120. The Hypostatic Union and Christ's Death

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Permanence of the Hypostatic Union #

• Central Question: Did Christ’s divinity separate from his flesh and soul at death?
• Thomas argues the divinity remained inseparably united to both body and soul throughout death
• The union is hypostatic (ἑν ὑποστάσει—in the person), not merely in the divine nature
• This union is permanent and cannot be dissolved without sin, which Christ did not possess
• The grace of the hypostatic union is even more permanent and inviolable than the grace of adoption given to others

The Nature of Death in Christ #

• Death involves the separation of soul (ψυχή) from body (σῶμα), but NOT the separation of divinity from either
• The divinity is not the formal cause of life in the body; therefore, the body can be dead while remaining united to the divine person
• Christ’s death was voluntary, undertaken from charity, not from weakness or necessity
• The body and soul, though separated from each other, both remained united to the divine person (the Word)

Whether Christ Was a Man During the Triduum #

• A man requires the union of body and soul according to the definition of human nature
• During the three days in the tomb, Christ was not a man, simply and absolutely speaking
• However, we may speak of Christ as a “dead man” using synecdoche (σχῆμα) where the part stands for the whole
• Just as a burnt house is no longer a house, and a torn suit is no longer a suit, a body separated from the soul is not strictly a man
• To assert that Christ was a man during the triduum is erroneous and contrary to faith

Key Arguments #

Objection 1: If Christ Is Life Itself, How Could He Die? #

• Objection: Christ, as divine, is life itself; death means loss of life; therefore, if Christ died, his divinity must have separated from him
• Response: Christ is life itself according to his divine nature, not according to his human nature. As man, Christ is a source of life, not life itself. Death affects only the human nature, not the divinity.
• The divinity never loses its vivifying power (δύναμις), even when the body is inanimate

Objection 2: The Soul as Middle Term #

• Objection: The divinity is united to flesh through the soul; if the soul separates from the body at death, the divinity must separate from the flesh
• Response: The soul is not a middle term joining divinity to flesh; rather, flesh pertains to human nature through the soul. Even after the soul’s separation from the body, the flesh retains its order to resurrection by divine ordinance.
• The hypostatic union (in the person) is not dissolved by the separation of soul and body

Objection 3: Greater Power of God vs. Soul #

• Objection: God’s vivifying power is greater than the soul’s; if the soul’s separation causes death, God’s separation should cause it even more so
• Response: The soul vivifies formally (as an intrinsic form—as ἐντελέχεια); God vivifies effectively (through will, not as form). God cannot be the form of a body without having the character of a part, which is impossible for the partless God (ἀμερές). God acts from will, not necessity; therefore, the body can be dead while remaining united to the divinity

Objection 4: Augustine’s Doctrine of the Incarnation #

• Objection: Augustine says the Incarnation made God a man and man a God; this transformation did not cease at death; therefore, Christ remained a man
• Response: The Incarnation did not cease, but the union of body and soul (which is necessary for being a man) did cease. The taking on of flesh by the Word persisted, but the corporal constitution of a man (body and soul united) was temporarily dissolved

Objection 5: Christ’s Priesthood During Death #

• Objection: Christ was a priest during the triduum; priests are men; therefore, Christ was a man during death
• Response: Priesthood belongs to man by reason of the intellectual soul (ψυχή λογική), which retains the character of order permanently. The priestly character is not lost through death. Christ, as the origin of all priesthood, retained his priestly office even more perfectly

Important Definitions #

Hypostatic Union (ἕνωσις ὑποστατική) #

• The union of the divine nature with human nature in the single person (ὑπόστασις/persona) of the Word
• This union is in the person, not in the divine nature itself
• It is permanent and inviolable; it cannot be dissolved without sin, which Christ lacks
• More permanent than the grace of adoption given to other humans

Death (θάνατος) #

• The separation of the soul from the body
• Does not imply the separation of divinity from either soul or body in Christ’s case
• Pertains to the truth of death that the soul ceases to animate the body
• In Christ, death was voluntary and undertaken from charity

Synecdoche (σχῆμα) #

• A figure of speech where a part stands for the whole or vice versa
• Example: “The Word was made flesh” (flesh = human nature whole)
• Example: “Christ was a dead man” (using the part for the whole, or using the living person for the temporarily-inanimate-body-soul-complex)
• Used to explain how we can say Christ was dead while remaining a person

