298. God as Sole Principal Cause of Grace

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Principal Cause vs. Instrumental Causality #

• God alone is the principal (chief) cause of grace
• Creatures can be instrumental causes only—acting by the power of the principal agent, not their own power
• Example: Michelangelo’s chisel does not make the Pietà by its own power but by Michelangelo’s power
• The humanity of Christ and sacraments operate instrumentally, not principally

The Three Objections and Their Resolution #

Objection 1: Christ’s Humanity #

• Objection: John 1:17 states “grace and truth through Jesus Christ was made,” suggesting the created human nature of Christ (which is anointed, not the divine nature) causes grace
• Resolution: The humanity of Christ is a tool (instrumentum) of the divinity. As a tool acts by the power of the principal agent, so Christ’s humanity causes grace through the power of the divinity joined to it
• This distinction preserves both that the humanity is truly causative and that only God principally causes grace

Objection 2: Sacraments of the New Law #

• Objection: The sacraments of the New Law cause grace (unlike sacraments of the Old Law which only signify), and sacraments are visible material elements, so creatures can cause grace
• Resolution: In sacraments, grace is caused chiefly through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in the sacraments, not through the sacramental elements themselves. The sacraments are instrumental causes of grace as Christ’s humanity is instrumental
• This preserves the superiority of New Testament sacraments while maintaining God’s exclusive principal causality

Objection 3: Angels as Purging, Enlightening, and Perfecting #

• Objection: Dionysius teaches that angels purge, enlighten, and perfect both lower angels and humans. Since rational creatures are purged, illuminated, and perfected by grace, angels seem to cause grace
• Resolution: What Dionysius calls “purgation, illumination, and perfection” is nothing other than “an assumption of divine knowledge” (ἀσσουμπτιο θεϊκοῦ σχήματος), not the causing of grace itself. Angels enlighten by instruction and teaching, not by justifying or causing grace
• Psalm 83 (“The Lord gives grace and glory”) confirms God alone gives grace

The Fundamental Principle #

No creature acts beyond its own species because the cause must always be more potent than the effect.

Grace exceeds every faculty of created nature because:

• It is nothing other than a partaking of the divine nature itself (κοινωνία τῆς θείας φύσεως)
• The divine nature excels every other nature
• Therefore, only God—who possesses divine nature—can communicate grace

The Fire Metaphor #

• Only fire can make something hot; similarly, only God can make the soul graceful (gratum faciens)
• Fire serves as a metaphor for God: the light proceeding from it represents divine understanding; the heat represents divine love; the transformative power represents God’s power
• Fire also symbolizes the Trinity: the Father, from whom proceeds both light (the Son) and heat (the Holy Spirit)

Key Arguments #

• Causality Principle: An effect cannot exceed the power of its cause; therefore, if grace exceeds all created power, only a being with infinite power (God) can cause it
• Participation Argument: Grace is a participation in divine nature; only God possesses divine nature to communicate it
• Instrumental Causality: Creatures can be instrumental causes, acting through God’s power, but never principal causes of grace
• Species Limitation: Every creature acts within the limits of its own species; grace belongs to the divine species, so no creature can principally cause it

Important Definitions #

• Instrumental Cause (Causa Instrumentalis): An agent that acts not by its own power but by the power of the principal agent. The instrument is truly causative but entirely dependent on the principal agent’s power.
• Principal Cause (Causa Principalis): The agent whose power is the source of the action. In the case of grace, only God is the principal cause.
• Grace as Divine Nature Participation: Grace is nothing other than a sharing in or partaking of the divine nature itself (κοινωνία τῆς θείας φύσεως). This definition grounds why only God can cause it.
• Species: The characteristic nature that defines what a thing is and limits what it can act upon or produce

Examples & Illustrations #

Artistic Creation #

• Michelangelo and his chisel/hammer: The tools do not create the Pietà by their own power but by Michelangelo’s artistic power working through them
• The tools are truly causal—they actually touch and shape the marble—but they depend entirely on the artist’s intention and power

The Burning Bush #

• The bush represents the humanity of Christ
• The fire (not consuming the bush) represents the divinity of Christ
• The meaning: the divine nature does not destroy or absorb the human nature but both remain distinct with their respective properties preserved

Teaching and Learning #

• When a teacher teaches, does the teacher’s words teach, or does the teacher teach through the words?
• The teacher is the principal cause; the words are instrumental
• Similarly, Thomas teaches through written words as an instrument
• Christ taught through his humanity as an instrument of his divinity

Natural Generation #

• Fire is the only thing that can produce heat or make something hot
• Other creatures cannot produce heat by their own nature
• Similarly, only God can produce grace—other creatures cannot, even instrumentally, unless God’s power works through them

Questions Addressed #

Article 1: Is God Alone the Efficient Cause of Grace? #

• Question: Do creatures (Christ’s humanity, sacraments, angels) share in causing grace, or is God the sole cause?
• Resolution: God is the sole principal cause. Creatures can be instrumental causes only, and their instrumental causality depends entirely on God’s principal causality working through them. The three objections are resolved by distinguishing between principal and instrumental causation.

Notable Quotes #

• “No thing is able to act beyond its own kind. Why? Because always it is necessary that the cause be more potent than the effect.”
• “The gift of grace exceeds every faculty of the created nature. Why? Because it’s nothing other than a certain partaking of the divine nature itself.”
• “The humanity of Christ does not cause grace by its own power but by the power of the divinity joined to it.”
• “In the sacraments of the new law… [they] cause grace… chiefly through the power of the Holy Spirit operating in the sacraments.”

Methodological Notes #

The Principle of Causality Applied #

Thomas applies the foundational principle that the cause must be more potent than the effect to establish God’s exclusive principal causality over grace. This principle, rooted in Aristotelian metaphysics, ensures logical coherence: since grace exceeds all created power, only an infinite cause (God) can produce it.

Distinction as Resolution #

Berquist emphasizes the Dominican principle: “Seldom affirm, never deny, always distinguish.” The distinction between principal and instrumental causality resolves all three objections without denying that creatures are truly causal in grace (through sacraments and Christ’s humanity) or that they have real effects (through angelic enlightenment).