Christ's Acquired Knowledge

There is in Christ’s human soul every perfectionconnatural to the soul, including an active intellect which renders things understandable, and an intellect properly so called which grasps these under-standables and holds themas knowledge. Hence there is acquired knowledge in Christ as man. It is perfect knowledge in its kind; that is, Christ knows by his acquired knowledge whatever can be humanly known through the service of the intellect.

Christ as God is almighty. Our point of inquiry here has to do with Christ as man. We ask about the power of Christ’s soul, which is a creature, and not almighty in itself.

Now, the human intellect does not grasp all thingsintelligible in a single instant, but goes on and on, by the process called abstraction, forming idea after idea. Thus human acquired knowledge increases. And so of Christ it is said in scripture (Luke 2:52), that he “advanced in wisdom . ..”

The soul of Christ has not of itself the power to change a creature of one kind into something of another essential kind. Of course, the soul of Christ as instrument of the Godhead can perform all miracles.

Yet Christ was not a pupil; he was not really taught by any human being. He says (John 18:37): “For this was I born,and for this came I into the world, that I should give testimony tothe truth.” It was not suitable to the dignity of him who came to teach truth, that he should himself be taught by those he came to instruct.

Christ’s human soul had not an almighty power over his own body. For such things as the health and growth of the body are not managed by a man’s own reason and will; neither were these things subject to Christ’s human reason and will.

Thus Christ as man was not taught by men. Neither was he taught by angels. For his acquired knowledge, the angelicministry is not required. For his infused knowledge, the hypostaticunion fills his human soul with knowledge without the mediation of angels or any creatures. Christ’s human acquired knowledge is acquired and possessed as a perfection of his perfect human nature,not as a necessity for his information.

Yet in the carrying out of his will, the soul of Christ had a real almightiness. For he had such wisdom that he would not will to do what was not subject to his human power as such, and he had such perfection that he actually willed all that God’s power was to effect in him, for instance, his Resurrection. Thus the human soul of Christ had omnipotence in the execution of his human will, in the sense that what his will actually decreed couldnot but come to pass.