51. Christ as Creature and the Problem of Precise Language

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Article 8: Can Christ Be Called a Creature? #

• The fundamental problem: Christ’s human nature is created, but calling Christ simply “a creature” risks suggesting the divine person is created (Arian heresy)
• The critical distinction between absolute predication (simpliciter) and qualified predication (cum determinatione/secundum quid)
• Properties of human nature may be attributed to Christ, but with care to avoid confusing them with properties of the divine person
• Jerome’s principle: “From words disorderly put forward, heresy arises” - language must be carefully guarded
• Solution: Say “Christ, according to his human nature, is a creature” rather than “Christ is a creature” (without qualification)

Article 9: Did the Man Christ Begin to Be? #

• The apparent contradiction: Christ (the person) is eternal, yet the man Christ assumed human nature in time
• The distinction between suppositum (the divine person) and nature (human nature)
• Logical principle: “Beginning to be a man” does not entail “beginning to be” simply
• When “man” stands in the subject position, it designates the suppositum (eternal); when in the predicate, it signifies the nature (temporal)
• False statement: “This man began to be” (refers to the eternal person)
• True statement: “Christ began to be a man” (refers to the assumption of human nature)

Article 10: Is Christ One or Two? #

• The unity of Christ: one suppositum (person) subsisting in two natures
• Distinction between concrete and abstract predication:
  • Concrete: signifies the thing having the nature (e.g., “God,” “man”)
  • Abstract: signifies the nature itself (e.g., “deity,” “humanity”)
• The divine nature can be predicated of Christ both ways; human nature only concretely
• Illustration: The two lines meeting at a point - the eternal divine person is the endpoint at which the temporal human nature is “drawn”

Key Arguments #

On Creature Language #

Objection: Christ’s human nature is created; therefore Christ is a creature

Response:

• Distinguish between speaking absolutely and with determination
• Dangerous to say “Christ is a creature” without qualification (heretical confusion)
• Safe to say “Christ, according to his human nature, is a creature”
• Things about which no confusion regarding the divine person can arise (e.g., “Christ suffered, died, was buried”) may be said simply
• Example of the Ethiopian: We don’t say “the Ethiopian is white” simply, but “the Ethiopian is white in his teeth” (Aristotle’s example)

On Beginning to Be #

Objection: Augustine says “Before the world was, neither we were, nor that mediator of God and men, the man Christ, Jesus”; therefore the man Christ began to be

Response:

• The statement is false if understood simply, because the suppositum is eternal
• Logical principle: Beginning to be a man does not entail beginning to be simply
• Analogy: “Socrates became white” does not mean “Socrates became colored” (the superior does not follow from the inferior)
• Supposition: In “the man began to be,” the term “man” in subject position stands materially for the suppositum (eternal person), so the statement is false
• But “Christ began to be a man” is true, because “man” in the predicate formally signifies the nature

On Unity Despite Two Natures #

Objection: Christ is God and man; therefore Christ is two

Response:

• Every thing that is, insofar as it is, is one (Boethius principle)
• One suppositum subsists in two natures
• The human nature is individual and substantial, but not a person, because it does not subsist by itself
• Analogy: A hand is individual and substantial, but not a person because it does not subsist apart
• Similarly, human nature in Christ is individual but not a person because it does not subsist apart from the divine person

Important Definitions #

Supposition (suppositio) #

The manner in which a term stands for or refers to a thing:

• Material supposition: A term stands for the suppositum (the individual thing or person)
• Formal supposition: A term stands for the nature or essence signified
• In “Christ, according as he is man, is a creature”: the predicate (creature) holds formally for the nature; the subject-term holds materially for the suppositum

Reduplication (cum determinatione) #

A qualifying phrase that specifies under which aspect something is predicated:

• “Christ, according as he is man” or “Christ, as man”
• When a reduplicative phrase is used, the predicate holds more properly for the nature than for the suppositum
• Example: “Christ, according as man, is a creature” (true - refers to nature) vs. “Christ, according as this man, is a creature” (false - refers to eternal person)

Suppositum and Hypostasis (ὑπόστασις) #

The individual substance that subsists in itself

• In Christ: one suppositum/hypostasis that subsists in both divine and human natures
• Distinguished from nature: the suppositum is “what” has the nature
• Human nature in Christ is not a suppositum because it does not subsist by itself

Concrete vs. Abstract Predication #

• Concrete: signifies the thing having the nature (“God,” “man,” “white thing”)
• Abstract: signifies the nature itself (“deity,” “humanity,” “whiteness”)
• In creatures, only concrete can be truly predicated (I am a man, not humanity)
• In God, due to divine simplicity, God is his goodness/deity/etc.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Two Lines Analogy #

• One line (divine nature) exists eternally with its endpoint (divine person)
• Another line (human nature) is drawn to that same endpoint in time
• The endpoint does not begin to be when the second line is drawn; the second line begins to be
• Illustrates how the person is eternal while the human nature begins to be in time

The Ethiopian Example (Aristotle) #

• We do not say “the Ethiopian is white” simply, but “the Ethiopian is white in his teeth”
• When a property belongs only to a part, predication must be qualified
• Similarly, when Christ has a property through human nature alone, it must be qualified
• We say simply “Christ suffered, died, was buried” because these cannot be confused with divine properties

The Hand of a Man #

• A hand is substantial and individual, but not a person because it does not subsist by itself
• Similarly, human nature in Christ is individual and substantial, but not a person because it does not subsist apart from the divine person

Notable Quotes #

“From words disorderly put forward, heresy arises.” - Jerome (cited by Thomas, on the danger of imprecise theological language)

“Never should it be said that Christ is a creature.” - Ambrose (on the necessity of qualified predication)

“Everything that is, insofar as it is, is one.” - Boethius (principle of unity)

“Before the world was, neither we were, nor that mediator of God and men, the man Christ, Jesus.” - Augustine (on the temporal dimension of Christ’s human nature)

Questions Addressed #

Q: Can Christ be called a creature? #

A: Yes, but only with determination. “Christ, according to his human nature, is a creature” is safe; “Christ is a creature” (simply) is dangerous and could suggest the divine person is created. The Arians made precisely this heretical move, attributing creaturely status to the divine person.

Q: Did the man Christ begin to be? #

A: No, if understood simply. The suppositum (eternal divine person) did not begin to be. However, “Christ began to be a man” is true because human nature began to be assumed in the eternal suppositum. The logical principle: beginning to be a man does not entail beginning to be simply.

Q: How is Christ one if he has two natures? #

A: One suppositum subsists in two natures. The human nature in Christ is individual and substantial, but not a person, because it does not subsist by itself apart from the divine person (unlike ordinary human persons). The divine nature can be predicated of Christ both concretely and abstractly; human nature only concretely, ensuring his unity.

Q: Why the distinction between subject and predicate position? #

A: When a term is in the subject position, it stands materially for the suppositum; in the predicate, it stands formally for the nature. This explains why “this man is eternal” (false - subject refers to person) but “Christ, according as man, is temporal” (true - predicate refers to nature) both involve the term “man” but with different truth values.

Pedagogical Observations #

• Berquist emphasizes the Latin and Greek logical framework as essential for understanding Christological doctrine
• Medieval supposition theory is not merely grammatical but theologically indispensable
• Heretical errors arise from inattention to precise logical distinctions
• The discovery of good definitions and distinctions is a major accomplishment of reason
• Understanding requires sustained reflection and multiple readings
• Custom and precedent shape language use, even when not strictly accurate (example: calling blessing “grace”)