2. St. Thomas's Division of Sacred Scripture and the Epistles of Paul

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Fundamental Division of Sacred Scripture #

• Sacred Scripture leads to eternal life in two principal ways: principiendo (commanding, through precepts and laws) and adjuvando (aiding, through grace)
• Old Testament pertains to commandments and laws (the law given by Moses)
• New Testament pertains to grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit (grace and truth made through Jesus Christ, John 1:17)
• This division reflects the progression from law to grace and truth

The Structure of the Old Testament #

• Divided according to types of mandates or commands:
  • Coactorium (coercive command): the law of the king, enforced through punishment
  • Monitorium (admonitory/advisory command): the law of the father, given as counsel and instruction
• Can be further divided into three parts: law of the king, law of the prophets, and law of the father (the agiographa or holy writings)
• The Psalms represent the third category of holy writings
• This threefold division appears in Scripture texts as “the law and the prophets and the psalms”

The Four Gospels and Their Excellence #

• Among all New Testament scriptures, the four Gospels excel as the principal testimony (principuum testimonium) to the incarnate Word (de verbi incarnati)
• Primary distinction: Three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) versus John
  • The synoptic Gospels emphasize Christ’s humanity
  • John emphasizes Christ’s divinity (“In the beginning was the Word”)
  • This follows the order of knowledge: the more known (Christ’s humanity) before the less known (His divinity)
  • This reflects Peter’s profession of faith: first acknowledging Christ’s humanity, then His divinity

The Division of the Four Gospels by Christ’s Dignities #

• Matthew: Kingly dignity (regalis dignitas)—presents Christ descended from kings, adored by the Magi
• Mark: Prophetic dignity—begins with John the Baptist’s preaching in the desert (vox in deserto)
• Luke: Priestly dignity—begins and ends in the temple, emphasizes priestly functions

Symbolic Representation of the Gospels #

• Matthew: Man (homo)—representing human nature and incarnation
• Mark: Lion (leo)—representing victory and resurrection
• Luke: Ox (bovis)—representing sacrifice and passion (immolation)
• John: Eagle—representing ascent to divinity and the heights of divinity

The Structure of the New Testament Beyond the Gospels #

• The New Testament is divided into three parts:
  1. Origin of grace: The four Gospels (the Word made flesh)
  2. Power/Effect of grace: The Epistles of St. Paul (how grace operates)
  3. Execution/Manifestation of grace: Acts, canonical epistles, and Apocalypse
     • Acts of the Apostles: Beginning (initia) of the Church
     • Canonical epistles: Progress (profectus) of the Church
     • Apocalypse: End/glorious consummation (consumatio gloriosa) of the Church

The Fourteen Epistles of St. Paul: Overview #

• All teaching in Paul’s epistles concerns the grace of Christ (gratia Christi)
• Grace can be considered in three ways:
  1. As it exists in the head of the Church (Christ) - Hebrews
  2. As it exists in the chief members of the mystical body (bishops and prelates) - Four epistles
  3. As it exists in the mystical body itself (the Church) - Nine epistles to Gentile churches

The One Epistle to the Hebrews #

• Concerns grace as it is found in Christ, the head of the Church
• Stands alone among the epistles by its unique focus

The Four Epistles to Prominent Individuals #

• Divided into three to spiritual leaders and one to a temporal layman:
  • First Timothy: Institution, instruction, and governing (institutio, instructio, gubernatio) of ecclesiastical unity
  • Second Timothy: Firmness and defense (firmitudo) against persecutors
  • Titus: Defense against heretics
  • Philemon: Temporal lord (standing alone)—about accepting back an escaped slave
• The three to Timothy and Titus concern spiritual prelates (bishops)
• Philemon concerns a temporal layman/prominent individual

The Nine Epistles to Gentile Churches: Division by Grace’s Manifestation #

• Romans: Grace in itself (in se considerata)—stands alone as a complete treatment
• Grace in the Sacraments (three epistles):
  • First Corinthians: The sacraments themselves
  • Second Corinthians: The dignity of the ministers of the sacraments
  • Galatians: Exclusion of superfluous/false sacraments (against those wishing to add Old Testament sacraments)
• Grace according to Ecclesiastical Unity (five epistles):
  • Ephesians: Institution (institutio) of ecclesiastical unity
  • Philippians: Confirmation (confirmatio) and progress of unity
  • Colossians: Defense against errors and heresies
  • First Thessalonians: Defense against present persecutions
  • Second Thessalonians: Defense against future persecutions (time of Antichrist)

Key Arguments #

The Methodological Principle of Division #

• Thomas Aquinas consistently divides complex subjects into two or three parts
• Division into two: Based on contraries or opposites (e.g., divine vs. human nature)
• Division into three: More comprehensive; covers all aspects. The word “all” requires three as the first intelligible number for complete coverage
• Combination: Often divides into three, then subdivides one of the three into two, yielding four
• This method better reflects natural understanding and material reality than arbitrary divisions
• Example: The 14 Epistles break down as 1 + (3+1) + (1+3+5) = 1+4+9 = 14, following divisions of two or three

The Order of Knowledge and Being #

• The synoptic Gospels precede John because they present what is more known to us (Christ’s humanity)
• This order reflects how we come to know things, not necessarily their metaphysical excellence
• Although John treats the more excellent subject (divinity), he comes last because divinity is less known to us
• Peter’s profession of faith (Matthew 16) exemplifies this order: first acknowledging the human reality (Christ as teacher), then the divine truth (Son of the living God)

