938 A general reason can be given why God does not draw all who are turned away from him, but certain ones, even though all are equally turned away. The reason is so that the order of divine justice may appear and shine forth in those who are not drawn, while the immensity of the divine mercy may appear and shine in those who are drawn. But as to why in particular he draws this person and does not draw that person, there is no reason except the pleasure of the divine will. So Augustine says: “Whom he draws and whom he does not draw, why he draws one and does not draw another, do not desire to judge if you do not wish to err. But accept and understand: If you are not yet drawn, then pray that you may be drawn.” We can illustrate this by an example. One can give as the reason why a builder puts some stones at the bottom, and others at the top and sides, that it is the arrangement of the house, whose completion requires this. But why he puts these particular stones here, and those over there, this depends on his mere will. Thus it is that the prime reason for the arrangement is referred to the will of the builder. So God, for the completion of the universe, draws certain ones in order that his mercy may appear in them; and others he does not draw in order that his justice may be shown in them. But that he draws these and does not draw those, depends on the pleasure of his will. In the same way, the reason why in his Church he made some apostles, some confessors, and others martyrs, is for the beauty and completion of the Church. But why he made Peter an apostle, and Stephen a martyr, and Nicholas a confessor, the only reason is his will. We are now clear on the limitations of our human ability, and the assistance given to us by divine help.
939 He follows with the end and fruit of this help when he says, And I will raise him up on the last day, even as man; for we obtain the fruit of the resurrection through those things which Christ did in his flesh: “For as death came through a man, so the resurrection of the dead has come through a man” (1 Cor 15:21). So I , as man, will raise him up, not only to a natural life, but even to the life of glory; and this on the last day. For the Catholic Faith teaches that the world will be made new: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (Rv 21:1), and that among the changes accompanying this renewal we believe that the motion of the heavens will stop, and consequently, time. “And the angel I saw standing on the sea and on the land, raised his hand to heaven” (Rv 10:5), and then it says that he swore that “time will be no more” (v 6). Since at the resurrection time will stop, so also will night and day, according to “There will be one day, known to the Lord, not day and night” (Zec 14:7). This is the reason he says, And I will raise him up on the last day.
940 As to the question why the motion of the heavens and time itself will continue until then, and not end before or after, we should note that whatever exists for something else is differently disposed according to the different states of that for which it exists. But all physical things have been made for man; consequently, they should be disposed according to the different states of man. So, because the state of incorruptibility will begin in men when they arise—according to “What is mortal will put on incorruption,” as it says in 1 Corinthians (15:54)—the corruption of things will also stop then. Consequently, the motion of the heavens, which is the cause of the generation and corruption of material things, will stop. “Creation itself will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the children of God” (Rom 8:21).
So, it is clear that the Father must draw us if we are to have faith.
941 Then (v 45), he considers the way we are drawn. First, he states the way; secondly, its effectiveness (v 45b); and thirdly, he excludes a certain way of being drawn (v 46).
942 The manner in which we are drawn is appropriate, for God draws us by revealing and teaching; and this is what he says: It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Bede says that this comes from Joel. But it does not seem to be there explicitly, although there is something like it in: “O children of Zion, rejoice and be joyful in the Lord your God, because he will give you a teacher of justice” (JI 2:23). Again, according to Bede, he says, in the prophets, so that we might understand that the same meaning can be gathered from various statements of the prophets. But it is Isaiah who seems to state this more explicitly: “All your children will be taught by the Lord” (is 54:13). We also read: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they will feed you with knowledge and doctrine” (Jer 3:15).
943 They shall all be taught by God, can be understood in three ways. In one way, so that all stands for all the people in the world; in another way, so that it stands for all who are in the Church of Christ, and in a third way, so it means all who will be in the kingdom of heaven.
