Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Profession of Faith 19 C hapter T wo G od C omes to M eet M an 50 By natural reason man can know God with certainty, on the basis of his works. But there is another order of knowledge, which man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers: the order of divine Revelation. 1 Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by reveal­ ing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. A rticle 1 THE REVELATION OF GOD I. G od R eveals H is “P lan of L oving G oodness ” 51 “It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature.” 2 52 God, who “dwells in unapproachable light,” wants to communicate his own divine life to the men he freely created, in order to adopt them as his sons in his only-begotten Son. 3 By re- vealing himself God wishes to make them capable of responding to him, and of knowing him, and of loving him far beyond their own natural capacity. 53 The divine plan of Revelation is realized simultaneously “by deeds and words which are intrinsically bound up with each other” 4 and shed light on each other. It involves a specific divine pedagogy: God communicates himself to man gradually. He pre- pares him to welcome by stages the supernatural Revelation that is to culminate in the person and mission of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ. 1 Cf. Dei Filius: DS 3015. 2 DV 2; cf. Eph 1:9; 2:18; 2 Pet 1:4. 3 1 Tim 6:16; cf. Eph 1:4-5. 4 DV 2. 36 1066 2823 1996 1953 1950