Theological Tension Between Divine Will and Goodness
The goodness of the human will, according to Aquinas, depends on its conformity to the divine will, which itself is oriented toward the Sovereign Good—God himself [3]. This formulation establishes a hierarchical relationship: human moral goodness derives from alignment with God's purposes, not from autonomous ethical reasoning. Yet this raises an immediate question: if God's will defines goodness, does "good" mean anything independent of what God wills, or is it simply whatever God happens to command?
The Divine Will as Source and Standard
Aquinas argues that God wills not only himself but also things apart from himself, spreading his own goodness outward as every perfect agent produces its like [4]. This outward movement of divine willing is not arbitrary but flows from God's nature as the supreme good. The implication is that God's will and God's goodness are not two separate attributes that might conflict; rather, God's willing is the expression of his goodness. Human conformity to this will therefore means participation in the divine nature itself, not mere obedience to external commands.
Augustine frames this participation in terms of grace: the Holy Spirit forms in the human mind "a delight in, and a love of, that supreme and unchangeable good which is God" [7]. Here the tension softens—God's will is not imposed as an alien standard but becomes the object of human desire through the Spirit's work. The will conforms to God not by coercion but by transformation of its loves.
The Problem of Divine Instrumentality
The tension sharpens when considering God's use of evil agents. Calvin addresses the objection that if God bends even Satan to his purposes, God himself becomes implicated in evil [6]. The question is whether divine sovereignty over wicked actions compromises divine goodness. Reformed theology typically resolves this by distinguishing between God's ordaining will (what he decrees to occur) and his preceptive will (what he commands humans to do). God may ordain that an evil act occur for a greater purpose while still condemning the act itself and holding the human agent responsible.
Charles Hodge illustrates a related principle through the analogy of imputation: just as a bankrupt person can become solvent when another assumes his debts, the guilty can become righteous through Christ's assumption of their responsibility [8]. This legal framework suggests that divine goodness operates through categories of justice and substitution, not merely through direct causation. God's will to save operates through means that satisfy his own righteous standards.
Benevolence and the Best Possible World
One strand of Reformed thought, which Hodge describes but does not necessarily endorse, holds that God's infinite benevolence requires him to produce "the greatest possible amount of happiness," making this universe "the best possible world" [9]. This utilitarian framework attempts to reconcile divine will and goodness by making happiness the ultimate good and God's will the means to maximize it. Yet this raises further questions: if God must will maximal happiness, is his will constrained by an external standard of goodness? Or does his willing constitute what counts as good?
The scholastic tradition avoids this dilemma by grounding goodness in God's nature rather than in consequences. God does not will the good because it produces happiness; rather, what God wills participates in his goodness because he is the source of all being and perfection. Human conformity to God's will is therefore conformity to reality itself, not submission to arbitrary decree.
The Role of Human Depravity
Paul's description of those with "depraved mind who are devoid of the truth" [1, 2] suggests that the tension between divine will and human perception of goodness arises partly from moral corruption. When the human will is disordered, it cannot recognize the goodness inherent in God's purposes. What appears as tension between God's will and goodness may reflect the observer's alienation from the divine nature rather than any actual conflict within God. Hodge notes that conformity to the divine image is both goal and command [5], implying that human nature is designed for alignment with God's will—the tension is a result of the fall, not of creation's original structure.
Sources
- I Timothy “I Timothy 6:5 (BSB) — and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.”
- 1 Timothy “1 Timothy 6:5 (NASB) — and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of the Goodness and Malice of the Interior Act of the Will, Art. 9: Article: Whether the goodness of the will depends on its conformity to the Divine will? I answer that, As stated above (Article [7]), the goodness of the will depends on the intention of the end. Now the last end of the human will is the Sovereign Good, namely, God, as stated above (Question [1], Article [8]; Question [3], Article [1]). Therefore the goodness of the human will requires it to be ordained to the Sovereign Good, that is, to God. Now this G”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part (Prima Pars), The Will of God, Art. 2: Article: Whether God wills things apart from Himself? I answer that, God wills not only Himself, but other things apart from Himself. This is clear from the comparison which we made above (Article [1]). For natural things have a natural inclination not only towards their own proper good, to acquire it if not possessed, and, if possessed, to rest therein; but also to spread abroad their own good amongst others, so far as possible. Hence we see that every agent, in so far as it is perfect and in act, produces its like. ”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 39: in man. Man is the image of God, and therefore in his nature is like God, perfect or complete in himself; and conformity to the divine image is for him the goal and command. ( Matt. v. 45 ). Religion, on the other hand, is the bond between man and God, or what binds men to God, so that we should know and will only in Hun, refer everything to Him, entire consecration, the personal union with God. Thus, love of our neighbour, courage, spirituality (the opposite of sensuality), may be simply moral virtues; whereas faith and the love of God a”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 34: 198 CHAPTER 18. THE INSTRUMENTALITY OF THE WICKED EMPLOYED BY GOD, WHILE HE CONTINUES FREE FROM EVERY TAINT. 138 138 See Calvin, adv. Libertinos, cap. 15. 16., and Augustin. de Ordine, Lib. 1. and 2., where he admirably discusses the question, Whether the order of Divine Providence includes all good and evil? This last chapter of the First Book consists of three parts: I. It having been said above that God bends all the reprobate, and even Satan himself, at his will, three objections are started. First, that this happens by the per”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 5 [III.] -- TRUE GRACE IS THE GIFT OF THE HOLY GHOST, WHICH KINDLES IN THE SOUL THE JOY AND LOVE OF GOODNESS.: We, however, on our side affirm that the human will is so divinely aided in the pursuit of righteousness, that (in addition to man's being created with a free-will, and in addition to the teaching by which he is instructed how he ought to live) he receives the Holy Ghost, by whom there is formed in his mind a delight in, and a love of, that supreme and unchangeable good which is God, even now while he is still "walking by faith" and not y”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 3, section 26: by imputation become the inherent characteristic of any other person or thing. Wax cannot become hard by the imputation of the hardness of a stone, nor can a brute become rational by the imputation of the intelligence of a man; nor the wicked become good by the imputation of the goodness of other men. But what has this to do with one man’s assuming the responsibility of another man? If among men the bankrupt can become solvent by a rich man’s assuming his responsibilities, why in the court of God may not the guilty become righteous by the”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 39: greatest amount of happiness is for that reason good, and whatever has the opposite tendency is evil. (2.) As happiness is the only and ultimate good, benevolence, or the disposition or purpose to promote happiness, must be the essence and sum of virtue. (3.) As God is infinite, He must be infinitely benevolent, and therefore it must be his desire and purpose to produce the greatest possible amount of happiness. (4.) The universe being the work of God must be designed and adapted to secure that end, and is therefore the best possible worl”