Ambrose of Milan : Is God not good to everyone then? Indeed, He is good to everyone, because He is the Savior of all, especially the faithful; and for this reason the Lord Jesus came, to save what was lost: He came to take away the sin of the world, to heal our wounds. But because not everyone seeks the medicine, but many refuse it, lest the force of the ulcer be aggravated by the remedies, He who desires to heal does not compel the unwilling. — Interrogation of Job and David, Book 3, Chapter 2 Ambrosiaster : That God wishes all men to be saved means that he wishes that all who freely and willingly desire it shall find salvation. — COMMENTARY ON THE FIRST LETTER TO TIMOTHY Apostolic Constitutions : Look down upon these persons who have bended the neck of their soul and body to Thee; for Thou desirest not the death of a sinner, but his repentance, that he turn from his wicked way, and live. Thou who didst accept the repentance of the Ninevites, who willest that all men be saved, and come to the acknowledgment of the truth; who didst accept of that son who had consumed his substance in riotous living, with the bowels of a father, on account of his repentance; do Thou now accept of the repentance of Thy supplicants: for there is no man that will not sin; for "if Thou, O Lord, markest iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? For with Thee there is propitiation." And do Thou restore them to Thy holy Church, into their former dignity and honour, through Christ our God and Saviour, by whom glory and adoration be to Thee, in the Holy Ghost, for ever. Amen. — Constitutions of the Holy Apostles Book 8 Augustine of Hippo : Accordingly. When we hear and read in sacred Scripture that God "wills that all should be saved," although we know well enough that not all are saved, we are not on that account to underrate the omnipotent will of God. Rather, we must understand the Scripture, "who will have all to be saved," as meaning that no one is saved unless God wills his salvation. It is not that there is no one whose salvation God does not will, but that no one is saved unless God wills it. Moreover, God's will should be sought in prayer, because if he wills, then what he wills must necessarily be. And, indeed, it was of prayer to God that the apostle was speaking when he made that statement. — Enchiridion 103.27 Augustine of Hippo : And what is written, that "he wills all men to be saved," while yet all men are not saved, may be understood in many ways, some of which I have mentioned in other writings of mine; but here I will say one thing: "He wills all men to be saved" is so said that all the predestinated may be understood by it, because every kind of man is among them. — ON REBUKE AND GRACE 14.44 Fabian of Rome : We beseech you also to be zealous in praying in your pious supplications, that our God and Lord Jesus Christ, who will have all men to be saved, and no one to perish, Gregory of Nyssa : But I say that to those who with simplicity of heart receive the preaching of the Cross and the resurrection, the same grace should be a cause of equal thankfulness to the Son and to the Father, and now that the Son has accomplished the Father's will (and this, in the language of the Apostle, is "that all men should be saved"), they ought for this boon to honour the Father and the Son alike, inasmuch as our salvation would not have been wrought, had not the good will of the Father proceeded to actual operation for us through His own power. And we have learnt from the Scripture that the Son is the power of the Father. — AGAINST EUNOMIUS 12.3 Ignatius of Antioch : You ought therefore to "hate those that hate God, and to waste away [with grief] on account of His enemies." I do not mean that you should beat them or persecute them, as do the Gentiles "that know not the Lord and God; " but that you should regard them as your enemies, and separate yourselves from them, while yet you admonish them, and exhort them to repentance, if it may be they will hear, if it may be they will submit themselves. For our God is a lover of mankind, and "will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." — Epistle of Ignatius to the Philadelphians John Cassian : To pray "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" is to pray that men may be like angels, that as angels fulfill God's will in heaven, men may fulfill his will, instead of their own, on earth. No one can say this sincerely except one who believes that every circumstance, favorable or unfavorable, is designed by God's providence for his good, and that he thinks and cares more for the good of his people and their salvation than we do for ourselves. It may be understood thus: the will of God is the salvation of all men, according to that text of Paul, "who wills all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." — CONFERENCES 9.20.1 John Cassian : As angels fulfill God's will in heaven, men may fulfill his will, instead of their own, on earth. No one can say this sincerely except one who believes that every circumstance, favorable or unfavorable, is designed by God's providence for good. God thinks and cares more for our good and our salvation than we do for ourselves. It may be understood thus: the will of God is the salvation of all. — CONFERENCES 9.20.1 John Cassian : For God's purpose, according to which he did not make the human being to perish but to live forever, abides unchanging. When his kindness sees shining in us the slightest