Chapter 213 — That Christ had to be perfect in grace and in the wisdom of truth

As was mentioned in the preceding chapter, the humanity of Christ is related to his divinity as a sort of organ belonging to it. Now, the disposition and quality of organs are gauged chiefly by the purpose, though also by the dignity, of the person using them. Consequently, we are to esteem the quality of the human nature assumed by the Word of God in accord with these norms. The purpose the Word of God had in assuming human nature was the salvation and reparation of human nature. Therefore, Christ had to be of such excellence in his human nature that he could fittingly be the author of man’s salvation. But the salvation of man consists in the enjoyment of God, whereby man is beatified; and so Christ must have had in his human nature a perfect enjoyment of God. For the principle in any genus must be perfect. But enjoyment of God has a twofold aspect: namely, according to will and according to intellect. The will must adhere unreservedly to God by love, while the intellect must know God perfectly.

Perfect attachment of the will to God through love is brought about by grace, whereby man is justified, according to Romans 3:24: They are justified by his grace as a gift. For man is made just by union with God through love. Perfect knowledge of God is effected by the light of wisdom, which is the knowledge of divine truth. Therefore, the incarnate Word of God had to be perfect in grace and in the wisdom of truth. Hence we read in John 1:14: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.