--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I prefer a God who once and for all…" description: "\"I prefer a God who once and for all impressed his will upon creation, to one who continually busied about modifying what he had already done.\" — Willia..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/william-temple-17571_creation_i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impr_2039340.png" --- # I prefer a God who once and for all impressed his will… ![“I prefer a God who once and for all impressed his will upon creation, to one who continually busied about modifying what he had already done.” quote by William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/william-temple-17571_creation_i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impr_2039340.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/william-temple-17571_creation_i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impr_2039340.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/william-temple-17571_creation_i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impr_2039340.png) > “I prefer a God who once and for all impressed his will upon creation, to one who continually busied about modifying what he had already done.” [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. God’s will is seen as a finished creation, not a constantly changing project; this view emphasizes trust in the original design. **In simple terms:** God’s will is a completed creation, not a constantly revised plan. Key Takeaway Trust the original design. Themes faith divine will creation trust stability Mood contemplative steady reassuring Type theological ethical When to use this quote - personal prayer - church teaching - ethical decision‑making - counseling Key Concepts theology philosophy creationalism Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer a static or dynamic view of divine action? - How does this belief affect your daily choices? A Different Perspective Some may view this as limiting divine responsiveness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Evolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolution/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Modifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modifying/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) ## Related quotes > [I felt that one of the things God impressed on me was that I needed to start a nonprofit corporation, so that any money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-graham-lotz/i-felt-that-one-of-the-things-god-impressed-on-me-was-that-i-needed/) [Anne Graham Lotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-graham-lotz/) > [God is never impressed with what a man can do. He is more concerned with what a man is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-is-never-impressed-with-what-a-man-can-do-he-is-more-concerned/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [The universe is one of continual creation, so therefore we too are continually creating. The form of our creativity is not as important the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-curiale/the-universe-is-one-of-continual-creation-so-therefore-we-too-are/) [Joseph Curiale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-curiale/) > [“They prefer a God of an altogether softer flavor. Nothing too extreme. Complaisance, not magnanimity. They do not think upon the “God of God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-wood/they-prefer-a-god-of-an-altogether-softer-flavor-nothing-too-extreme/) [Geoffrey Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-wood/) > [“God impressed me with this a long time ago: 'Roddy, I will never do anything through you until I have done it to you!'."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-alan-woods/god-impressed-me-with-this-a-long-time-ago-roddy-i-will-never-do/) [R. Alan Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-alan-woods/) > [I'm not a religious person, but I prefer God to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-robinson/i-m-not-a-religious-person-but-i-prefer-god-to-money/) [Bruce Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-robinson/) > [If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/if-this-is-the-best-god-can-do-i-m-not-impressed/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [“The idea is to always be attempting things that are greater than who I am. Otherwise I will never be more than who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/the-idea-is-to-always-be-attempting-things-that-are-greater-than-who/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [“There is practically nothing that men do not prefer to God. A tiresome detail of business, an occupation utterly pernicious to health, the employment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-fenelon/there-is-practically-nothing-that-men-do-not-prefer-to-god-a-tiresome/) [François Fénelon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-fenelon/) > [I've often thought, I'm nobody. Why would God answer my prayer? But God's not impressed by eloquence; he's impressed by our longing for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stormie-omartian/i-ve-often-thought-i-m-nobody-why-would-god-answer-my-prayer-but-god/) [Stormie Omartian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stormie-omartian/) > [Dont need you silicone, I prefer my own. What god gave me is just fine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie/dont-need-you-silicone-i-prefer-my-own-what-god-gave-me-is-just-fine/) [India Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie/) > [God is not impressed by how many Bible verses you know, He is impressed by how kind, merciful and gracious you are to people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/god-is-not-impressed-by-how-many-bible-verses-you-know-he-is/) [Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/) > [“Raising her arms, she defied Heaven. 'So,' she cried, 'you prefer your God to me? You think he is stronger than I am. