122. Christ's Descent to Hell: Person, Nature, and Liberation

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

• The Whole Christ in Hell: Whether Christ’s entire person was present in hell despite the separation of soul and body at death
• Person vs. Nature Distinction: The crucial difference between the divine person (hypostasis) and human nature in understanding Christ’s state during the triduum
• Necessity of Duration in Hell: Why Christ’s soul remained in hell for three days rather than immediately liberating the saints
• Liberation of the Holy Fathers: Whether and how Christ freed the Old Testament saints from hell
• Grammatical and Theological Language: How grammatical categories (masculine/neutral, substantive/adjective) affect theological predication

Key Arguments #

On the Whole Christ in Hell (Article 3) #

Objections:

• The body of Christ was in the sepulcher, not hell; therefore the whole Christ was not in hell
• Nothing whose parts are separated can be called a whole; soul and body were separated at death
• The whole must have all its parts in one place; Christ’s body was in the sepulcher and divinity everywhere

Thomas’s Resolution:

• The person of Christ was whole in hell, even though the human nature was not complete there
• The divine person (hypostasis) remained united to both the separated soul and body
• The person is not subject to bodily circumscription; Christ was wholly in each place (tomb, hell, everywhere) but not wholly circumscribed by any single place
• Christ’s immensity comprehends all places rather than being comprehended by them

Key Distinction:

• Masculine gender (masculine) refers to the hypostasis or person
• Neutral gender (neutrum) pertains to the nature
• Therefore one can say the whole person was in hell, but not the whole human nature

On Duration in Hell (Article 4) #

The Question: Why did Christ’s soul remain in hell for a whole day and two nights rather than immediately liberating the saints?

Resolution:

• Christ’s body remained in the tomb for three days to prove the truth of his death
• His soul remained in hell for the same duration to maintain parallelism
• The resurrection is the reward for his descent into hell, just as ascension follows descent
• This demonstrates the completion of his humiliation before his exaltation

Addressing Objections:

• Though Christ immediately broke the gates of hell through his passion and death, he chose to remain there for the appointed time
• The freedom of the saints was not by physically leading them out but by enlightening them in hell itself with the light of glory
• His delay was fitting (conveniens) to parallel the separation of soul and body

On Liberation of the Holy Fathers (Article 5) #

The Central Question: Did Christ liberate the Old Testament saints from hell?

Key Points:

• The Holy Fathers were detained in hell not on account of sin (they were justified by faith in Christ during their lives) but on account of being excluded from the beatific vision
• Original sin barred them from the vision of God as He is until the debt was paid
• Christ’s descent liberated them from this deprivation of glory
• They suffered sorrow not from physical punishment but from the deferral of hope—the longing to see God face to face

Important Clarification:

• Augustine distinguishes between those suffering actual punishments of hell (torments) and those deprived of glory but dwelling in Abraham’s bosom
• The Old Testament just were in the latter state, consoled by hope, not in the former state of active torment
• Christ’s liberation consisted in granting them the beatific vision, not in removing them from physical pains (which they were not experiencing)

Important Definitions #

• Hypostasis (Ὑπόστασις): The individual subsisting subject or person; in Christ, the divine hypostasis assumes human nature
• Nature (Natura): The essence constituted by the union of soul and body; in Christ, the complete human nature consists of rational soul and body
• Synecdoche: A figure of speech using part for whole or vice versa; relevant for understanding how we speak of Christ as being wholly in various places
• Beatific Vision (Visio Beatifica): The direct seeing of God as He is; the ultimate happiness and perfection of the blessed
• Lux Gloriae: The light of glory; the supernatural illumination that elevates the created intellect to see God’s essence
• Gratia Consumata: Grace perfected or completed; glory understood as the consummation of grace
• Conveniens: Fitting or appropriate; used to describe why certain aspects of Christ’s passion and descent were suitable (not necessary)

