The universal dominion of Jesus Christ. All power in heaven and earth is given to our Lord, not only as the only-begotten Son of God, but as Man, for He merited this dominion by His Passion and Death. As God made Man, he is the supreme King and Ruler of this world. He governs it invisibly from heaven, and on the Last Day will return visibly, and in glory, to judge the just and the wicked.
The Divinity of Jesus Christ is shown forth by the fact of His ascending into heaven by His own power, as all the apostles could testify; and is, moreover, proved 1. by Jesus Himself in His discourse prior to His Ascension; for how could He have promised the Holy Ghost, and His own protection to the apostles even to the end of the world; how could He have said: “All power is given to Me in heaven and earth”, unless He had been God? 2. It is proved by the adoration paid to Him by the apostles. They would not have worshipped Jesus, had they not been convinced of His Divinity. 3. It is proved, especially, by the holy Evangelist St. John, who writes in so many words that “Jesus is the Son of God”.
The threefold office of the apostles and their successors. When He left this world, our Lord handed over to His apostles His threefold office. 1. The office, or the right and duty of teaching the Christian faith (“Go ye and teach all nations”). 2. The priestly office, or the right and duty of sanctifying the souls of men by the Christian Sacraments (“baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost”). 3. The pastoral office, or the right and duty of guiding and maintaining the faithful in the observance of the commandments (“Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”). Our Lord did not commit this threefold office to the apostles only, but also to their successors, as is to be plainly inferred from the words: “Go and teach all nations”, and: “ I am with you all days even unto the end of the world.” The eleven apostles could not themselves have taught all nations, nor were they to live till the end of the world; but their office was to continue after their death, in their successors, the Bishops of the Catholic Church. Hence the prophetical, priestly and royal offices of Christ must continue in the Church till the end of time. This ruling power given to the Church is divine and not subject to any civil or earthly power. Within her own sphere the Church is supreme and independent.
The Church of Christ must necessarily be Catholic or universal. Our Lord said that “all nations” were to be received into the Church by Baptism, and instructed in the Christian life by her. The Church of Christ must therefore be, firstly, universal in place: she must be not a national Church, but a universal Church. Secondly, seeing that she was to be protected by her Divine Founder, for “all days even to the end of the world”, she must be equally Catholic as to duration. Being upheld by our Lord Jesus Christ in all ages, there is no time when she could fall away or decay, for, if she did, our Lord would
