Lectio 3
Lecture 3
Christus mortem destruxit
Christ’s destruction of death
15:20 Nunc autem Christus resurrexit a mortuis primitiae dormientium, [n. 926]
15:20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who sleep: [n. 926]
15:21 quoniam quidem per hominem mors, et per hominem resurrectio mortuorum. [n. 930]
15:21 For by a man came death: and by a man the resurrection of the dead. [n. 930]
15:22 Et sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, ita et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur. [n. 932]
15:22 And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive. [n. 932]
15:23 Unusquisque autem in suo ordine, primitiae Christus: deinde ii qui sunt Christi, qui in adventu ejus crediderunt. [n. 933]
15:23 But every one in his own order: the firstfruits, Christ: then they who are of Christ, who have believed in his coming. [n. 933]
15:24 Deinde finis: cum tradiderit regnum Deo et Patri, cum evacuaverit omnem principatum, et potestatem, et virtutem. [n. 936]
15:24 Afterwards the end: when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God and the Father: when he shall have brought to naught all principality and power and virtue. [n. 936]
15:25 Oportet autem illum regnare donec ponat omnes inimicos sub pedibus ejus. [n. 940]
15:25 For he must reign, until he has put all his enemies under his feet. [n. 940]
15:26 Novissima autem inimica destruetur mors: [n. 944]
15:26 And the enemy, death, shall be destroyed last: [n. 944]
15:27 omnia enim subjecit pedibus ejus. Cum autem dicat: Omnia subjecta sunt ei, sine dubio praeter eum qui subjecit ei omnia. [n. 949]
15:27 For he has put all things under his feet. And whereas he says: all things are put under him; undoubtedly, he is excepted, who put all things under him. [n. 949]
15:28 Cum autem subjecta fuerint illi omnia: tunc et ipse Filius subjectus erit ei, qui subjecit sibi omnia, ut sit Deus omnia in omnibus. [n. 950]
15:28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then the Son also himself shall be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. [n. 950]
926. Hic probat positam superiusconditionalem esse veram, scilicet si Christus resurrexit, mortui resurgunt.
926. Here he proves that the conditional statement above set forth is true, namely, if Christ arose, the dead will rise.
Et circa hoc tria facit.
In regard to this he does three things:
Primo ostendit quomodo se habeat resurrectio Christi ad resurrectionem aliorum;
first, he shows how Christ’s resurrection is related to that of others;
secundo ostendit ordinem resurrectionis, ibi unusquisque autem in suo ordine, etc.;
second, he shows the order of the resurrection, at but every one in his own order;
tertio ostendit finem resurrectionis, ibi deinde finis, et cetera.
third, he shows the end of the resurrection, at afterwards the end.
Circa primum duo facit.
In regard to the first he does two things:
Primo ostendit habitudinem resurrectionis Christi ad resurrectionem aliorum, per conditionalem praedictam, probans hoc;
first, he shows the relationship of Christ’s resurrection to that of others;
secundo probat ipsam habitudinem, ibi quoniam quidem, et cetera.
second, he proves this relationship, at for by a man.
927. Dicit ergo nunc, id est ex quo dicta inconvenientia sequuntur si Christus non resurrexit, ideo ad ipsa vitanda dicamus, quod Christus resurrexit. Hoc autem verum est, secundum quod Matth. ult. dicitur, et aliis locis Evangeliorum.
927. He says, therefore: now, i.e., inasmuch as the aforesaid incongruities follow, if Christ has not risen, then to avoid them, let us say: Christ is risen. This is true according to what is stated in the last chapter of Matthew and in other texts of the Gospels.
Sed resurrectionis Christi habitudo ita se habet ad resurrectionem aliorum, sicut primitiae fructuum ad sequentes fructus, quae excedunt alios fructus tempore et melioritate, seu dignitate; et ideo dicit quod resurrexit, non sicut alii, sed primitiae, id est primo tempore et dignitate. Apoc. I, 5: primogenitus mortuorum. Primitiae, dico, dormientium, id est, mortuorum qui in spe resurrectionis quiescunt.
But Christ’s resurrection is related to that of others as the first fruits to those that follow, for they exceed the latter in time and superiority or worth; therefore, he says: he is risen, not as the others, but as the firstfruits, i.e., first in time and dignity: the first born of the dead (Rev 1:5). The firstfruits, I say, of those who sleep, i.e., of the dead who rest in hope of the resurrection.
Ex hoc potest inferri conditionalis posita, quia, sicut dicimus et verum est, si Christus, qui est primitiae dormientium, resurrexit, ergo et alii dormientes.
From this can be inferred the conditional statement previously made, because we say and it is true, if Christ who is the firstfruits of those that sleep, arose, then also all others asleep.
928. Sed contrarium videtur, scilicet quod Christus non resurrexit primitiae dormientium, quia Lazarus fuit resuscitatus a Christo nondum passo, et aliqui prophetae suscitaverunt alios a mortuis, ut habetur in Veteri Testamento.
