Tractatus de Deo uno secundum naturam

The universal saving will of God is demonstrated from the Scriptures.

« That the antecedent will of God in this order of fallen and restored humankind is directed to the eternal salvation not only of those who are saved, but also of others, and indeed that this saving will is extended to all men absolutely who have already come to the use of reason, is demonstrated from the doctrine of the holy Scriptures. »

We are not speaking here of the will of simple complacency in the goodness of an object, which is conceived in God not so much as a will as a necessary judgement concerning any aspect of good, even merely possible; but we assert a will which of itself wills the very effect of salvation, although not without a condition on the part of the free cooperation of the men to be saved. This will of salvation, moreover, includes the will of offering to men (at least antecedently to the impediments interposed either freely by man or from elsewhere, not directly by God) all those aids without which salvation cannot be obtained, and which of themselves suffice, so that men using them can attain salvation. That God has prepared all these aids for men by an antecedent will, so that through them men may be saved, is usually signified when it is said that there is in God a sincere antecedent will of human salvation. Nor indeed can there be in God any will which is not sincere.

The question, moreover, whether the antecedent will of salvation, also in relation to those who in fact are not saved, is a will of good pleasure or a will of sign, has no place at all. For what could the sign of the saving will, I mean the divine operation for our salvation and the precept that we work out our salvation, signify other than the most true will in God that we be saved? Shall we perhaps suspect, with Calvin, that God, who is infinitely good and true, wills meanwhile to persuade us by fallacious signs that his will is that we be saved, when this is in truth nothing, but is rather a contrary hidden will?

Finally, let it be noted, in order to delimit the state of the question, that the discussion here concerns not only the will absolutely antecedent to the foreseeing even of original sin, but the will which is referred to men in this order fallen and restored through Christ. It is a matter, therefore, of a saving will consequent indeed upon the foresight of the fallen nature in Adam, but antecedent to the foresight of the acts or omissions by which individual adults bring upon themselves the judgement of damnation.

The thesis comprises two parts, which, although they are theologically proved by almost the same proofs of revelation from Scripture and the Fathers, yet, considering the solemn and explicit definition of the Church, were not proposed with the same degree and under the same censure. For the former part has been defined to be de fide; the other part has not hitherto been defined under this censure, as is clear from the condemnation of the 5ᵃᵉ proposition of Jansenius: « It is Semipelagian to say that Christ died for absolutely all men. » It was condemned by the Supreme Pontiffs as « false, rash, scandalous; and understood in the sense that Christ died only for the salvation of the predestined, impious, blasphemous, contumelious, derogating from the divine goodness, heretical. » From this condemnation itself, and from the parity of the grounds which we shall see, it is established that the second part also is certain, so that it cannot be denied without rashness. With these preliminary remarks, the demonstration follows.

I. That the saving will extends also to others besides those who in fact are saved, in this present order of fallen and restored nature, all the holy Scriptures proclaim. For they teach, a) that all who believe are given by the Father to the Son through the very gift of faith, and that they are given to the Son because the Father wills¹ mercy, so that all may be saved through the Son, Io. III. 14-18; VI. 37-40; cf. XVII. 12. ². That among these there are believers who by their own fault are not going to obtain salvation no one can doubt, unless he would absurdly contend, with the Calvinists, from whom the Jansenists themselves dissent in this matter, that neither the grace of faith, nor any effect of the sacraments, nor in general any supernatural gift is ever granted to those who are not among the predestined, and so to all those who in fact are not saved. b) Just as the Father gave the only-begotten Son, that everyone who believes in him should not perish but have eternal life, Io. III. 16; so Christ the Saviour prayed to the Father for all who would believe, that they may be in the Father and in the Son, Io. XVII. 20. 21. He expended not only prayer but also preaching, solicitude, labours, and miracles, to gather the children of Jerusalem, « as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, » yet they were unwilling; as Christ himself, weeping³ lamented, Matth. XXIII. 37; Luc. XIII. 34. c) Beyond all these things, Christ, as the Scriptures bear witness, poured out his very life and blood for all the faithful, and at least also for those who perish; and therefore he poured it out so that they might be preserved from ruin, Rom. VIII. 31. sq.; XIV. 15; 1. Cor. VIII. 11. Hence d) all the faithful are said to be placed and destined for the acquisition of salvation, 1. Thess. V. 9. 10; 2. Thess. II. 13. For God directs the call to faith and justification and all graces, in all those to whom He bestows them, toward eternal salvation; whence eternal life is the end of the graces which God intends in bestowing them, Rom. I. 16; VI. 22; 1. Pet. I. 9. This order of grace toward salvation is indicated in the holy Scripture by modes of speaking in which faith and Christian righteousness, without any distinction made between those who will actually be saved and others who at last will perish through their own fault, are everywhere called eternal life in all the faithful, Io. III. 36; V. 24. 39; XVII. 3; Act. V. 20; XI. 18.

