Only one of them even corresponds to a concept that is logically possible, and yet it is the other that seems to be behind the words of plenty of Christians when they speak of an 'ex nihilo' act of creation. 'Ex nihilo' might linguistically mean 'from nothing' in its common usage, but what does it mean conceptually? There are two distinct intentions behind the phrase that are likely to be used. Creation ex nihilo is a phrase associated with Genesis 1's creation theology, referring to the specifics of the way God created matter.