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/raising-her-arms-she-defied-heaven-so-she-cried-you-prefer-your-god/) [Émile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [I don't see luck as it is, I prefer to see it as God's Mercy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/i-don-t-see-luck-as-it-is-i-prefer-to-see-it-as-god-s-mercy/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“If you prefer a God without wrath, you prefer a God that winks at Dr. Gossnel”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thor-ramsey/if-you-prefer-a-god-without-wrath-you-prefer-a-god-that-winks-at-dr/) Thor Ramsey ## More by William Temple > [Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your gifts. It means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/humility-does-not-mean-thinking-less-of-yourself-than-other-people/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [Our present time is indeed a criticizing and critical time, hovering between the wish, and the inability to believe. Our complaints are like arrows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/our-present-time-is-indeed-a-criticizing-and-critical-time-hovering/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [There is no structural organization of society which can bring about the coming of the Kingdom of God on earth since all systems can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/there-is-no-structural-organization-of-society-which-can-bring-about/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [Christianity founds hospitals and atheists are cured in them, never knowing they owe their cure to Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/christianity-founds-hospitals-and-atheists-are-cured-in-them-never/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [The only way for a rich man to be healthy is by exercise and abstinence, to live as if he were poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/the-only-way-for-a-rich-man-to-be-healthy-is-by-exercise-and/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [Learning passes for wisdom among those who want both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/learning-passes-for-wisdom-among-those-who-want-both/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [A man's wisdom is his best friend; folly, his worst enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/a-man-s-wisdom-is-his-best-friend-folly-his-worst-enemy/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [The first ingredient in conversation is truth, the next good sense, the third good humor, and the fourth wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/the-first-ingredient-in-conversation-is-truth-the-next-good-sense-the/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [We shall say without hesitation that the atheist who is moved by love is moved by the Spirit of God; an atheist who lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/we-shall-say-without-hesitation-that-the-atheist-who-is-moved-by-love/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [There cannot live a more unhappy creature than an ill-natured old man, who is neither capable of receiving pleasures, nor sensible of conferring them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/there-cannot-live-a-more-unhappy-creature-than-an-ill-natured-old-man/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [“It is a great mistake to think that God is chiefly concerned with our being religious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/it-is-a-great-mistake-to-think-that-god-is-chiefly-concerned-with-our/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [It is sometimes said that conduct is supremely important and worship helps it. The truth is that worship is supremely important and conduct tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/it-is-sometimes-said-that-conduct-is-supremely-important-and-worship/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [People that trust wholly to other's charity, and without industry of their own, will always be poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/people-that-trust-wholly-to-other-s-charity-and-without-industry-of/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [Books, like proverbs, receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they passed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/books-like-proverbs-receive-their-chief-value-from-the-stamp-and/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) > [Science has its being in a perpetual mental restlessness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/science-has-its-being-in-a-perpetual-mental-restlessness/) [William Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) [Explore all 36 William Temple quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/) ## More Creation quotes > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [I believe if there is a creator it will basically ask me two questions, how well did you enjoy my creation and what did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-believe-if-there-is-a-creator-it-will-basically-ask-me-two/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [With no other choices open to us, we'd turned our gaze seaward. The oceans were our America: they reached farther than any prairie, untamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/with-no-other-choices-open-to-us-we-d-turned-our-gaze-seaward-the/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. 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And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) [Browse all 5,225 Creation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I prefer a God who once and for all impressed his will upon creation, to one who continually busied about modifying what he had already done.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Temple" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impressed-his-will-upon-creation/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Creation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impressed-his-will-upon-creation/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/william-temple-17571_creation_i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impr_2039340.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/william-temple-17571_creation_i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impr_2039340.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/william-temple-17571_creation_i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impr_2039340.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I prefer a God who once and for all impressed his will upon creation, to one who continually busied about…” — William Temple", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Temple", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-temple/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I prefer a God who once...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impressed-his-will-upon-creation/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-temple/i-prefer-a-god-who-once-and-for-all-impressed-his-will-upon-creation/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```