The 60-Second Aquinas
Lesson
God from God...
Aquinas Lesson for August 4, 1998
To say that Jesus is the Word as product of God is not quite accurate.
Jesus is not Word in the same way that we think of words on paper. Those are products of our intellect and "a sort of accidental accretion" (Compendium Ch. 42).
Furthermore, to insinuate that Jesus as Word is a product of God is to insinuate that at one time God did not understand Himself, since we discussed yesterday that it is God’s understanding of Himself that results in the Word. Yet, we know that God’s understanding is infinite and eternal.
Also, Jesus is not distinct from God in essence. Therefore, "there can be no distinction according to species, time, or nature" (ibid. Ch. 43). This is what is meant when we refer to the Son as "God from God, light from light, true God from true God" in our creed. It is an emphasis upon the lack of difference between God the Father and God the Son.
Finally, "begotten not made" is meant to explain that God did not conceive the Son in the same way that human children are conceived: "His Word proceeds from Him naturally, not in the way that things proceed otherwise than by natural origin" (ibid.).
Explanation of The 60-Second Aquinas Lesson
