The Son of God pervades the Whole of Reality – St Athanasius on the Word

Saint Athanasius rightfully taught us that the Word/Son of the Father is the rational principle that holds the entire created universe together. For this reason, the Word cannot be created. He stands over creation from all eternity.

Check out this profound insight from Saint Athanasius about the relationship between the Word of the Father and the created universe:

He is God, the living and creative God of the universe, the Word of the good God, who is God in his own right. The Word is different from all created things: he is the unique Word belonging only to the good Father. This is the Word that created this whole world and enlightens it by his loving wisdom. He who is the good Word of the good Father produced the order in all creation, joining opposites together, and forming from them one harmonious sound. He is God, one and only-begotten, who proceeds in goodness from the Father as from the fountain of goodness, and gives order, direction and unity to creation. (Discourse Against the Pagans)

Consider the most complicated mathematical problems, the rate of gravity, the structure of DNA sequences, the speed of light, the chemical compounds of substances, the expanding universe, etc. All these things are designed, controlled, measured, and governed constantly by the divine Word of God.

Even before Christ entered the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, He was perfectly guiding and controlling the universe like a conductor over all reality.

But the Son of God does not simply govern over. He is not merely a conductor of trillion piece orchestra. He is also intimately present in every person, instrument, note, chord, and sound. He lives and moves in all of creation as the rational binding principle of everything. Here is Saint Athanasius again:

The almighty and most holy Word of the Father pervades the whole of reality, everywhere unfolding his power and shining on all things visible and invisible. He sustains it all and binds it all together in himself. He leaves nothing devoid of his power but gives life and keeps it in being throughout all of creation and in each individual creature.

This is not “pantheism,” which is the heresy that “God is everything,” or that “my pencil is God, and my table is God, and that tree is God.”

Rather, this is the Christian mystery of Word of God as the measure, ratio, and animator of every single created element and force in the universe.

While we enjoy our lives and our salvation through the Son of God Jesus Christ, He is also tending to that black hole light years away, and perfectly spinning the 69 (known) moons of Jupiter. He delights in the presence of the Father as He builds and holds the galaxies (and the molecular structure of your lunch) together.

We Christians rightly focus on the historical Jesus Christ as the Crucified Rabbi who died and resurrected for our sins, but we should also follow the awe of Saint Athanasius in seeing Him as the personal order of everything that ever was, is now, and ever shall be.

To learn more about the Church Fathers (and especially Saint Athanasius), check out our Curriculum on Patristics.

Ascension of Christ as Davidic Cloud Monarch

Son of Man with the Clouds of Heaven

Many of us begin with an incorrect (even heretical) understanding of the Ascension of Christ. I’ve heard it said that Christ eventually “gave up” the use His body, as if he parked it in a garage with the idea of perhaps using His body again at the end of time to judge the living and dead.

Today we will discover the importance in Catholic orthodoxy of the presence of “the cloud” at the Ascension of Christ:

The ascension of Christ is described in Luke’s Gospel and referred to frequently in John. Christ gathers the 11 Apostles at the Mount of Olives where He commands them to remain in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit:

And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

We receive more details in Luke’s Acts 1:8-11:

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Perhaps the most important detail here is the description of a “cloud” taking Him out of sight.

Christ did not float up into the sky like a balloon let loose by a child until it disappeared as a dot in the sky too far way to see. Rather, the Body of Christ was taken by a cloud.

Saint Peter perceives the Davidic importance of this event in Acts 2:32-36 when he cites the royal Davidic “Lord said to my Lord” Psalm 110:

The Lord says to my lord:
Sit at my right hand,
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
2 The Lord sends forth from Zion
your mighty scepter.
Rule in the midst of your foes!
3 Your people will offer themselves freely
on the day you lead your host
upon the holy mountains.
From the womb of the morning
like dew your youth will come to you.
4 The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek.”
5 The Lord is at your right hand;
he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6 He will execute judgment among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs
over the wide earth.
7 He will drink from the brook by the way;
therefore he will lift up his head.

This is a Psalm declaring that David will “ascend” to his God-appointed throne at God’s right hand and begin to rule. We find that the Davidic king is at least quasi-divine. He is:

  • “my Lord”
  • “priest”
  • “for ever”
  • “will scatter kings…corpses…over the wide earth”

This is a cosmic king. A divine Messiah. Something David could never be and this is why Christ asks how David could ever say: “The Lord says to my Lord.”

