Word of God is distinguished between (a) the Eternal Word, (b) the Incarnate Word and (c) the Revealed Word.
I. Definition (a) and (b): Personal-essential
A. Word of God refers primarily and essentially to the term or end-point of the intra-divine communication of the divine essence from the Father to the Son.
B. Secondly, Word of God refers to the Incarnation of the Son (the Word of the Father) accomplished in the assumption of a human nature and existence by the Word in the hypostatic union. The hypostatic union is discussed in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as follows:
86. What does the word “Incarnation” mean?The Church calls the mystery of the wonderful union of the divine and human natures in the one divine Person of the Word the “Incarnation”. To bring about our salvation the Son of God was made “flesh” (John 1:14) and became truly man. Faith in the Incarnation is a distinctive sign of the Christian faith.
87. In what way is Jesus Christ true God and true man?
Jesus is inseparably true God and true man in the unity of his divine Person. As the Son of God, who is “begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father,” he was made true man, our brother, without ceasing to be God, our Lord.
88. What does the Council of Chalcedon (in the year 451) teach in this regard?
The Council of Chalcedon teaches us to confess “one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in his humanity, true God and true man, composed of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father by his divinity, and consubstantial with us by his humanity, ‘like us in all things but sin’ (Hebrews 4:15), begotten from the Father before all ages as to his divinity, and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, born of Mary, the Virgin and Mother of God, as to his humanity.”
89. How does the Church set forth the Mystery of the Incarnation?
The Church confesses that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, with two natures, a divine nature and a human nature, not confused with each other but united in the Person of the Word. Therefore, in the humanity of Jesus all things - his miracles, his suffering, and his death - must be attributed to his divine Person which acts by means of his assumed human nature.
II. Definition (c): Revelation--what I think is the true object of your question.
Word of God as revealed (Tradition and Scripture) can be defined best by quoting the Compendium:
The Revelation of God
6. What does God reveal to man?God in his goodness and wisdom reveals himself. With deeds and words, he reveals himself and his plan of loving goodness which he decreed from all eternity in Christ. According to this plan, all people by the grace of the Holy Spirit are to share in the divine life as adopted “sons” in the only begotten Son of God.
9. What is the full and definitive stage of God's Revelation?
The full and definitive stage of God’s revelation is accomplished in his Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the mediator and fullness of Revelation. He, being the only-begotten Son of God made man, is the perfect and definitive Word of the Father. In the sending of the Son and the gift of the Spirit, Revelation is now fully complete, although the faith of the Church must gradually grasp its full significance over the course of centuries.
The Transmission of Divine Revelation
11. Why and in what way is divine revelation transmitted?God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4), that is, of Jesus Christ. For this reason, Christ must be proclaimed to all according to his own command, “Go forth and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19). And this is brought about by Apostolic Tradition.
12. What is Apostolic Tradition?
Apostolic Tradition is the transmission of the message of Christ, brought about from the very beginnings of Christianity by means of preaching, bearing witness, institutions, worship, and inspired writings. The apostles transmitted all they received from Christ and learned from the Holy Spirit to their successors, the bishops, and through them to all generations until the end of the world.
13. In what ways does Apostolic Tradition occur?
Apostolic Tradition occurs in two ways: through the living transmission of the word of God (also simply called Tradition) and through Sacred Scripture which is the same proclamation of salvation in written form.
14. What is the relationship between Tradition and Sacred Scripture?
Tradition and Sacred Scripture are bound closely together and communicate one with the other. Each of them makes present and fruitful in the Church the mystery of Christ. They flow out of the same divine well-spring and together make up one sacred deposit of faith from which the Church derives her certainty about revelation.
17. What is the relationship between Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium?
Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium are so closely united with each other that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way, under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls. [end quotation]
Hope this helps.
Just a note to remind all that there is a link to the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the right hand sidebar of this blog under, "Useful Links". If you're interested, you can explore further the citations we've included in this post.
ReplyDeleteOne thing, Kyle and Jared, that would possibly make it easier for some that are reading this is for you to restate in your own words the citations that are full of theological jargon. Unless they have studied theological works, some of the terms, etc., will not be familiar to them, since they are not scriptural terms (one example is "hypostatic union"; a fine term, but not a scriptural term, though it is used to describe a scriptural doctrine, etc.). One characteristic of the Roman Catholic institution during the dark ages was to keep the scriptures out of the language of the people. There is a "language" of theology and philosophy with terms that should be translated into the "vulgar tongue" if you want your posts to be truly helpful to the readers' understanding. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment, Mike.
ReplyDeleteCertainly we want our posts to be understood. Besides the deep, mysterious, and truly incomprehensible nature of the subject matter in view, we thought the citations from the Compendium of the Catechism were rather clear, straightforward, and defined. Were there any terms you saw in the post other than "hypostatic union" that could pose a problem for your or other viewers' understanding? If so, we'd like to know so we can further define.
Furthermore, you make the assertion (not to the point of the post) that the Roman Catholic Church kept the scriptures out of the language of the people during the "dark" ages. We understand that this is a presupposition you hold, but as far as we are concerned, this is an unfounded assertion. Do you wish to bring forth evidence for the claim?
Besides this, what are your thoughts about the content of the post itself? If you disagree with the definition of the Word of God which we have presented, in what way and why?
Hi Mike, I just wanted to clarify one point from my last response. When I noted that your assertion was "not to the point of the post", I meant it as just a matter of fact, not in a derogatory way. I know that written communications can often be read differently than they are intended and after rereading it again once it was posted, I realized that the direct way in which I wrote that phrase could perhaps be read as a jab at you personally. This is not at all how I intended it and even if you did not see it that way, I would rather be open and extra clear than to risk this kind of misunderstanding. Thanks again for your comments. We will be working hard to take them into consideration.
ReplyDelete