The following quote by Ambrose is important because it is an ancient source for the concept that Christ suffered sufficiently for all, but efficaciously for the elect. This idea is much older than Lombard and Aquinas. Ambrose is quoted by John Davenant (Dissertation on the Death of Christ, in An Exposition of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians, 2:400) and others to argue for a dual aspect to Christ’s death.
"A certain creditor," it says, "had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty" [St. Luke 7:41]. 24. Who are those two debtors if not the two peoples, the one from the Jews, the other from the Gentiles, beholden to the Creditor of the heavenly treasure? It says, "The one owed five hundred pence, the other fifty" [St. Luke 7:41]. Extraordinary is that penny on which the King's image is written, which bears the imprint of the Emperor [cf. St. Mark 12:15–16]. To this Creditor we owe not material wealth, but assays of merits, accounts of virtues, the worth of which is measured by the weight of seriousness, the likeness of righteousness, the sound of confession. Woe is me if I do not have what I have received, truly, because only with difficulty can anyone pay off the whole debt to this Creditor; woe is me if I do not ask, "Remit my debt." For the Lord would not have taught us so to pray that we ask for our sins to be forgiven [cf. St. Matthew 6:12] if He had not known that some would only with difficulty be worthy debtors [cf. St. Luke 11:4]. 25. But which is the people which owes more if not we by whom more is believed? God's words were believed by them [cf. Romans 3:2], but His Virgin Birth by us. Ye have the talent [cf. St. Matthew 25:15], the Virgin Birth; ye have the hundredfold fruit of faith [cf. St. Matthew 13:8]. Emmanuel was believed, God with us [cf. St. Matthew 1:23]; the Cross, the Death, the Resurrection of the Lord were believed. Although Christ suffered for all, yet He suffered for us particularly, because He suffered for the Church [etsi christus pro omnibus passus est, pro nobis tamen specialiter passus est, quia pro ecclesia passus est]. Therefore, there is no doubt that he who has received more, owes more [cf. St. Luke 12:48]. And according to me, perhaps he who owed more offended more, but through the Lord's mercy, the case is changed, so that he who owed more loves more, if he nevertheless attains Grace. For he who gives it back possesses Grace, and he who possesses it repays, insofar as he possesses, for the possession consists in the repayment and the repayment in the possession. 26. And, therefore, since there is nothing which we can worthily repay to God—for what may we repay for the harm to the Flesh He assumed, what for the blows, what for the Cross, the Death, and the Burial? Woe is me if I have not loved! I dare to say that Peter did not repay and thereby loved the more; Paul did not repay—he, indeed, repaid death for death, but did not repay other debts, because he owed much. I hear himself saying, because he did not repay, "Who hath given to Him first, that he might be recompensed again?" [Romans 11:35]. Even if we were to repay cross for Cross, death for Death, do we repay that we possess all things from Him, and by Him, and in Him [cf. Romans 11:36]? Therefore, let us repay love for our debt, charity for the gift, grace for wealth; for he to whom more is given loves more [cf. St. Luke 7:42–43].Saint Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Holy Gospel According to Saint Luke, trans. Theodosia Tomkinson (Etna: Center for Traditionalist Orthodox Studies, 1998), 201–2. Credit to Dr. Curt Daniel for first bringing the above to my attention.
He [the devil] had brought the human race under the perpetual slavery of an inherited liability by that heavy debt which our improvident ancestor transmitted by inheritance to his posterity. But then the Lord Jesus came, He gave His life for the life of all, and shed His blood for the blood of all.Ambrose of Milan, The Letters of S. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, trans. H. Walford, A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church (London; Oxford; Cambridge: Oxford; James Parker and Co.; Rivingtons, 1881), 271–72; Letter 41.7 (The Brother to His Sister [To Marcellina]). Ambrose of Milan, “The Letters of St. Ambrose,” in St. Ambrose: Select Works and Letters, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. H. de Romestin, E. de Romestin, and H. T. F. Duckworth, vol. 10, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1896), 446; ep. 41.7. Also in Henry Bettenson, ed., The Later Christian Fathers: A Selection from the Writings of the Fathers from St. Cyril of Jerusalem to St. Leo the Great, trans. Henry Bettenson (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970), 181.
