Thomas Aquinas

Above, the Apostle showed the excellence of Christ as to the property of his origin, as to the majesty of his dominion, and as to the power of his operation; but here he shows his excellence as to the sublimity of glory and dignity. And this part is divided into two. For first he shows that Christ is fit for this dignity; second he sets down the dignity itself, where he says, he sits at the right hand. Now he shows the fitness from two things which render someone fit for something great: one is facility in administering, the other is industry and vigor in carrying out. First, therefore, he shows his facility; second, his vigor, where he says, making purgation of sins. Concerning the first, it must be known that three things are required which make for facility in administering some dignity. The first indeed is wisdom, lest he err in governing. Ecclesiastes 10:5: There is also an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the face of the prince: a fool set in high dignity. Proverbs 8:15: By me kings reign. The second is nobility of lineage, lest he be despised in commanding. Proverbs, last chapter: Her husband is noble in the gates, when he sits with the senators of the land. The third is power of strength in carrying out. Ecclesiasticus 7:6: Seek not to be made a judge, unless thou have strength to break through iniquities. And as to these three things the Apostle shows in Christ the facility for the aforesaid dignity. First, because he is not only wise, but also is wisdom itself; hence he says, who being the splendor of glory. Second, because he is not only noble, but is nobility itself, because he is the figure of his substance. Third, because he is not only powerful, but is power itself, upholding all things by his word, etc.

Now there are three things, as was said above, which make a man fit to attain a great dignity. The first is the brightness of wisdom. Proverbs 3:35: The wise shall possess glory. And therefore he shows the wisdom of Christ, saying, who being the splendor of glory. Here it must be considered that, according to Ambrose, glory is a bright knowledge together with praise, as it were a certain manifest knowledge which is had concerning someone's goodness. But, as is said in Matthew 19:17: None is good but God alone, and also Luke 18:19; hence he himself is goodness by antonomasia and by essence. But other good things are so by participation, and thus glory by antonomasia belongs to God alone. Isaiah 42:8: I will not give my glory to another. 1 Timothy 1:17: To the king of ages, immortal, invisible, to the only God, honor and glory. The knowledge, therefore, of the divine goodness is called glory in an excellent way and by antonomasia, that is, a bright knowledge together with praise of the divine goodness. This is had in some measure by man, because now I know in part, 1 Corinthians 13:12, but it is had more excellently by the angels, but perfectly by God alone. For no one has ever seen God, John 1:18 — this is true — nor do the angels see him comprehensively, but he alone comprehends himself. Therefore only the knowledge God has of himself is perfectly called glory, because he has a perfect and most clear knowledge of himself. Now since splendor is that which is first emitted from what shines, and wisdom is something that shines — Ecclesiasticus 8:1: the wisdom of a man shines in his countenance — hence it is that the first conception of wisdom is, as it were, a certain splendor. The Word of the Father, therefore, which is a certain concept of his intellect, is the splendor of the wisdom by which he knows himself. And therefore the Apostle calls the Son the splendor of glory, that is, of bright divine knowledge. In this he shows him to be not only wise, but wisdom begotten. Isaiah 62:1: until her just one go forth as splendor, etc.

The second thing which makes a man fit for great dignity is nobility of lineage. And he shows this to be in Christ, because he says that he is the figure of his substance. For it is fitting that nobility be joined with wisdom in a prince. Deuteronomy 1:15: And I took out of your tribes wise and noble men, and appointed them princes, etc. Figure is here put for character, or image; as if he were to say: the image of the substance. It must be known, however, that although image implies likeness, not every likeness is an image. For whiteness on a wall is not the image of my whiteness, but an image and likeness in species. That, therefore, is properly said to be the image of something, which has the likeness of its species, or an expressed sign of the species. But among accidents, nothing is so much an expressed sign as figure is of species. Hence whoever describes the figure of an animal, describes its image. The Son, therefore, who is the image of the invisible God, Colossians 1:15, is properly called figure. But of what? Of his substance. For the image of something is manifold. Sometimes it is a sign representing the species while agreeing with it in nothing, as the image of a man on a wall, which in no way has the true species of a man. But sometimes it is assimilated to it in species, not only in representing, but also in being, as the son is the true image of the father. Genesis 5:3: Adam begot a son to his own image, that is, in the nature of the species. And therefore he adds of his substance, because, according to Augustine, the son is called the image of the father because he is of the same nature with him. He says, therefore, that he is the figure of the substance. But why does he not say that he is the figure of nature? Because it is possible that the nature of a species be multiplied to a multitude of individuals in things composed of matter and form. Hence the son of Socrates does not have the same nature numerically as his father. But substance is never multiplied. For the substance of the father is not one thing and that of the son another. Nor indeed is it divided according to diverse individuals. Because, therefore, the nature is one and the same in number in the Father and the Son of God, he therefore does not say of nature, which is divided, but of substance, which is indivisible. John 10:30: I and the Father are one. And chapter 14:10: I am in the Father, and the Father is in me.