If we understand it in the first way, it does not seem to be true, for he immediately adds, Every one who has heard the Father and has learned, comes to me. Therefore, if every one in the world is taught [by God], then every one will come to Christ. But this is false, for not every one has faith. There are three answers to this. First, one could say, as Chrysostorn does, that he is speaking of the majority: all, i.e., very many shall be taught, just as we find in Matthew: “Many will come from the East and the West” (Mt 8:11). Secondly, it could mean, all, so far as God is concerned, shall be taught, but if some are not taught, that is due to themselves. For the sun, on its part, shines on all, but some are unable to see it if they close their eyes, or are blind. From this point of view, the Apostle says: “He desires the salvation of all men, and that all come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). Thirdly, we could say, with Augustine, that we must make a restricted application, so that They shall all be taught by God, means that all who are taught, are taught by God. It is just as we might speak of a teacher of the liberal arts who is working in a city: he alone teaches all the boys of the city, because no one there is taught by anyone else. It is in this sense that it was said above: “He was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world” (1:9).
944 If we explain these words as referring to those who are gathered into the Church, it says: They shall all, all who are in the Church, be taught by God. For we read: “All your children will be taught by the Lord” (Is 54:13). This shows the sublimity of the Christian faith, which does not depend on human teachings, but on the teaching of God. For the teaching of the Old Testament was given through the prophets; but the teaching of the New Testament is given through the Son of God himself. “In many and various ways (i.e., in the Old Testament) God spoke to our fathers through the prophets; in these days he has spoken to us in his Son” (Heb 1:1); and again in (2:3): “It was first announced by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” Thus, all who are in the Church are taught, not by the apostles nor by the prophets, but by God himself. Further, according to Augustine, what we are taught by men is from God, who teaches from within: “You have one teacher, the Christ” (Mt 23:10). For understanding, which we especially need for such teaching, is from God.
945 If we explain these words as applying to those who are in the kingdom of heaven, then They shall all be taught by God, because they will see his essence without any intermediary: “We shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2).
946 This drawing by the Father is most effective, because, Every one who has heard the Father and has learned, comes to me. Here he mentions two things: first, what relates to a gift of God, when he says, has heard, that is, through God, who reveals; the other relates to a free judgment, when he says, and has learned, that is, by an assent. These two are necessary for every teaching of faith. Every one who has heard the Father, teaching and making known, and has learned, by giving assent, comes to me.
He comes in three ways: through a knowledge of the truth; through the affection of love; and through imitative action. And in each way it is necessary that one hear and learn. The one who comes through a knowledge of the truth must hear, when God speaks within: “I will hear what the Lord God will speak within me” (Ps 84:9); and he must learn, through affection, as was said. The one who comes through love and desire—“If any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink” (below 7:37)—must hear the word of the Father and grasp it, in order to learn and be moved in his affections. For that person learns the word who grasps it according to the meaning of the speaker. But the Word of the Father breathes forth love. Therefore, the one who grasps it with eager love, learns. “Wisdom goes into holy souls, and makes them prophets and friends of God” (Wis 7:27). One comes to Christ through imitative action, according to: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you” (Mt 11:28). And whoever learns even in this way comes to Christ: for as the conclusion is to things knowable, so is action to things performable. Now whoever learns perfectly in the sciences arrives at the conclusion; therefore, as regards things that are performable, whoever learns the words perfectly arrives at the right action: “The Lord has opened my ear; and I do not resist” (Is 50:5).
947 To correct the thought that some might have that every one will hear and learn from the Father through a vision, he adds: Not that any one has seen the Father, that is, a person living in this life does not see the Father in his essence, according to: “Man will not see me and live” (Ex 33:20), except the one, that is the Son, who is from God—he has seen the Father, through his essence. Or, Not that any one has seen the Father, with a comprehensive vision: neither man nor angel has ever seen or can see in this way; except the one who is from God, i.e., the Son: “No one knows the Father except the Son” (Mt 11:27).
The reason for this, of course, is that all vision or knowledge comes about through a likeness: creatures have a knowledge of God according to the way they have a likeness to him. Thus the philosophers say that the intelligences know the First Cause according to this likeness which they have to it. Now every creature possesses some likeness to God, but it is infinitely distant from a likeness to his nature, and so no creature can know him perfectly and totally, as he is in his own nature. The Son, however, because he has received the entire nature of the Father perfectly, through an eternal generation, sees and comprehends totally.
