117. The Effects of Christ's Passion: Liberation from Sin, Devil, and Punishment
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Main Topics #
Article 1: The Passion as Cause of Remission of Sins #
Thomas identifies three distinct ways the Passion causes the remission of sins:
By Provoking Charity: Christ’s demonstration of selfless love in his death moves us to love him in return. As Augustine and Luke 7:47 show, love is the dismisser of sins—“many sins were forgiven her because she loved much.”
By Redemption Through the Mystical Body: Christ as head of the mystical body merits salvation for his members through his suffering. Thomas uses the example of a man performing meritorious work with his hand to relieve the sin committed by his foot—illustrating how the head’s merit extends to the members.
As Instrument of Divinity: The Passion operates as an instrument of Christ’s divinity, not merely as a human act. Like the serpent raised by Moses (which symbolized sin but was not sin), Christ’s flesh, united to his divinity, has divine power to expel sin.
Berquist notes the importance of understanding these distinctions in light of Scripture: while the Gospels teach that Jesus saves us from sins, they do not typically spell out how this liberation occurs. Thomas’s systematic theology fills this gap.
Article 2: Liberation from the Devil’s Power #
The devil’s power over humanity operated on three levels:
- From man’s side: By his sin, man merited being turned over to the devil’s power through temptation
- From God’s side: God’s justice permitted the devil to harm those who had offended God
- From the devil’s side: The devil’s malicious will impeded man’s salvation
Christ’s Passion liberates us in corresponding ways:
- Removal of sin removes the just cause for the devil’s dominion
- Reconciliation with God restores us to divine favor
- Exceeding the devil’s authority: In attacking the innocent Christ without just cause, the devil exceeded his divinely-granted measure of power and thereby forfeited his rightful dominion
Berquist emphasizes Augustine’s insight: “By the justice of Christ, the devil was overcome, because in him he found nothing worthy of death, but nevertheless he killed him. And it is just that the debtors whom he held were dismissed free.”
Important clarification: Thomas does not deny that the devil still tempts and vexes men. However, the Passion provides a remedy (through the sacraments and prayer) by which one can protect himself against the devil’s attacks and avoid eternal destruction. Even in the time of the Antichrist, this remedy remains efficacious for those who use it.
Article 3: Remission of Punishment #
Thomas distinguishes between guilt (culpa) and the obligation for punishment (poena). The Passion liberates us from the obligation for punishment in two ways:
Directly: Through superabundant satisfaction. The Passion provides sufficient and superabundant satisfaction for the sins of the whole human race, thereby removing all obligation to punishment.
Indirectly: By removing sin itself, which is the foundation of the obligation for punishment.
Application through Baptism and Penance:
- Those baptized receive complete remission of punishment obligation, as they are entirely liberated through configuration to Christ’s death
- Those who sin after baptism must be configured to Christ’s suffering through penance—their punishment cooperates with Christ’s satisfaction
- Since Christ suffered once for all sins, no one can be configured to his death a second time through a second sacrament as complete as baptism
Berquist quotes St. Alphonsus: a priest should not worry excessively about measuring the precise adequacy of penances, since the cooperation of Christ’s satisfaction ensures their sufficiency.
The question of bodily death: Though Christ’s Passion removes the obligation for eternal punishment, the wages of sin (bodily death) remain. Thomas explains this through the doctrine of the mystical body: just as Christ received grace in his soul while having a suffering, mortal body, so his members receive adoption as sons in their souls while still having mortal bodies. Only after being configured to Christ’s passion and death will they attain to immortal glory with him.
Key Arguments #
Against Liberation from Sin #
- Objection: The devil has no absolute power over men; God always permits his actions
- Resolution: The devil is said to have power not as absolute dominion, but as just permission to harm those whom he had led to consent through temptation
Against Liberation from the Devil’s Power #
- Objections: (1) The devil never had absolute power; (2) The devil still tempts and vexes men after the Passion; (3) Liberation is neither universal (idolaters remain) nor eternal (especially in the time of Antichrist)
- Resolution: The Passion provides the remedy, but its efficacy depends on application through faith, charity, and sacraments. Those who neglect the remedy cannot blame the Passion’s efficacy
Against Remission of Punishment #
- Objections: (1) The damned are not freed from punishment; (2) Penitents must still satisfy through penance; (3) Men still die, which is the wages of sin
- Resolution: The Passion’s effect applies only to those joined to it through faith and sacraments. Those in hell are not so joined. The remaining punishment after baptism cooperates with Christ’s satisfaction. Bodily death remains because members must be configured to the head’s passion and death before receiving immortal glory
Important Definitions #
Mystical Body (Corpus Mysticum): The Church as the body of which Christ is the head; members participate in the head’s merits through sacramental incorporation and configuration to his death and resurrection.
