Act = Essence vs. “Free Out of Nothing”

Question #8: Does identifying God’s act of creation with His very being (as Catholic tradition often implies) risk implying that creation, like God, is absolutely necessary, contradicting the Church’s teaching that the world is created “freely out of nothing” (CCC 296–298)?

Identifying God’s act of creation with His very being–a frequent theme in Catholic tradition, particularly within Thomistic and scholastic theology–may appear to threaten the contingent nature of creation. If God’s act and His essence are one, some fear that creation itself might be as necessary as God is. However, Catholic teaching (CCC 296–298) clearly states the world is created freely and out of nothing, meaning there is no compulsion forcing God to create. To reconcile these teachings, theologians distinguish carefully between what is necessary within God and what is contingent in the order of created effects.

1. God’s Act = God’s Essence

When we say that God’s act of creation is “identical” to His being, we are safeguarding the doctrine of divine simplicity: there cannot be a “part” of God that is His act and another that is His essence. In God, all that He “has” or “does” is simply who He is–pure act (actus purus). This principle ensures no composition or division exists within God.

2. No Automatic Necessity for the World

The move from “God’s act is God’s essence” to “the world exists necessarily” would only follow if that act were internally compulsory for God. But Catholic tradition underscores God’s freedom: He is under no necessity, external or internal, to create. Hence, while God’s action is one with His essence, the effect–creation–remains wholly contingent, since God did not have to will it.

3. Distinction Between God’s Being and the Created Order

The claim that “God’s act is His essence” applies strictly to God’s internal reality, preserving the notion that there is no extraneous addition to God when He wills the universe. By contrast, the fact that the universe exists is contingent upon God’s free decree. No contradiction emerges once we realize that the absolute necessity belongs to God Himself–He cannot not be–while the content of His will (that there should be a finite creation) is not dictated by His essence.

4. Created Contingency Flowing from Eternal Freedom

Because God is not bound by any lack or constraint, He can freely decree “Let there be light” (Gen 1:3) without undermining His own simplicity or eternality. Thus, although God’s act of creation is internally identical to His essence, the outcome–creation itself–is still an unnecessary, gratuitous gift. The timeless, unchanging divine will includes this possibility without forcing it to be necessary from all eternity.

In this way, Catholic theology preserves both God’s utter simplicity (no separate “creative act” distinct from His being) and the contingency of the world (God chooses to create freely, without compulsion). Creation is, therefore, a true gift rather than a necessary emanation of the divine being.

(see #7, #24 for more)