The third thing which makes a man fit is strength and power. Hence Ecclesiasticus 7:6: Seek not to be a judge, unless thou have strength to break through iniquities. And therefore he shows the power, when he says, and upholding all things by the word of his power. Now it is proper to princes and to the powerful to carry. Job 9:13: under whom they stoop that bear up the world. He therefore upholds. But it must be seen what he upholds, and how, or by what. As to the first, it must be known that that which of itself can neither stand nor walk needs to be carried. But every creature of itself can neither subsist nor operate. The first is evident, because when the cause is removed, the effect is removed; but God is the cause of every substance, since he is no less the cause of the substance of a thing as to its coming to be, than the house-builder is the cause of the house's coming to be; hence, just as at the absence of the house-builder the house's coming to be ceases, and at the absence of the sun the coming to be and the being of light in the air ceases, so at the withdrawal of the divine power the being, and the coming to be, and the subsisting of every creature ceases. He upholds, therefore, all things as to their being. He upholds also all things as to their operating, because, his influence being withdrawn, all the motion of the second causes ceases, since he himself is the first cause, and the first cause has more influence than the second. Job 38:6: upon what were its bases made fast. Thus, therefore, it is clear that he upholds all things. But by what does he uphold them? By the word of his power. For since the Apostle, speaking of the creation of things, had said that God made all things through the Son — since indeed he had said, by whom also he made the worlds — he through whom someone operates does not seem to operate by his own power, but by the power of him who operates through him; just as the bailiff, through whom the king acts, does not act by his own power. Therefore by this it seems that the Son does not operate by his own power. Therefore the Apostle says that he upholds by the word of his power, because, since the cause of being and of preserving is the same, when he says that the Son by his own power is the cause of preservation, he shows that he is also the cause of being. But is it not also by the power of the Father? Indeed, by his power too, because the power of both is the same. He operates, therefore, both by his own power, and by the power of the Father, because he has his own power from the Father. Yet the Apostle does not say by his own power, but by the word of his power, to show that, just as the Father produced all things through the Word — Psalm 32:9: he spoke, and they were made, etc., in which the greatest power of the Father is shown — so the Son made all things by the same Word, which is himself. And in this the Apostle shows the power of his might, because he has the same power as the Father, since he operates the same things and by the same means as the Father. But then there is a doubt: because the Father, when he speaks, produces the Word. Therefore the Son, when he speaks, would produce a word, and thus the word of the Father would be the word of the Son. And to this the Greeks say that just as the Son is the image of the Father, so the Holy Spirit is the image of the Son. And thus Basil expounds upholding by the word of his power, that is, by the Holy Spirit. For just as the Son is the word of the Father, so, as they say, the Holy Spirit is the word of the Son. And therefore the Son acts through him, just as the Father acts through the Son. Nevertheless, properly speaking, that alone is called a word which proceeds as a concept from the intellect, upon which it follows to proceed into a likeness of species. But the Holy Spirit, even if he is like, does not however have this from the mode of his procession, because he does not proceed as a concept from the intellect, but as love from the will. But the Gloss expounds by the word of his power otherwise, that is, by his command. But here there is still a doubt about what this word may be, because a man's command is either exterior, uttered by voice — and this cannot be said in divine matters, since nothing extrinsic to the divine nature, proceeding from the Son, exists by which all things might be upheld — or that command is interior, conceived in the heart; but this too cannot stand, because nothing is conceived in the mind of God except the eternal Word. Therefore this command, thus conceived in the mind of the Son, would be the eternal Word, and thus there would be two eternal words, which it is unlawful to say. Therefore to the argument it must be said, as Augustine expounds that text of John 12:48: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him, that is, I myself, who am the word of the Father, shall judge him. And likewise, in the matter proposed, by the word of his power, that is, by himself, who is the powerful word.

