50
By natural reason, man can know God with certainty, on the basis of his works.
But there is another order of knowledge, which man cannot possibly arrive at by
his own powers: the order of divine Revelation.1 ( Cf. Dei Filius DS 3015.) Through an utterly free
decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by
revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in
Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending
us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.
ARTICLE 1: THE
REVELATION OF GOD
I.
God Reveals His "Plan of Loving Goodness"
51
"It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make
known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the
Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus
become sharers in the divine nature."2 (DV 2; cf. ⇒ Eph 1:9; ⇒ 2:18; ⇒ 2 Pt 1:4)
52
God, who "dwells in unapproachable light", wants to communicate his
own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his
sons in his only-begotten Son.3 (I Tim 6:16, cf. ⇒ Eph 1:4-5.) By revealing himself God wishes to make them
capable of responding to him, and of knowing him and of loving him far beyond
their own natural capacity.
53
The divine plan of Revelation is realized simultaneously "by deeds and
words which are intrinsically bound up with each other"4 (DV 2. ) and shed light on
each other. It involves a specific divine pedagogy: God communicates himself
to man gradually. He prepares him to welcome by stages the supernatural The revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the incarnate
Word, Jesus Christ.
St.
Irenaeus of Lyons repeatedly speaks of this divine pedagogy using the image of
God and man becoming accustomed to one another: the Word of God dwelt in the man
and became the Son of man in order to accustom man to perceive God and to
accustom God to dwell in man, according to the Father's pleasure.5
II.
The Stages of Revelation
In
the beginning God makes himself known
54
"God, who creates and conserves all things by his Word, provides men with
constant evidence of himself in created realities. and furthermore, wishing to
open up the way to heavenly salvation - he manifested himself to our first
parents from the very beginning."6 (DV 3; cf. ⇒ Jn 1:3; ⇒ Rom 1:19-20) He invited them to intimate communion
with himself and clothed them with resplendent grace and justice.
55
This revelation was not broken off by our first parents' sin. "After the
fall, (God) buoyed them up with the hope of salvation, by promising redemption;
and he has never ceased to show his solicitude for the human race. For he
wishes to give eternal life to all those who seek salvation by patience in
well-doing."7
Even
when he disobeyed you and lost your friendship you did not abandon him to the
power of death. . . Again and again you offered a covenant to man.8
The
covenant with Noah
56
After the unity of the human race was shattered by sin God at once sought to
save humanity part by part. the covenant with Noah after the flood gives
expression to the principle of the divine economy toward the
"nations", in other words, towards men grouped "in their lands,
each with (its) own language, by their families, in their nations".9
57
This state of division into many nations, each entrusted by divine providence
to the guardianship of angels, is at once cosmic, social and religious. It is
intended to limit the pride of fallen humanity10 (Cf. ⇒ Acts 17:26-27; ⇒ Dt 4:19; Dt (LXX) 32:8.) united only in its perverse
ambition to forge its own unity as at Babel.11 (Cf. ⇒ Wis 10:5;⇒ Gen 11:4-6 ) But, because of sin, both
polytheism and the idolatry of the nation and of its rulers constantly threaten
this provisional economy with the perversion of paganism.12 ( Cf. ⇒ Rom 1:18-25.)
58
The covenant with Noah remains in force during the times of the Gentiles, until
the universal proclamation of the Gospel.13 (Cf. ⇒ Gen 9:16; ⇒ Lk 21:24; DV 3. ) The Bible venerates several great
figures among the Gentiles: Abel the just, the king-priest Melchisedek - a
figure of Christ - and the upright "Noah, Daniel, and Job".14 (Cf. ⇒ Gen 14:18; ⇒ Heb 7:3; ⇒ Ezek 14:14. ) Scripture thus expresses the heights of sanctity that can be reached by those
who live according to the covenant of Noah, waiting for Christ to "gather
into one the children of God who have scattered abroad".15 ( Jn 11:52)
God
chooses Abraham
59
In order to gather together scattered humanity, God calls Abram from his
country, his kindred and his father's house,16 (Gen 12:1 ) and makes him Abraham, that is,
"the father of a multitude of nations". "In you, all the nations
of the earth shall be blessed."17 (Gen 17:5; 12:3 (LXX); cf. ⇒ Gal 3:8 )
60
The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee of the promise made to
the patriarchs, the chosen people, called to prepare for that day when God
would gather all his children into the unity of the Church.18 (Cf. ⇒ Rom 11:28; ⇒ Jn 11:52; ⇒ 10:16.) They would be the
root on to which the Gentiles would be grafted, once they came to believe.19 (Cf. ⇒ Rom 11:17-18, ⇒ 24.)
