Iii. Of The Divine Operations
III. OF THE DIVINE OPERATIONS
What is the life of God?
He lives in His knowledge and in His love (XIV.-XXVI.).
Does God know all things?
Yes (XIV. 5).
Does God know all that happens on earth?
Yes (XIV. 11).
Does God know our secret thoughts?
Yes (XIV. 10).
Does God know the future?
Yes (XIV. 13).
How is this knowledge in God?
The reason is because God who is utterly immaterial has a mind that is infinite. Hence no thing that is, that will be, or can be in no matter what being is hidden from Him, since everything is related to His knowledge as effects are related to their causes (XIV. 1-5).
(A)
Has God a will?
Yes; for wheresoever there is mind, there also must be will (XIX. 1).
Do all things depend on the will of God?
Yes; because God's will is the first and supreme cause of all things (XIX. 4-6).
(B)
Does God love all His creatures?
Yes, for He made them out of love only (XX. 2).
Does God's love for His creatures produce any effect in them?
Yes, the effect of God's love in His creatures is the good found in them (XX. 3,4).
(C)
Is God just?
Yes, God is Very Justice (XXI. 1).
Why is God Very Justice?
God is Very Justice because He gives to each creature what is due to its nature (XXI. 5-2).
Is there any special kind of God's justice towards men?
Yes; and it consists in this, that He rewards the good and punishes the wicked (XXI. 1, Obj. 3).
Does God reward the good and punish the wicked in this life?
Only in part does God reward the good and punish the wicked in this life.
Where does God fully reward the good and punish the wicked?
In heaven God fully rewards the good, and in hell fully punishes the wicked.
(D)
Is God merciful?
Yes (XXI. 3).
In what does the mercy of God consist?
It consists in this, that He gives to each thing even more than is due to its nature; likewise He rewards the good more fully than they deserve and punishes the wicked even less than they deserve (XXI. 4.).
(E)
Has God any care of the world?
Yes; and it is called providence (XXI. 1).
Does the providence of God extend to all things?
Yes, for there is nothing in the world that God has not foreseen and pre-ordained from all eternity (XXII. 2).
Does it extend also to inanimate things?
Yes, for they are a part of God's handiwork (XXII. 2, Obj. 5).
Does it extend to the free acts of man?
Yes; and by this is meant that every free act of man is subject to the ordering of Divine Providence, and in these acts there is nothing but what God ordains or permits; for in no sense does man's liberty imply man's independence of God (XXII. 2, Obj. 4).
(F)
Has God's providence in regard to the elect any special name?
Yes, it is called predestination (XXIII. 1).
What does predestination imply with regard to those whom it concerns?
It implies that these one day shall possess the happiness of heaven (XXIII. 2).
What are those called who never attain to this happiness?
They are called the reproved or the non-elect (XXIII. 3).
Why is it that the predestined attain this happiness while the reproved or the non-elect do not?
It is because God chooses the predestined by a love of predilection, in virtue of which He so arranges all things in this life that ultimately they reach the happiness of heaven (XXIII. 4).
And why is it that the reproved or the non-elect do not ultimately reach the same happiness?
It is because God does not love them with the same love as He loves the predestined (XXIII. 3, Obj. 1).
But surely this is unjust on God's part?
No, it is not unjust, because no one has a right to the happiness of heaven; and those who reach heaven do so by the grace of God only (XXIII. 3, Obj. 2).
But those who do not reach heaven, will they be punished for not getting there?
They will not be punished for not getting there except in so far as their sins prevented them from getting there (XXIII. 3, Obj. 3).
Is it true that man is prevented from reaching heaven by his own fault?
Yes, it is through man's own fault if he does not reach the happiness of heaven which God offers to all; man who is free either does not respond to the offer made him by God or he spurns it by seeking his own ends (ibid.).
Does this despisal or the choosing of one's own ends outrage God?
Yes, such is an outrage against God; moreover when this is due to one's own personal sin, it merits the most severe chastisement (ibid.).
Do those who respond to God's offer and who reach the happiness of heaven owe it to God that they responded to His offer, and is it due to Him that they merit their happiness?
Yes, they owe it all to the predestination of God (XXIII. 3, Obj. 2).
Does God make this choice from all eternity?
Yes (XXIII. 3, Obj. 2).
What does this choice imply with regard to those whom it concerns?
It implies that God has fixed for them a place in heaven and that by His grace He guides them towards heaven which eventually they reach (XXIII. 5-7).
What should men do at the thought of this eternal choice of predestination?
They should rely completely on the grace of God in the endeavour to know for certain, in so far as this is possible on earth, that they are among the elect (XXIII. 8).
(G)
Is God almighty?
Yes (XXV. 1-6).
Why is God almighty?
Because since God is Very Being, whatever is not opposed to the idea of being is dependent upon Him (XXV. 3).
(H)
Is God happy?
Yes, God is Very Happiness; for He enjoys in an infinite manner the infinite good which is none other than Himself (XXVI. 1-4).