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Therefore it must simply be said that God willed the Incarnation for
the manifestation of His goodness by way of mercy for the redemption of
the human race, or "for our salvation," as stated in the Creed.
Those who admit, as the Thomists do, one efficacious decree
concerning the redemptive Incarnation in passible flesh, by this very
fact must say with St. Thomas that, in virtue of the present
decree, "if Adam had not sinned, the Word would not have become
incarnate," or, expressed affirmatively, it must be said that, in
the present decree, the redemptive Incarnation supposes the fall of
the human race to be redeemed, although this fall was permitted for a
greater good, which is the redemptive Incarnation. Thus the creation
of the soul presupposes that the embryonic body is sufficiently
disposed, and this sufficient predisposition was willed and produced by
God for the soul. Causes mutually interact though in a different
order, without implying a vicious circle. It would be a vicious
circle if we were to say that the permission of Adam's sin was on
account of the Incarnation, and that the Incarnation took place
because of the permission of Adam's sin. The truth is that the
Incarnation took place, not on account of the permission of sin, but
for its reparation.
It would likewise be a vicious circle to say that men are for the sake
of Christ, and in the same way Christ is for the sake of men. But
it is true to say that Christ is the destined end of men, and men are
the end to whom the redemptive Incarnation is beneficial.
Hence the truth of the assertion is established, that God willed the
Incarnation as a manifestation of His goodness by showing His mercy
toward men for their redemption, or "for our salvation," as stated
in the Creed.[374]
Fourth Article: Whether God Became Incarnate In Order To Take
Away Actual Sin, Rather Than To Take Away Original Sin?
The reply is in the affirmative.
Scriptural proof. We read in the Gospel: "Behold the Lamb of
God who taketh away the sin of the world,"[375] that is, as
St. Bede says, the sin that is common to the whole human race.
St. John wrote "the sin of the world."[376]
But the principal text is quoted in the body of the article, in which
we read: "For judgment indeed was by one[i. e., by Adam] unto
condemnation... as by the offense of one, unto all men to
condemnation: so also by the justice of one [i. e., of Christ],
unto all men to justification of life."[377]
This purpose of the Incarnation of the Son of God is likewise
expressly affirmed in a provincial council and also to some extent in
the Council of Trent.[378]
Theological proof. It includes two conclusions.
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1) Christ came to take away all sins, because He came to save men,
and all sins are an obstacle to salvation.
2) St. Thomas proves that Christ came first of all to take away
original sin, since this sin is absolutely greater extensively,
inasmuch as it extends to the whole human race, by which the race is
infected; although actual sin is greater intensively, because it has
more of the nature of voluntary.
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Hence in virtue of the present decree, it is probable that Christ
came also only to take away original sin, but not solely for the taking
away of actual sins; because, if there had been no original sin, this
would eliminate the more important reason for the Incarnation.
Moreover, in virtue of the present decree, Christ came in passible
and mortal flesh; but, if there had been no original sin, His flesh
would have been neither passible nor mortal.[379]
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