Him, as to the
first and supreme Lord. Nevertheless a glory is due to Him as a
beatified man; and this He has partly without merit, and partly with
merit, as is clear from what has been said.

Reply Obj. 3: It is by Divine appointment that there is an overflow
of glory from the soul to the body, in keeping with human merit; so
that as man merits by the act of the soul which he performs in the
body, so he may be rewarded by the glory of the soul overflowing to
the body. And hence not only the glory of the soul, but also the
glory of the body falls under merit, according to Rom. 8:11:
"He . . . shall quicken also our [Vulg.: 'your'] mortal bodies,
because of His Spirit that dwelleth in us [Vulg.: 'you']." And thus
it could fall under Christ's merit.

Reply Obj. 4: The manifestation of Christ's excellence is His good as
regards the being which it has in the knowledge of others; although
in regard to the being which they have in themselves it chiefly
belongs to the good of those who know Him. Yet even this is referred
to Christ inasmuch as they are His members.
_______________________

FOURTH ARTICLE [III, Q. 19, Art. 4]

Whether Christ Could Merit for Others?

Objection 1: It would seem that Christ could not merit for others.
For it is written (Ezech. 18:4): "The soul that sinneth, the same
shall die." Hence, for a like reason, the soul that meriteth, the
same shall be recompensed. Therefore it is not possible that Christ
merited for others.

Obj. 2: Further, of the fulness of Christ's grace we all receive, as
is written John 1:16. Now other men having Christ's grace cannot
merit for others. For it is written (Ezech. 14:20) that if "Noe and
Daniel and Job be in the city [Vulg.: 'the midst thereof'] . . . they
shall deliver neither son nor daughter; but they shall only deliver
their own souls by their justice." Hence Christ could not merit
anything for us.

Obj. 3: Further, the "reward" that we merit is due "according to
justice [Vulg.: 'debt'] and not according to grace," as is clear from
Rom. 4:4. Therefore if Christ merited our salvation it follows that
our salvation is not by God's grace but by justice, and that He acts
unjustly with those whom He does not save, since Christ's merit
extends to all.

_On the contrary,_ It is written (Rom. 5:18): "As by the offense of
one, unto all men to condemnation; so also by the justice of one,
unto all men to justification of life." But Adam's demerits reached
to the co