by Dr. Dave Gamble
“Nothing is more useful,” claims the reformer John Calvin, “than a knowledge that God governs the world by His providence.” If this is true, then let us consecrate a few moments of our time to studying this remarkable Biblical doctrine.
In the Old Testament, we read the story of Joseph and how he was cruelly sold into slavery by his brothers. We read how, after much trial and tribulation, he rises to the office of prime minister in Egypt and administers the food storage program which allows the people of Egypt to survive during severe famine. When finally reunited with his brothers, he declares to them, “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Gen. 50:20). Joseph discerned that, despite the malice of his brothers, and even through the malice of his brothers, God was sovereignly bringing His plan and purpose to pass. God governs the world by His providence.
In the New Testament, we read in Paul’s magnificent epistle to the church at Rome these words: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). The apostle assures the saints at Rome (and us) that, no matter what the circumstances of the moment might be, all things are conspiring together for the ultimate good of God’s chosen people. God governs the world by His providence.
Every important concept requires precise definition. Mr. Webster helps us by defining providence as “the care and superintendence which God exercises over His creatures. He that acknowledges a creation and denies a providence, involves himself in a palpable contradiction; for the same power which caused a thing to exist is necessary to continue its existence. Some persons admit a general providence, but deny a particular providence, not considering that a general providence consists of particulars. A belief in divine providence is a source of great consolation to good men.” Note that Mr. Webster connects the doctrine of divine creation with the doctrine of divine providence: God exercises His power and wisdom in creating the world, and He continues to exercise His power and wisdom in sustaining and governing the world. The Puritan John Owen says providence is the “effectual working of His power, and almighty act of His will, whereby He sustaineth, governeth, and disposeth of all things, men, and their actions, to the ends which He has ordained for them.” Theologian Louis Berkhof defines providence as the “continued exercise of the divine energy whereby the Creator preserves all His creatures, is operative in all that comes to pass in the world, and directs all things to their appointed end.” And J.I. Packer writes, “If creation was a unique exercise of divine energy causing the world to be, providence is a continued exercise of that same energy whereby the Creator, acting according to His own will, keeps all creatures in being, involves Himself in every and all events, and directs all things to their appointed end.”
In the years following the Reformation, the historic Protestant creeds, confessions and catechisms expounded all the great Biblical doctrines, including of course the doctrine of God’s providential rule over His creation. For example, the Belgic Confession (1561) says, “We believe that the same God, after He had created all things, did not forsake them, or give them up to fortune or chance, but that He rules and governs them according to His holy will, so that nothing happens in this world without His appointment.” The Second Helvetic Confession (1566) declares, “We believe that all things, both in heaven and in earth and in all creatures, are sustained and governed by the providence of this wise, eternal, and omnipotent God.” The Westminster Confession (1648) teaches, “God the great Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.” The eighteenth question of the Westminster Larger Catechism (1648) asks, “What are God’s works of providence?” The answer given is, “God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures; ordering them, and all their actions, to His own glory.” With a rich theological heritage such as this, God’s people are well-equipped to know and apply the truth that God governs the world by His providence.
One of the greatest expressions of doctrinal precision regarding providence is found in the Heidelberg Catechism of 1562. Written primarily by Caspar Olevianus (a 26-year-old minister of the Heidelberg Church) and Zacharias Ursinus (a 28-year-old professor at the University of Heidelberg), the catechism became an important tool for the instruction and propagation of the Reformed faith in Germany and beyond.
In dealing with the doctrine of providence, the Catechism first develops the doctrine of divine creation, and then by logical extension declares that providence is God’s continual sustaining and governing the world which He created. The 26th question asks, “What do you believe when you say: I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?” The answer is, “That the eternal Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who out of nothing created heaven and earth and all that is in them, and who still upholds and governs them by His eternal counsel and providence, is, for the sake of Christ His Son, my God and my Father. In Him I trust so completely as to have no doubt that He will provide me with all things necessary for body and soul, and will also turn to my good whatever adversity He sends me in this life of sorrow. He is able to do so as almighty God, and willing also as a faithful Father.”
This reference to God’s eternal counsel and providence leads to the next question, a direct exposition of the doctrine of providence. The 27th question asks, “What do you understand by the providence of God?” The answer is, “God’s providence is His almighty and ever present power, whereby, as with His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth and all creatures, and so governs them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, indeed, all things, come to us not by chance but by His fatherly hand.”
Having faithfully developed the doctrine, the catechism then proceeds to explain the practical implications that logically flow from it. The 28th question asks, “What does it benefit us to know that God has created all things and still upholds them by His providence?” The answer: “We can be patient in adversity, thankful in prosperity, and with a view to the future we can have a firm confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from His love; for all creatures are so completely in His hand that without His will they cannot so much as move.” Patience in adversity, thankfulness in prosperity, and facing the future with a firm confidence in the love of our faithful God and Father–these are the graces that a profound understanding of the doctrine of God’s providence bestows upon His people.
