Sect. 76The Omnipotence of GodThe Omnipotence of God
I. The possession of absolute power is necessarily included in the infinite perfection of God. As this power immediately flows from the Divine Essence, its attributes correspond with those of the Divine Essence. Hence it is without beginning, independent, necessary, self-sufficient, self-subsisting and essential to God; absolutely simple, that is, purely active and communicating perfection, without any composition in itself; infinite, including all conceivable power; perfectly immutable; present in all space at all times. All this is contained in the words, “I believe in God the Father Almighty (παντοκράτορα).”
II. The Creeds, the Fathers of the Church, and Theologians, following Holy Scripture, consider creation out of nothing as the specific work of the Divine Omnipotence. Created causes, which receive their being from without, can only act on something already existing; they never are the total causes of the effects produced. The power of God, on the contrary, not only modifies pre-existing things, but brings things forth out of nothing as to their whole substance, and maintains them in existence in such a way that they depend on Him not only for the first, but for every, moment of their existence. Without the Divine Being no other being would even be conceivable as existing. This doctrine is condensed in the Greek word παντοκράτωρ, which, in the Septuagint, the New Testament, and the Greek Creeds, takes the place of the Latin omnipotens. This latter implies a power to or above all things, whereas the former designates a power holding and supporting all things (omnitenens), and hence ruling all things and penetrating all things.
III. God possesses the power to give existence to whatever is possible—that is, to whatever does not involve contradiction. Things intrinsically possible become possible extrinsically on account of the Divine Power, which is able to transfer them from non-existence to existence. “I know that Thou canst do all things” (Job 42:2); “With man this is impossible: but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). As to the intrinsic possibility of things, which results from the compatibility of their various elements, the Divine Mind alone can grasp its extent; for many things must appear feasible to an infinite intellect, which to the finite mind seem simply impossible, or indeed have never entered it. “Who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20).
The Divine Omnipotence is infinite in itself or subjectively, and also externally or objectively. Its interior infinity is evident; its objective infinity must be understood in the sense that no greater power is conceivable than the Divine Omnipotence, and that no number, however great, of finite productions can exhaust the Divine Power. Although the effects produced are finite, still the Power which produces them manifests itself as infinite; for the creation and preservation of things suppose in the Creator an infinite fulness of being or perfection, which is also, at the same time, the foundation of the inexhaustibility of the Divine Power. Thus the production of the smallest creature points to a Force which rules the very essence of things, and on which, therefore, all being depends for its existence.
Omnipotence does not imply the power of producing an infinite being, because the notion of a being at once infinite and produced is self-contradictory. Although, however, God cannot create the infinite, He can and does manifest His Omnipotence in communicating His own infinity. Such a communication takes place, within, to the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity; without, to the humanity of Christ, which, through the Hypostatic Union with the Divine Person, acquires an infinite dignity; likewise to spiritual creatures who, by means of grace and glory, are made participators of the infinite beatitude of God Himself. Again, God cannot undo the past, because to do so would involve a contradiction; but He can prevent or annul all the consequences of actions done, e.g. the consequences of sin. Furthermore, Omnipotence does not imply the power of committing sin, because sin is something defective. In like manner the power to suffer, or to perform actions involving motion or change in the cause, is not included in Omnipotence.
IV. The Divine Omnipotence is the source, the foundation, the root, and the soul of all powers and forces outside God. It is the source from which they spring; the foundation upon which they rest; the root which communicates to them their energy; the soul co-operating immediately with them, and intimately permeating their innermost being. Thus the Divine Force appears in the inorganic world as the principle of all motion; in the organic world as the principle of vital activity; and, above all, in the spiritual world as the principle of intellectual and spiritual life. Spirits alone receive their being immediately from God; their life alone cannot be made subservient to a higher life; they alone are able to be so elevated and ennobled as to have a share with God in the fruition of His own Essence.
V. The power to produce every possible thing is manifestly a perfection proper to God alone, and cannot, even supernaturally, be communicated to creatures. Not only is the power to create all things peculiar to God, but also the power to produce one single thing out of nothing; because such power presupposes in its possessor the infinite fulness of being. That, as a matter of fact, no creature has co-operated, even as an instrument, in creation is, according to the common teaching of theologians, of faith; that no creature can so co-operate is theologically and philosophically certain, although many difficulties of detail can be brought against this doctrine. See, on this special point, Kleutgen, Phil., diss., ix., chap. iv., 1005; St. Thomas, Contra Gentes, l. ii., c. 21; and Suarez, Metaph., disp. 26.