Culpa (guilt): The offense against God; removed through the Passion by remission of sin.
Poena (punishment/obligation for punishment): The debt of satisfaction owed to divine justice; removed through the Passion’s superabundant satisfaction.
Instrumentum Divinitatis (instrument of divinity): Christ’s flesh as the instrument through which his divine power operates to cleanse sin—analogous to the bronze serpent raised by Moses.
Configuration (configuratio): Being made like or conformed to; the process by which the faithful are made like Christ through sacramental participation in his death and resurrection.
Examples & Illustrations #
The Hand and Foot #
Thomas uses the example of a man performing meritorious work with his hand to relieve the sin of his foot. This illustrates how Christ, as head of the mystical body, merits salvation for his members through his suffering.
The Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21; John 3) #
Moses raised a bronze serpent as a symbol, yet it was not itself sin. Similarly, Christ bore the image of sin in his flesh but was without sin, while possessing the divine power to expel sin from those who look upon him in faith.
The Demon’s Exceeding His Measure #
Berquist notes the devil’s power in attacking an innocent man: “By scheming for the death of Christ” without just cause, the devil exceeded the measure of power God had granted him. This loss of measure forfeited his rightful dominion over those bound by consent to sin.
Temptation and Prayer #
Berquist recounts how St. Alphonsus taught that every sinner has the grace to pray in temptation. The remedy is available; the sinner’s failure to use it constitutes their problem, not a deficiency in the Passion’s efficacy. He references The Way of the Pilgrim, where a struggling alcoholic was told to read the Gospel when tempted—“the demons understand and they’re terrified.”
Notable Quotes #
“Many sins were forgiven her because she loved much.” (Luke 7:47, cited through Augustine and Thomas)
“Now is the prince of this world cast out” (John 12:31, cited against the objection that the devil retains power)
“By the justice of Christ, the devil was overcome, because in him he found nothing worthy of death, but nevertheless he killed him. And it is just that the debtors whom he held were dismissed free.” (Augustine, cited by Thomas)
“The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23, cited regarding bodily death as remaining penalty)
“If we are sons of God and heirs, heirs of God, co-heirs of Christ—if nevertheless we suffer with him that we might be together glorified.” (Romans 8:17, cited regarding configuration to Christ’s suffering and death before attaining immortal glory)
Questions Addressed #
How does the Passion cause remission of sins if it is Christ’s act, not ours? #
Resolution: The Passion operates as a universal cause that must be applied to individuals through faith, charity, and the sacraments. Its effects reach us insofar as we are incorporated into Christ as members of his mystical body.
Why does the devil still have power to tempt us after the Passion if the Passion liberated us from him? #
Resolution: The devil retains God’s permission to tempt, but this permission is no longer just—it is permitted only by God’s hidden judgment. The Passion provides the remedy through sacraments and prayer; those who use it are protected from eternal destruction.
Why must we still die and suffer if Christ’s Passion removed the punishment of sin? #
Resolution: Baptized persons are freed from the obligation of punishment. Those who sin afterward must be configured to Christ’s suffering through penance. More generally, members of the mystical body must be conformed to the head; just as Christ had grace in his soul while having a mortal, suffering body, so the faithful receive adoption as sons while retaining mortal bodies. Only after death, configured to Christ’s Passion, will they attain immortal glory.
Why do priests impose penance if the Passion already satisfied for sins? #
Resolution: The Passion is superabundantly sufficient; penance cooperates with this satisfaction through the penitent’s configuration to Christ’s suffering. Since baptism fully covers one’s previous sins, penance after baptism serves to configure the sinner to Christ’s death, not to add what the Passion lacks.
Conceptual Connections #
Berquist emphasizes that Thomas’s systematic treatment in the Summa Theologiae integrates with Scripture. Leo XIII (in Providentissimus Deus) noted that the scholastics’ contribution to Scripture study appears not only in commentaries but also in theological treatises like the Summa. One can profitably read Thomas’s theology and return to the Gospels with new understanding, allowing each to illuminate the other. This is exemplified in the current treatment: while the Gospels announce that Jesus saves from sin, they do not systematically explain how. Thomas fills this gap through careful distinctions of the Passion’s threefold causality.
Berquist also connects the theology to spiritual practice, noting St. Alphonsus’s emphasis on meditation on the Passion as the best means of growing in the love of God, and the importance of perseverance in prayer for responding to and maintaining a vocation.