Rex Banks.
Introduction
He possessed one of the brightest minds of his generation, but Bertrand Russell's life and writings graphically demonstrate that genius carries no guarantee of happiness. On one occasion Russell wrote that there are "(some) things (which) if not quite beyond dispute, are yet so nearly certain that no philosophy which rejects them can hope to stand." He lists them as follows:
"(Man's) origin, his growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and his beliefs are but the outcome of accidental collocations of atoms;...no fire, no heroism, no intensity of thought and feeling, can preserve an individual life beyond the grave;...all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noon-day brightness of human genius are destined to extinction in the vast death of a universe in ruins..."
Russell held these things to be almost beyond dispute; the Bible believer holds them to be untrue.
Contrary to this view of the universe as a directionless, purposeless and meaningless machine,
the Bible pictures the cosmos as the creation of a sentient, moral, non-contingent being of infinite
intelligence and power who loves mankind with an unfathomable intensity and commitment.
Scripture tells of His intimate involvement with and watch-care over that creation, upholding it
with His power, (Heb 1:3) numbering the very hairs of man's head (Matt 10:30) and even
entering creation Himself on a rescue mission when humanity had lost its way. (Jn 1:14) This is
the God whom Russell never knew. In the following paragraphs we are going to discuss one
aspect of God's involvement with His creation as we say something on the subject of providence.
Basic Meaning
When we speak of God's providence we are speaking of "that continuous agency of God by which He makes all the events of the physical and moral universe fulfill the original design with which He created it". (A.H. Strong, Systemic Theology) Providence "concerns God's support, care and supervision of all creation, from the moment of the first creation to all the future into eternity". (E. Hamilton and R.L. Harris, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible) Providence "extends from the greatest to the least in creation. It concerns the sinner and the saint. It is impossible to escape, for it encompasses all of life." (ibid) Atheists like Anthony Flew may reject "any belief in operative forces that impose any coherence upon life" (A Dictionary of Philosophy); deists like Thomas Paine may argue that God, having created the world, neither guides nor intervenes in it in any way. The Bible, however, affirms that "He [Jehovah] does according to His will in the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth." (Dan. 4:35)
Now perhaps the providential working out of the divine will in creation is best understood and illustrated by a comparison of and contrast between the providential and the miraculous activity of God in the world. In a word, a miracle is "an event brought about in the external world by the immediate efficiency or simple volition of God." (C. Hodge, Systemic Theology [Abridged]) Miraculous activity, then, involves God's acting on a level which is above that of natural law (the supernatural level). Miracles occur "without the intervention of any subordinate cause". (ibid) So for example the loaves produced by Jesus to feed the 5000, and the wine miraculously provided for the wedding feast at Cana were produced directly, and apart from the usual, natural processes of planting, harvesting and processing. It is precisely because miracles involve events which are outside of natural laws (e.g. resurrection from the dead, walking upon water) that they function as "signs" to engender belief. (Jn. 20:30, 31) After all, anyone can grow grapes and extract the juice, but since more than human power is required to transform water into wine instantaneously, it is little wonder that Jesus' ability to perform such a feat had a profound effect upon those good- hearted men who witnessed it ("and His disciples believed in Him" [Jn 2:11]).
However in contrast with His miraculous activity, God's providential activity is the means
whereby He "governs the material world according to fixed laws which He Himself has
established." (ibid) Thus by means of natural processes "He causes the grass to grow for the
cattle, and vegetation for the labour (or cultivation) of man, so that he may bring forth food from
the earth, and wine which makes man's heart glad." (Psa. 104:14, l5) When the Lord told Israel
that the nation would not go short each seventh year when the land was not to be worked, He
reassured the people with the promise: "I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that
it will bring forth the crop for three years." (Lev 25:21) Again God was not promising to feed the
nation miraculously with manna from heaven, but His complete control over the laws of nature
guaranteed good harvests at the appropriate times. The materialist like Russell can observe and
examine laws of physics, chemistry and biology but materialism can offer no final explanation
for the existence of such laws. The believer understands through revelation (which contains proof
of its supernatural origin) that such laws manifest the work of a divine Programmer who has
established these laws with some great goal in view - a goal to which the achievement of
innumerable sub-goals contributes.