61
The patriarchs, prophets and certain other Old Testament figures have been and
always will be honored as saints in all the Church's liturgical traditions.
God
forms his people Israel
62
After the patriarchs, God formed Israel as his people by freeing them from
slavery in Egypt. He established with them the covenant of Mount Sinai and,
through Moses, gave them his law so that they would recognize him and serve him
as the one living and true God, the provident Father and just judge, and so
that they would look for the promised Saviour.20
63 Israel is the priestly people of God, "called by the name of the LORD", and "the first to hear the word of God",21 (Dt 28: 10; Roman Missal, Good i Friday, General Intercession VI; Ex 19:6 ) The people of "elder brethren" in the faith of Abraham.
63 Israel is the priestly people of God, "called by the name of the LORD", and "the first to hear the word of God",21 (Dt 28: 10; Roman Missal, Good i Friday, General Intercession VI; Ex 19:6 ) The people of "elder brethren" in the faith of Abraham.
64 Through the prophets, God forms his people in the hope of salvation, in the expectation of a new and everlasting Covenant intended for all, to be written on their hearts.22 (Is 2:2-4; ⇒ Jer 31:31-34; ⇒ Heb 10:16 ) The prophets proclaim a radical redemption of the People of God, purification from all their infidelities, a salvation which will include all the nations.23 (Ezek 36; ⇒ Is 49:5-6; ⇒ 53:11 ) Above all, the poor and humble of the Lord will bear this hope. Such holy women as Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Judith, and Esther kept alive the hope of Israel's salvation. the purest figure among them is Mary.24
III.
Christ Jesus -- "Mediator and Fullness of All Revelation"25
God
has said everything in his Word
65
"In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son."26 (Heb 1:1-2 ) Christ, the Son of
God made man, is the Father's one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him he
has said everything; there will be no other word than this one. St. John of the
Cross, among others, commented strikingly on Hebrews 1:1-2:
In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word - and he has no more to say. . . because what he spoke before to the prophets in parts, he has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son. Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty.27
There
will be no further Revelation
66
"The Christian economy, therefore, since it is new and definitive
Covenant, will never pass away; and no new public revelation is to be expected
before the glorious manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ."28 (DV 4; cf. ⇒ I Tim 6:14; ⇒ Titus 2:13 ) Yet even if
Revelation is already complete, it has not been made completely explicit; it
remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp its full significance over the centuries.
67
Throughout the ages, there have been so-called "private" revelations,
some of which have been recognized by the authority of the Church. They do not
belong, however, to the deposit of faith. It is not their role to improve or
complete Christ's definitive Revelation, but to help live more fully by it in a
certain period of history. Guided by the Magisterium of the Church, the sensus
fidelium knows how to discern and welcome in these revelations whatever
constitutes an authentic call of Christ or his saints to the Church.
Christian
faith cannot accept "revelations" that claim to surpass or correct
the Revelation of which Christ is the fulfillment, as is the case in certain
nonChristian religions and also in certain recent sects which base themselves
on such "revelations".
IN
BRIEF
68
By love, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. He has thus
provided the definitive, superabundant answer to the questions that man asks
himself about the meaning and purpose of his life.
69
God has revealed himself to man by gradually communicating his own mystery in
deeds and in words.
70
Beyond the witness to himself that God gives in created things, he manifested
himself to our first parents, spoke to them and, after the fall, promised them
salvation (cf ⇒
Gen 3:15) and offered them his covenant.
71
God made an everlasting covenant with Noah and with all living beings (cf ⇒ Gen 9:16). It will
remain in force as long as the world lasts.
72
God chose Abraham and made a covenant with him and his descendants. By the
covenant God formed his people and revealed his law to them through Moses.
Through the prophets, he prepared them to accept the salvation destined for all
humanity.
73
God has revealed himself fully by sending his own Son, in whom he has
established his covenant for ever. the Son is his Father's definitive Word; so
there will be no further Revelation after him.
GO TO:
CHAPTER TWO GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
GO TO:
CHAPTER TWO GOD COMES TO MEET MAN
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