83. Divine Life and the Two Senses of Being in God

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Paradox: All Things Are Life in God #

• The Question: How can inanimate things (stones, trees) be said to be ’life’ in God when they lack life in themselves?
• The Punctuation Problem: Different medieval traditions (Latin fathers vs. Greek fathers) read John 1:3-4 differently:
  • Latin fathers (Augustine, Jerome, Thomas): “What was made in him was life”
  • Greek fathers (Chrysostom): “Without him nothing was made” (different clause division)
• The Core Principle: To live (vivere) for God is to understand (intelligere); whatever is in God is understood by Him, and thus participates in His very life

Two Senses of ‘Being In’ (Esse in) #

1. In Divine Power (Seventh sense of ‘in’)

   • Creatures exist in God as contained and conserved in His power
   • Analogous to how things “in our power” depend upon us
   • Examples: “In him we live and move and are” (Acts 17:28); “It’s out of my hands” (English expression)
   • Applies even to creatures in their own natures, since they depend on God for existence

2. In Divine Knowledge (Through proper reasons/essences)

   • Things exist in God through their proper λόγοι (logoi/reasons)
   • These reasons are not other than God’s divine nature itself
   • Things insofar as they are in God thus are the divine essence
   • Because the divine essence is life (not motion), things in this sense are in God as life, not as motion

The Form-Matter Distinction #

• The House Example: The form of a house exists immaterially and intelligibly in the architect’s mind, but materially and sensibly in the actual house
• Application: The reasons of things which in themselves do not live are life in the divine mind because in the divine mind they have the divine being, which is divine life
• Against Platonism: Thomas rejects Plato’s view that separated forms are more truly things than material particulars. Instead:
  • Things have more being (simpliciter) in God than in themselves because in God they have uncreated being; in themselves they have created being
  • BUT things have more truly existence as this particular thing (e.g., as this man or horse) in their own nature than in the divine mind
  • The house that exists in the mind of the architect has more noble being than the house in matter, yet the house in matter is more truly a house because it is actual, not merely potential

Treatment of Objections #

Objection 1: Not All Things Are Motion in God #

• The Problem: Acts 17:28 says creatures live and move in God, but not all things in God are motion
• The Solution: Creatures are in God in two ways—by divine power (where motion applies) and by divine knowledge (where only life applies, not motion)
• The Equivocation Fallacy: The original objection confuses these two senses

Objection 2: Exemplar-Exemplated Conformity #

• The Problem: Things exemplified ought to conform to their exemplar. Stones don’t live in themselves, so how can they be life in God?
• The Solution: The exemplata ought to conform to the exemplar according to their form, not according to their mode of being
• The Principle: A form can have different modes of being in the exemplar versus the exemplated (immaterial in the mind, material in the thing)

Objection 3: Living Substance Better Than Non-Living #

• The Problem: Augustine says living substance is better than non-living. If non-living things are life in God, they would be more truly in God than in themselves, which seems false
• The Solution:
  • By uncreated being, things have more being in God than in themselves
  • But regarding their specific nature (being this man or horse), they are more truly themselves in their own nature because matter is part of their definition
  • Analogy: The house in the architect’s mind has more noble being, but the house in matter is more truly a house because it is in act, not potency

Objection 4: Bad Things Would Be Life in God #

• The Problem: If all things known by God are life in God, then bad things (which God knows) would be life in God, which seems unfitting
• The Solution:
  • Bad things are known by God but NOT created or preserved by Him
  • Bad things are not things having a proper definition or reason in God
  • Bad things are known through the notions of good things, not through themselves (just as blindness is known through sight, not vice versa)
  • Therefore, bad things cannot be said to be life in God
  • Key Principle: Sin is not life in God

Connection to Divine Knowledge and Will #

• Life as Understanding: In God, to live (vivere) is identical with to understand (intelligere)
• The Structural Movement: Question 14 (on divine knowledge) precedes the consideration of divine life, which then precedes the consideration of divine will
• The Rationale: Understanding is a perfect act that remains in the agent; willing (like understanding) is also perfect and internal; making/creating differs by producing an external effect