The Great Goal
Scripture tells us that God is perfect in all His attributes, and this means (among other things) that all that God wills to do God is able to do. The universe exists because God willed it into existence ("He spoke and it was done," [Psa. 33:9]) and because God continues to uphold it. (John 5:17) Although many fail to see it, there is a divine purpose behind the existence of the universe and since "no purpose of ...(God) can be thwarted" (Job 42:2), it follows that God's plan or purpose for the universe will be accomplished.
What, then, is this Great Goal, the ultimate and final purpose of providence? There can be but one - the glorification of God (Rom. 11:36; Col. 1:16; Eph. 1:5, 6, 9; Isa. 48:11) See our "Glorifying God". God's glory "is the end intrinsically most valuable" and "The only end which consists with God's independence and sovereignty." (Strong) True, we live in a world where a man-centred focus has taken over and man's hopes, man's dreams, mans comfort and man's goals are held to be of paramount importance, but this is a perversion of the divine arrangement. The Great Goal to which providence moves is the glorification of God, just as this was the Great Goal of miracles, such as the raising of Lazarus. ( Jn 11:4, 40)
Now in this context it is important to keep in mind that the "Creator's highest glory can be
promoted only by such beings as are at once rational, moral, free, holy" (Wilbur F. Tillett, Int.
Std Bib. Encyclopaedia) cf. Isa. 4:3; 60:21; 61:3. The point is that the purpose of the entire
creation is the manifestation of God's glory, but as Tillett points out creation glorifies God to the
greatest extent when free moral agents deliberately set out to render obedience to their Creator. It
is when men with the gift of free will consciously strive for holiness, righteousness and godliness
because this is what God commands that He is most glorified. It follows then that the Great Goal
of providence (to which innumerable sub-goals contribute) is the glorification of God through the
willing submission of man to His will - and it is of course God's will that all obey the gospel of
Christ.
Human Freedom
It is clear from all this that the doctrine of providence and the doctrine of human free will go hand in hand. The word "providence" derives from a Latin term which means "foresight" but while it is true that God knows "the things that are coming" (Isa 44:7) and equally true that God's plans cannot be thwarted (Isa 14;27) this in no way suggests that man is deprived of power of choice. Divine providence and sovereignty are quite compatible with free will, which is why Joshua can say to his people "choose for yourselves today whom you will serve" adding "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". (Josh 24:15) In Isa 1:19 (K.J.V) the Lord urges Israel to be "willing" ("the first beginnings of a positive reaction" [ T.D.O.T ] ) and "obedient" ("complete obedience" [T.W.O.T]) and not to "rebel" and "refuse". (Isa 1:20) Later Jesus speaks of those who are "unwilling" (Matt 23:37) and "willing" (Jn 7:17) to come to the Lord.
