157. Divine Generation, Eternity, and Order of Nature

Subscribe in Podcast App | Download Transcript

Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Divine Generation and Co-Eternity #

• The Son is eternally generated from the Father without temporal succession
• This requires distinguishing between generation that occurs in time (with succession) and eternal generation (without succession)
• Key distinction: eternity excludes a beginning of duration (τemporalis) but not a beginning of origin (originis)

The Problem of ‘Always Being Generated’ #

• Objection: If the Son is always being generated, he is always imperfect (like things in process of coming-to-be)
• Resolution: This assumes generation must involve succession and imperfection, but divine generation does not
• Divine generation is not a transmutatio (change) but an eternal procession

Time vs. Eternity (The Two Kinds of “Now”) #

• The now of time: flows and produces succession (“the now that flows makes time”)
• The now of eternity: stands still and is indivisible (“the now that stands still makes eternity”)
• Following Boethius: things that change in time (become old, corrupt) prove they are in time; eternal things bear no such marks
• To be in time means to be contained by time (to have measurable beginning and end); eternal things lack this

The Thought Analogy (Central to Understanding Divine Generation) #

• When a human mind actually and fully understands something, the thought of that thing is simultaneous with the understanding
• God is always in a state of actual, full understanding of himself
• Therefore, the thought (the Son/Word) is always present to the Father’s understanding—not posterior to it
• This illustrates how generation can be eternal without being successive

Order of Nature (Ordo Naturae) Without Before-and-After #

• Problem: The Athanasian Creed denies any before-and-after in God (“The Father is not before the Son”)
• Yet Augustine speaks of an “order of nature” in God
• Solution: Distinguish the genus of order (before-and-after) from its specific difference (origin)
• When terms are transferred from creatures to God, the imperfect genus is dropped; the specific difference is retained
• Thus “order of nature” means order by origin (one person from another), not order by temporal priority
• The distinction itself comes from the relations; the relations are simultaneous as relatives (simul)

Natural vs. Voluntary Generation #

• God generates the Son by nature, not by will
• In voluntary agents: the will can choose the time of acting (producing effects now or later)
• In natural agents: if the power is perfect, there is no reason for delay; the effect follows immediately upon the agent’s action
• God’s nature is eternally perfect, so there is no impediment to his eternally generating the Son

Key Arguments #

Against Co-Eternity #

1. Generation implies temporal succession: Everything generated begins to be; therefore, the Son begins to be temporally
2. Imperfection in continuous generation: If the Son is always being generated, he is always imperfect (like things in process)
3. Logical consequence: If always being generated, then there must be some instant of generation; before that instant, the Son did not exist

Thomas’s Resolution #

1. Eternity excludes temporal beginning but not origin: The Son has no beginning of duration (is not younger than the Father) but does have a beginning of origin (proceeds from the Father)
2. Generation in God is not successive: The action by which the Father generates the Son is not a transmutatio (change with before-and-after), so the Son does not suffer temporal coming-to-be
3. The thought-understanding relation: When actually and fully understanding, a mind necessarily possesses the corresponding thought simultaneously; God’s eternal, perfect self-understanding necessarily has the eternal, perfect thought (the Son)
4. The semper natus formula: Better to say the Son is always born (emphasizing the standing/eternal now and the perfection of the generated thing) rather than always being born (which suggests imperfection and process)

Against Order of Nature in God #

1. Order requires distinction: Whatever is ordered is distinguished (this from that)
2. No before-and-after in God: The Athanasian Creed and Augustine deny any priority of one person over another
3. Apparent contradiction: How can there be order without before-and-after?

Thomas’s Resolution #

1. Beginning is equivocal: Just as “beginning” is used in multiple senses (beginning in being, in becoming, in knowing; beginning as point, as principle, etc.), so “order” is used in multiple senses
2. Order by origin without temporal priority: In divine things, there is order by origin (one person from another) without order by temporal priority
3. Dropping genus, keeping difference: The term “order” when transferred to God drops the imperfect genus (before-and-after) while retaining the specific difference (relationship of origin)
4. Relatives are simultaneous: In the categories, relatives are understood together and simultaneously (simul); the Father-Son relation cannot have temporal priority because of this simultaneous character

Important Definitions #

Eternity (Aeternitas) #

Following Boethius: tota et perfecta possessio vitae interminabilis—the altogether-at-once possession of a life that has no beginning and no end. The nunc stans (standing now) of eternity contrasts with the nunc fluens (flowing now) of time.