928. But something seems contrary to this, namely, that Christ did not arise the first fruits of those who sleep, because Lazarus had been raised by Christ not yet suffering, and some raised others from the dead, as it says in the Old Testament.
Ad hoc dicendum quod duplex est resurrectio. Una est ad vitam mortalem, et ad istam Lazarus et alii, qui suscitati fuerunt, resurrexerunt ante Christum. Alia ad vitam immortalem, et de hac loquitur hic Apostolus.
The answer is that resurrection is twofold: one is to mortal life, to which Lazarus and the others had been raised. The other is to immortal life, and it is about this that the Apostle speaks.
929. Sed contra Matth. XXVII, 52 dicitur, quod multa corpora sanctorum surrexerunt. Cum ergo hoc legatur ante Christi resurrectionem, et constet quod non resurrexerunt ad vitam immortalem, videtur quod adhuc restet quaestio prima.
929. But on the other hand it is said: many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised (Matt 27:52). Therefore, since this happened before the resurrection of Christ and it is obvious that they did not rise to an immortal life, it seems that the first question still remains.
Responsio. Dicendum est, quod hoc quod Matthaeus dicit de resurrectione illorum, dicit per anticipationem, quia licet dicatur in tractatu de passione, non tunc resurrexerunt, sed postquam Christus resurrexit.
I answer that what Matthew says about the resurrection of those souls, he says by anticipation, because although it is written in the tract on the passion, they did not rise then, but after Christ arose.
930. Quoniam quidem, et cetera. Hic probat habitudinem positam, scilicet quod Christus sit primitiae dormientium. Et
930. For by a man came death: and by a man the resurrection of the dead. Here he proves the relationship posited, namely, that Christ is the first fruits of them that sleep.
primo probat in generali,
First, he proves this in general;
secundo in speciali, ibi et sicut in Adam, et cetera.
second, in special, at and as in Adam all die.
931. Probat in generali tali ratione: Deus voluit reintegrare humanam naturam, sed humana natura corrupta est per hominem, quia mors intravit per hominem. Pertinebat ergo ad dignitatem humanae naturae, ut reintegraretur per hominem, hoc autem est ut reducatur ad vitam. Conveniens ergo fuit, sicut mors intravit per hominem, scilicet per Adam, ita resurrectio mortuorum fieret per hominem, scilicet per Christum. Rom. c. V, 17: si enim unius delicto, et cetera.
931. He proves it in a general way with the following reason: God willed to reintegrate human nature, which had been corrupted by man, because death entered through a man. Therefore, it pertained to the dignity of human nature that it be reintegrated by a man, but this is so that it be brought back to life. Therefore, it was fitting that just as death entered through a man, namely, Adam, so the resurrection of the dead be accomplished by a man, namely, Christ: if because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more they who receive abundance of grace and of the gift and of justice shall reign in life. (Rom 5:17).
932. Et sicut in Adam. Hic probat idem in speciali, dicens quod sicut in Adam omnes morimur morte corporali, ita et omnes vivificamur in Christo. Rom. V, 12: per unum hominem, et cetera.
932. And as in Adam. Here he proves the same in special, saying that as in Adam we all die a bodily death, so too we are all made alive in Christ: as sin came into the world through one man (Rom 5:12).
Et non dicit per Evam, quod videtur contra illud Eccli. XXV, 33: per illam omnes morimur. Dicendum quod hoc est per illam Evam, scilicet suggerentem, sed per Adam sicut causantem. Nam si solum Eva peccasset, peccatum originale non fuisset traductum in posteros.
He does not say through Eve, which seems contrary to Sirach: through her we all die (Sir 25:33). I answer that this is through Eve suggesting, but through Adam as cause. For if Eve alone had sinned, original sin would not have been passed on to their descendants.
Vivificabuntur, inquam, in Christo, scilicet boni et mali vita naturae, sed vita gratiae non nisi boni; sed tamen Apostolus loquitur hic de resurrectione ad vitam naturae, ad quam omnes vivificabuntur. Io. V, 26: sicut Pater habet vitam in semetipso, ita et Filio dedit vitam habere, id est vivificandi virtutem. Io. V, 28: omnes qui in monumentis sunt, et cetera.
All shall be made alive, I say, in Christ, namely, the good and the bad with the life of nature, but the good only with the life of grace. Yet the Apostle speaks here of a resurrection to a life of nature, to which all shall be made alive. As the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself (John 5:26), i.e., the power to grant life: all who are in the tombs will hear his voice (John 5:28).
933. Unusquisque autem in suo ordine, et cetera. Hic ostendit ordinem resurrectionis. Et
933. But every one in his own order. Here he shows the order of the resurrection.
primo insinuat ipsum ordinem;
First, he gives the order itself;
secundo manifestat id quod dixerat, ibi primitiae Christus, et cetera.
second, he exhibits what he had said, at the firstfruits, Christ.