88. God's Will of Sign and Its Distinction from Divine Will

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Problem of God’s Will and Human Language #

• God’s will is God himself—unchangeable, unmakeable, immovable
• When Scripture says “Thy will be done,” it cannot mean God’s will itself is being done
• Instead, it means doing what God wills—what God intends or commands
• This distinction requires understanding the will of sign (voluntas signi)

The Distinction Between Will Properly and Metaphorically Said #

• Will Properly (Voluntas Bene Placiti): God’s will in its essential sense—what God wills for itself
• Will Metaphorically (Voluntas Signi): Signs of God’s will expressed through Scripture and tradition
• The will of sign refers to signs that customarily indicate willing in human experience
• These signs are called “divine wills” because they are signs of what God wills, not because they are God’s will itself

Why Metaphor is Appropriate for God’s Will but Not All Divine Attributes #

• Metaphor involves carrying over a word from one meaning to another, typically through likeness of effects
• Example: God is called “angry” metaphorically because punishment (the effect of anger in us) is a sign of anger, and God punishes
• Anger, however, is never said properly of God because anger in its chief meaning includes passion or emotion (an undergoing)
• Will, by contrast, can be said both properly of God (his essential will) and metaphorically (through signs)
• This is why the will of sign is a legitimate theological mode of speech

Knowledge vs. Will as Causes #

• God’s knowledge is not a direct cause of things without the will
• Knowledge extends to opposites: the same knowledge can know both virtue and vice
• Will determines which opposite is actually brought about; it excludes the alternative
• Therefore, signs of causality are attributed to will rather than knowledge
• A sign taken from the effect (like punishment as a sign of will) indicates the will’s determination, not mere knowledge

The Nature of Signs in Divine Will #

• Signs of will are customarily things that indicate someone’s willingness in human experience
• These signs are then predicated of God metaphorically
• They are called divine wills not because they are God’s will, but because they function as signs of what God wills
• Example: A command is a sign that someone wills something to come about; divine commands are therefore metaphorically called divine wills

Key Arguments #

Against Speaking of the Will of Sign #

Argument 1: Parallel to Knowledge

• God’s knowledge is also a cause of things
• Yet we do not assign signs to divine knowledge
• Therefore, we ought not assign signs to divine will either

Argument 2: The Problem of False Signs

• Every sign that does not agree with that which is signified is false
• If signs of divine will do not conform to God’s will, they are false
• If they do conform, they are superfluous
• Therefore, signs ought not be assigned to divine will

Against Speaking of the Will of Sign (from Scripture) #

• God’s will is one, being the divine essence itself
• Yet Scripture speaks of God’s wills in plural: “Great are the works of the Lord, exquisite in all their wills” (Psalm 110)
• This plurality can only be understood if sometimes a sign of the will is taken for the will itself
• Therefore, it is necessary to speak of the will of sign

Thomas’s Resolution #

To Argument 1 (Knowledge):

• Knowledge is not a cause except through the will
• Things are not made from knowledge unless the will wills them to be made
• Therefore, a sign taken from effect is not attributed to knowledge as it is to will
• Knowledge extends to both opposites; the will determines one rather than the other
• Signs indicate the will’s determination, not mere knowledge

To Argument 2 (False or Superfluous Signs):

• Signs of divine will are called divine wills not because they are signs that God wills, but because things that customarily are signs of willing are called divine wills
• Example: Punishment is not a sign that God has anger (as if anger were in God), but because punishment is a sign of anger in us, God is metaphorically called angry when he punishes
• The signs are not false because they truly indicate what God wills
• The signs are not superfluous because they express in human language what God wills through the mode of human willing

Important Definitions #

Voluntas Bene Placiti (Will of Good Pleasure) #

God’s will properly speaking; his essential will. This is unchangeable and eternal, and it is God himself.

Voluntas Signi (Will of Sign) #

Metaphorical expressions of God’s will found in Scripture and tradition. These are not God’s will itself but rather signs that indicate what God wills, drawn from what customarily signifies willing in human experience.

Metaphora (Metaphor) #

From Greek meta (over) and pherein (to carry). The word is carried over from one meaning to another. Unlike translation, which carries over the meaning while changing the word, metaphor carries over the word itself while changing the meaning. The connection is typically through likeness of effects.

Per Se vs. Per Accidens in Relation to Signs #

• The knowledge of good and bad is per se the same
• But the will of good and bad are per se opposed to one another
• Therefore signs of willing distinguish will from mere knowledge

Examples & Illustrations #

The Our Father (Oratio Dominicalis) #

• The third petition: “Thy will be done”
• When Christ prays in the Garden, “Not my will, but thine be done,” he does not mean God’s will itself will be done
• He means: what God wills (his command/intention) will be accomplished
• This shows how the word “will” is used to mean what God wills, not the divine will itself

Command as a Sign of Will #

• When someone commands something, it is a sign that he wants it to come about
• Therefore, divine precepts (commands) are sometimes metaphorically called the will of God
• The command itself is not God’s will, but a sign indicating what God wills

Punishment as a Sign of Anger #

• In us, those who are angry are accustomed to punish
• Punishment is thus a sign of anger
• When God punishes, he is metaphorically said to be angry
• God does not have anger as an emotion, but the effect (punishment) that characterizes anger in us is present in God

God’s Sweetness in Scripture #

• “Taste and see how sweet this is” (Psalm 33:9, or similar)
• Sweetness properly pertains to taste
• When God is called sweet, the word is carried over (metaphor) but the meaning is not the same
• God is not actually sweet to taste, but there is some connection or likeness

Questions Addressed #

Article 11: Should One Distinguish in God the Will of Sign? #

Main Question: Is it appropriate to speak of God’s will through signs (commands, counsels, prohibitions, operations, permissions)?

Resolution: Yes. Although God’s will properly is the divine essence itself, Scripture and tradition customarily speak of signs of God’s will. These signs (divine precepts, etc.) are metaphorically called divine wills because things that are customarily signs of willing in human experience are predicated of God. They are not God’s will itself but signs indicating what God wills.

Why Knowledge Does Not Have Signs as Will Does #

Problem: If knowledge is also a cause of things, why do we not speak of signs of divine knowledge?

Resolution: Knowledge is a cause only through the will. Knowledge extends equally to opposites (both good and bad can be known), so knowledge does not determine which opposite comes about. The will alone determines which of two opposites is actually brought about. Therefore, effects are signs of the will’s determination, not of mere knowledge. Signs properly belong to will.

Notable Quotes #

“So he says, when, however, some passions, some emotions, right? Human emotions are taken metaphorically instead of God, huh? To the divine predication. This comes about by a likeness of effects.” — Berquist, explaining Thomas Aquinas on metaphorical predication

“Knowledge is not a cause of those things which come to be except through the will… Knowledge extends to both, right? And the will determines it to one. And so when that one is produced, it’s a sign of the will rather than a knowledge.” — Berquist, on the distinction between knowledge and will as causes

“In God some things are said properly and some things according to a metaphor.” — Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, Q. 19, Art. 11

“The signs of the will are called divine wills, not because they are signs that God wills, but because those things which in us are customarily signs of willing, are called in God the divine wills.” — Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae I, Q. 19, Art. 11