By these three things, therefore, he shows three things about Christ. For by this, that he is the splendor, he shows his co-eternity with the Father. In creatures, splendor is coeval, but he is co-eternal. And this is against Arius. But when he says the image of the substance, he shows his consubstantiality. For since splendor is not of the same nature as that which shines, lest perhaps someone believe that he is not similar in nature, he says that he is the image, or figure, of the substance. But because the Son, even if he is of the same nature as the Father, yet if he were weak, would fall short of the power of the Father; therefore he adds, upholding all things by the word of his power. The Apostle, therefore, in these three things, commends Christ from three things, namely from co-eternity, from consubstantiality, and from equality of power.

Then, when he says making purgation of sins, he shows the second thing which makes for the fitness of his dignity, namely the vigor and the industry which he had in acting. For it was a mark of great industry that what belonged to him from the nature by which he is God, he himself merited through the passion in the nature he assumed. Hence Philippians 2:8f.: he became obedient unto death; for which cause God also hath exalted him. To purge sins, therefore, although it belongs to him from the divine nature, yet it belongs to him also from the merit of the passion. Hence Ecclesiasticus 47:13: Christ purged away his sins, and exalted his horn for ever, etc. Matthew 1:21: For he shall save his people from their sins. It belongs also to Christ to purge, by reason of the divine nature, and by reason of the property of the Son. By reason of the divine nature, because guilt or sin is properly the evil of the rational creature. But this evil, or sin, cannot be repaired except through God. For sin consists in the will, but only God can move the will. Jeremiah 17:9f.: The heart of man is perverse and unsearchable, who shall know it? I am the Lord, etc. And the reason for this is that what is more immediate to the end is not reduced to that end except by the first agent cause. But the will is of the last end, namely for the enjoying of God; and therefore it is moved and reduced only by God. Since therefore Christ is true God, it is manifest that he can make purgation of sins. Isaiah 43:25: I am he who blot out your iniquities for my own sake, etc. Luke 2:7: Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But by reason of the property, it belongs also to Christ. For the evidence of this it must be known that in sin, first indeed there is a transgression of the eternal law and of the divine right, since every sin is iniquity, which is a transgression of the law. Isaiah 24:5: they have changed the right, they have broken the everlasting covenant. Since therefore the eternal law and the divine right are from the eternal Word, it is manifest that the purgation of sins belongs to Christ, insofar as he is the Word. Psalm 106:20: he sent his word, and healed them. Second, in sin there is the loss of the light of reason, and consequently of the wisdom of God in man, since this light is a certain participation of the divine wisdom. Baruch 3:28: and because they had not wisdom, therefore they perished. Proverbs 14:22: all they that work evil err. And according to the Philosopher, every evil man is ignorant. But the rectification unto the divine wisdom belongs to him who is the divine wisdom. But this is Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:23f.: we preach Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Wisdom 9:19: for by wisdom they were healed, whosoever have pleased thee, O Lord, from the beginning. Third, in sin there is the deformation of the likeness of God in man. Proverbs 15:7: the heart of fools shall be unlike. Hence it is said, Luke 15:13, of the prodigal son, that he went into a far country. Of the prodigal son, that he went into a far country. And therefore it belongs to this deformation to be rectified through the Son, who is the image of the Father. 1 Corinthians 15:49: as we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly. Fourth, the loss of the eternal inheritance, in sign of which man after sin was excluded from Paradise, Genesis 3:23. But the reparation of this properly belongs to the Son, who is the heir. Romans 8:17: if sons, also heirs. Galatians 4:4f.: God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem them who were under the law, and that we might receive the adoption of sons of God. Thus, therefore, it is clear that it belongs to Christ to purge sins, both by reason of the human nature, and by reason of the divine. But how did he make the purgation of sins? This is clear from the following. For in sin, first there is a perversity of the will, by which man withdraws from the unchangeable good, and to rectify this, Christ furnished justifying grace. Romans 3:24: justified freely by his grace. Second, there is a stain left in the soul from the perversity of the will, and to wash this away he furnished his own blood. Apocalypse 1:5: he loved us, and washed us from sins, etc. Third, there is the guilt of punishment to which man is bound because of the fault, and to satisfy for this he offered himself as a sacrifice to God on the altar of the cross. Ephesians 5:2: Christ loved the Church, and delivered himself up for her, that he might sanctify her. Fourth, the servitude of the Devil, to which man is made subject by sinning, because he who commits sin is the servant of sin, and to snatch us from this, he redeemed us. Psalm 30:6: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