But whether they are willing or unwilling all men contribute to the glorification of God. The Pharaoh of the Exodus of course provides the classic example of the rebel whose obstinate refusal to obey God's command actually served to further the divine plan. We are told that following the plague of darkness, Pharaoh gave permission for Israel to "serve the Lord" (Ex 10:27) but then we are told that "God hardened Pharaoh's heart and he was not willing to let them go". (Ex 10:27) Here is an example of a situation "where the will is exercised against God's law or command," (T.W.O.T) yet despite Pharaoh's hard heart, it is evident that he is still used to further the great goal of glorifying God, because the Lord says "for this cause I have allowed you to remain in order to show My power, and in order to proclaim My name through all the earth". (Ex 9:16 cf Rom 9:17) When free moral agents like Pharaoh "want" to follow Satan (cf Jn 8:44) and harden their hearts in disobedience to God, (Ex. 8:15; 9:34) even their rebellion serves to further the divine plan. Thus Joseph can say to the brothers who sold him into slavery: "And as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive". (Gen 50:20)
However notwithstanding the fact that the evil choices of evil men are used by God, the wicked are still held accountable because they have freely chosen rebellion over submission. For example Assyria and Babylon were used by God to punish unfaithfulness among His people but both nations were motivated by greed rather than the desire to carry out the divine will, and God promises that they will be punished ("I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria" [Isa 10:12]; "But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their God". [Hab1:11])
The Holy Spirit spoke of Christ's betrayal by a friend 1,000 years before it happened, (Acts 1:16-20) but it was Judas own decision to sell Jesus into the hands of His enemies and the fact that the wicked act contributed to the carrying out of the "predetermined plan" (Acts 2:23) in no way lessened the traitor's guilt. God uses, but does not cause human rebellion, and James reminds us: "Let no one say when he is tempted 'I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself does not tempt anyone." (Jas 1:13)
Augustus Strong begins an interesting study of providence "with respect to men's evil acts" with the following comment: "In respect to the evil acts of men, providence is never the efficient cause of sin, but is by turns preventive, permissive, directive, and determinative."
By "preventive" Strong means that "God by His providence prevents sin which would otherwise
be committed" (e.g. Of Abimelech: "I also withheld thee from sinning against me". [Gen 20:6])
By "permissive" he means that God withholds impediments from the path of the sinner (e.g.
"God gave them over in the lusts of their heart to impurity... [Rom 1:24]) Directive has to do
with God's using the evil acts of men to bring about good results (see above: Joseph, Assyria,
Babylon, Judas). Strong explains determinative as "God's determining the measure of ...(sin's)
growth" (e.g. "And Jehovah said unto Satan, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself
put not forth thy hand." [Job 1:12])
General Providence
Usually a distinction is drawn between general and special providence when the topic is discussed but as Charles Hodge points out this distinction has to do with "the effects produced, not to His agency in their production; for this is the same in both cases."
We have seen that the great goal towards which providence works is the glorification of God, and innumerable sub-goals contribute to this end. Inanimate objects as well as plants animals and reasoning creatures (good and evil) atoms and galaxies, are all subject to God's providential oversight and (willingly or not) all contribute to the great goal. In the natural realm, general providence has to do with God's continuing to sustain the creation which He spoke into existence at the beginning of time. (Gen 1:1 ff) The creation is not self-sustaining but the very elements continue to be upheld by His powerful word. (Heb 1:3; cf Col 1:17) So too the vegetation (" He ...causes the grass to grow" [Psa 104:10-14]) and the animal kingdom ("The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their food from God". [Psa 104:21]) The forces of nature are under His control ("The Lord shall make the rain of your land powder and dust" [Deut 28:24]) as are the seasons." (Gen 8:22)
Nations too are under divine government. They are "like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales". (Isa 40:15) Nebuchadnezzar was taught that "the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes" (Dan 4:25) and Paul reminds the proud Athenians that God determines the "appointed times" and "boundaries" of nations. (Acts 17:26) Individuals too are completely reliant upon God's continuing provision since it is He who "causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous". (Matt 5:45) All this and more comes under the heading of God's general providential oversight of His creation.