Key Arguments #

The Argument for “All Things Are Life in God” #

Premise 1: All things apart from God are made/created

Premise 2: What was made in God (in His understanding) is life

• From John 1:3-4 (with Latin reading): “All things were made through him, and what was made in him was life”
• Supported by Latin fathers: Augustine, Jerome, Chrysostom

Conclusion: Therefore, all things in God are life

Clarification of Terms:

• “All things are life in God” means all things insofar as they are understood by God participate in His divine life
• This applies to created things that are in God through their proper reasons/essences
• This does NOT apply to bad things, which are known but not created/preserved by God

The Problem of Motion vs. Life #

Objection: Acts 17:28 says “In him we live and move and are,” but not all things in God are motion. So all things cannot be life in God.

Resolution: Creatures are in God in two distinct senses:

1. In divine power → applies to motion (creatures’ operations are caused by God)
2. In divine knowledge → applies to life (creatures exist as understood in God’s mind)

The objection confuses these two senses.

Important Definitions #

Vivere (To Live) #

• In Living Things Generally: To be; the very existence of a living thing
• In God Specifically: Identical with understanding (intelligere); God’s life is His act of understanding
• In Creatures: Life involves generation and corruption; requires food/nourishment for conservation

Esse in Deo (To Be in God) #

1. By Divine Power: As contained and conserved in God’s omnipotent causality

   • Creatures depend on God even in their own natures
   • This sense includes motion and activity caused by God

2. By Divine Knowledge: Through their proper λόγοι (reasons/essences) which are not other than God’s nature

   • Creatures exist intelligibly in God’s mind
   • They participate in divine life through this mode of existence
   • Their reasons are identical with the divine essence itself

Exemplar (Exemplum) and Exemplated (Exemplatum) #

• Exemplar: The model or pattern (e.g., the form in the architect’s mind)
• Exemplated: The thing produced according to the model (e.g., the actual house)
• Principle: The exemplated must conform to the exemplar in form, but not necessarily in mode of being
• Distinction: Form and mode of being are not the same thing

Actus (Act) vs. Potentia (Potency) #

• Act: Completed, realized, perfect state
• Potency: Potential, unrealized, dependent state
• In God: All is pure act (actus purus); no potency whatsoever
• In Creatures: Composite of act and potency; dependent being
• Application: A house in an architect’s mind is in potency (potential); a house in matter is in act (actual)

Modus Essendi (Mode of Being) #

• The manner in which something exists
• Example: The form of a house has immaterial and intelligible mode of being in the mind; material and sensible mode of being in actual matter
• Key Principle: The same form can exist with different modes of being in different subjects

Examples & Illustrations #

The House in the Architect’s Mind #

• The architect conceives the form of a house immaterially and intelligibly in his mind
• The same form exists materially and sensibly in the actual constructed house
• The form is essentially the same; the mode of being differs
• Application to Divine Life: Similarly, the reasons of non-living things (stone, tree) exist as life in God’s mind (divine being) but as non-living in themselves (created being)

Stone vs. Tree (from Augustine) #

• Augustine says living substance (tree) is better than non-living substance (stone)
• The Apparent Problem: If stones are life in God but not life in themselves, wouldn’t they be more truly in God than in themselves?
• The Resolution: By uncreated being, yes; but regarding being this particular stone, the stone is more truly itself in its own nature because matter is part of the definition of a material thing
• The House Analogy Applied: The house in potency (in the mind) is more noble than the house in matter, but the house in matter is more truly a house

The Blind Man and Sight #

• Blindness cannot be known except through sight (the possession of sight)
• But sight can be known without blindness
• Application to Bad Things: Bad things are known by God through the notions of good things; they cannot be known through themselves
• Implication: Bad things cannot be said to be life in God because they are not created or preserved by God, only known through the lens of good things

