and will
• Distinguished from the soul not in essence but by power and function
• The seat of the image of God in human nature
• The capacity for knowing and loving God resides in the spirit

Hypostatic Union #

• The union of divine and human natures in the single person of the Word
• Concerns subsistence, not accident
• Preserves the distinction of natures while achieving unity of person

Order of Nature #

• The ordering of causality, dignity, and dependence
• Distinguished from temporal order (succession in time)
• Example: God is “before” creatures in nature (as cause), not in time

Key Arguments #

Argument 1: Flesh Must Be Assumed Through Soul #

• Premise 1: Human flesh is constituted as human through the soul as its substantial form
• Premise 2: Without the soul, flesh is merely matter in potency, not actual human flesh
• Conclusion: Therefore, flesh cannot be assumed by the Word except through the soul

Argument 2: The Difference Between Christ’s Origin and Ours #

• Premise 1: In ordinary generation, human fathers cannot simultaneously dispose matter and bring the rational soul
• Premise 2: The Holy Spirit has infinite power and can do both simultaneously
• Conclusion: Therefore, Christ’s mode of origin differs from ours, but this does not imply a difference in nature

Argument 3: The Whole Is Assumed Before the Parts #

• Premise 1: The agent’s intention (intentio agentis) determines what is “first” in the order of nature
• Premise 2: The Word intends the perfect human nature as its object of assumption
• Premise 3: The whole is more perfect than its parts
• Conclusion: Therefore, the parts are assumed by means of (through) the whole nature

Argument 4: Grace Is Not the Formal Middle #

• Premise 1: The hypostatic union concerns subsistence (hypostasis), which is a matter of substance
• Premise 2: Grace is an accidental form, not a substantial form
• Premise 3: An accidental form cannot order something to a substantial union
• Conclusion: Therefore, grace cannot be the formal middle in the assumption; it is the efficient cause

Examples & Illustrations #

The Chair and Wood #

• It is inappropriate for the form of a chair to exist before the wood exists
• But it is entirely appropriate for the wood to exist before the chair is made
• Application: The substantial form (soul) cannot pre-exist the matter suitable to receive it, but matter can pre-exist the form that will actualize it

Seed and Generation #

• In ordinary generation, a fertilized egg first exhibits signs of vegetative life (cell division, growth)
• Then animal life (sensation) emerges
• Finally, rational life (human nature) arrives
• Application: This sequential process occurs because the human father lacks infinite power; Christ’s simultaneous union of soul and flesh shows divine power’s difference

The Builder and the House #

• A builder intends the whole house before constructing the foundation
• The foundation is made for the sake of the complete house
• Application: The Word intends perfect human nature; individual parts are assumed by means of this whole

Questions Addressed #

Q1: Why Is the Soul a Middle Between Word and Flesh? #

• Response: Flesh is not human flesh without the soul. The soul is the substantial form that actualizes flesh as human. Therefore, to assume flesh as human, the Word must assume it through the soul.

Q2: Could the Flesh Have Been Assumed Before the Soul? #

• Response: No. Before the soul comes, flesh is merely matter in potency. Actual human flesh requires the soul. In Christ, as in ordinary generation, soul and flesh are united together, though the mode of origin differs (divine vs. human agency).

Q3: How Can All Parts Be Assumed at Once If There’s an Order of Assumption? #

• Response: The order is one of nature, not time. All parts are assumed simultaneously (simo, simul), but they are ordered by dignity and causality according to the agent’s intention.

Q4: Are the Parts Assumed Through the Whole or the Whole Through the Parts? #

• Response: The parts are assumed through the whole. The whole human nature, being more perfect and intended by the Word, is the means by which individual parts are assumed.

Q5: Is the Assumption Made by Grace? #

• Response: Not as a formal middle. Grace (understood as the efficient cause—God’s free will) effects the assumption. The grace of union is the very terminus of the assumption. Habitual grace follows as an effect of the union, perfecting the human operations of Christ’s soul.

Q6: How Can Grace Be Both the Terminus and Not the Means? #

• Response: The grace of union is what terminates the assumption—it is the personal being given to human nature. But this is not a middle or instrument through which the union is made; rather, it is the union itself, freely given by God’s will.

Important Clarifications #

On Abortion and the Rational Soul #

• Berquist notes that Thomas follows Aristotle in not placing the rational soul at conception
• Rather, there is a sequence: first vegetative life, then animal life, then rational life
• However, this does not eliminate the moral weight of abortion at earlier stages
• Even before rational ensoulment, grave sin is involved because one approaches actual human being
• The principle: The closer an act approaches actual human life, the greater its moral gravity

On Reasoning from Christ to Ourselves #

• One must be careful not to assume that what is true of Christ’s origin is necessarily true of ordinary human generation
• The difference: Christ’s agent is the Holy Spirit (infinite power); ordinary human agents have finite power
• Therefore, differences in mode of origin do not entail differences in nature

Notable Quotes #

“The flesh of Christ was not conceived in the womb of the Virgin without the Godhead before it was assumed by the word.” — Augustine, On Faith to Peter, cited by Thomas

“The flesh of the word of God at the same time was animated, rational, intellectual.” — Damascene, cited by Thomas (meaning the soul was not a plant soul or animal soul, but immediately rational)

“The whole reason of the thing done is the power of the one doing it.” — Augustine, Epistle to Volusianum, cited by Thomas (emphasizing the importance of considering the agent’s intention and power)

“Human flesh is able to be assumed by the word by the order which it has to the rational soul as to its own form. But this order it does not have before the rational soul comes to it.” — Thomas Aquinas