II. Indeed the Scriptures teach that God embraces absolutely all men with his saving will. We shall prove this first from the explicit and most clear testimony of 1. Tim. II. 1-6, to which accordingly the interpretation of other passages, if there are any more obscure, ought to be brought by the hermeneutical rule. We shall then set out heads of doctrine from other places of Scripture, which demonstrate and confirm the same universality of the saving will.

1°. The passage of the Apostle⁴ reads thus: « I urge, therefore, first of all that supplications be made… for all men, for kings and for all who are in high station, that we may lead a tranquil life in all piety and chastity; for this is good and acceptable before God our Saviour, who wills all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth: for there is one God, and one mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a redemption for all. » Two things come into question: what is the extent and what is the property of this will, that all men be saved, as it is to be taught by the Apostle.

As to the first question, in words that are explicit and clear in themselves, if they are taken in their obvious sense, the extent of the saving will to absolutely all men is expressed, as is evident from mere inspection. In the context, however, there is not only nothing which allows one to suspect any restriction; but rather the context clearly shows that the obvious sense of the words, in which the universality of the divine will that all men be saved is expressed, is the true sense intended by the Apostle. This is shown both by the form of the argument, that is, the matter to which the will of the salvation of all is led by the Apostle to persuade; and above all by the twofold reason by which the Apostle himself declares the extent of the saving will to all men.

a) Accordingly the Apostle bids that prayers be made « for all men, » not only for the faithful; but indeed he speaks directly of prayer for unbelievers. And this zeal for praying for all men he urges on the principle that God « wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. » Therefore, by the mind of the Apostle, the will of the faithful ought to extend as widely that all be saved, and so also prayer for all, as widely as the will of God extends that all be saved. But from the will and prayer of the faithful which the Apostle commends, assuredly no man is excepted. Therefore neither is any man excepted from the saving will of God. Hence it is plain that that interpretation of the words of the Apostle, recalled by Augustine once and again, that God wills all men to be saved insofar as he wills that we should will all to be saved, is not false; although indeed the immediate sense of the words « God wills all men to be saved » is not this, but rather the sense of the Apostle's argument. Moreover, it is plain that by this Augustinian interpretation the universality of the saving will of God is not only not excluded, but is included in it and presupposed. We shall speak of this matter further below.

To explain this more fully, a difficulty must be resolved, which could be put in this way. The Apostle does not commend prayer for all men, and by name for kings and magistrates, that all may be saved; but that it may be allowed to Christians to lead a tranquil life in all piety. This, namely Christians leading a life in all piety, he says is acceptable before God, who wills all men to be saved. Therefore those « all men » whom God is said to will to be saved seem to be only Christians living in all piety. The difficulty makes necessary a more careful consideration of the words of Paul. I shall begin with the last clause: God wills all men to be saved. Paul himself, as I shall presently show, explains these words in such a way that « all men » must necessarily be understood as all created by God and all sharers in human nature. Hence, even if everything premised in the objection were conceded, the inference would still have to be denied, nor could it be granted that all men should be understood as only Christians; but it would necessarily have to be said that from the Apostle's universal principle, namely that God wills absolutely all to be saved, the particular propositions are proved. The sense, indeed, would be: because God wills absolutely all men to be saved, therefore it is first of all acceptable before God that Christians lead a tranquil life in all piety, and that to obtain this end prayers be made for all men, and especially for those who can most of all hinder or promote the tranquillity of life. But with this sense admitted, the proof of the universal saving will would be restricted to the words alone of vv. 4-6, « who wills all men to be saved » etc.; the preceding verses 1-3 could no longer, as we have done, be used for proof, but would only not stand in the way of a universality proved from elsewhere. With these preliminary remarks, let us look at the context, from which we shall understand the fallacy of the antecedent in the opposing argument. In the words « who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, » the Apostle directly and explicitly has in view unbelievers, who have not yet come to the knowledge of the truth; the immediate reason for the preceding clause is contained in them: « this is acceptable before God, » as is plain from the very form of the construction: « for this is good and acceptable before our Saviour God, who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. » Whatever that good and acceptable thing before God may be, it certainly cannot be something restricted to those alone who have already come to the knowledge of the truth; but it must be something reaching to those who have not yet come, and whom God wills all to come to the knowledge of the truth; for it is called good and acceptable before God under this aspect and formally, insofar as he wills all to come to the knowledge of the truth. What then is it that is called acceptable before God by the Apostle? If it is only that which immediately precedes, « that we may lead a tranquil life in all piety and chastity, » this must, by what has been said, pertain also to those who have not yet come to the knowledge of the truth, and the sense of this preceding clause is then necessarily: that all men may lead a life in all piety, namely not only those who have already come to the knowledge of the truth, but also those who have not yet come, that they may come and lead a life in all piety. The context would then be: let prayers be made for all men, for kings and magistrates, that all men may come to lead a tranquil life in all piety; for this is acceptable before God, because God wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. But if it seems improbable that this clause in the first person, « that we may lead a life in all piety, » should be extended to others than those who are actually Christians, the other clause, « for this is acceptable before God, » cannot be referred to the immediately preceding clause alone; it must be referred to the whole preceding context, or rather to the principal preceding proposition: let prayers be made for all men... for this is acceptable before God, who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. Indeed the principal proposition, which Paul wishes to persuade, and on which the others depend in grammatical construction, is this: « I beseech, therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, petitions, thanksgivings (εὐχαριστίας) be made for all men. » To this universal there is then subjoined a particular, although already included in it, for a special reason: « for kings and for those who are in high station, that we may lead a tranquil life. » When therefore the most universal reason of the whole commendation and exhortation is given, « for this is acceptable before God, » it is rightly understood that this acceptable before God is the whole which has gone before, and which the Apostle wishes to persuade; namely, that it is acceptable before God that prayers be made for all men, etc. The reason why it is acceptable, Paul adds: « because God wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. » This therefore is itself why one must pray, and what must be prayed for, for all men, that they may come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved.

