God's Glorious Providence

“God from all eternity did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established" (Westminister Confession of Faith, 3.1).

There are three aspects to God's providence: preservation, concurrence, and government.


I. Preservation: This is the act of God whereby He keeps everything in existence. If He stopped preserving His creation, it would fall out of existence.

A. Colossians 1:17

  1. Does the creation need to be held together?
  2. Who does this?

B. Hebrews 1:3

  1. How does He do this?

C. Preservation provides a basis for science, because God has made and continues to sustain the universe in such a way that it acts in particular ways.

D. Let us praise God that He is not arbitrary. There is reason behind the way the world acts, so that we are not lost in a world of utter confusion and surprise. When you wake up in the morning, you are still the same person. When you walk out the door, you are in your front yard rather than Ecuador. God doesn't play tricks on us.


II. Concurrence: God controls everything.

A. God's purposes are unstoppable. They cannot fail.

  1. Isaiah 46:10
    1. Will any of God's purposes fail?
  2. Job 42:2
    1. Is there anything that God cannot do?
    2. Can any of God's plans fail?
  3. Proverbs 21:30
    1. Can anything beat God?
  4. Psalm 33:10, 11
    1. Is God concerned about preserving free-will? (In this context, God giving us free will means God letting man ultimately choose what will happen).
    2. What does God often do to human plans?
    3. What happens to God's plans?

B. God controls human beings--everything that we do and everything that happens to us.

  1. Jeremiah 10:23
    1. Do humans have free-will?
    2. What is this verse saying?
  2. Proverbs 16:9
    1. Who determines what we will do?
  3. Proverbs 20:24
    1. Who controls our steps?
  4. Job 14:5
    1. Has God determined how long we will live?
    2. How does this give meaning to our lives?
  5. Daniel 1:9
    1. Did God determine how this man would feel about Daniel?
  6. Exodus 14:7
    1. What did God do in this verse?
  7. Ezra 1:1
    1. I hate to labor the point, but is God concerned with free-will?
    2. Why are so many Americans big on free-will when God isn't?
  8. 1 Samuel 2:7
    1. Who makes people rich and poor?
    2. Have you given God thanks for the lot He has given you in life?
  9. Psalm 127:3 and 1 Samuel 1:5
    1. What attitude should we have about child-bearing and pregnancy?

C. God controls the affairs of nations

  1. Job 12:23
  2. Psalm 22:28
  3. Revelation 1:5
    1. Who rules over Bill Clinton?
  4. Acts 17:26
    1. Was it mere chance that America came into existence when it did?
    2. Are the boundaries of our countries merely random?
    3. Who controls all these things?

D. God determines who will be the leader in each country

  1. Daniel 2:21
  2. Daniel 4:17
  3. Romans 9:17

E. God controls the natural world

  1. Wind and lightning
    1. Psalm 135:7
  2. 2. Snow and rain
    1. Job 37:6-13
  3. 3. Forest fires, hail, and storms
    1. Psalm 148:8
  4. 4. He makes the sun rise
    1. Matthew 5:45
  5. 5. He causes the grass to grow
    1. Psalm 104:14
  6. 6. God feeds the animals
    1. Matthew 6:26; Psalm 104:27-29

F. There are no chance events

  1. Proverbs 16:33

G. Thus, God controls everything. This is what we saw above in the creed--that God ordains whatsoever comes to pass. This means:

  1. From all eternity, God has predetermined everything that will happen.
  2. In history, God acts to bring about His eternal decrees.
  3. God's decree was “free”--which means it was not determined by anything outside of God's own will. God consulted nobody (Romans 11:34).
  4. God's decree is unchangeable. It never changes: Psalm 33:10, 11.