English Expression: “Out of My Hands” #

• When we say something is “out of my hands,” we mean we don’t have power over it
• Philosophical Meaning: Things “in our power” are things we can control or affect
• Application: Creatures are in God’s power in the sense that their existence and operation depend entirely on God

The Acts Passage: “In Him We Live and Move and Are” #

• St. Paul (called “the Apostle” by antonomasia, along with St. Peter)
• Literal Meaning: Our living, moving, and being are caused by God and depend on His power
• Distinction: Paul speaks of the first sense (creatures in divine power), not necessarily the second sense (creatures in divine knowledge as life)
• Theological Note: St. Peter and Paul are called “the Apostles” by prominence; they share a feast on June 29th; St. Peter’s and St. Paul’s are two of the four great basilicas

Questions Addressed #

Q1: How can a stone be ’life’ in God when it is not life in itself? #

Answer: Through a distinction in modes of being. The stone’s reason (λόγος/logos) exists in God’s mind with divine being (which is life); in itself, it exists with created being (which is non-living). The form can be the same while existing in different modes.

Q2: Doesn’t Acts 17:28 contradict the claim that all things are life in God? #

Answer: No. Acts speaks of creatures as in God by divine power (the first sense). Life in God (the second sense) refers to creatures existing through their proper reasons in God’s knowledge. These are two distinct senses of ‘being in’.

Q3: Wouldn’t bad things be life in God if all things are life in God? #

Answer: No. Bad things are known by God but are not created or preserved by Him. They are not things having proper definitions or reasons in God. They are known only through the notions of good things, not in themselves. Therefore, bad things are not life in God.

Q4: Is Thomas following Augustine or other fathers correctly on John 1:3-4? #

Answer: Yes. Thomas follows the Latin fathers (Augustine, Jerome) who read the passage as: “What was made in him was life,” connecting the clause differently from the Greek fathers (Chrysostom), who read: “Without him nothing was made.” Both readings are about the same truths; the punctuation differs.

Connections to Other Topics #

Divine Knowledge and Understanding #

• Life in God is identical with divine understanding
• To live (vivere) in God is to understand (intelligere)
• Question 14 precedes this consideration as foundational

The Trinity: Appropriation of Life and Truth #

• Life and truth are appropriated to the Word (Son), though common to all three persons
• Reason for Appropriation: The Son proceeds by way of God understanding Himself (as the Word, the Thought of God)
• Connection: Truth pertains to knowing; life pertains to being and understanding
• Example in Scripture: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6) couples truth and life to Christ
• Additional Example: John 1:4 couples life and light: “In him was life, and the life was the light of men”
• Note: The Father also has life (John 5:26: “The Father has life in himself”)

The Transition to Divine Will (Question 19) #

• After considering divine knowledge (life), Thomas will consider divine will
• Structural Reason: Understanding remains in the agent; willing also remains in the agent
• Difference from Making/Creating: Creating produces an external effect; understanding and willing do not
• Preview: Question 19 will ask 12 questions, including whether God has a will, whether God wills things other than Himself, and whether God wills necessarily or freely

Notable Quotes #

“To live of God, or the life of God, is his to understand. For in God are the same, the understanding, and what is understood, and the understanding itself.” — Thomas Aquinas (from the lecture)

“In him we live and move and are.” — Acts 17:28 (cited by St. Paul)

“What was made in him was life.” — John 1:3-4 (Latin fathers’ reading, per Augustine and Jerome)

“The living substance is better than any non-living substance.” — Augustine, On True Religion (cited in the lecture)

“Sin is not life in God.” — Thomas Aquinas / Berquist’s summary (key theological point)

“I am the way, the truth, and the life.” — John 14:6 (Jesus Christ; appropriation of life and truth to the Son)

“In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” — John 1:4 (coupling life and light)

“The one walking or following me will not walk in the dark… he will have the light of life.” — John 8:12 (light and life joined in the Gospel of John)