Definition
Thelema (Greek: θέλημα) means “will” in the sense of desire, wish, or intention. In Scripture θέλημα generally refers to God’s expressed will or desire — what God wishes to happen. Jones distinguishes it from boulema (βούλημα): thelema is the level of God’s desire and longing, which in principle can be resisted by human disobedience, whereas boulema is God’s sovereign resolve that is irrevocably carried out.
Usage in the Corpus
Stephen Jones
Jones develops the thelema/boulema distinction as the key for reconciling universal salvation with human responsibility. God’s θέλημα is that all people be saved (1 Tim. 2:4: “who desires all men to be saved”). That this desire sometimes appears frustrated (Pharaoh, Esau) Jones explains by the distinction: at the level of thelema there is room for human resistance to God’s will; at the level of boulema (God’s firm resolve), he will ultimately “impose his will upon all men.” Thelema is thus the category within which human freedom and judgment have their place. [Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Ch. 11]
Origin
Θέλημα derives from the verb thelō (to will, wish). In classical Greek it denotes a desire that is not necessarily realized. In the NT it is the standard term for God’s will (Matt. 6:10; Eph. 1:11; 1 Tim. 2:4).