H. Explicit Scriptures which declare that God predetermines and controls all things:

  1. Ephesians 1:11
    1. What is meant by the phrase “works” (NAS) or “accomplishes” (NIV)?
    2. How extensive is God's sovereign control?
    3. Is His control based upon a plan?
  2. Daniel 4:35
    1. Are the inhabitants of the earth a threat to God?
    2. Where does God do His will?
    3. Can His will be resisted?
    4. Read verse 37. What should be our response to God's providence?
  3. Romans 11:36
    1. What three things do we see in this verse about God's providence?
  4. Proverbs 21:1
    1. In biblical times, the king had the most absolute of all wills. Yet this Scripture teaches that God controls him. The argument is from the greater to the lesser--if God controls the king's heart surely He controls everybody else's (Jerry Bridges).
  5. Psalm 139:16
    1. David is affirming that his entire life was determined by God ahead of time.
  6. Lamentations 3:37
    1. Can anything happen that God has not decreed?
    2. Isn't this the same as saying that the only things that happen are the things that God has decreed?
  7. Psalm 115:3
    1. Does God do whatever He wants?
    2. Therefore, is God limited by His creatures?
  8. Romans 9:19
    1. Has God's will ever been resisted?
    2. Isn't that the same as saying that His will is always done? And isn't that the same as saying that He controls all things?


III. Government: This means that God is controlling all things for the purpose of bringing the greatest glory to Himself. This is the best of all possible worlds in the sense that in the long run it will result in the greatest honor, glory, and praise to God. Thus, God's plan is perfect.

A. Isaiah 46:10

  1. Is there anything that God wants to accomplish that will be left undone?
  2. Since God is perfect, doesn't' it follow that His plan is perfect?
  3. Thus, God's perfect plan will be completely accomplished. This is the best of all possible worlds.

B. Psalm 135:6

  1. Does God do everything that He wants to?
  2. So will anything that is truly necessary for bringing the greatest possible glory to God be left undone?

C. 1 Timothy 6:15

  1. Is God happy?
  2. Is God sovereign?
  3. How could God be happy if His sovereignty failed all the time? If things weren't going His way? If He wasn't going to bring about the greatest possible glory to Himself?

IV. Applications

A. We should eliminate all notions from our mind that think God has limited His sovereignty, or given ultimate self-determination to human beings. God is still on the throne, over all things--not just some.

B. A denial of this truth involves a reduction of the supremacy of God in our hearts because we will not see God as authoritative over all things and with the wisdom to keep His creation under control. Acceptance of this truth, on the other hand, provides powerful fuel for worship. If we have a poor vision of God, our worship will be poor because the fuel is low. But if we have an exalted view of God, our worship will become white hot. J.B. Moody has said, "True worship is based upon recognized greatness, and greatness is superlatively seen in sovereignty, and at no other footstool will men really worship."

C. We should have deep gratitude to God for all good things--including our love for Him and faith in Him--because all good things are from God (see Romans 11:36 and James 1:18).

D. This truth can keep us from despair and instead gives us patience and comfort, strength and hope through suffering and adversity. In all bad things that happen to us, we can have the confidence of Joseph: "God meant it for good" (Genesis 50:20) and the worship of Job: "...and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said, `...The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord'" (Job 1:20-21).

E. It causes us to marvel at God's great wisdom because He works all things together for His glory and His people's good (Romans 8:28)--not just in spite of the opposition but by means of the opposition. He makes evil backfire and makes satan continually shoot himself in the foot because when satan intends something for the harm of God's saints, God's intention is to ultimately benefit them. This is amazing wisdom to praise God for!

F. It gives us joyful trust in God for the future.

G. It frees us to obey with confidence and security--even when obedience appears risky or "foolish" by the world's standards. Thus, God's providence encourages us into risk-taking obedience for God's great glory.

H. It gives us deeper trust in God because He will accomplish all of His purposes.

I. It gives us great encouragement to and confidence in prayer. For God can do what we ask.

J. We need never feel overwhelmed, because God is in control.

K. It gives us great courage and boldness through all things.

L. It shatters bitterness and complaining and shows us to be satisfied.

M. It makes us strong people.

N. It glorifies God.

MP

Go back to Contend for the Faith.


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