Under the heading of General Providence it is appropriate to say a word about God's dealings with the nation of Israel in the Old Testament period. Now of course the great goal to which the whole of Hebrew history moves is always and everywhere the coming of the Messiah and while it is true that all peoples belong to God it is also true that God calls Israel "My own possession among all the peoples" (Ex 19:5) because it was through the seed of Abraham that the Christ was to come. We saw above that the Lord used (without causing) the treachery of Joseph's brothers to preserve Abraham's seed, and the theme of Jehovah's providential (and miraculous) guidance of the nation towards the Messianic goal dominates the Old Testament. (Read Nehemiah 9 and Psalm 105)
However we need to keep in mind that God's choice of Israel as the vehicle through which the Christ would come was designed to benefit all mankind, not just Abraham's physical descendants. In his Toward Old Testament Ethics, Walter C. Kaiser points out:
"The universalism of Genesis 1-11 not only preceded Abraham's call, but is logically connected with it and accompanies the call. His blessing is for the purpose and the result of being the means by which 'all peoples of the earth' (the seventy nations just mentioned in Genesis 10) will be likewise blessed by God. Paul labelled this process and message nothing less than the 'gospel' itself in Galatians 3:8."
Special Providence
But if providence is universal and general, it is also special, meaning that God, in a non-
miraculous way manifests a particular care on behalf of His covenant people and helps them as
they try to live for Him. Keep in mind that the salvation of God's people is "to the praise of the
glory of His grace" (Eph 1:6, cf v.12) meaning that because of this salvation God receives praise
for the grace which He bestowed through Jesus. As we saw earlier, God is glorified to the
greatest extent by those who render willing, humble, submission to Him, and so the notion of
special providence exercised on behalf of those who do so should not come as a surprise.
Consider the following comments which merely touch the hem of the garment of this great and
very encouraging doctrine:
1) Prayer
Speaking of the deist view of prayer, Tillett says:
"The only value of prayer is its subjective influence; it helps us to answer our own prayers, to become and be what we are praying to be. If the Divine Being is a prayer-hearing God, He is at least not a prayer-answering God. The laws of Nature constitute God's general providence; but there is no other personal and special providence than this according to deism."
What a bleak view - but thankfully it's not the teaching of scripture.
Peter wants us to know that "the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and His ears attend to their prayers;" John assures us that "if we ask anything according to His will (note the condition) He hears us" (1 Jn 5:15); James reminds us of Elijah "a man with a nature like ours" (i.e. not superhuman) whose prayer was heard; the angel Gabriel tells us that the Lord issued a command in response to Daniel's prayer "at the beginning of ...(his) supplications" (Dan 9:23); Amos reveals that God "changed His mind" in response to prayer (Amos 7:3, 6) - and on and on it goes.
Moreover not only does God hear prayer but in fact He knows what we need before we ask Him (Matt. 6:8), and also knows the content of our prayer before we petition Him. (Psa. 139:4) In fact it is this omniscience which explains how God is able to answer prayer providentially (without resorting to miracles) as Norman Geisler explains:
"God knew in advance whether we would pray and took our prayers into consideration in ordaining the answer. Nothing catches an omniscient being by surprise (Creating God in the Image of Man)."
How encouraging to know that the prayers of the saints ascend to the very throne of God (Rev
8:3, 4).
2) Help in time of temptation
In a world which walks to the beat of a different drum and where the notion of sin is very often treated with amused contempt, the promise of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is full of comfort for the Christian: "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it."
Commenting upon this precious promise Roy H. Lanier Snr has the following excellent comment in his The Timeless Trinity:
"In this verse God is said to do two things: 1) He will not allow a temptation to come to us that is too strong for us to bear. This means that He deals with us as individuals, and this necessitates individual providence.... Jesus told His disciples to get such help as this through prayer (Matt 6:13); 2) God will with the temptation make also the way of escape. With, at the same time of, the temptation, God will make the way of escape from it... This means that all the forces of temptation, evil men, demons and Satan are under God's control and that He will not allow them to bring to bear on us such force as will be beyond our power to withstand with God's help."
Of course the Christian is not passive in all this. Clearly no one prays for "daily bread" and waits
for it to drop from the sky. Similarly the Christian has the responsibility of fleeing from sin (1
Tim 6:11) and of putting on the full armour of God (Eph 6:13ff ) as he battles daily assaults from
Satan - but how precious is the promise that God controls the battle!
