Modus Revelatio: Aquinas on the Intellect's Apprehension of God

Perceiving God is quite different, however, than from perceiving daffodils. Not only are man’s sensory perceptions of God limited, but also his capacity to observe and understand that which created him is impossible. Because man cannot of his own accord or power understand God, God must make special revelation of Himself to him. This special revelation is a type of knowledge that transcends what human reason can ordinarily attain. Revelation, therefore, is given in a light infinitely higher than the natural light of reason, or in a “divinely-bestowed lumen.” In this way, God does not impart necessarily a new knowledge to man, but rather a new light that enables him to perceive and make conclusions about God.
Two essential elements compose this God-given revelation: the receiving of the content and the interpretation of that content. Aquinas would only qualify this imputation as revelation after the second component. “Revelation,” in his mind necessitates the intellect’s classification and interpretation of the subject matter in an intelligible way. For example, reading of the Incarnation in the Gospels is not revelation unless the reader understands the incarnational birth of Jesus to Mary as the Son of God in human flesh. Comprehension of what God intends to reveal forms the ultimate qualification for whether or not a person receives revelation.
Scripture thus plays a slightly different role in Aquinas’ theology than in the modern Protestant theology. Instruction in the written form is crucial since man’s natural capabilities are limited. The Word is a work of grace and must come from the outside of man. Revelation is a cognitive act dependant on communication. Persson writes, “the knowledge given to certain chosen individuals through this locutio interior is passed on to others through a locutio exterior…or oral teaching.” In other words, God imparts knowledge of Himself through words and concepts that signify the object He intends to communicate. Communication, for Aquinas, proves more valuable that the written teaching itself since comprehension comes through the illumination, not the written Word itself. Thus, Aquinas would not call Scripture the revelation of God, but rather would define revelation as the illumination of the Scriptures by the Holy Spirit to man.