Christ our Righteousness

Christ our righteousness

In the Catholic paradigm, sanctifying grace is a participation in the divine nature. But so is agape. Sanctifying grace inheres in the whole of the soul, whereas agape is the supernatural perfection of the will (which is one of the powers of the soul) by which the will is ordered above its natural end to the beatific vision. (Regarding the difference between sanctifying grace and agape, see Summa Theologica II-I Q.110 a.3-4.) But that difference does not mean that agape is not a participation in the divine nature; rather agape is a different mode of participation in the divine nature — that mode in which a created will gratuitously participates in the Good that God is as God is known to Himself. God is agape, says the Apostle John. And the agape infused into our hearts by the Holy Spirit is a participation in God. Hence the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

Justification is at the same time the acceptance of God’s righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Righteousness (or “justice”) here means the rectitude of divine love. (CCC 1191)

By “rectitude of divine love,” the Catechism is referring to the righteousness had by the infusion of the supernatural gift of agape. My point is that “Christ our righteousness” does not entail extra nos imputation, because it can just as easily refer to the infusion of agape whereby we are partakers of and sharers in the God who is Agape. But Batzig’s argument ignores this paradigm.

http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2012/08/imputation-and-paradigms-a-reply-to-nicholas-batzig/

'' Agape is the fulfillment of the law. So it is not true that in the agape paradigm God lowers His standard, from perfectly keeping every law, to something less, counting agape as if it is righteousness, even though the person is not actually truly righteous. That’s still thinking within the list-paradigm, and then trying to conceive the agape paradigm from within the list-paradigm. Agapewas the fulfillment of the law the whole time. Agape is what the law pointed to the whole time. Agapehas always been the perfect standard, what righteousness is. The law was the shadow. The law pointed to true righteousness, but was not itself that righteousness, because true righteousness is God Himself, and the law cannot without remainder (to say the least) contain God. So although the law points to true righteousness by way of precepts, the law is not the essence of true righteousness. Agapeis the true essence of righteousness. So to define agape in terms of the law is to define the real thing by way of its shadow. And that’s what the list-paradigm does.

So it is not the case that in the agape paradigm “God does not demand a perfect adherence to the law” or “God does not expect perfect adherence to the law.” Infused agape is the fulfillment of the law, because infused agape is a participation in the God who is our Righteousness. Likewise, it is not the case that in the agape paradigm “God looks on our faith and charity flowing from infused righteousness as the fulfillment of the two greatest commandments (love God and neighbor), even though we don’t always perfectly love our neighbors and God.” Agape is the perfect fulfillment of the law. You’re still trying to define righteousness by way of the law, rather than by way of that to which the law points. So you’re trying to conceive of the agape paradigm from within the list-paradigm. Theagape paradigm is a different paradigm altogether, not something that fits in the list-paradigm.''

'' When the Catechumen is baptized, he is given a white robe, representing the righteousness that he has received in baptism, by the infusion of sanctifying grace and faith, hope, and agape into his soul. The priest (or bishop) then says to him, “Receive this baptismal garment and bring it unstained to the judgment seat of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that you may have everlasting life.” What it means to bring it unstained to the judgment seat of Christ is never to commit a mortal sin for the rest of your life, i.e. never to drive from your soul the agape the Holy Spirit infused into you at baptism''

http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2012/08/imputation-and-paradigms-a-reply-to-nicholas-batzig/#comment-38204 from comment 343