Bible Stories

One writer has confessed, the longer I live, the more faith I have in Providence, and the less faith I have in my interpretations of Providence.’

Providence is the care God takes of all existing things. So its range and depth are immense. The word itself is taken from

Abraham’s promise to his son Isaac on the way to sacrifice: ‘My Son, God will provide the lamb for the burnt offering.’ ‘There is a special providence in the fall of a sparrow,’ says Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play. This is God’s rule as moral governor over all the universe.

There is also God’s forgiveness of the sinner. God’s great acts of salvation are all part of God’s activity in providence:

The exodus of the Israelites from Egypt; the death of Jesus Christ for mankind’s redemption; the promise of new creation. One important aspect of the idea of providence is as the special exercise .of God’s creative power, to bring about some beneficial result. This may be the salvation of a people, the provision of manna in the desert, the sending of prophetic teaching, or the simple gift of a humble heart to receive wisdom. It may be a heart open to the gift of the incarnate Christ, as Mary’s was, or one receptive to the word of God, as we today may be.

The ways in which we perceive providence will depend on how we understand God:

• It makes a big difference whether we think of God the Creator personally or impersonally. If the Creator is not viewed personally, then the focus will be on ‘nature’, with broad generalizations to do with natural explanations. There will be little scope for providence in history, in miracles, in personal life; it is an approach which follows the tone of this anti- supernatural age. But if the providential God is seen as a personal Creator, then his goodness will be seen in what he does within time — in miracles, in the intimacy of personal experiences, in historical actions.

Such a God will be one who enters into a person’s life, who responds to prayers, who suffers and rejoices with human beings. At the same time, since our failures are a wronging of the whole created order, private forgiveness, although a real kind of personal providence, is not enough. So the apostle Paul anticipates that ‘the groaning of creation‘ will only cease when the children of God are fully and finally redeemed.

• Our understanding of creation also vitally affects how we see providence. As has been said, if we think of God the Creator as working immanently within his creation, there is less or no distinction between creation and providence. On this basis, God does not work in history and the reality of God’s entry into human existence is obscured, if not denied. But the Bible’s way of speaking is of ‘the Word’, Jesus Christ, through whom ‘God made all things; not one thing in all creation was made without him’. It speaks of a God who has definite purposes for creation, and of the practical realization of those purposes.

The Bible also expresses a very special relationship between the Creator and his creation: one that is personal and spiritual, rather than impersonal and mechanical. It shows us that there is a link between creation and obedience, since it shows God as a God who reveals himself and creates men and women to respond to that revelation. In spite of humankind’s disobedience and the cosmic consequences of sin upon creation, the providence of God in his acts of goodness work, not merely for the sustaining of creation, but also for its redemption.

The goodness of God

Providence takes us into the ideas of God’s glory and holiness. In many religions, worship is the desire for religious harmony in awe of God’s holiness, majesty and greatness. His glory and holiness appear to be the focus of worship. But the biblical doctrine of providence goes much further, for it also celebrates the goodness of the Creator. It is the goodness of the Creator that evokes both worship and obedience. God’s glory may rightly draw wonder and praise from his creatures, and God’s holiness may evoke our sense of creaturelinéss and sin. But it is God’s goodness that truly brings forth human obedience.

To the person who believes in God the Creator, this world order is not an impersonal ‘nature’, whose mechanistic systems mock our deepest needs and aspirations as people. Rather, it is a created order that reflects on the Creator, who is good and who continues to do ‘all things well’. Then we can see, as Paul saw, that ‘in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose’.

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
The Providence of God, our Faith

• The Sovereignty of God
• Christ and the Church, the God of the Reformers
• God as he Ravels Himself Humanity in a number of Remarkable ways