296. Operating and Cooperating Grace: Division and Distinction

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Division of Grace into Operating and Cooperating #

• Grace can be understood in two ways: (1) as divine motion/aid by which God moves us to willing and acting well, and (2) as a habitual gift (forma) given divinely within us that justifies and heals the soul
• Both understandings permit the same twofold division into operating and cooperating grace
• The division is distinguished not by essence but according to diverse effects (secundum diversa effecta)

Operating Grace (Gratia Operans) #

• Grace by which God moves the human will toward willing the good
• Particularly evident when the will must be converted from willing evil to willing good
• In this effect, the will is moved but does not itself move; operation is attributed to God alone
• Examples: Christ saying “Go and sin no more” to the woman caught in adultery; the opening of closed lips to speak prayer

Cooperating Grace (Gratia Cooperans) #

• Grace that perfects the will already moved toward good
• Both inward aid (confirming/strengthening the will) and outward aid (giving ability to operate) are involved
• In this effect, both God and the will are operative; the will is both moved and moves
• Examples: The continuation and perfection of an act already begun; assistance in overcoming obstacles in exterior works

Grace as Form and Its Two Effects #

• Just as any form has two effects—first to give being, second to produce operation—habitual grace has corresponding effects
• As giving being/healing the soul: operating grace
• As principle of meritorious work proceeding from free judgment: cooperating grace

Key Arguments #

Objections to the Division #

Objection 1: Grace is an accidental quality; accidents cannot act upon their subject, so grace cannot be called “operating”

• Reply: Grace acts formally (formaliter), not efficiently. Just as whiteness makes something white without being an efficient cause, so grace makes the soul acceptable without acting as an efficient cause. The form itself is what makes the effect.

Objection 2: Augustine says God does not justify without us; therefore grace cannot be said simply to operate

• Reply: God justifies through the motion of the free will consenting to God’s justice. This motion of the will is not the cause of grace but its effect. The whole operation pertains to grace; what we do comes of grace.

Objection 3: Grace appears to be the principal agent, not a cooperating agent; therefore it should not be called cooperating

• Reply: To cooperate means not only to act as secondary agent to a principal agent, but to aid toward an end which is presupposed. Grace cooperates in aiding the will that it might will good.

Objection 4: Operating and cooperating are not true opposites; the same grace can be both, so the division is improper

• Reply: They are distinguished according to diverse effects, not as contradictory opposites. Distinction by diverse effects is a valid form of division (like how the same thing can be “after” one thing and “before” another).

Augustine’s Formulation #

Augustine provides the fundamental distinction: “He operates that we might will; when we will, he cooperates by perfecting it” (Operatur ut velimus; cum autem volumus, cooperatur ut perficiamus)

Important Definitions #

Gratia operans (operating grace): The grace by which God moves the human will to willing good, especially in conversion from evil to good. The operation is attributed to God alone; the will is purely passive in receiving this motion.

Gratia cooperans (cooperating grace): The grace that perfects the will already moved toward good. Both God and the will cooperate; the will is both moved and moves.

Formality/Formaliter: The manner in which a form (not an efficient cause) produces its effect—e.g., whiteness makes something white not by efficient causation but by being the very principle of whiteness in the subject.

Habitual grace: A permanent gift of grace residing in the soul as a quality that heals and justifies it, making it acceptable to God.

Examples & Illustrations #

Scripture #

• Woman caught in adultery: “Go and sin no more”—example of operating grace converting the will from evil
• Prayer forms: “O God, come to my assistance” (operating) vs. “O Lord, make haste to help me” (cooperating)
• Augustine on Romans 9:16: “Not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy”

Liturgical Context #

• In the Office: First asking God to open lips (operating grace—the mouth is closed) followed by asking God to hasten to help (cooperating grace—the mouth is now open and speaking)

Pedagogical Analogy #

• Teaching requires operating grace (acquiring knowledge of subject) and cooperating grace (instructing others, overcoming objections)

Physical Analogy #

• Rolling a sphere vs. a cube: The spherical form of a ball cooperates with the action of rolling in a way a cube does not; the form itself aids the external action

Questions Addressed #

Q: How can grace be both operating and cooperating if it is the same grace? A: Grace is the same in essence but distinguished only according to diverse effects. This is not a contradiction; the same reality can have different effects in different circumstances (e.g., Thursday is after Wednesday and before Friday).

Q: Does operating grace violate human freedom? A: No. Operating grace moves the will toward willing good; it perfects the will’s natural inclination without forcing it. The will remains free even when moved by God.

Q: Why does Augustine say God does not justify without us if operating grace seems to be God acting alone? A: Justification requires the consent of the will (a human act). Operating grace moves the will to this consent; the consent itself is the effect of grace, not its cause. Human freedom is preserved because the motion of the will toward good is precisely what we contribute—but this motion itself is the work of grace.

Berquist’s Broader Method #

Berquist emphasizes that Thomas’s treatment exemplifies the classical method of dividing into two or three to explain complex realities. Here, grace is first divided into two forms (operating/cooperating), and each can be further understood through the twofold understanding of grace itself (motion vs. habitual form), yielding four possible combinations—all derived from repeated binary divisions.