This is Trinitarian theology. We find one Divine Person (Lord) speaking to another Divine Person (Lord). For an interesting study of two distinct “Lords” in Hebrew Scripture, I highly recommend The Great Angel: A Study of Israel’s Second God by Margaret Barker.

We see the conversation between the “two Lords” in Daniel 7 with the “Ancient of Days” (first Lord) interacting with the Son of Man (second Lord). In Daniel 7:13, the Son of Man comes up to the Father. I’m not making this up or grasping at straws. Christ Himself quotes these passages as references to Himself in the future at Matthew 24:30; 26:64 and Mark 13:26; 14:62 and Luke 21:27:

13 I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a Son of Man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 And to him was given dominion
and glory and kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

It’s obvious how this passage in Daniel 7 echoes Psalm 110 with a divine-like King gaining universal dominion over all kings and kingdoms. But notice the “clouds.”

See this post for more: The Davidic Identity of Daniel

Christ purposefully includes “the clouds” in His own citation of this passage during His trial. Ultimately, it’s Christ’s quotation of this passage and “the clouds” that offends the High Priest leads Him to be “convicted” and crucified.

The cloud theme continues in Revelation as I detail in this free Catholic podcast on the Book of Revelation Chapter 14. Jesus Christ rides in “on a cloud” holding a sickle and ready to slay his enemies as described in Ps 110 and Dan 7.

Then I looked, and lo, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

The Ascension of Christ with the cloud is important and it shows that He is still operating through His assumed human nature. This is good news for Catholics. If Christ has “parked His body” as if to be finished with it, then we would not have the perennial presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in our churches.

Happy Ascension,
Dr. Taylor Marshall

You can leave a comment by clicking here.

PS: King David was Eucharistic. 2 Sam 6:17-19 records that when King David ascended as king in Jerusalem, he gave every Israelite a wheat cake, wine, and a cake of grapes. A type of the wheat and grapes of the Eucharist of the Davidic Messiah.

PPS: Here’s a line by line Catholic commentary on the Book of Revelation.

If you’d like to study with me orthodox Christology (study of Christ) and Mariology (study of Mary) study of Mary, please join the New Saint Thomas Institute.

#083: Revelation Chs. 10-11 The Giant Angel and Two Witnesses (Catholic Apocalypse Part 6)

Today we examine the Seventh Trumpet of the Apocalypse, the Gigantic Angel (?), and the identity of the Two Witnesses according to Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas. We also step into some Christology and look at some of the Preterist details surrounding the two witnesses and their 42 month battle with the Beast. Please click on the file below to start listening.

Book Of Revelation

Click to Listen: #083: Revelation Chs. 10-11 The Giant Angel and Two Witnesses (Catholic Apocalypse Part 6)

  If the audio player does not show up in your email or browser, please click here to listen.

Are you enjoying this podcast? Please share it on Facebook by clicking here.

Please Share Your Feedback:

  • POPULARITY: 513,523 downloads on iTunes as of today.
  • SHOUT OUTS: A huge “shout out” to all 360 (!) of you who wrote amazing 5-star reviews at iTunes. Please rate this podcast by clicking here and then click “View in iTunes.” From there you can leave a review. I appreciate you for this! Thank you!
  • SUBSCRIBE TO MY WEEKLY PODCAST:
  • SURVEY: Please view our Podcast Listener Poll by clicking here.

You can leave a comment by clicking here.

If you like this podcast, please rate it over at iTunes.