When therefore it is said in the objection that the Apostle commends prayer that it may be allowed to lead a tranquil life in piety, a distinction must be drawn: if life in piety is understood as to be prayed for all men, I concede or let it pass; if it is understood as restricted to those alone who are actually Christians, I subdistinguish: this is the special reason for praying for kings, I concede; this is the general reason given by the Apostle for praying for all men, I deny.

b) If any doubt could remain, all of it is removed by the manner in which the Apostle himself declares the universality of the saving will. The reason for this will, by which God wills all men to be saved, Paul gives in two ways: first, because God is one, God of all men: « he wills all men to be saved; for there is one God. » The Apostle used this argument elsewhere too, Rom. III. 29; X. 12, to show that God calls to faith, that through faith and the Christian religion they may be saved, not only the Jews but also the Gentiles, without distinction between Jew and Greek. « Is he the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since indeed there is one God. » From the doctrine of the Apostle, therefore, the reason why God wills a man to be saved is sufficient in this alone, that God is the God of this man. No man, therefore, is excepted, unless perhaps there are men of whom he, the one true God, is not God; and the fiction of the Gnostics concerning two gods, one of the spiritual and another of the animal and earthly men, is introduced. The second reason of the Apostle is that « there is one mediator of God and men, a man, Christ Jesus. » For just as Christ alone is the worthy mediator with God, because he has the divine nature; so he is the mediator for men, because he has the human nature assumed from the human race. He is therefore mediator between God the Father, from whom by generation he has the communicated divine nature, and men, whose nature he has assumed. Cf. Heb. II. 14-16. Hence, in order that someone be included under the mediation of Christ and consequently under the saving will of God, it suffices that he have specifically the same nature, and that he be of that human race from which Christ has the assumed nature; it suffices, I say, from the doctrine of Paul, that he be a man, for the saving will of God and the mediation of Christ to extend to him. Thus from the fact that the man Christ Jesus, by the assumed human nature, is mediator of God and men, the Apostle himself concludes that he « gave himself a redemption for all. » Therefore again, unless we wish with the Docetists to deny that Christ assumed a truly human nature from the human race, and that he is consubstantial with us according to it, we must confess that, according to the doctrine of the Apostle, the mediation and redemption of Christ, and therefore the will to save, pertain to the whole human race and to all who are absolutely sharers in human nature. Cf. Laurentii Alticotii Dissertationem de antiquis et novis Manichaeis.

There remains another question, what kind of will this universal will of God is? The will of which the Apostle speaks, as to its own proper nature, is not merely complacency in the goodness of the object, such as there is in any good, even a merely possible one; but it is a will that the salvation of all men exist; although He does not absolutely will the existence of salvation, but under a condition which also depends on the co-operation of men: and therefore on God's part it is an active and operative will. For a) on account of that mere complacency, which effects nothing, God is never said in the Scriptures, nor can it be said, to will the salvation of anyone. For who would say, or with such seriousness, so often and so insistently press upon us, that God wills the salvation of those who are already in eternal damnation? Yet, as we see, it is by Christ and by the Apostles that it is repeated and commended that God wills all men to be saved. That simple complacency in the goodness of the object, however, also extends to the salvation of the damned and of the devil himself. b) Paul does not simply say that God wills the salvation of all, but expressly states that the object toward which the divine will is directed is the existence of salvation: « He wills all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth » (σωθῆναι καὶ εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας ἐλθεῖν). c) The will that all come to faith, and through faith to salvation, is such that from that will God wills « prayers to be made for all men, » and, what is far greater, that from that same will Christ was made mediator of all, and « himself gave himself a redemption (ἀντίλυτρον)⁵ for all. » It is therefore beyond all doubt that this will which Paul describes is the will of God properly so called, that all men be saved; and therefore the will of conferring on all men, on its part, what is necessary to attain salvation. Yet in order that salvation be actually obtained, free co-operation is also necessary on the part of men (for we are now speaking of adults), and therefore the will of God that the salvation of all men be actually conferred is conditional and antecedent.