The Coherence of Scripture’s Structure #

• Vatican II’s Dei Verbum (paragraphs 18-20) largely follows Thomas’s divisions but does not explicitly acknowledge the source
• The Gospels are greatest because they are the principal testimony to the incarnate Word and His life and teaching (vita et doctrina)
• The Epistles continue and expand on the Gospels, not replacing them

Important Definitions #

• Principiendo (πρίν): Commanding through precepts, laws, and imperatives
• Adjuvando: Aiding through grace and supernatural assistance
• Coactorium: Coercive command (the law of the king, enforced by punishment)
• Monitorium: Admonitory/advisory command (the law of the father, given as counsel)
• Agiographa: Holy writings; the third category of Old Testament books (includes Psalms)
• Synoptic: The three Gospels that share similar structure and content (Matthew, Mark, Luke)
• Mystical body (corpus mysticum): The Church as the body of Christ
• Ecclesiastical unity: The unity of the Church as the body of Christ, the primary effect of grace in the community
• Gratia Christi: The grace of Christ; the supernatural aid that flows from Christ
• De verbi incarnati: Concerning the incarnate Word (Christ)
• Prima para/Tertia para: First part and third part of the Summa Theologiae

Examples & Illustrations #

Shakespeare’s Plays as a Division Model #

• Berquist uses Shakespeare’s 37 plays to illustrate the principle of dividing into three:
  • 10 history plays (set aside due to special problems mixing fiction and history)
  • Remaining 27 plays divided into:
    • 10 tragedies
    • 5 comedies
    • 12 plays in between (romances)
  • The 12 middle plays further divided into:
    • 6 mercy and forgiveness romances (closer to tragedy)
    • 6 love and friendship romances (closer to comedy)
• This demonstrates that dividing by two or three is more natural than arbitrary division into four
• Example of a middle play: The Merchant of Venice (love and friendship)

The Four Seasons #

• Spring: Beginning/rising (corresponds to growth)
• Summer: Height/fruition (corresponds to maturity)
• Fall: Decline (corresponds to aging)
• Winter: Death/dormancy (stands apart)
• Three seasons of life (spring, summer, fall) can be naturally grouped; winter stands as the opposite
• Shows how material divisions naturally fall into three + one pattern
• Fall traditionally called “the leaf” from the falling of leaves (historically called “the fall of the leaf”)

The Summa Contra Gentiles Structure Paralleling the Gospels #

• Books 1-3: What can be known about God by natural reason and faith combined
• Book 4: What can be known only by faith (Trinity, Incarnation, last things)
• Parallels the Gospel structure: humanity/what is more known before divinity/what is less known
• Both follow the principle of pedagogical order

Questions Addressed #

Why are the four Gospels ordered as Matthew, Mark, Luke, then John? #

• Not an order of excellence (John treats more excellent subject: divinity)
• Rather, an order of knowledge: more known (humanity) before less known (divinity)
• Follows Peter’s profession of faith: human acknowledgment (Christ) before divine truth (Son of God)
• This reflects how apostles and early Christians came to faith

How do the synoptic Gospels differ from John? #

• Synoptic Gospels: Emphasize Christ’s humanity, His life, teachings, and works as a man
• John: Ascends to the heights of divinity, treating Christ as the Word (logos) made flesh
• But all four Gospels treat both natures; the difference is one of emphasis and detail

Why must the 14 Epistles of Paul be understood through divisions of two and three? #

• 14 cannot be comprehended as an undivided whole
• Must be divided into manageable units: 1 + 4 + 9
• 4 further divides into 3 + 1 (three bishops, one layman)
• 9 divides into 1 + 3 + 5 (Romans alone, then three on sacraments with Galatians, then five on unity)
• This reflects natural human understanding: we grasp opposites (two) or comprehensive wholes (three), not arbitrary larger numbers

What is the relationship between grace in itself and grace in the sacraments? #

• Grace in itself: Treated as an abstract principle in Romans
• Grace in the sacraments: Treated as the concrete means of grace in the Church
• The sacraments are tools of Christ for distributing grace
• Ministers of sacraments have special dignity as channels of grace
• Distinction becomes important in refuting Judaizers who wanted to retain Old Testament sacraments

How does ecclesiastical unity relate to grace? #

• Unity is the principal effect of grace in the Church
• Must be instituted (established with proper structure) - Ephesians
• Must be confirmed and progressed (strengthened and grown) - Philippians
• Must be defended against errors (Colossians) and persecutions (Thessalonians)
• Shows grace is not merely individual but communal and structural

Notable Observations from the Lecture #

• Berquist emphasizes that Thomas’s divisions are not arbitrary but reflect how the human mind naturally comprehends reality
• The lecture reveals how Vatican II’s Dei Verbum borrows heavily from Thomas’s structure without explicit acknowledgment
• The principle of dividing into two or three first is fundamental to understanding complex texts like Scripture
• Berquist’s analogy to material division (boards into halves, quarters, eighths) shows this is not merely abstract but reflects physical reality
• The distinction between heretics (those who choose what to believe) and schismatics is raised as an important theological point
• Berquist notes the change in terminology: “Extreme Unction” (older term) is now called “Anointing of the Sick,” though the sacrament remains the same