Podcast Archive
#TitleReleased
082The Seven Trumpets: Book of Revelation Part 5 (Chapters 8-9)07/02/2015
081Book of Revelation Part 4 (Chapters 6-7)07/09/2015
080Taylor’s Catholic Thoughts on Same Sex Marriage06/30/2015
079Book of Revelation Part 3 (Chapters 4-5)06/17/2015
078Is the Relic of True Cross Real?06/16/2015
077Book of Revelation Part 2 (Chapter 2-3)06/10/2015
076Book of Revelation Part 1 (Chapter 1)06/03/2015
075Trinity Sunday, Liturgy, Thomas Becket and Anglican Use Thoughts 05/29/2015
074Tongues of Fire in Acts, 1 Enoch, and Pre-Vatican Liturgy05/27/2015
073Advice on Being a Man05/22/2015
072What was the Priestly Status of Mary? Was she a Levite?05/16/2015
071The Theology of Cooking Food05/14/2015
0703 Steps to Overcoming Anxiety and Stress05/06/2015
069How to Read the Summa in One Year04/22/2015
068St Paul on Faith and Works Catholic vs Protestant Debate03/25/2015
067How Your Fears Are Hurting You Spiritually?03/18/2015
066What is 666 and the Mark of the Beast?03/04/2015
06540 Days of Joy02/26/2015
064Why did God make you? Luke 19 Gives the Answer02/11/2015
063Is Being A Christian Hard or Easy?01/21/2015
062Catholic View of the End Times and Tribulation01/14/2015
061When Other People Really Hurt You01/07/2015
060Is Saint George Still a Saint?01/01/2015
059Revolution in Catholic Education – Jennifer Fulwiler Interviews Taylor Marshall12/31/2014
058The Hidden Theology in Sword and Serpent with St George and Sabra12/11/2014
057Advent Total Consecration to Mary11/13/2014
056Top 5 Advent Devotions11/07/2014
055Why Do We Baptize Babies? The Covenantal Argument10/22/2014
054Is God Male or Female – The Catholic Teaching10/08/2014
053Lucifer vs. Saint Michael10/01/2014
0521 Year Anniversary Special Edition: Essentialism What is the Essence of Your Life?09/24/2014
051The Price of Your Anger09/17/2014
050The Seven Sorrows of Mary are the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit09/15/2014
0496 Obstacles in Your Life (How to Conquer Them)09/10/2014
048Brain Science, Your Soul & Prayer09/03/2014
047Don’t Swallow the Camel08/27/2014
046The Secret Life of Thomas Aquinas08/22/2014
045Did Saint Paul Teach Once Saved Always Saved?08/06/2014
044How to Escape Joyless Catholicism, Part 207/30/2014
043How to Escape Joyless Catholicism, Part 107/24/2014
042Golf Cart Saints07/15/2014
0415 Intellectual Virtues and Pornography, Art, and Culture07/02/2014
040Taylor and Joy Talk About Their Marriage06/25/2014
039How Was the Bible Assembled? (plus Joy joins me)06/18/2014
038Should You Budget Time (or Money)?06/04/2014
037The Theology of Vacation, Leisure, and Recreation05/28/2014
036Noah Movie Review – Rock Monsters?05/21/2014
035Children Need Fortitude05/14/2014
034Jokes of Saint John XXIII05/07/2014
033Divine Mercy: 5 Common Questions04/30/2014
0324 Sections of Hell04/23/2014
031Meet the Saint Version of You04/16/2014
030Should You Be an Optimist?04/09/2014
029Finding Fellowship like Samwise Gamgee04/01/2014
028Demons, Snakes, and Ticks: Lessons from a Hunting Trip03/26/2014
027How to Make an Eternal Impact with Your Life03/19/2014
026Thoughts on My Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Guadalupe02/26/2014
025Why is the Catholic Church Roman?02/19/2014
024The Seven Lies We Believe About Our Failures02/11/2014
023How to Restart Your Mental Computer02/06/2014
022Top Five Productivity Tips from Thomas Aquinas01/29/2014
021Did You Miss God’s Plan for Your Life?01/23/2014
020When Prayer Becomes a Chore01/15/2014
01912 Attributes of a Baptized Christian01/08/2014
018A Podcast Against Bitter Catholics!12/30/2013
017Mary’s Painless Delivery of Christ Explained12/18/2013
016Our Lady of Guadalupe and Saint Luke (Plus How to Set Goals)12/11/2013
015Total Consecration to Mary12/04/2013
014What’s Your Apostolate?11/27/2013
0136 Items for the Liturgy of Your Life11/20/2013
012Why You Should Be More Creative11/13/2013
011Why Did They Stop Teaching Virtue?11/06/2013
010How Do Saints Hear Our Prayers?10/30/2013
009My Opinion of Martin Luther10/23/2013
008My Top 5 Daily Prayers10/16/2013
007Your Guardian Angel10/03/2013
006How You Can Convert 7 Billion People09/25/2013
0053 Strategies for a Marriage that Sings!09/18/2013
0044 Step Plan When Family Leave the Faith09/12/2013
0035 Tools for Deep Daily Prayer Life09/04/2013
002Three Tips to Increase Your Passion for Life08/28/2013
001How to Find a Spiritual Director08/18/2013

Is the Angel of the Lord the Pre-Incarnate Christ?

The Church Fathers held an unwavering belief that the Second Person of the Trinity appeared frequently in the Old Testament in a variety of forms: the Angel of the Lord, the Burning Bush, the Son of Man, and the one like a Son of God in Daniel.

burning bush as christ

Today we’ll look at a debate regarding the Angel of the Lord. Is he or isn’t the Pre-Incarnate Son of God? There are various positions in early Christianity.