Another translation:
He [the devil] had reduced the human race to everlasting captivity under a heavy debt of inherited liability, which our forefather [Adam], being under debt, had transmitted by legacy to his posterity. The Lord Jesus came; He offered His death for the death of all; He poured out His blood for the blood of everyone.Saint Ambrose, Letters, trans. Sister Mary Melchoir Beyenka, O.P., FC 26 (New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc., 1954), 387; Letter 62 (41, Benedictine edition) To Marcellina.
(7.26) Let us look to what remains, “Why have you rejected me, and why go I sorrowful, while my enemy afflicts me and breaks my bones? They who trouble me have reproached me, while it is said to me day by day, ‘Where is your God?’ Why are you sorrowful, my soul?” [Ps. 41 (42).10–12] and so on. The first entreaty contains a complaint, because the possession of goods was being deferred whereas the benefit of them was already needed. The second entreaty arose because the coming of Christ, awaited eagerly by the wise, and proclaimed by the law, and promised by the prophets, was being postponed. The hearts of the just were burning with a greater impatience for that very reason, because they knew that He would come for the redemption of all men … yes, of the entirety of men, to open the way of virtue to them in the track of the Gospel, and to point out the paths of good works, even as He Himself said in Proverbs: “The Lord created me, the beginning of his ways” [Prov. 8:22 LXX].
26. Let us look at the rest. Why, he says, have you rejected me, and why do I go about sad, while my enemy afflicts me and breaks my bones? They who trouble me have reproached me, while it is said to me every day, ‘Where is your God?’ Why are you sad, my soul (Ps 41, 10-12)? and so on. The first appeal contains a complaint that goods were being deferred when their benefit were already needed. The second appeal arose because the coming of Christ, awaited eagerly by the wise, proclaimed by the law, and promised by the prophets, was being postponed. The hearts of the just were burning with a greater impatience, since they knew that he would come for the redemption of all – yes of everyone – to open the way of virtue to them through the Gospel [et eo inpatientius aestuabant corda iustorum, quoniam ad omnium redemptionem cognouerant esse uenturum – quoque uniuersorum, quibus euangelico], and to show the paths of good works, even as he said in Proverbs: The Lord created me, the beginning of his ways (Prou 8, 22).
Latin:
II.7. 26. Videamus cetera. Quare inquit me reppulisti et quare tristis incedo, dum adfligit me inimicus, confringit ossa mea? Exprobrauerunt mihi qui tribulant me, dum dicitur mihi cottidie: ubi est deus tuus? Quare tristis es, anima (Ps 41, 10–12)? et reliqua. Prima interpellatio querellam habuit, quod conperendinarentur bona, quorum iam fructus desiderabatur. Secunda interpellatio, quod expectatus prudentibus Christi differebatur aduentus, quem lex adnuntiauerat, quem prophetae pollicebantur, et eo inpatientius aestuabant corda iustorum, quoniam ad omnium redemptionem cognouerant esse uenturum – quoque uniuersorum, quibus euangelico tramite uiam uirtutis aperiret bonorumque operum semitas demonstraret, sicut ipse dixit in Prouerbiis: Dominus creauit me principium uiarum suarum (Prou 8, 22).Ambrose on Psalm 118/119:
57. The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy; teach me thy justifications. How is the earth full of the Lord’s mercy save through the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, which the prophet, foreseeing, celebrates as already accomplished? For it is the custom of the prophets, foreseeing things to come, that the things which are of the later age be remembered as already past. The earth, then, is full of the Lord’s mercy, because to all the remission of sins is given, the sun is bidden to rise upon all. And this sun rises daily upon all, but that mystic sun of justice has risen for all: he came for all, suffered for all, and rose again for all; and he suffered for this reason, that he might take away the sin of the world. But if anyone does not believe in Christ, he himself defrauds himself of the universal benefit, just as if anyone, by closing his windows, should shut out the rays of the sun, the sun is not for that reason not risen for all, because he has defrauded himself of its heat — but what is of the sun keeps its prerogative, what is of the imprudent man excludes from itself the common grace of light. Upon all is rain, and this too is reckoned to the divine mercy, because he rains upon the just and the unjust. Or surely it must be interpreted thus, that the earth is full of the divine mercy, because the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. He hath founded it upon the seas and prepared it upon the rivers. For through the Church the mercy of the Lord has been spread among all nations, and faith has been spread among all nations.Ambrose of Milan, “Sermon VIII. LITTERA ETH,” in Exposition of Psalm 118 [119]: Aleph–Tau, trans. Wilson Pruitt (Wroot Press, 2026), 177–78; italics original.
