Saturday, September 02, 2006

Q41 A4: Whether in God there is a power in respect of the notional acts?

Yes. As the notional acts exist in God, so must there be also a power in God regarding these acts because power only means the principle of act.

As we understand the Father to be principle of generation, and the Father and the Son to be the principle of spiration, we must attribute the power of generating to the Father, and the power of spiration to the Father and the Son.

In every generator we must suppose the power of generating, and in the spirator the power of spirating.

As a person, according to notional acts, does not proceed as if made, so the power in God as regards the notional acts has no reference to a person as if made, but only as regards the person as proceeding.

Power signifies a principle: and a principle implies distinction from that of which it is the principle. Now we must observe a double distinction in things said of God: one is a real distinction, the other is a distinction of reason only.

By a real distinction, God by His essence is distinct from those things of which He is the principle by creation: just as one person is distinct from the other of which He is principle by a notional act.

But in God the distinction of action and agent is one of reason only, otherwise action would be an accident in God.

With regard to the actions "to understand" and "to will", we cannot ascribe power to God in its proper sense, but only after our way of understanding and speaking: inasmuch as we designate by different terms the intellect and the act of understanding in God, whereas in God the act of understanding is His very essence which has no principle.