Divine Will’s Death through Creature-Resistance
The doctrine that the Divine Will undergoes a form of death whenever it departs from God carrying grace and help to operate a good in the creature, and the creature refuses to cooperate — “if the creature is reluctant, it is as if my Will suffered a death” — structurally enacted in Christ’s lament at Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37: “I would have gathered your children… and you were not willing” — the definitive Christological expression of Will-death through creature-resistance) and his weeping over the city (Luke 19:41-42: the good of peace departing without achieving what it carried), with Isaiah 5:4 as the OT type (“what more could I have done for my vineyard?”); conversely, if the creature is disposed to receive, the Will “multiplies another life” — the same economy that produces Will-death through resistance produces life-multiplication through cooperation, the dual outcome governed by the condition of Hebrews 3:15 (“if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts”); the Creative Power residing in the FIAT (Genesis 1:3; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:3: upholding all things by the word of his power) means that each refused operative grace is the refused entry of the same Creative Power that brought the universe into being. (E)
Anchors: Matthew 23:37; Luke 19:41-42; Isaiah 5:4; Hebrews 3:15; Genesis 1:3; John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:3 — Appearances: 2. Full Registry entry.