3) God at work
In his "Mere Christianity" C.S. Lewis asks the reader to imagine that he is "a living house" and that he experiences great pain when God moves in and begins to make alterations. Lewis' point is that the Lord wants to make the Christian into a dwelling place suitable for Him to inhabit - and that such a transformation can only be achieved at the cost of suffering.
When Paul says that "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God"
(Rom 8:28) it is likely that by "all things" he means primarily (but not exclusively) sufferings,
trial and difficulties. Yes trials and pain can and often do embitter, harden and make resentful -
but in the case of the Christian who trusts in God's providential oversight they can also produce
"perseverance," and "proven character" (Rom 5:3, 4) and result in his being "perfect and
complete lacking in nothing" (Jas 1:4). The remarkable book of Job destroys utterly the harmful
myth that suffering is proof of wickedness, and the deep suffering of the man of Uz illustrates
graphically that in a fallen world, sorrow, loss and pain can indeed transform, bless and
enlighten. Peter's transformation into a "rock" involved pain, and it may well be that trials are the
only means of Christian growth in many cases. However knowledge that God providentially
"disciplines us for our good that we may share His holiness" (Heb 12:10) imparts a fortitude to
the Christian in time of suffering that the world simply cannot possess.
4) Seeking and finding
It is typical of Paul that for him the most important thing about his Roman imprisonment is the fact that fact that his circumstances "turned out for the greater progress of the gospel". (Phil 1:12) Of course Paul had planned to visit Rome (Rom 1:9-13; 15:26-29) and this was also the Lord's will ("you must witness at Rome also" [Acts 23:11]). However we know that Paul's arrival in Rome as a prisoner was not according to his plan but rather was due to God's providential activity on behalf of the gospel. Since God is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9) we are not surprised that he uses the plans of good and evil men and the laws of nature to facilitate the spread of the gospel message.
Much more could be said on the subject of special providence but we will draw to a close on a
cautionary note. I need to keep in mind that as a fallible human being, I cannot know that a
particular event or circumstance of my life is a manifestation of God's providential ordering for
the attainment of a particular goal. Some sincere believers find a "providential leading" in every
new business opportunity, every new situation and every new event in life, and often
disappointment and disastrous consequences follow. Wisely, Mordecai was circumspect in his
assessment of Esther's elevation to the position as queen ("Who knows whether you have not
attained royalty for such a time as this," [Esther 4:14] ) as was Paul in the case of Onesimus, the
slave who had run away, from his master Philemon ("For perhaps he was for this reason parted
from you. [Philemon 15]) I just cannot know that event "X" manifests the working out of divine
purpose "Y" and that therefore I must do "Z" in order to cooperate with the Lord. What I can
know is that as a faithful child of God He providentially cares for me so that I can truly say: "My
refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust". (Psalm 91:2)
Concluding Comments
Let's always keep in mind that the main aim of God's special providence is to produce spiritual fruit in the lives of His children. True we are taught to pray for "daily bread," (Matt 6:11) and true God does provide for our physical needs and tells us not to be anxious about these (Matt 6:25ff) but still God's great work in the Christian's life is designed to produce spiritual fruit - holiness, love, faithfulness and suchlike. Whether we are discussing providence or any other Biblical topic it is always the Kingdom of God which is of paramount importance.
God's promise to exercise special care over His people (the "apple of His eye" [Zech 2:8]) should utterly transform the way we view the successes and failures of life. Doesn't it make a difference knowing that the same God who was with Joseph (Acts 7:9) in all his affliction and triumphs, moulding His servant and working out His predetermined plan in history is also active in a special way in the lives of those who belong to Christ? Doesn't it make a difference to know that God ordains the days of our lives (Psa. 139:16) and gives His angels charge over those who dwell in the shelter of the Most High? (Psa. 91:11 -12)
Finally doesn't it also emphasise just how important it is to be sure that we have truly obeyed the
gospel of Christ? (See our Accepting God's Gift)
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