Will, Would
Will, Would
signifies (a) objectively, “that which is willed, of the will of God,” e.g., Mat 18:14; Mar 3:35, the fulfilling being a sign of spiritual relationship to the Lord; Joh 4:34; Joh 5:30; Joh 6:39-40; Act 13:22, plural, “my desires;” Rom 2:18; Rom 12:2, lit., “the will of God, the good and perfect and acceptable;” here the repeated article is probably resumptive, the adjectives describing the will, as in the Eng. versions; Gal 1:4; Eph 1:9; Eph 5:17, “of the Lord;” Col 1:9; Col 4:12; 1Th 4:3; 1Th 5:18, where it means “the gracious design,” rather than “the determined resolve;” 2Ti 2:26, which should read “which have been taken captive by him” [(autou), i.e., by the Devil; the RV, “by the Lord’s servant” is an interpretation; it does not correspond to the Greek] unto His (ekeinou) will” (i.e., “God’s will;” the different pronoun refers back to the subject of the sentence, viz., God); Heb 10:10; Rev 4:11, RV, “because of Thy will;” of human will, e.g., 1Co 7:37; (b) subjectively, the “will” being spoken of as the emotion of being desirous, rather than as the thing “willed;” of the “will” of God, e.g., Rom 1:10; 1Co 1:1; 2Co 1:1; 2Co 8:5; Eph 1:1, Eph 1:5, Eph 1:11; Col 1:1; 2Ti 1:1; Heb 10:7, Heb 10:9, Heb 10:36; 1Jo 2:17; 1Jo 5:14; of human “will,” e.g., Joh 1:13; Eph 2:3, “the desires of the flesh;” 1Pe 4:3 (in some texts); 2Pe 1:21. See DESIRE, A, No. 5, PLEASURE, Note (1).
denotes “a willing, a wishing” [similar to No. 1 (b)], Heb 2:4.
“a deliberate design, that which is purposed,” Rom 9:19; 1Pe 4:3 (in the best texts). See PURPOSE, A, No. 1.
(eu, “well,” dokeo, “to think”) is rendered “good will” in Luk 2:14, AV (see WELL PLEASED); Phi 1:15, see DESIRE, PLEASURE, SEEM, WELL-PLEASING.
“good will” (eu, “well,” nous, “the mind”), occurs in Eph 6:7 (in some texts, 1Co 7:3).
Notes: (1) In Act 13:36, AV, boule, “counsel” (RV), is translated “will.” (2) In Rev 17:17, AV, gnome, “an opinion,” RV, “mind,” is translated “will.” (3) For “will-worship,” Col 2:23, see WORSHIP, B, No. 2.
“of free will, willingly,” occurs in Rom 8:20, RV, “of its own will” (AV, “willingly”); 1Co 9:17, RV, “of my own will” (AV, “willingly”). In the Sept., Exo 21:13; Job 36:19.
a, negative, and No. 1, “unwillingly,” occurs in 1Co 9:17, RV, “not of mine own will” (AV, “against my will”). In the Sept., Job 14:17.
* When “will” is not part of the translation of the future tense of verbs, it represents one of the following:
for the force of which see DESIRE, B, No. 6, usually expresses “desire” or “design;” it is most frequently translated by “will” or “would;” see especially Rom 7:15-16, Rom 7:18-21. In 1Ti 2:4, RV, “willeth” signifies the gracious “desire” of God for all men to be saved; not all are “willing” to accept His condition, depriving themselves either by the self-established criterion of their perverted reason, or because of their self-indulgent preference for sin. In Joh 6:21, the AV renders the verb “willingly” (RV, “they were willing”); in 2Pe 3:5, AV, the present participle is translated “willingly” (RV, “willfully”).
The following are RV renderings for the AV, “will:” Mat 16:24-25, “would;” “wouldest,” Mat 19:21; Mat 20:21; “would,” Mat 20:26-27; Mar 8:34-35; Mar 10:43-44; “would fain,” Luk 13:31; “would,” Joh 6:67; “willeth,” Joh 7:17; in Joh 8:44, “it is your will (to do);” “wouldest,” Rom 13:3; “would,” 1Co 14:35; 1Pe 3:10.
for the force of which see DESIRE, B, No. 7, usually expresses the deliberate exercise of volition more strongly than No. 1, and is rendered as follows in the RV, where the AV has “will:” Mat 11:27; Luk 10:22, “willeth;” Jam 4:4, “would;” in Jam 3:4, RV, “willeth” (AV, “listeth”). In Jam 1:18 the perfect participle is translated “of His own will,” lit. “having willed.”
“to be about to,” is translated “will” in Mat 2:13; Joh 7:35 (twice); “wilt,” Joh 14:22; “will,” Act 17:31; “wouldest,” Act 23:20; “will,” Act 27:10; Rev 3:16. See ABOUT, B.