Essential Truth: & Faith

Essential Faith

"It was said that those things in the Creed which refer to creatures belong to faith nonessentially and secondarily. On the contrary, by its nature the consideration of a science extends to everything within the power of the proper means from which it proceeds. But the means of faith is belief in God when He says something. For a believer is moved to assent because he thinks something was said by God. But we should believe God's word not only about first truth, but about any truth. Therefore, any truth is of itself the subject matter and object of faith." (Aquinas & McGlynn, "On Truth, Q.14, 242)

The question Aquinas is answering is whether First Truth is the object of faith. Though every truth comes from God as its efficient cause, not every truth is the perfect means to arrive at God. Now faith, according to St. John of the Cross, is the "proximate and proportionate means to union with God." Faith is a theological virtue, which means that its proper object is God alone and not those truths which are accidental to God.
If every truth were the object of faith we would be led to believe that God is equally present in every truth, but that is not true, since some truths are greater and truer than others.
Temporal creatures change, while God remains the same forever. When we say that God is the true object of faith, He is the essential object of faith and since God is immutable and infinitely perfect in every perfection, God is eternally the object of faith.
Some truths can be understood by use of human reason and without the aid of faith. For example, why the sun rises and sets. That there are Three persons in One God can only be known because of divine revelation. Only divinely revealed truths are the true object of faith or they are related to God, who reveals them.
Aquinas answers the second difficulty in this way:

"Although we must believe everything because of the divine testimony, the divine testimony, like the divine knowledge, first and foremost refers to itself, and subsequently to other things. As is said in John (8:18): "I am one that gives testimony of myself, and the Father that sent me giveth testimony of me." Thus, faith is principally about God, and about other things in consequence of this." (Aquinas & McGlynn, "On Truth, Q.14, 245)

Just as we refer the Word first and foremost to his being consubstantial with the Father in eternity, so we refer the Word made flesh primarily to the Word's relationship to the Father and then to his being sent to redeem mankind as the Word made flesh. Jesus referred to this relationship with the Father when he said "he who sees me sees the Father." In other words, the essential relationship of the Word is to his Father as the Only-Begotten, then to his creation, as their redeemer. Aquinas refers to this relationship of faith to First Truth with the words “first and foremost;” that is, essentially.
First Truth is the "proper object" of faith and created truths are subordinate to the First Truth as reflecting in some way the glory of the First Truth. Mary gave praise to the first truth in this way: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord (The Word made flesh) and my spirit rejoices in God my savior..for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant." (Lk. 1)
Also, as Aquinas says the First Truth refers to itself "first and foremost," while created things need to refer beyond themselves for the truth. St. Augustine in his confessions asked creation about their glory, but creation responded to Augustine by saying you must seek higher; that is, the First Truth.
Jesus gives us a teaching on this truth when he tells his followers to "seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added unto you." AS we keep the First Truth before us thru faith, we do not get caught in the traps that the world can offer, but remain secure in the every abiding First Truth.