948 Note how the words used are appropriate: for above, when he was speaking of the knowledge others have, he used the word “heard”; but now, in speaking of the Son’s knowledge, he uses the word “seen,” for knowledge which comes through seeing is direct and open, while that which comes through hearing comes through one who has seen. And so we have received the knowledge we have about the Father from the Son, who saw him. Thus, no one can know the Father except through Christ, who makes him known; and no one can come to the Son unless he has heard from the Father, who makes the Son known.
LECTURE 6
47 “Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes in me has eternal life. 48 1 am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate manna in the desert, and they are dead. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that if anyone eats of this [bread] he will not die. 51 I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. 52 If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread which I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”
949 After our Lord quieted the grumbling of the Jews, he now clears up the doubt they had because of his saying, “I am the bread that has come down from heaven.” he intends to show here that this is true. This is the way he reasons: The bread which gives life to the world descended from heaven; but I am the bread that gives life to the world: therefore, I am the bread which descended from heaven. He does three things concerning this. First, he presents the minor premise of his reasoning, that is, I am the bread of life. In the second place, he gives the major premise, that is, that the bread that descended from heaven ought to give life (v 49). Thirdly, we have the conclusion (v 51). As to the first he does two things. First, he states his point; secondly, he expresses it as practically proved (v 48).
950 His intention is to show that he is the bread of life. Bread is life-giving insofar as it is taken. Now one who believes in Christ takes him within himself, according to: “Christ dwells in our hearts through faith” (Eph 3:17). Therefore, if he who believes in Christ has life, it is clear that he is brought to life by eating this bread. Thus, this bread is the bread of life. And this is what he says: Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes in me, with a faith made living by love, which not only perfects the intellect but the affections as well (for we do not tend to the things we believe in unless we love them), has eternal life.
Now Christ is within us in two ways: in our intellect through faith, so far as it is faith; and in our affections through love, which informs or gives life to our faith: “He who abides in love, abides in God, and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16). So he who believes in Christ so that he tends to him, possesses Christ in his affections and in his intellect. And if we add that Christ is eternal life, as stated in “that we may be in his true Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (1 Jn 5:20), and in “In him was life” (above 1:4), we can infer that whoever believes in Christ has eternal life. He has it, I say, in its cause and in hope, and he will have it at some time in reality.
951 Having stated his position, he expresses it as, I am the bread of life, which gives life, as clearly follows from the above. We read of this bread: “The bread of Asher will be rich, he will furnish choice morsels,” of eternal life, “to kings” (Gn 49:20).
952 Then when he says, Your fathers ate manna in the desert, and they are dead, he gives the major premise, namely, the bread that descended from heaven ought to have the effect of giving life. First, he explains this; secondly, he draws his point (v 50).
953 He explains his meaning through a contrasting situation. It was said above (909) that Moses gave the Jews bread from heaven, in the sense of from the air. But bread that does not come from the true heaven cannot give adequate life. Therefore, it is proper to the heavenly bread to give life. So, the bread given by Moses, in which you take pride, does not give life. And he proves this when he says, Your fathers ate manna in the desert, and they are dead.
In this statement he first reproaches them for their faults, when he says, Your fathers, whose sons you are, not only according to the flesh, but also by imitating their actions, because you are grumblers just as “they grumbled in their tents” (Ps 105:25); this was why he said to them: “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers,” as we read in Matthew (23:32). As Augustine says, this people is said to have offended God in no matter more than by grumbling against God.
Secondly, he mentions for how short a time this was done, saying, in the desert: for they were not given manna for a long period of time; and they had it only while in the desert, and not when they entered the promised land (Jos 5). But the other bread [from the true heaven] preserves and nourishes one forever. Thirdly, he states an inadequacy in that bread, that is, it did not preserve life without end; so he says, and they are dead. For we read in Joshua (c 5) that all who grumbled, except Joshua and Caleb, died in the desert. This was the reason for the second circumcision, as we see here, because all who had left Egypt died in the desert.