glimmer of good will, which he himself has sparked from the hard flint of our heart, he fosters it, stirs it up and strengthens it with his inspiration, "desiring all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." — CONFERENCES 13.7.1 John Chrysostom : Seest thou how great the darkness is; and how everywhere there is need of faith. This it is, that is solid. But, if you will, let us come to things which are less than these. That substance hath an operation. And what in His case is operation? Is it a certain motion? Then He is not immutable: for that which is moved, is not immutable: for, from being motionless it becomes in motion. But nevertheless He is in motion, and never stands still. But what kind of motion, tell me; for amongst us there are seven kinds; down, up, in, out, right, left, circular, or, if not this, increase, decrease, generation, destruction, alteration. But is His motion none of these, but such as the mind is moved with? No, nor this either. Far be it! for in many things the mind is even absurdly moved. Is to will, to operate, or not? If to will is to operate, and He wills all men to be good, and to be saved, how comes it not to pass? But to will is one thing, to operate, another. To will then is not sufficient for operation. — Homily on Colossians 5 John Chrysostom : And if we are commanded to pray for our neighbors, not only for the faithful, but for the unbelieving also, consider how wrong it is to pray against your brethren. — Homily on 1 Timothy 6 John Chrysostom : Imitate God! if He willeth that all men should be saved, there is reason why one should pray for all, if He hath willed that all should be saved, be thou willing also; and if thou wishest it, pray for it, for wishes lead to prayers. Observe how from every quarter He urges this upon the soul, to pray for the Heathen, showing how great advantage springs from it; "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life"; and what is much more than this, that it is pleasing to God, and thus men become like Him, in that they will the same that He does. This is enough to shame a very brute. Fear not therefore to pray for the Gentiles, for God Himself wills it; but fear only to pray against any, for that He wills not. And if you pray for the Heathens, you ought of course to pray for Heretics also, for we are to pray for all men, and not to persecute. And this is good also for another reason, as we are partakers of the same nature, and God commands and accepts benevolence and affection towards one another. But if the Lord Himself wills to give, you say, what need of my prayer? It is of great benefit both to them and to thyself. It draws them to love, and it inclines thee to humanity. It has the power of attracting others to the faith; (for many men have fallen away from God, from contentiousness towards one another;) and this is what he now calls the salvation of God, "who will have all men to be saved"; without this all other is nothing great, a mere nominal salvation, and only in words. "And to come to the knowledge of the truth." The truth: what truth? Faith in Him. And indeed he had previously said, "Charge some that they teach no other doctrine." But that no one may consider such as enemies, and on that account raise troubles against them; he says that "He willeth that all men should be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth"... — Homily on 1 Timothy 7 John Damascene : The third kind of absolute worship is thanksgiving for all the good things he has created for us. All things owe a debt of thanks to God and must offer him ceaseless worship, because all things have their existence from him, and in him all things hold together. He gives lavishly of his gifts to all, without being asked. He desires all men to be saved and to partake of his goodness. He is long-suffering with us sinners, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. He is the Son of God, yet he became one of us for our sake and made us participants of his divine nature, so that "we shall be like him," as John the Theologian says in his catholic epistle. — ON DIVINE IMAGES 3.30 Methodius of Olympus : For the Almighty alone breathes into man the undying and undecaying part, as also it is He alone who is Creator of the invisible and indestructible. For, He says, He "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." And those artificers who, to the destruction of men, make images in human form, not perceiving and knowing their own Maker, are blamed by the Word, which says, in the Book of Wisdom, a book full of all virtue, "his heart is ashes, his hope is more vile than earth, and his life of less value than clay; forasmuch as he knew not his Maker, and Him that inspired into him an active soul, and breathed in a living spirit;" that is, God, the Maker of all men; therefore, also, according to the apostle, He "will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." — Methodius Discourse II. Theophila Origen of Alexandria : Therefore, because God is merciful and "wishes all men to be saved," he says, "I will visit their crimes with an iron rod and their sins with whips. I will not, however, remove my mercy from them." … For "God is jealous" and does not wish that soul which he betrothed to himself in faith to remain in the defilement of sin, but wishes it immediately to be purified, wishes it swiftly to cast out all its impurities, if it has by chance been snatched away to some. — HOMILIES ON Exodus 8.6