Latin:
57. Misericordiae tuae, domine, plena est terra; iustificationes tuas doce me. quomodo plena est terra misericordiae domini nisi per passionem domini nostri Iesu Christi, quam futuram praeuidens quasi praemissam propheta concelebrat? prophetis enim ea quae uentura sunt praeuidentibus moris est, ut quasi iam decursa memorentur quae posterioris aetatis sunt. plena est ergo terra misericordiae domini, quia omnibus data est remissio peccatorum, super omnes sol oriri iubetur. et hic quidem sol cotidie super omnes oritur, mysticus autem sol ille iustitiae omnibus ortus est: omnibus uenit, omnibus passus est et omnibus resurrexit, ideo autem passus est, ut tolleret peccatum mundi. si quis autem non credit in Christum, generali beneficio ipse se fraudat, ut, si quis clausis fenestris radios solis excludat, non ideo sol non ortus est omnibus, quia calore eius se ipse fraudauit, sed quod solis est, praerogatiuam suam seruat, quod inprudentis est, communis a se gratiam lucis excludit. super omnes pluuia est, et hoc misericordiae diuinae deputatur, quia pluit super iustos et iniustos. aut certe sic interpretandum, quod misericordiae diuinae plena sit terra, quia domini est terra et plenitudo eius. ipse super maria fundauit eam et super flumina praeparauit illam. etenim per ecclesiam in omnes gentes diffusa est misericordia domini, in omnes gentes diffusa est fides.From Ambrose’s De fide ad gratianum augustum libri quinque:
27. Great, therefore, is the mystery of Christ, before which even angels stood amazed and bewildered. For this cause, then, it is thy duty to worship Him, and, being a servant, thou oughtest not to detract from thy Lord. Ignorance thou mayest not plead, for to this end He came down, that thou mayest believe; if thou believest not, He has not come down for thee, has not suffered for thee. “If I had not come,” saith the Scripture, “and spoken with them, they would have no sin: but now have they no excuse for their sin. He that hateth Me, hateth My Father also.”6 Who, then, hates Christ, if not he who speaks to His dishonour?—for as it is love’s part to render, so it is hate’s to withdraw honour.7 He who hates, calls in question; he who loves, pays reverence.Ambrose of Milan, “Exposition of the Christian Faith,” in St. Ambrose: Select Works and Letters, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. H. de Romestin, E. de Romestin, and H. T. F. Duckworth, vol. 10, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1896), 265; De fide, 4.2.27.
_______________
6 S. John 15:22, 23.
7 Orig. “derogare.” Derogare was a Roman law-term, meaning to repeal a law in part, to restrict or modify it—hence it came to be used generally of diminishing or taking away from anything already established.