Consequently, when he says he sits at the right hand, he subjoins the dignity itself, as if he were to say: it does not seem unfitting if he sits, etc. Because he himself is the splendor and the figure, and upholds all things, etc. Now in the word sitting three things are usually implied. One is the authority of the one sitting. Job 29:25: and when I sat as a king, with his army standing about him, etc. But in the divine court many stand by, since Daniel 7:10: thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him. But none is read to sit there, because all there are servants and ministers. Below, in the same: all are ministering spirits, sent to minister. But this one alone has royal dignity. Daniel 7:22: and he came even unto the ancient of days, and afterward it follows: and he gave him power, and honor, and a kingdom, etc. Matthew 25:31: when the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all his angels with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty, and afterward it follows: then shall the king say to these, etc.

The second is the stability of the one sitting. Luke, last chapter: sit ye in the city, etc. Daniel 7:14: his power is an everlasting power, etc.; and below, 13:8: Jesus Christ, yesterday and today, the same forever. Also, sometimes sitting implies humility, because one sitting is lower than those standing. Psalm 138:2: thou hast known my sitting down. And it is not taken in this way here, but in the first two ways. But against this, Acts 7:56: behold, I see the heavens opened, and Jesus standing, etc. And it must be said that sitting, and standing, and dispositions of this kind are said of God according to likeness. And therefore according to different aspects, he is said both to sit and to stand. Sitting indeed on account of immobility; but standing on account of usefulness for resisting strongly. Hence he stood as one ready to help Stephen, set in his agony.

But the Apostle adds that he sits at the right hand. This, if it be referred to the divine nature, has the sense: at the right hand, that is, at the equality of the Father. But if to the human nature, the sense is: at the right hand, that is, in the more excellent goods of the Father. Mark, last chapter: he sits at the right hand of God. Psalm 109:1 and Matthew 22:44: the Lord said to my Lord: sit at my right hand. But among those who have assessors, some are greater simply, as a king or emperor; but some are not greater simply, but in a certain respect, as provosts, or bailiffs. But Christ does not sit at the right hand of some inferior judge, as of some provost, like a bailiff, but of one greater simply, because at the right hand of majesty. Majesty is properly the highest power. Isaiah 6:3: the whole earth was full of his majesty. Proverbs 25:27: he that is a searcher of majesty, shall be overwhelmed by glory. But Christ, even though he thus sits at the right hand of majesty, nevertheless himself also has majesty, because he has the same majesty as the Father. Matthew 25:31: when the Son of man shall come in his majesty. Luke 9:26: him shall the Son of man be ashamed of, when he shall come in his own majesty, and that of the Father. He says also not only of majesty, but also on high, that is, above every creature. Ecclesiasticus 24:7: I dwell in the highest places. Thus, therefore, he sits on high, because he is raised above every creature. Psalm 8:2: for thy magnificence is elevated above the heavens.

And according to what Chrysostom says, the Apostle in this passage keeps the manner of one wishing to instruct a little child, who does not at once set before him the highest things, but leads him on little by little, now speaking of lofty matters, now setting forth the lowest; thus also he now sets forth divine things, when he says in the Son, now human things, when he says whom he appointed heir, etc. And so of the others, as is clear in the Gloss.