Formal vs. Effective Causality (αἰτία) #

• Formal cause (αἰτία εἶδος): The intrinsic principle of being, like the soul to the body
• Effective cause (αἰτία ποιοῦσα): The external principle causing an effect, like God’s creative will
• God vivifies effectively (through will), not formally (not as an intrinsic form)

Examples & Illustrations #

The Analogy of Burnt House and Torn Suit #

• A burnt-down house is no longer properly called a house
• A suit torn to pieces is no longer a suit
• Similarly, a body separated from its soul is no longer a man
• This illustrates why Christ, though bearing human nature, was not a man during the triduum

The Analogy of the Rector and the City #

• When we say “the rector is the city,” we mean the whole ordering of the city consists in him
• Similarly, when Aristotle says “man is his understanding,” it means understanding is the chief part in which the whole virtually exists
• This clarifies how the soul can represent the whole person even when separated from the body

The Distinction Between Soul and Body in Ascriptions #

• After death, we say “the soul of Peter is in heaven” not “Peter is in heaven”
• This synecdoche reflects the truth that the person (Peter) is not present without the body
• Yet the soul retains what belongs to it: the priestly character remains with the soul, not with the separated body

Notable Quotes #

“That which is conceded through the grace of God is never recalled without some guilt… Much more is this true about the grace of union, by which the divinity was united to the flesh of Christ… united to it in person, right? Hypostatic union, right? Not in the divine nature. And that’s even greater, right, huh? A grace than the grace of adoption.”

“The divinity, divine nature, does not have the power of vivifying formally, but effectively. For it is not able to be the form of a white body, because then it would have the ratio of a part. God is partless. And therefore it’s not necessary that the union of divinity to the flesh remaining, that the flesh be alive.”

“To say that Christ in the triduum of death was a man, simply and absolutely speaking, is erroneous mistake. One could always say that Christ in the triduum was a dead man, right? But a dead man is not a what? Man.”

“The one hypostasis of the word exists as the hypostasis of both the soul and the body. Just like… the word of God could assume… Yeah, yeah, yeah. They may have reasons to do so, but he could have done that. Okay, and so you’d be one person, huh?”

Questions Addressed #

Article 2: Was the Divinity Separated from the Flesh? #

• Question: Does Christ’s death involve the separation of divinity from flesh?
• Answer: No. The hypostatic union remained unbroken. Though the soul separated from the body, both remained united to the divine person. The divinity does not vivify formally, so the body’s death does not entail the divinity’s separation.

Article 3: Was the Divinity Separated from the Soul? #

• Question: Does Christ’s death involve the separation of divinity from soul?
• Answer: No. The soul was more immediately united to the Word than the body (since the body is united to the Word through the soul). Therefore, if not separated from the body, certainly not from the soul. The Word remains inseparably united to both.

Article 4: Was Christ a Man During the Triduum? #

• Question: Was Christ truly a man during the three days in the tomb?
• Answer: No, not simply and absolutely. To be a man requires the hypostatic union of body and soul. However, we may say Christ was a dead man (using synecdoche), and the Incarnation itself—the taking on of flesh—did not cease.

Theological Points #

The Cry of Abandonment #

• “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” (Matthew 27:46) does not indicate a separation of divinity from flesh
• Rather, it refers to God the Father’s not protecting him from his persecutors during the Passion
• Or it refers to the prayer Christ offered according to his human will, following the will of the Father

The Permanence of Grace #

• The grace of the hypostatic union is permanent because:
  1. It is conceded by God and cannot be recalled without guilt (sin)
  2. Christ is sinless
  3. Therefore, the union cannot be untied
• This is in accordance with Romans 11: “without repentance are the gifts of God and the calling”

The Symbol of Faith (Creed) #

• “He was buried” affirms that the body of the Son of God was entombed
• “He descended to the dead” (or “to hell”) affirms that the soul of the Son of God went to the place of the dead
• Both statements confirm that the Son of God, as one person, remained united to both body and soul even in their separation
• This demonstrates that the Incarnation and the hypostatic union remained intact