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Objection 1: It would seem that Christ is not the Head of all
men. For the head has no relation except to the members of its body.
Now the unbaptized are nowise members of the Church which is the body
of Christ, as it is written (Eph. 1:23). Therefore Christ
is not the Head of all men.
Objection 2: Further, the Apostle writes to the Ephesians
(5:25,27): "Christ delivered Himself up for" the Church
"that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having
spot or wrinkle or any such thing." But there are many of the
faithful in whom is found the spot or the wrinkle of sin. Therefore
Christ is not the Head of all the faithful.
Objection 3: Further, the sacraments of the Old Law are compared
to Christ as the shadow to the body, as is written (Col.
2:17). But the fathers of the Old Testament in their day served
unto these sacraments, according to Heb. 8:5: "Who serve unto
the example and shadow of heavenly things." Hence they did not
pertain to Christ's body, and therefore Christ is not the Head of
all men.
On the contrary, It is written (1 Tim. 4:10): "Who is the
Saviour of all men, especially of the faithful," and (1 Jn.
2:2): "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours
only, but also for those of the whole world." Now to save men and to
be a propitiation for their sins belongs to Christ as Head.
Therefore Christ is the Head of all men.
I answer that, This is the difference between the natural body of man
and the Church's mystical body, that the members of the natural body
are all together, and the members of the mystical are not all
together---neither as regards their natural being, since the body of
the Church is made up of the men who have been from the beginning of
the world until its end---nor as regards their supernatural being,
since, of those who are at any one time, some there are who are
without grace, yet will afterwards obtain it, and some have it
already. We must therefore consider the members of the mystical body
not only as they are in act, but as they are in potentiality.
Nevertheless, some are in potentiality who will never be reduced to
act, and some are reduced at some time to act; and this according to
the triple class, of which the first is by faith, the second by the
charity of this life, the third by the fruition of the life to come.
Hence we must say that if we take the whole time of the world in
general, Christ is the Head of all men, but diversely. For, first
and principally, He is the Head of such as are united to Him by
glory; secondly, of those who are actually united to Him by charity;
thirdly, of those who are actually united to Him by faith; fourthly,
of those who are united to Him merely in potentiality, which is not
yet reduced to act, yet will be reduced to act according to Divine
predestination; fifthly, of those who are united to Him in
potentiality, which will never be reduced to act; such are those men
existing in the world, who are not predestined, who, however, on
their departure from this world, wholly cease to be members of
Christ, as being no longer in potentiality to be united to Christ.
Reply to Objection 1: Those who are unbaptized, though not
actually in the Church, are in the Church potentially. And this
potentiality is rooted in two things---first and principally, in the
power of Christ, which is sufficient for the salvation of the whole
human race; secondly, in free-will.
Reply to Objection 2: To be "a glorious Church not having spot or
wrinkle" is the ultimate end to which we are brought by the Passion of
Christ. Hence this will be in heaven, and not on earth, in which
"if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves," as is written (1
Jn. 1:8). Nevertheless, there are some, viz. mortal, sins
from which they are free who are members of Christ by the actual union
of charity; but such as are tainted with these sins are not members of
Christ actually, but potentially; except, perhaps, imperfectly, by
formless faith, which unites to God, relatively but not simply,
viz. so that man partake of the life of grace. For, as is written
(James 2:20): "Faith without works is dead." Yet such as
these receive from Christ a certain vital act, i.e. to believe, as
if a lifeless limb were moved by a man to some extent.
Reply to Objection 3: The holy Fathers made use of the legal
sacraments, not as realities, but as images and shadows of what was to
come. Now it is the same motion to an image as image, and to the
reality, as is clear from the Philosopher (De Memor. et Remin.
ii). Hence the ancient Fathers, by observing the legal sacraments,
were borne to Christ by the same faith and love whereby we also are
borne to Him, and hence the ancient Fathers belong to the same
Church as we.
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