#019: 12 Attributes of a Baptized Christian [Podcast]

Last week we looked a “bitter Catholics” so this week are reminding ourselves of the great spiritual identity and dignity that we have in Christ.

We go through 12 profound attributes of the Christian given by God to us in Christ. Saint Paul is our guide as he leads us through his Epistle of Romans with reminders that we are “more than conquerors.”

I also tried out a new podcast theme song. Leave me a comment below about whether you like the change.

Your 12 Attributes as a Baptized Christian

Print these out and put them in your Bible. Use them when you feel discouraged or defeated. The theology of Saint Paul is “become what you already are in Christ.”

1. In Christ I reign in life (Rom. 5:17).
2. In Christ I walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4).
3. In Christ I am alive unto God (Rom. 6:11).
4. In Christ I bring forth fruits unto God (Rom. 7:4).
5. In Christ I have no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).
6. In Christ I have been made free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2).
7. In Christ I live by the law of the Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2).
8. In Christ I am a child of God (Rom. 8:16).
9. In Christ I am an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:16-17).
10. In Christ I receive all things from God (Rom. 8:32).
11. In Christ I am more than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37).
12. In Christ nothing can separate me from the love of God (Rom. 8:38-39).

saint-paul-the-apostle-10_0

Click to Listen: Your 12 Attributes as a Baptized Christian


If audio player does not show up in your email or browser, click here to listen.

[Visit the Taylor Marshall Podcast ARCHIVE to explore other topics by clicking here for podcast archives.]

1) Proverb of the Week:
Prov 4:23

2) Tip of the Week:
memorize Scripture

3) Latin Word of the Week:
confirmatio

Please Share Your Feedback

#017: Mary’s Painless Delivery of Christ Explained [Podcast]

Do you believed that Mary experienced a painless delivery of Christ? Did you know that the Catholic Church officially teaches that Mary experienced no pain in giving birth to our Lord Jesus Christ on Christmas?

Find out more in today’s podcast, plus get your Tip of the week, Proverb of the week, and Latin word of the week.

painless delivery of christ

Click to Listen: Mary’s Painless Delivery of Christ Explained


If audio player does not show up in your email or browser, click here to listen.

[Visit the Taylor Marshall Podcast ARCHIVE to explore other topics by clicking here.]

1) Proverb of the Week:
Prov 14:23

2) Tip of the Week:
Batching

3) Featured Segment:
Mary’s Painless Delivery of Christ Explained

Recommended book:

God's Birthday ebook image cover 1

4) Latin Word of the Week:
comprehensio

Please Share Your Feedback

Was Christ Assumed into Heaven?


Catholics sometimes make the claim that while Christ “ascended” into Heaven, our Blessed Mother was “assumed” into Heaven. The difference, they say, is that Christ ascended by His own divine power; but that Mary was raised by the power of God. The apologist using this argument usually seeks to show Protestant objectors that Mary’s assumption is categorically different than Christ’s ascension.
Such an argument is fundamentally correct and in accordance with orthodox theology, but the vocabulary isn’t correct. As a result the argument can be a little confusing. 
The Language of Ascension and Assumption
The Greek and Latin used in the Gospels (and Acts) employ terminology of “assumption” for the ascension of Christ. First let us examine three verses that describe Our Lord’s ascension in terms of assumption, and then describe the theological significance.
“Et Dominus quidem Jesus postquam locutus est eis, assumptus est in cælum (He was assumed into Heaven), et sedet a dextris Dei.” (Mark 16:19, VGCLEM)
“usque in diem qua præcipiens Apostolis per Spiritum Sanctum, quos elegit, assumptus est (He was assumed)” (Acts 1:2, VGCLEM)
“qui et dixerunt : Viri Galilæi, quid statis aspicientes in cælum ? Hic Jesus, qui assumptus est (Who was assumed) a vobis in cælum, sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in cælum.” (Acts 1:11, VGCLEM)
For our Greek scholars, the Greek word here in Mark and Acts is the aorist passive form of ἀναλαμβάνω. It corresponds to “taken up” or “assumed.”
The conclusion is that Scripture uses the language of ascension and assumption for Our Lord’s transition into Heaven. (Saint John’s Gospel frequently uses the language of ascension.)
The Theology of Ascension and Assumption
The obvious difference between the terms is that to ascend is active and to be assumed or to be taken up is passive. Ascension denotes an agent going up by his own power. He ascended the mountain. Assumption denotes that an object was moved by an agent. It’s passive. The office was assumed by the soldier.

