50. But He proves abundantly that His will
is free by the words, As the Father raiseth the dead and quickeneth
them, even so the Son also quickeneth whom He will St. John v. 21.. When the equality of Father and Son
in power and honour is indicated, then the freedom of the Son’s
will is made manifest: when Their unity is demonstrated, His
conformity to the Father’s will is signified, for what the Father
wills, the Son does. But to do is something more than to obey a
will: the latter would imply external necessity, while to do
another’s will requires unity with him, being an act of
volition. In doing the will of the Father the Son teaches that
through the identity of Their nature His will is the same in nature
with the Father’s, since all that He does is the Father’s
will. The Son plainly wills all that the Father wills, for wills
of the same nature cannot dissent from one another. It is the
will of the Father which is revealed in the words, For this is the
will of My Father, that every one that beholdeth the Son and believeth
in Him, should have eternal life, and that I should raise Him up at the
last day Ib. vi.
40.. Hear now,
whether the will of the Son is discordant with the Father’s, when
He says, Father, those whom Thou hast given Me, I will that where I
am they also may be with Me Ib.
xvii. 24.. Here is
no doubt that the Son wills: for while the Father wills that
those who believe in the Son should have eternal life, the Son wills
that the believer should be where He is. For is it not eternal
life to dwell together with Christ? And does He not grant to the
believer in Him all perfection of blessing when He says, No one hath
known the Son save the Father, neither hath any known the Father save
the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal
Him St. Matt. xi. 27.? Has He not
freedom of will, when He wills to impart to us the knowledge of the
Father’s mystery? Is not His will so free that He can
bestow on whom He will the knowledge of Himself and His Father?
Thus Father and Son are manifestly joint Possessors of a nature common
to Both through birth and common through unity: for the Son is
free of will, but what He does willingly is an act of the
Father’s will.