This term emphasizes deliberate intention and purposeful willing, particularly in contexts involving God's sovereign will. It suggests not merely wish or preference but determined purpose and decree. Paul uses it in Romans 9 discussing God's sovereign election, asking rhetorically who can resist God's will. In Acts, the Roman commander's 'purpose' to save Paul is thwarted by the soldiers' different intent. The term carries weight—it is the settled counsel and determined plan of the one willing.