The Providence of God

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. But, God did not remove His influence in the Universe after Creation. He did not just "Spin the top" and go away as the theist claims. The same Almighty Being that created all things "Ex Nihlio," out of nothing, continues His activity in the Universe. We call that activity Providence.

Providence is defined as God performing or permitting all things in the Universe to occur. The word Providence comes from two words: "pro" meaning before, and "video" meaning to see. We may understand from this word that God sees all things before they happen. Of course, we know that God not only sees all things, but he plans and knows all things before they happen. There have been several attempts to divide Providence into classifications such as: General/Special Providence; Ordinary/ Extraordinary Providence; and Physical/ Spiritual Providence, but because this divine activity influences so many spheres of life in so many different ways, classifications tend to hinder our understanding of Providence. The divine activity of Providence is not limited to any sphere or strata but is universal. Ephesians 1:11, tells us: "[God] works all things according to the counsel of His will." When a wave crashes against the rocks of a craggy shoreline it throws a million droplets of water high into te air; the Providence of God orchestrates and orders the arc and trajectory of each drop of water as it falls back into its home, where it then becomes part of another wave. When a truck rolls down the highway en route to its "Destination," the resting place of the road gravel it flings is determined by God's Providence. Eminent Theologian R. C. Sproul declares that if there is a single random molecule in the universe, then by necessity, there must be no God. If God is God, then He must allow or cause all things to transpire.

Providence acts differently on the different orders of Creation. Towards the inanimate, material universe, Providence utilizes natural law. For example, God allows hurricanes to occur, but not in Kansas. Towards the animal world, Providence uses instinct as well as natural law and order. An Australian sheep-dog that has never seen sheep will automatically nip at a fold when he is first exposed to them. Towards human-kind, God's activity of Providence becomes very complex and difficult to understand.

It is abundantly clear that Providence works in the lives of individual people as well as nations. Providence brought Onesimus to share that jail cell with a particular apostle that just happened to know his master (and his Master!). Providence arranged for Esther to be in a place of prominence when it "just so happened" the King could not sleep one night. Although Providence works in the lives of men and women, it does not manipulate the acts and decisions of those men and women. Man is a free moral agent, having the power of contrary choice. Without that power of contrary choice he could not be responsible for his actions. But, his choices are manipulated by his fallen nature. He cannot choose for God to perform an act of eternally saving grace upon him. That requires a divine act called Regeneration. Providence does work in such a way as to perform God's eternal counsel, even in the sinful acts of men, without being culpable in any way for those sinful acts (Acts 2:23). How God does this annot be understood.

Providence is not Regeneration. God's work in the salvation of sinners actually produces new desires, new thoughts, and new actions. This activity may be more properly classified as God's creative work. II Corinthians 5:17, clearly states: "...If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." Ephesians 5 tells us that the new man is created according to God. Providence is not fate or fatalistic. Providence is not God.

Providence is a divine activity we may classify separately from creation or regeneration. But Providence was there at Creation and can be recognized in conversion. God expends an equal amount of power to sustain and operate the universe as He used to create it. That sustaining and operating power is what we call Providence.