280. The New Law as Instilled Grace and Written Precepts

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Dual Nature of the New Law #

• Principally (chiefly): The New Law is the grace of the Holy Spirit given inwardly to the faithful of Christ
• Secondarily: The New Law includes written documents and precepts that either dispose one for grace or order its use
• This represents a fundamental shift from the Old Law, which was external and written on stone tablets
• Each thing is what is most potent in it; the most potent element of the New Law is grace, not external precepts

The Question of Written vs. Instilled Law #

• Apparent contradiction: If the New Law is instilled law (like natural law), how does it differ from the law of nature (lex naturalis)?
• Thomas’s resolution: The natural law is instilled as pertaining to human nature itself; the New Law is instilled as added above nature through grace
• The New Law is the lumen inditum (indwelling light) of the Holy Spirit, distinct from the natural light of reason (lumen naturale)
• The gospel writings contain only those things pertaining to grace: either disposing for grace or ordering its use

What the Gospel Writings Contain #

• Disposing elements: teachings about Christ’s divinity and humanity, understood through faith, by which grace is given
• Disposing elements (affections): teachings about contempt of the world, by which man becomes capable of grace
• Ordering elements: teachings about virtuous acts and moral conduct, which direct the use of spiritual grace
• The written documents themselves do not constitute the law; they point to and facilitate the interior grace

Key Arguments #

Against the Objection that the New Law is Written #

• The gospel is written (John 20), but this does not make it fundamentally a written law
• The writings serve as instrumental means to grace, not as the law itself
• Compare: natural law is also said to be “written on hearts” (Romans 2), yet it is not fundamentally written

Against the Objection that the New Law is the Same as Natural Law #

• Two senses of instilled law:
  1. Instilled as pertaining to human nature (natural law)
  2. Instilled as added above nature through the gift of grace (New Law)
• The New Law not only indicates what should be done but also aids in fulfilling it—this is grace’s unique role
• The New Law provides interior capability and assistance, not merely external knowledge

Against the Objection that the New Law Cannot Be Proper to the New Testament #

• No one ever had the grace of the Holy Spirit except through faith in Christ, either explicitly or implicitly
• One who has the grace of the New Testament belongs to the New Testament status, even if living before Christ
• Example: Abraham’s faith in Christ’s coming made him pertinent to the New Testament covenant

Important Definitions #

lex indita (instilled law) #

Law written on the hearts of the faithful by the presence of the Holy Spirit; the defining characteristic of the New Law, contrasting with law written externally on stone or parchment.

gratia Spiritus Sancti (grace of the Holy Spirit) #

The principal and most potent element of the New Law; given through faith in Christ; enables interior transformation and justification rather than external observance.

dispositiva (disposing) #

Those aspects of the New Law that prepare one to receive grace, including teachings about Christ’s incarnation and humanity, and teachings promoting contempt of worldly attachments.

ordinativa (ordering) #

Those aspects of the New Law that direct the use of grace, including precepts about virtuous living and moral conduct.

potissimum (most potent) #

That which is most essential or powerful in a thing; in the New Law, grace is the potissimum rather than external precepts.

Examples & Illustrations #

Law of Faith vs. Law of Works #

• Paul’s phrase “law of faith” (Romans 3) distinguishes the New Law from the Old Law of external deeds
• The New Law operates through faith which receives grace, not through external compliance

Augustine’s Distinction #

• The Old Law was written on stone tablets, written externally
• The New Law is written on hearts through the Holy Spirit (from De Spiritu et Littera)
• This illustrates the interior vs. exterior dimension of the two covenants

Notable Quotes #

“Each thing seems to be that which is most potent in it” (Aristotle, Ethics IX)

“The grace of the Holy Spirit, which is given by the faith of Christ. And therefore, chiefly, the new law is the grace of the Holy Spirit, which is given to the faithful of Christ” (Thomas Aquinas)

“The law of the spirit of life in Jesus Christ frees me from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2, cited by Thomas)

“Just as the law of deeds was written on stone tablets, so the law of faith is written on the hearts of the faithful” (Augustine, On Spirit and Letter)

Questions Addressed #

Is the New Law a Written Law? #

Resolution: Principally no—it is instilled grace. Secondarily yes—it includes written documents (the gospels) that dispose for grace or order its use, but these writings are instrumental, not constitutive of the law itself.

How Does the New Law Differ from Natural Law if Both Are Instilled? #

Resolution: The natural law is instilled as pertaining to human nature itself; the New Law is instilled as added above nature through grace. The New Law provides not only knowledge but also interior aid and capability.

Do All Who Receive the New Law’s Grace Belong to the New Testament? #

Resolution: Yes. Anyone who has the grace of the Holy Spirit through faith in Christ (explicit or implicit) belongs to the status of the New Testament, regardless of when they lived.