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Objection 1: It would seem that Christ's death did not conduce in
any way to our salvation. For death is a sort of privation, since it
is the privation of life. But privation has not any power of
activity, because it is nothing positive. Therefore it could not work
anything for our salvation.
Objection 2: Further, Christ's Passion wrought our salvation by
way of merit. But Christ's death could not operate in this way,
because in death the body is separated from the soul, which is the
principle of meriting. Consequently, Christ's death did not
accomplish anything towards our salvation.
Objection 3: Further, what is corporeal is not the cause of what is
spiritual. But Christ's death was corporeal. Therefore it could
not be the cause of our salvation, which is something spiritual.
On the contrary, Augustine says (De Trin. iv): "The one death
of our Saviour," namely, that of the body, "saved us from our two
deaths," that is, of the soul and the body.
I answer that, We may speak of Christ's death in two ways, "in
becoming" and "in fact." Death is said to be "in becoming" when
anyone from natural or enforced suffering is tending towards death: and
in this way it is the same thing to speak of Christ's death as of His
Passion: so that in this sense Christ's death is the cause of our
salvation, according to what has been already said of the Passion
(Question 48). But death is considered in fact, inasmuch as the
separation of soul and body has already taken place: and it is in this
sense that we are now speaking of Christ's death. In this way
Christ's death cannot be the cause of our salvation by way of merit,
but only by way of causality, that is to say, inasmuch as the Godhead
was not separated from Christ's flesh by death; and therefore,
whatever befell Christ's flesh, even when the soul was departed, was
conducive to salvation in virtue of the Godhead united. But the
effect of any cause is properly estimated according to its resemblance
to the cause. Consequently, since death is a kind of privation of
one's own life, the effect of Christ's death is considered in
relation to the removal of the obstacles to our salvation: and these
are the death of the soul and of the body. Hence Christ's death is
said to have destroyed in us both the death of the soul, caused by
sin, according to Rm. 4:25: "He was delivered up for our
sins": and the death of the body, consisting in the separation of the
soul, according to 1 Cor. 15:54: "Death is swallowed up in
victory."
Reply to Objection 1: Christ's death wrought our salvation from
the power of the Godhead united, and not consisted merely as His
death.
Reply to Objection 2: Though Christ's death, considered "in
fact" did not effect our salvation by way of merit, yet it did so by
way of causality, as stated above.
Reply to Objection 3: Christ's death was indeed corporeal; but
the body was the instrument of the Godhead united to Him, working by
Its power, although dead.
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