2°. Since, according to the Apostle's declared doctrine, the economy of redemption embraces absolutely all men, and this universality of redemption has its origin in the universal mercy and will of God, that all men be saved; it cannot be that this universality of the saving will is not either presupposed or expressly preached in all the Scriptures. For « the word of reconciliation » and « the gospel of salvation » are the chief theme of the Scriptures, as generally of all apostolic preaching.

Indeed a) the Scriptures everywhere teach that the redemption of Christ and the price of his blood pertain to all those who, dead in the first Adam, need restoration through the second Adam. « Judging this, that if one died for all, then all are dead » 2. Cor. V. 14. 15. « For if by the offence of one many (οἱ πολλοί, the multitude of all) died, much more the grace of God and the gift in the grace of one man, Jesus Christ (as far as in itself lies), abounded toward the many (εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς, into the same multitude of all) » Rom. V. 15. b) Hence the Scriptures, having instituted a comparison between all men and the faithful, who actually receive the more abundant fruits of redemption, constantly affirm that the will of salvation, and the redemption flowing from it, pertain to all the faithful indeed, but not only to them: rather also to all other men, although in the faithful the fruit is greater and happier. « He is the propitiation (ἱλασμός, the sacrifice of propitiation) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world » 1. Io. II. 2; « who is the Saviour of all men, especially of the faithful » 1. Tim. IV. 10. c) The wonderful long-suffering of God in bearing with sinners and admonishing them to penance, even those who are not going to obey the call, is constantly commended and explained in the Scriptures, from the infinite mercy and will of God, by which He wills that no one perish. Thus St Peter (2. Pet. III. 9.), answering those who objected to the faithful, « where is the promise of his coming? », replies: « the Lord does not delay his promise, as some think, but acts patiently on your account (text. gr. vulg. εἰς ἡμᾶς), not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance. » Cf. Rom. II. 4. 5. Likewise in the Old Testament the exhortations of God to penance flow from that will, concerning which God solemnly swears by himself: « As I live, says the Lord God, I do not will the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn from your most wicked ways; and why will you die, house of Israel? » Ezech. XXXIII. 11; cf. XVIII. 23. The commendation of this mercy of God, from the universal saving will, is remarkable in Sap. XI. 24-XII. 18, where it is narrated that God destroyed the Egyptians and the impious Canaanites not with one onslaught, but gradually. The end which God had in view in this mode of punishment is described thus: « those who err thou dost correct by degrees (κατ' ὀλίγον, gradually), and admonish them concerning the things in which they sin, that, putting aside wickedness, they may believe in thee, O Lord. » The reason for this mercy is God's own goodness, which the sacred writer commends in wonderful words, pertaining to all men without exception who are creatures of God. « Thou sparest all, because they are thine, O Lord, who lovest souls…… For thy power is the beginning of justice, and because thou art Lord of all, thou makest thyself to spare all » (καὶ τὸ πάντων σε δεσπόζειν, πάντων φείδεσθαί σε πείσει). Read the rest in the same place. d) From these things it appears at the same time that this entirely universal will of God is presupposed in all the testimonies, n. I, adduced to prove that not only the predestined, but others also are comprehended by the antecedent saving will of God. For if God wills all men to come to the knowledge of the truth, that all be saved, and none of them perish; surely the Father, so far as He is concerned, wills to give all to the Son, not only those who, by receiving faith, are at some time actually given. The Son therefore did not pray the Father for those only who were actually given to him, but for all; he expended his labours and his blood. Likewise the graces are not only those which men actually accept by consenting, but also those which God offers, and, so far as He is concerned, prepares for all men; although they are not accepted, they are prepared by God from this will and intention, so that all may be saved by consenting to them. That Christ, John XVII. 9, does not pray the Father for the world, formally as it is an enemy of God, of Christ, and of his kingdom, is indeed most true; but let it be noted how and what the Saviour there prays. He prays to the Father, presenting as a motive the faith and love of the disciples, and in turn the love of the Father toward them; he asks, however, for them perseverance in faith and charity, in which they now are. « Holy Father, keep them in thy name. » But for the world he could pray neither from that motive, nor for perseverance in the good, which it had already attained. He prays for it not that it persevere in what it is; but rather that it cease to be what it is, the unbelieving and hostile world, as one may see even in this very prayer, v. 21: « that the world may believe, that thou hast sent me. »