Prevenient Grace
The grace that comes first — drawing the soul before it can ever turn to God
Prevenient grace is the grace that goes before, enabling a person to respond to God prior to conversion. Augustine articulated the priority of grace, the Second Council of Orange affirmed it, and Wesley made it central to his theology. All major traditions recognize such a category, but they differ on whether this grace can be resisted: Catholic and Arminian views affirm its resistibility, while Reformed theology understands saving grace differently.
How it traveled
- A Treatise on the Predestination of the SaintsHippo Regius · 430explains
- A Treatise Against Two Letters of the PelagiansHippo Regius · 430explains
- A Treatise on Grace and Free WillHippo Regius · 430explains
- A Treatise on Rebuke and GraceHippo Regius · 430explains
- A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original SinHippo Regius · 430explains
- A Treatise on Nature and GraceHippo Regius · 430explains
- Book Second. of the Knowledge of God the Redeemer, in Christ, as First Manifested to the Fathers, Under the Law, and Thereafter to Us Under the GospelGeneva · 1564explains
- Book Third. the Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ. the Benefits It Confers, and the Effects Resulting from ItGeneva · 1564explains
- XIV Five discourses on the soul's eternal salvationNorthampton, Massachusetts · 1758explains
- Seventeen Occasional SermonsNorthampton, Massachusetts · 1758explains
Key passages(20)
A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise on Grace and Free Will · Augustine of Hippo
Men Naturally God's Enemies · Jonathan Edwards
A Treatise Concerning Man’s Perfection in Righteousness · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise on Grace and Free Will · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise on Nature and Grace · Augustine of Hippo
Seventeen Occasional Sermons · Jonathan Edwards
A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise on Grace and Free Will · Augustine of Hippo
Anselm's Cur Deus Homo · Anselm of Canterbury
Book Second. of the Knowledge of God the Redeemer, in Christ, as First Manifested to the Fathers, Under the Law, and Thereafter to Us Under the Gospel · John Calvin
A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints · Augustine of Hippo
Book Third. the Mode of Obtaining the Grace of Christ. the Benefits It Confers, and the Effects Resulting from It · John Calvin
Discussion: First Part · Martin Luther
A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise Against Two Letters of the Pelagians · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise on Rebuke and Grace · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise on the Grace of Christ, and on Original Sin · Augustine of Hippo
A Treatise on the Predestination of the Saints · Augustine of Hippo