[1] It remains to show now that **He can act apart from the order implanted by Him in things**.
[2] Indeed, there is an order divinely instituted in things to the effect that lower things are moved through higher ones by God, as we said above. Now, **God can act apart from this order**; for instance, He may Himself produce an effect in lower things, with nothing being done, in this case, by a higher agent. In fact, **there is a difference on this point between an agent that acts by natural necessity and one that acts according to will**; an effect cannot result from one that acts by natural necessity except according to the mode of the active power - so, an agent that has very great power cannot directly produce a small effect, but it produces an effect in proportion to its power. But, in this effect, there is sometimes less power than in the cause, and so, by means of many intermediaries, there finally comes to be a small effect from the highest cause. However, the situation is not the same in the case of an agent working through will. For one who acts through will is able at once to produce without an intermediary any effect that does not exceed its power. For instance, the very perfect artisan can produce any kind of work that the less perfect artisan could make. Now, God operates through will, and not through natural necessity, as we showed above. Therefore, **He can produce immediately, without special causes**, the smaller effects that are produced by lower causes....
[9] Now, if someone says that, since God did implant this order in things, the production in things of an effect independently of its proper causes, and apart from the order established by Him, could not be done without a change in this order, this objection can be refuted by the very nature of things. **For the order imposed on things by God is based on what** **usually** occurs, in most cases, in things, **but not on what is always so**. In fact, many natural causes produce their effects in the same way, but not always.... But the order of providence does not fail, or suffer change, because of such an event. Indeed, the very fact that the natural order, which is based on things that happen in most cases, does fail at times is subject to divine providence. So, if by means of a created power it can happen that the natural order is changed from what is usually so to what occurs rarely - without any change of divine providence - then it is more certain** that divine power can sometimes produce an effect, without prejudice to its providence, apart from the order implanted in natural things by God**. In fact, **He does this at times to manifest His power**. For it can be manifested in no better way, that the whole of nature is subject to the divine will, than by the fact that **sometimes He does something outside the order of nature**. Indeed, this makes it evident that the order of things has proceeded from Him, **not by natural necessity, but by free will**.