Omnipotence, Order, and being led by the Lord

In respect to Divine omnipotence: it does not involve any power to act contrary to order, but it involves all power to act according to order, for all order is from the Lord; from this it follows that no one has any power to act according to order except from Him from whom is order; and this shows that it is of the Divine omnipotence to lead man according to order, and this every moment from the beginning of his life even to eternity, and this it does according to the laws of order, which are innumerable, and the number of which cannot be expressed; and yet this can be done only so far as man suffers himself to be led, that is, so far as he is willing not to be led by himself; for so far as he wishes to be led by himself he is brought into opposition to order. Because it is of the Divine omnipotence to lead one who wishes to be led according to order, and thus to lead no one contrary to order, therefore it is not of the Divine omnipotence to lead anyone to heaven who wishes to lead himself, since it is a law of order that what a man does he shall do from reason and from freedom, because that which is received by the reason and done from freedom remains with man, and is appropriated to him as his own, but not that which is not received by the reason and done from freedom. Thence it is clear that it is not of the Divine omnipotence to save those who are not willing to be led according to order, for to be led according to order is to be led according to the laws of order, and the laws of order are the precepts of doctrine and life from the Word; it is therefore of the Divine omnipotence to lead a man who is willing to be led according to these every moment and continually to eternity. For every minute there are infinite things to be seen, to be removed, and to be insinuated, that man may be withheld from evils and held in goods, and this continually in connection according to order. It is also of the Divine omnipotence to protect men from the hells, so far as this can be done without injury to freedom and reason; for all the hells are as nothing against the Lord’s Divine power; without this power of the Lord it is impossible for any man to be saved. (AE 689.2)

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