Divine Generation (Generatio) #

The eternal procession of the Son from the Father through the Father’s act of understanding. It is neither temporal succession nor a transmutatio (change), but an eternal and immutable procession.

Order of Nature (Ordo Naturae) #

The order by which one divine person proceeds from another as its origin, without implying temporal priority. This preserves the distinction of persons through the relations while maintaining the simultaneity of eternity.

Semper Natus vs. Semper Nascitur #

• Semper natus (always born): Emphasizes the completed perfection of the generated thing and the standing permanence of eternity; the preferred formulation
• Semper nascitur (always being born): Suggests incompleteness and process; less suitable for expressing eternal generation

Transmutatio vs. Generatio #

• Transmutatio: A change involving before-and-after, succession, and motion; impossible in God
• Generatio (in the divine sense): An eternal procession without change, succession, or motion

Examples & Illustrations #

The Thought-Understanding Analogy #

When I finally come to actually and fully understand what a square is (an equilateral and right-angled quadrilateral), I cannot be in that state of understanding without simultaneously having the perfect thought of what a square is. God is always in that state of actual, full self-understanding, so he always has the perfect thought (the Word/Son) eternally present.

The Mirror Analogy (Augustine) #

When you look in a mirror, the reflection appears as long as you are present—not after a delay. Similarly, the Son proceeds from the Father’s self-knowledge without temporal succession.

The Splendor Analogy (Council of Ephesus) #

Splendor proceeds from light; light and splendor are simultaneous—neither can precede the other. This illustrates how the Son is co-eternal with the Father.

The Point-Line Analogy #

A point traces a line in motion; yet the line’s beginning is simultaneous with the point’s motion. Similarly, the Son’s proceeding from the Father’s nature is eternal, not temporal.

The Fire Analogy (Aristotle, Physics IX) #

Fire automatically burns paper when the paper is placed in the fire. There is no delay because the fire’s power to burn is already perfect. Similarly, God’s eternal, perfect nature generates the Son immediately and eternally; there is no reason for delay.

The Confusion Analogy #

Two senses of confused: (1) the bad sense—mistaken or mixed up (thinking a dog is a cat); (2) the neutral sense—indistinct but not false (knowing that a dog is an animal, not yet distinguishing it from a cat). Understanding divine generation requires distinguishing these senses.

Questions Addressed #

Q1: Is the Son co-eternal with the Father if he is generated? #

Answer: Yes. The Son is eternally generated without temporal succession. Generation in God is an eternal procession, not a temporal coming-to-be. Eternity excludes a beginning of duration but not of origin. God’s understanding is always actual and perfect, so the thought (Son) is always simultaneously present.

Q2: How can the Son be always generated without being always imperfect? #

Answer: The objection confuses divine generation with temporal generation. In time, what is being generated is imperfect because it has not yet reached completion. But divine generation is not a transmutatio; it is an eternal procession. The Son is always born (not “always being born”), emphasizing perfection and the standing now of eternity.

Q3: Can there be order in God without before-and-after? #

Answer: Yes. “Order” is equivocal. When transferred to God, the genus of order (before-and-after) is dropped while the specific difference (origin) is retained. There is thus order by origin without order by temporal priority. The relations themselves provide the distinction while remaining simultaneous.

Q4: Why does Thomas say “order of nature” rather than “order of essence”? #

Answer: Because nature implies the notion of beginning (as a principle from which something proceeds), whereas essence does not. The phrase “order of nature” properly expresses that one person proceeds from another as origin, without suggesting temporal priority.

Notable Quotes #

“The now that flows makes time; the now that stands still makes eternity.” (Boethius)

“In time, other is the indivisible instant; another what is enduring, to wit time. But in eternity, the indivisible now is always standing.” (Thomas Aquinas)

“The three persons are co-eternal…” (Athanasian Creed)

“The divine generation is not a transmutatio (change). Whence the Son is always generated, and the Father always generates; but this is not before-and-after.” (Thomas Aquinas)

“When something is actually and fully understood, the thought of that thing is simultaneous with the understanding. God is always in that state of actual, full understanding of himself.” (Berquist, explaining Thomas)