De paradisio:
(39) Possible objections on the part of the Gentiles who do not admit this evidence stand in need of a response. Since the Gentiles demand a rational explanation, here is the reason why the Son of God either gave a command to one who is going to disobey it or has chosen one who is going to betray Him. The Lord Jesus came to save all sinners [Cf. Luke 19:10]. He was bound to show concern even for the wicked. Accordingly, He was bound not to disregard one who was to betray Him. He wished that all might take note that in the choice even of His betrayer He was offering a sign for the salvation of all of us. No injury was done to Adam in that he received a command, or to Judas because he was chosen. God did not lay it down as a necessary consequence that one should disobey and the other should betray Him. Both could have abstained from sin if they had guarded what they had received. Hence, although He knew that all the Jews would not believe, He stated: ‘I have not come except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ [Matt. 15:24] The fault is, therefore, not in the one issuing the command; the sin is rather in the one who disobeys. God’s intent was this: He wanted to show to everyone that He willed to give freedom to all mankind. I do not mean to maintain that He did not know of the disobedience to come. Rather, I contend that He did know, but that He should not for that reason be subject to reproach for a betrayer who met death. God should not be accused of being the cause why both lapsed. In fact, both stand convicted and condemned, because one received a command not to fall into sin, and the other was enrolled among the Apostles in order that he, as the result of kindness, might change his intention to betray.Ambrose of Milan, Hexameron, Paradise, and Cain and Abel, trans. John J. Savage, vol. 42 of The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1961), 316–17; De paradisio 8.39.
De Cain et Abel:
(11) Our price is the blood of Christ. Hence the Apostle Peter says: ‘Not with gold or silver you were redeemed, but with the precious blood.’ And Paul says: ‘You have been bought with a price. Do not become the slaves of men’ [1 Peter 1:18; 1 Cor. 7:23]. Therefore, not without reason did they marvel in the Gospel on seeing the Lord Jesus sitting on a colt, because the race of the Gentiles is to Christ like a victim which, according to the Law, is considered to be unclean. Hence we read in the Scriptures that the Levites redeemed them [Cf. Exod. 13:13]. In this way they would be able by the sanctity of their lives and by their prayers to take away the sins of their people. Here in the figure of the Lamb we have the true Levite who was to come and preside over the mysteries. By His own Passion He would take away the sins of the world [Cf. John 1:29]. The word ‘Levite’ means ‘raised up for me’ or ‘on me he is light.’ The word ‘Levite’ bears witness to a perfection in virtue by which the people attain holiness. He, therefore, is the expected who was born of a virgin and who came for my salvation and for the salvation of the entire world. For me He was sacrificed; for me He tasted death; and for me, too, He rose from the dead. In Him has the redemption of all men been undertaken; in Him is their resurrection. He is the true Levite. We, His Levites, He would bring closer to God so that we might pray to Him unceasingly, hope for salvation from Him, shun all worldly affairs, and finally be numbered among the elect, as it is written: ‘O Lord, possess us’ [Exod. 34:9]. Then alone is found true possession when we are not subject to the temptations of life and when we bring forth perfect fruit for all time. The Levite is one who redeems, because a man of wisdom redeems the man who is weak and foolish. He is like a physician who revives the spirit of his helpless patient. In imitation of that Physician who came down from heaven, he assuages the convalescent with healing words of wisdom, in order to point out to men the ways of wisdom and to reveal the paths of wisdom to little ones [Cf. Ps. 18:8; Matt. 11:25]. He perceived that those who suffer cannot be healed without a remedy. For this reason He bestowed medicine on the sick and by His assistance made health available to all, so that whoever died could ascribe to himself the real causes of his death. That man was unwilling to be cured, although he had a remedy at hand which could effect his escape from death. The mercy of God has been made manifest to all. Those who perish, therefore, perish through their own negligence, whereas those who are saved are freed by the judgment of God, who wishes all men to be saved and to come to the recognition of truth [Cf. John 3:16–21; Luke 19:10]. Hence, if Sodom had fifty just men, it would not have been destroyed. If it had ten just men, Sodom would have been saved [Cf. Gen. 18:24–32], because a declaration of the remission of sin would have rescued their souls from servitude, and the plenitude of perfect knowledge would not have allowed their hearts to be consumed in the devouring flames of lust.Ambrose of Milan, Hexameron, Paradise, and Cain and Abel, trans. John J. Savage, vol. 42 of The Fathers of the Church (Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 1961), 411–13; De Cain et Abel 2.3.11.
Bio:
Wiki
Wiki
No comments:
Post a Comment