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Whether God Is in All Things?
God is indeed in all things in multiple ways: one, by way of agency in something, just as a real estate agent has authority to represent the interest of her seller. Two, where the mover of the moved comes into contact, resulting in the moved being moved on the initial action of the mover, who is God. Thus, resulting in some kind of action or understanding of the intellect. Three, as long as something is in being, God must be present there, for something that is in being has its own essence because God created it. In the same way, the essence of God is also present, not as the essence of the person, but of its own essence at the same time while subsisting within it. Whether God is Everywhere? God fills a space by way of another through agency, will, influence, through creatures – giving them breath, hope, love, and the like. In another way, God fills a boundary directly in that His very presence is there, for He fills a place with being and existence. Furthermore, both the corporeal and incorporeal nature that is God can move in and out of one place or many places all at once, multiple times, or individually, because He is God, and this belongs to Him alone as He is of a different order of being as we know it. In this way, He alone is indeed everywhere. Whether God is Everywhere by Essence, Presence, and Power? By way of essence, God is in all things in the way He is their Efficient Cause and is present in all things that are created by Him. God is strongly present in the rational creature who is known by Him by way of intellect, particularly the Saints, through grace. By way of power and presence, God is present in the way that creatures and the like are subjected to His laws, rules, boundaries, limits, and likeness associated with its kind. In the same way, His authority can be felt and experienced in the operation of a creature in as much as they are limited or allowed to a function and understanding of the intellect. For example, a chicken’s likeness is to lay eggs, both to repopulate, but to also feed other living creatures. The chicken does not need to be instructed on the matter but acts upon it by design and power from the One whom it was created by. Just as the insect pollinates crops for food, the honeybee makes its honey – delicate ecosystems are the product of creative design, influence, and power – not accident, as the atheist, who believes in a series of accidents causing perfect conditions might suggest. The power of God is in all these things, working to an intelligent outcome. As for the person who does not perceive or acknowledge the force of God, even in their own lives, the atheist does not accidentally get to work on time or do his laundry. The atheist must wake up on his own and deliberately get dressed and prepare his day. He may drink some coffee and take transportation to his job. Through all these successive actions, he deliberately arrived at his place of work, not accidentally. In the same way, perfect occurrences cannot appear out of an electric blender of many different ingredients and causes. If this were the rule, matter would be a disorderly and ugly blend of many things that are nonsensical. However, this is not the case, for the very essence of God is actively guiding all things to their purpose and calculated end. Whether to Be Everywhere Belongs to God Alone? To be everywhere primarily and absolutely belongs to God alone and is proper to Him. Where He is not, there is no being or existence, for anything that Is must have His presence in some way. It is impossible that God would not be capable of this, or that something else other than God would be capable of the same function, especially as a creature – which is impossible.
I am blessed to be a Third Order Lay Dominican. However, the ideas expressed in this post are my own and do not represent the endorsement of or position of the Order of Preachers as a whole.
Commentary regarding Saint Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae derived from: ST part (I), Q. 1-26 from newadvent.org with permission. Scripture texts in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. and are used by permission of the copyright owner. All Rights Reserved. No part of the New American Bible may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
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mr. scott lowry, op
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