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Objection 1: It would seem that Christ, as Man, is God. For
Christ is God by the grace of union. But Christ, as Man, has the
grace of union. Therefore Christ as Man is God.
Objection 2: Further, to forgive sins is proper to God, according
to Is. 43:25: "I am He that blot out thy iniquities for My
own sake." But Christ as Man forgives sin, according to Mt.
9:6: "But that you may know that the Son of Man hath power on
earth to forgive sins," etc. Therefore Christ as Man is God.
Objection 3: Further, Christ is not Man in common, but is this
particular Man. Now Christ, as this Man, is God, since by
"this Man" we signify the eternal suppositum which is God
naturally. Therefore Christ as Man is God.
On the contrary, Whatever belongs to Christ as Man belongs to every
man. Now, if Christ as Man is God, it follows that every man is
God---which is clearly false.
I answer that, This term "man" when placed in the reduplication may
be taken in two ways. First as referring to the nature; and in this
way it is not true that Christ as Man is God, because the human
nature is distinct from the Divine by a difference of nature.
Secondly it may be taken as referring to the suppositum; and in this
way, since the suppositum of the human nature in Christ is the Person
of the Son of God, to Whom it essentially belongs to be God, it is
true that Christ, as Man, is God. Nevertheless because the term
placed in the reduplication signifies the nature rather than the
suppositum, as stated above (Article 10), hence this is to be
denied rather than granted: "Christ as Man is God."
Reply to Objection 1: It is not with regard to the same, that a
thing moves towards, and that it is, something; for to move belongs
to a thing because of its matter or subject---and to be in act
belongs to it because of its form. So too it is not with regard to the
same, that it belongs to Christ to be ordained to be God by the grace
of union, and to be God. For the first belongs to Him in His human
nature, and the second, in His Divine Nature. Hence this is
true: "Christ as Man has the grace of union"; yet not this:
"Christ as Man is God."
Reply to Objection 2: The Son of Man has on earth the power of
forgiving sins, not by virtue of the human nature, but by virtue of
the Divine Nature, in which Divine Nature resides the power of
forgiving sins authoritatively; whereas in the human nature it resides
instrumentally and ministerially. Hence Chrysostom expounding this
passage says [Hom. xxx in Matth; St. Thomas, Catena Aurea on
Mk. 2:10]: "He said pointedly 'on earth to forgive sins,'
in order to show that by an indivisible union He united human nature to
the power of the Godhead, since although He was made Man, yet He
remained the Word of God."
Reply to Objection 3: When we say "this man," the demonstrative
pronoun "this" attracts "man" to the suppositum; and hence
"Christ as this Man, is God, is a truer proposition than Christ
as Man is God."
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