The City of God · Chapter
Of the knowledge of God, to which no man can attain save through the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. explained
Augustine explains that true knowledge of God is unattainable through sensory or imaginative means; it requires the mind's ascent beyond all mutable creation to the unchangeable divine substance.
What happens
Augustine explains that true knowledge of God is unattainable through sensory or imaginative means; it requires the mind's ascent beyond all mutable creation to the unchangeable divine substance. This ascent is impossible without the healing and purification of faith, which is made possible through the Mediator, Jesus Christ, who is both God and man, serving as the only sure way to God.
Themes in this chapter
True Worship and the One God
Augustine emphasizes that only through the Mediator, Jesus Christ, can one attain knowledge of the true God, contrasting with pagan attempts through sensory or imaginative means.
Sin, Grace, and Redemption
The mind is disabled by besotting vices and must be gradually healed and purified by faith, highlighting the need for redemption and grace.
Characters to notice
- Augustine
Author and narrator, expounding on the necessity of the Mediator for knowledge of God.
- Jesus Christ
The Mediator between God and men, the God-man who establishes the way to God.
Key passages
“For God speaks with a man not by means of some audible creature dinning in his ears, so that atmospheric vibrations connect Him that makes with him that hears the sound, nor even by means of a spiritual being with the semblance of a body, such as we see in dreams or similar states; for even in this case He speaks as if to the ears of the body, because it is by means of the semblance of a body He speaks, and with the appearance of a real interval of space—for visions are exact representations of bodily objects.”
God does not communicate through physical sounds or dream-like images that mimic bodily forms; such methods are still tied to the senses.
Augustine distinguishes divine communication from all sensory or imaginative experiences.
“For this is the Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. For it is as man that He is the Mediator and the Way.”
Christ Jesus, as both God and man, is the sole mediator and path connecting humanity to God.
Augustine emphasizes the unique role of Christ's humanity in bridging the gap between God and mankind.