FOURTH ARTICLE: WHETHER CONCRETE ESSENTIAL TERMS (GOD, NOT DEITY) CAN BE SUBSTITUTED FOR PERSON

The question is whether concrete essential names can be used as the subject of a proposition in place of the name of any person, for example, can we say God generates as we say the Father generates?

The difficulty arises from the fact that these concrete essential terms seem to signify the essence, since Deity and God are the same, and it is not the divine essence that generates, but the Father. Thus we could also say that God does not generate if "God" can be substituted for "the Son."

The reply nevertheless is in the affirmative, with some explanation. God in the concrete signifies Deity in the suppositum and therefore God may express either the principle of operation common to the three persons, for example, God created heaven and earth, or one of the three persons. The particular signification must be determined by the exigencies of the predicate. Thus when we say God created heaven and earth, "God" stands for the three persons who have the same nature and omnipotence. On the other hand when we say, God generates, "God" stands for the Father alone because He alone generates. But we cannot say the Deity generates, as will be explained in article five.