On Thomas Aquinas' Conception of Creation

For Thomas Aquinas, the question of creation was not only theological but also metaphysical. In order to show the essence of the doctrine of creation as creatio ex nihilo, Aquinas established his metaphysics of creation. In his argument, God the creator, the only first principle, as to its essence, is nothing but pure act. As God's divine action, creation is but to give being. The world, as to its existence, was created absolutely by God alone from nothing. However, they have their own participated being and good. As a new paradigm, Aquinas' metaphysics of creation was a philosophical expression of the Biblical verse "in the beginning God creates heaven and earth". This onto-theology is significant in the history of Christian thought.