I. The possession of absolute power is necessarily included in the infinite perfection of God. As this power immediately flows from the Divine Essence, its attributes correspond with those of the Divine Essence. Hence it is without beginning, independent, necessary, self-sufficient, self-subsisting and essential to God; absolutely simple, that is, purely active and communicating perfection, without any composition in itself; infinite, including all conceivable power; perfectly immutable; present in all space at all times. All this is contained in the words, “I believe in God the Father Almighty (παντοκράτορα).”
II. The Creeds, the Fathers of the Church, and Theologians, following Holy Scripture, consider creation out of nothing as the specific work of the Divine Omnipotence. Created causes, which receive their being from without, can only act on something already existing; they never are the total causes of the effects produced. The power of God, on the contrary, not only modifies pre-existing things, but brings things forth out of nothing as to their whole substance, and maintains them in existence in such a way that they depend on Him not only for the first, but for every, moment of their existence. Without the Divine Being no other being would even be conceivable as existing. This doctrine is condensed in the Greek word παντοκράτωρ, which, in the Septuagint, the New Testament, and the Greek Creeds, takes the place of the Latin omnipotens. This latter implies a power to or above all things, whereas the former designates a power holding and supporting all things (omnitenens), and hence ruling all things and penetrating all things.
III. God possesses the power to give existence to whatever is possible—that is, to whatever does not involve contradiction. Things intrinsically possible become possible extrinsically on account of the Divine Power, which is able to transfer them from non-existence to existence. “I know that Thou canst do all things” (Job 42:2); “With man this is impossible: but with God all things are possible” (Matt. 19:26). As to the intrinsic possibility of things, which results from the compatibility of their various elements, the Divine Mind alone can grasp its extent; for many things must appear feasible to an infinite intellect, which to the finite mind seem simply impossible, or indeed have never entered it. “Who is able to do all things more abundantly than we desire or understand, according to the power that worketh in us” (Eph. 3:20).
The Divine Omnipotence is infinite in itself or subjectively, and also externally or objectively. Its interior infinity is evident; its objective infinity must be understood in the sense that no greater power is conceivable than the Divine Omnipotence, and that no number, however great, of finite productions can exhaust the Divine Power. Although the effects produced are finite, still the Power which produces them manifests itself as infinite; for the creation and preservation of things suppose in the Creator an infinite fulness of being or perfection, which is also, at the same time, the foundation of the inexhaustibility of the Divine Power. Thus the production of the smallest creature points to a Force which rules the very essence of things, and on which, therefore, all being depends for its existence.
Omnipotence does not imply the power of producing an infinite being, because the notion of a being at once infinite and produced is self-contradictory. Although, however, God cannot create the infinite, He can and does manifest His Omnipotence in communicating His own infinity. Such a communication takes place, within, to the Second and Third Persons of the Trinity; without, to the humanity of Christ, which, through the Hypostatic Union with the Divine Person, acquires an infinite dignity; likewise to spiritual creatures who, by means of grace and glory, are made participators of the infinite beatitude of God Himself. Again, God cannot undo the past, because to do so would involve a contradiction; but He can prevent or annul all the consequences of actions done, e.g. the consequences of sin. Furthermore, Omnipotence does not imply the power of committing sin, because sin is something defective. In like manner the power to suffer, or to perform actions involving motion or change in the cause, is not included in Omnipotence.
IV. The Divine Omnipotence is the source, the foundation, the root, and the soul of all powers and forces outside God. It is the source from which they spring; the foundation upon which they rest; the root which communicates to them their energy; the soul co-operating immediately with them, and intimately permeating their innermost being. Thus the Divine Force appears in the inorganic world as the principle of all motion; in the organic world as the principle of vital activity; and, above all, in the spiritual world as the principle of intellectual and spiritual life. Spirits alone receive their being immediately from God; their life alone cannot be made subservient to a higher life; they alone are able to be so elevated and ennobled as to have a share with God in the fruition of His own Essence.
V. The power to produce every possible thing is manifestly a perfection proper to God alone, and cannot, even supernaturally, be communicated to creatures. Not only is the power to create all things peculiar to God, but also the power to produce one single thing out of nothing; because such power presupposes in its possessor the infinite fulness of being. That, as a matter of fact, no creature has co-operated, even as an instrument, in creation is, according to the common teaching of theologians, of faith; that no creature can so co-operate is theologically and philosophically certain, although many difficulties of detail can be brought against this doctrine. See, on this special point, Kleutgen, Phil., diss., ix., chap. iv., 1005; St. Thomas, Contra Gentes, l. ii., c. 21; and Suarez, Metaph., disp. 26.
Seção 26% da obra, de A Manual of Catholic Theology (Wilhelm & Scannell, sobre a Dogmatik de Scheeben). Ver o original.