The following from a Roman Catholic theologian is a useful table to understand “causes”; it is similar to how I sometimes describe the same, albeit for baptismal regeneration:
|
Final cause: |
the glory of God and of Christ |
|
Efficient cause: |
the merciful God who gratuitously
washes and sanctifies |
|
Meritorious cause: |
Jesus Christ |
|
Instrumental cause: |
the sacrament of baptism |
|
Formal cause: |
the justice of God by which he
justifies us |
Table taken from Kenan B. Osborne, Reconciliation &
Justification: The Sacrament and Its Theology (New York: Paulist Press,
1990), 192
