116. Christ's Redemption: Modes and Effects of the Passion
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Lecture Notes
Main Topics #
The Question of Redemption #
The lecture addresses a fundamental objection: if man never ceases to belong to God (as Psalm 23 states, “The Lord’s are the earth and the fullness thereof”), how can Christ redeem us by his Passion? This requires clarification of what “belonging to God” means and in what sense redemption applies.
Two Forms of Man’s Obligation #
Thomas distinguishes two ways man is obligated:
- Slavery to sin - through the devil’s inducement to sin, man becomes enslaved to the devil (John 8:34: “the one who does sin becomes the slave of sin”)
- Obligation of punishment - according to God’s justice, man is obligated to punishment, which constitutes a kind of slavery since the free person uses himself as he wishes
The Proper Recipient of the Price #
A crucial distinction emerges: though the devil unjustly holds man in servitude through fraud, God justly permits and orders this as punishment for sin. Therefore:
- To God (as supreme judge): redemption/satisfaction is required and properly owed
- To the devil (as torturer/minister): no payment is required or owed, since the devil’s claim is fundamentally unjust
Christ’s blood is the price of redemption, but it is offered to God, not to the devil.
Two Senses of Belonging to God #
Man is said to belong to God in two distinct ways:
- By subjection to God’s power - man never ceases to belong to God in this sense; God’s power always governs all creation (Daniel 4: “the high one lords it in the kingdom of men”)
- By union through charity - through sin, man ceases to belong to God in this sense; Romans 8 states that one who does not have the Spirit of Christ is not of him
Redemption therefore operates in the second sense: liberation from sin restores union with God through charity.
Key Arguments #
The Pawn Shop Analogy #
Berquist develops a practical illustration: when one redeems an item from a pawn shop, the item has ceased to be one’s own and must be redeemed through payment. But the analogy breaks down with man and God because:
- Man never ceases to be subject to God’s power
- However, man does cease to belong to God through the union of charity when he sins
- Therefore, “redemption” applies to the second sense, not the first
Augustine’s Principle of Unjust Power #
Augustine’s teaching (cited from the 13th book on the Trinity) provides crucial theological foundation:
- The devil overcame man deceitfully and held him in unjust servitude
- By justice, one who possesses something through theft and deceit should be deprived of it
- Therefore, the devil ought not to retain those he holds captive
This principle means redemption is required with respect to God but not with respect to the devil.
Satisfaction as Price #
Christ’s Passion functions as satisfaction and price in two ways:
- Sufficiency: Christ’s Passion is sufficient and superabundant satisfaction for sin and the guilt of the human race
- Function: This satisfaction serves as the price (pretium) by which we are freed from both the slavery of sin and the obligation of punishment
- Nature of payment: Not money or external goods, but Christ giving himself (the greatest good)
Important Definitions #
Redemption (Redemptio) #
Literal meaning: to buy back (redimere). In the soteriological sense, the act by which Christ frees man from two forms of obligation:
- Slavery to sin and the devil
- Obligation to punishment according to God’s justice
The price of redemption is Christ’s blood (or his bodily life, in which blood resides, per Leviticus), paid not to the devil but to God as supreme judge and first cause of all redemption.
Obligation to Punishment (Obligatio Poenae) #
The binding force by which man, having offended God through sin, is liable to punishment according to divine justice. This constitutes a form of slavery because it violates the condition of freedom: being able to use oneself as one wishes.
Examples & Illustrations #
The Pawn Shop #
Illustrating why the analogy only partially works: one must pay the pawn shop to redeem items, showing that redemption requires payment. However, the key disanalogy is that man never entirely ceases to be God’s (unlike property temporarily removed from ownership), making the “redemption” language applicable only to the break in the union of charity.
Recent Hostage Release #
Berquist references a contemporary news story of a hostage release obtained through government payment, illustrating the principle that redemption (freeing captives) requires payment to the captor—yet this does not apply to the devil, since the devil’s captivity is unjust.
The Gospel Parable of the Unforgiving Servant #
Matthew 18 (the servant forgiven much debt who refuses to forgive another, prompting the lord to hand him to the torturers until payment): This passage illustrates the principle that punishment is inflicted by a minister/torturer (the devil) acting under the authority of the judge (God). Only God requires satisfaction; the devil’s role is ministerial and unjust.
Notable Quotes #
“Man is said to be of God… In one way, insofar as he is subject to his power, and in this way, never does man cease to be of God… In another way, man is of God through the union of charity to him… in this way, man ceases to be something of God through his sin. And therefore, insofar as he is liberated from sin, Christ satisfying for him, he is said to be redeemed through the passion of Christ.” — St. Thomas Aquinas, clarifying the two senses of belonging to God
“Because redemption is required for the liberation of man with respect to God, right, huh? Not with respect to the devil. It was not the price, right, to be what? Admitted to the devil, but to what? God, huh?” — Duane Berquist, teaching Thomas’s resolution of the objection
“The flesh profits nothing by itself, but the flesh insofar as it is the flesh of God has a power from the divine nature to expel sin.” — Interpretation of John 6:63, illustrating how Christ’s material Passion possesses spiritual power
Questions Addressed #
Q: If man never ceases to be God’s, how can Christ redeem us? #
Resolution: Man belongs to God in two senses. In the first sense (subjection to power), he never ceases to be God’s. In the second sense (union through charity), he ceases to be God’s through sin. Redemption liberates him in the second sense, restoring union with God.
Q: Why is the price offered to God and not to the devil? #
Resolution: Though the devil holds man through unjust servitude, God justly permits and orders this punishment. Satisfaction is therefore required with respect to God (as supreme judge) but not with respect to the devil (whose claim is fundamentally unjust). Augustine’s principle: the devil exceeding his authority in deceit should be deprived of his unjust possession.
Q: How can Christ’s blood function as a price if it is not given to the devil? #
Resolution: Redemption (liberation from punishment) requires satisfaction offered to the offended party (God), not to the captor. The devil is merely the minister of punishment; God alone judges. Christ’s blood is the price of our redemption offered to God, freeing us from both slavery to sin and obligation to punishment.
Q: Can something other than Christ redeem us, such as other saints’ suffering? #
Resolution: Only Christ is properly the Redeemer because he alone both pays the price (his own blood/life) and possesses the authority. While other saints’ suffering can help the Church through exhortation and example, only Christ has redemptive power. The Trinity acts as remote/principal cause, but Christ as man acts as the immediate redeemer.
Theological Clarifications #
The Distinction Between Remoteness and Immediacy #
Berquist uses the example of knowing the area of a room: one knows it both by reason (remote cause, insofar as reason is involved in all understanding) and by calculation (proximate cause, the immediate method). Similarly, redemption can be attributed to the whole Trinity as remote/principal cause, but Christ as man is the immediate redeemer who paid the price.
The Devil’s Role Under Divine Permission #
The devil’s servitude over man is unjust in itself (he deceived through fraud), yet just in its permission and ordering by God (as punishment for sin). This nuance prevents attributing the obligation of punishment to the devil’s justice while affirming God’s justice in permitting the devil’s punitive role.