Examples & Illustrations #

• The Chair Analogy: The order of a chair’s parts (seat, back) relates to their purpose (sitting); similarly, the universal order of creation relates to God as the ultimate good and purpose
• Augustine’s Formula: “The whole Son before the Father, the whole in heaven, the whole on earth, the whole in the virginal womb, the whole on the cross, the whole in hell, the whole in paradise”—illustrating how persons and natures are predicated differently
• Three Gods vs. Three with Divine Nature: One cannot say “three gods” (plural noun) but can say “three who have the divine nature” (adjective construction), illustrating grammatical distinctions in theology
• The Highest Good (Summa Bonum): Multiple reasons support God being the supreme good: (1) the order of the universe requires an ultimate end; (2) there must be a first end governing all others; (3) the perfect precedes the imperfect, so pure act must be the source of all goodness
• Haydn’s Seven Last Words of Christ: A musical meditation on Christ’s words from the cross, including the promise to the thief regarding paradise
• The Thief in Paradise: The good thief received the beatific vision on the same day as Christ’s crucifixion, understood as spiritual rather than bodily paradise
• Before and After in Aristotle’s Categories: The concepts of before, after, and together (simul) used to explain divine relations; God the Father and God the Son are together (simul) in no way before or after one another

Notable Quotes #

“The whole Christ then was everywhere by reason of the divine nature.” — Thomas Aquinas

“Not through diverse times or places do we say Christ was everywhere whole… but that always he is everywhere the whole.” — Augustine (cited by Thomas)

“The person of Christ was whole in each place, but not wholly [circumscribed]. Because in no place was he limited or had a line drawn around him.” — Thomas Aquinas

“The resurrection is the reward for his death, and the ascension is the reward for his descent into hell.” — Thomas Aquinas (as explained by Berquist)

“Grace does not destroy nature.” — Thomas Aquinas (principle cited to justify using philosophical truth in theology)

Questions Addressed #

Question 1: Was the Whole Christ in Hell? #

• Resolution: Yes, the whole person (hypostasis) was in hell through the soul united to the divine person, even though the whole human nature was not present (the body being in the sepulcher)
• Key Insight: Person and nature are predicated differently; one can truly say the whole Christ was in each place (tomb, hell, everywhere) but one cannot say his immensity was circumscribed by any place

Question 2: Did Christ Contract Delay in Hell? #

• Resolution: Yes, Christ’s soul remained in hell for the full three days, not to continue freeing the saints but to complete the pattern of his humiliation and to manifest the truth of his death
• Why It Was Fitting: The body lay in the tomb for three days; the soul remained in hell for the same period to demonstrate the complete separation of soul and body and the completion of death’s reality

Question 3: Did Christ Immediately Free the Holy Fathers? #

• Resolution: Christ broke the gates of hell and showed the fruits of his passion to the saints immediately upon descending, but they remained in hell until his resurrection
• Method of Liberation: Not by physical extraction but by enlightening them in hell with the light of glory (the beatific vision)

Question 4: Why Were the Holy Fathers Detained in Hell If Their Sins Were Forgiven? #

• Resolution: While the Old Testament just were freed from sin during their earthly lives, they were barred from the vision of God as He is on account of the original guilt not yet paid for by Christ’s ransom
• The Payment: Only Christ’s passion and death removed this obstacle; thus, their detention was just and necessary until the price was paid

Question 5: How Can the Holy Fathers Experience Joy and Sorrow Simultaneously? #

• Resolution: Following Augustine and the principle illustrated by Shakespeare’s “parting is such sweet sorrow,” the sorrow of deferred hope is consoled and even sweetened by the certainty of future glory
• Analogy: Just as lovers separated by necessary parting find their sorrow sweet because it testifies to their love, the Old Testament just possessed sorrow from deferred hope but consolation from the certainty that they would see God

Contextual Connections #

• To Grammar and Logic: Demonstrates how Thomas integrates grammatical categories (masculine/neutral, substantive/adjective) into theological language, following his principle that grammar and logic are both sciences of signs
• To Medieval Theology: Engages with Peter Lombard’s Sentences and the broader medieval discussion of Christ’s status during the triduum (three days between death and resurrection)
• To Scripture: Draws on Matthew 12 (Jonah typology for resurrection), Luke 23 (the thief in paradise), Psalm 16 (David in Hades), Zechariah (spoiling the powers), and Colossians 2 (victory over infernal powers)