Now Our Lady’s body did not go to Heaven by its own natural power. Hence, we usually refer to her transition to Heaven as an assumption. Christ actively raised her to His right hand. However, Christ’s bodily transition was both an ascension (active) and an assumption (passive).
With regard to the activity of His divinity, Christ’s body ascended. With regard to humble obedience of His human soul, He was assumed into Heaven. 
According to the Sixth Ecumenical Council, Christ possesses two wills – the divine will of the Holy Trinity and His created human will corresponding to His created human soul. When we remind ourselves of this mystery, we can see more clearly how Christ both ascended with divine power and willed to be received and elevated by the Father. Hence, both Saint Mark and Saint Luke use the language of assumptus est to describe the ascension of Christ.
Happy Feast of the Ascension! We have a High Priest in Heaven who intercedes for us from His Sacred Heart at every second of the day. 
Question: Have you heard of the “assumption/ascension” distinction before? Do you think it’s a useful apologetical tool? I’d love to hear your experience. Please leave a comment.

Do you enjoy reading these posts by Dr. Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive  his new daily posts. It’s FREE.

Receive these informative emails by clicking here.

Privacy Guarantee: Your e-mail will never be shared with anyone. 

Also, please check out my brand new book The Eternal City: Rome & the Origins of Catholicism at amazon.com by clicking here.

Did Baby Jesus Know All Things? (Answer from Thomas Aquinas)

Did the Infant Christ know all things? This is a puzzling question.

Christ is fully God who knows all things. Yet Christ is fully human and humans must learn things. So when it comes to knowledge, did Christ learn or did he already know all things from infancy? Thanks be to God, Saint Thomas Aquinas provides us with a great answer to this difficult question.

Saint Thomas writes:

Therefore it is manifest that in the first instant of His conception Christ received not only as much grace as comprehensors have, but also greater than that which they all have. And because that grace was not without its act, it follows that He was a comprehensor in act, seeing God in His Essence more clearly than other creatures.” (Summa theologiae III, q. 34, a. 4)

In other words, from His human conception, Christ had the perfect beatific vision of God’s Essence. He was never broken off from God because He is God. This is why Mary is called the “Mother of God.” The Child in her womb is God Himself. Since Christ was a perfect comprehensor of His Divine Essence, He knew all things. Of course, he assimilated knowledge in a human way as He grew. Yet Christ always had access to the ineffable mysteries of God and all creation through the vision of His Divine Essence.

Christ’s priestly ministry was active as soon as He was conceived. Saint Thomas Aquinas teaches that Christ began to merit for our salvation as soon as He entered the womb of Mary. This entails that the  infant Christ knew He was the Savior of humanity even when He was an embryo.

This is a wonderful mystery.

So then, Christ had access to all knowledge. He possessed all knowledge from conception as a human embryo. However, as information knowledge began to pass through His five senses, this acquired knowledge accumulated in the natural way. In this way, He learned as a human what He already knew as God.

For example, Christ already knew the entire vocabulary and grammatical structure of Aramaic in the womb by virtue of the beatific vision. However, he also acquired the knowledge of Aramaic in the human way from Joseph and Mary.

Contrast this to His knowledge of medieval German. Christ already knew the entire vocabulary and grammatical structure of medieval German. However, He never did acquire the knowledge of medieval German in the human way through the five senses. Nevertheless, He had perfectly mastery of medieval German and Aramaic (and even Chinese) by virtue of His beatific vision of the Divine Essence.

So the summary answer is that Christ knew all things, but in addition to this He came to know some things in the human mode of experience – like Aramaic and carpentry.

Question: Some have taught that Christ eventually “discovered” that He was the Messiah and Son of God. That He had a personal epiphany. This is actually a form of Arianism – a denial of His divine nature. Christ was communicating with the Holy Trinity even in the womb and He knew Who He was/is.  He always knew that He was the Second Person of the Trinity. Have you ever been taught that Christ was ignorant of His mission or identity. Please leave a comment and share your experience.

Do you enjoy reading these posts by Dr. Taylor Marshall? Make it easier to receive  his new daily posts. It’s FREE.

Receive these upbeat and informative emails by clicking here.

Privacy Guarantee: Your e-mail will never be shared with anyone. 

Also, please check out my brand new book The Eternal City: Rome & the Origins of Catholicism at amazon.com by clicking here.