For God made not death: neither hath he pleasure in the destruction of the living.
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Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
God wants all to be saved. Thus Solomon says, "God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living." He made the soul so that it would exist. He created human beings to be incorruptible, making them in his image. But they, straying from their natural duty, have become subject to death and are corrupted, because they were made from the earth. But, through trials, God compels them to penance, so that the evil that had appeared"wickedness"would be burned up, consumed and eliminated through penance, and the place in the soul that was dominated by the unrighteousness that had arisen would be opened to receive virtue and grace. Certainly the soul has a precious nature that, since it is made in the likeness of God, is capable of receiving every virtue. - "Expositions on the Psalms 1.48"
Therefore death does not come from God. In fact, "God did not make death, and he does not delight in the death of the living." In fact, the supreme essence makes all that is to exist, and consequently he is called essence. Death forces what dies into non-being, to the degree that it dies. If in fact something that dies were to die completely, it would certainly arrive at nonexistence. But it dies only to the extent that it does not participate in the essence. In short, the less it exists, the more it dies. The body is less than any kind of life, because to the extent that it remains in its species, it does so thanks to life, whether this regards an animated being or the entire nature of the world. For this reason the body is more subject to death and closer to nonexistence. Thus the life that neglects God, delighting in the fruits of the body, tends toward nonexistence. And this is wickedness. - "Of True Religion 11.22"