In his commentary on his own catechism, Professor Ursinus explains, “On account of our consolation and salvation, that we may by this means be led, in the first place, to exercise patience in adversity; for whatever comes to pass by the will and counsel of God, and is profitable for us, that we ought patiently to bear. But all things, even those that are evil, happen by the counsel and will of God, and are profitable unto us. Therefore we ought to bear these patiently, and in all things consider and recognize the fatherly will of God towards us. Secondly, that in prosperity we may be thankful to God for the benefits received: for from whom we receive all good things, temporal as well as spiritual, great as well as small, to Him we ought to be grateful. Now it is from God, the author of all good gifts, that we have all that we enjoy. Therefore we ought to be thankful to Him, that is, we ought to acknowledge and celebrate His benefits. For gratitude bases itself upon the will and justice of God; and so consists in acknowledging and celebrating His benefits towards us, and in making suitable returns for the same. Thirdly, that we may entertain a good hope in regard to all things which may hereafter befall us, so as to rest fully assured that if God by His providence has so far delivered us out of past evils, He will also in future make all things subservient to our salvation, and never so desert us that we perish. In short, the ends of the doctrine of divine providence are: the glory of God; patience in adversity; thankfulness in prosperity, and hope in regard to future things.”
Over generations, the doctrine of providence has brought strength, encouragement and hope to God’s people. God’s great teachers and preachers have presented many uplifting lessons upon this truth. Here are a few of them:
“We must be persuaded not only that as He once formed the world, so He sustains it by His boundless power, governs it by His wisdom, preserves it by His goodness, in particular, rules the human race with justice and judgment, bears with them in mercy, shields them by His protection; but also that not a particle of light, or wisdom, or justice, or power, or rectitude, or genuine truth, will anywhere be found, which does not flow from Him, of which He is not the cause.” John Calvin
“We confess and believe all things in heaven and earth, visible and invisible to have been created, to be retained in their being, and to be ruled and guided by His inscrutable providence for such end as His eternal wisdom, goodness, and justice have appointed, and to the manifestation of His own glory.” John Knox
“Christians need nothing but absolute resignation to render them perfectly happy in every possible circumstance, and absolute resignation can only flow from an absolute belief of and an absolute acquiescence in God’s absolute providence, founded on absolute predestination.” Jerome Zanchius
“By the law of providence, I mean God’s sovereign disposal of all the concerns of men in this world—in the variety, order, and manner, which He pleases—according to the rule and infinite reason of His own goodness, wisdom, righteousness, and truth.” John Owen
“To know that nothing hurts the godly, is a matter of comfort; but to be assured that all things which fall out shall co-operate for their good, that their crosses shall be turned into blessings, that showers of affliction water the withering root of their grace and make it flourish more; this may fill their hearts with joy till they run over.” Thomas Watson
“God upholds all things by His power; governs the world by His wisdom; looks down upon the earth, takes notice and care of all His creatures in it, and makes provision for them, and guides and directs them to answer the ends for which they were made; which is the sum and substance of providence.” John Gill
“Let us learn to see by the eyes of faith, both in accidental circumstances (as they are called) and in the evil designs of men, that secret providence of God, which directs all events to an end predetermined by Himself. . . We are taught to recognize God’s providence in both prosperity and adversity. . . God’s providence reaches to all places, persons, and affairs; providences, which are casual and accidental to us, are pre-determined by the Lord. God is to be trusted when His providences seem to run contrary to His promises. God’s providence is to be admired. Learn quietly to submit to divine providence. You who are Christians, believe that all God’s providence shall conspire for your good at last. Let it be an antidote against immoderate fear, that nothing comes to pass but what is ordained by God’s decree, and ordered by His providence. Let the merciful providence of God cause thankfulness.” Thomas Manton
“If all things work together for good, there is nothing within the compass of being that is not, in one way or another, advantageous to the children of God. All the dispensations of providence, whether prosperous or diverse, all occasions and events–all things, whatsoever they be–work for their good.” Robert Haldane
“Upon some points a believer is absolutely sure. He knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He believes that an invisible hand is always on the world’s tiller, and that wherever providence may drift, Jehovah steers it. That reassuring knowledge prepares him for everything. He looks over the raging waters and sees the spirit of Jesus treading the billows, and he hears a voice saying, ‘It is I, be not afraid.’ He knows too that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is confident that there can be no accidents, no mistakes; that nothing can occur which ought not to arise… The Christian does not merely hold this as an abstract theory, but he knows it as a matter of fact. Believing that God rules all, that He governs wisely, that He brings good out of evil, the believer’s heart is assured, and he is enabled calmly to meet each trial as it comes.” Charles Spurgeon
“The providence of God is His care of and provision He makes for His creatures, with His supervision and superintendence of them. The providence of God in His government of the world is a subject of deep importance to the Christian, for by proper views thereof he will learn to see God’s activities in the daily works of His hands. Yet, though Christians assent to this truth, nevertheless they are prone to overlook it in exercise, and thereby to be deprived in great measure of that poise of mind and comfort of heart which a deep and constant improvement of this doctrine is calculated to impart. Nothing is more strengthening to faith, stabilizing to the mind, and tranquilizing to the heart of a Christian, than for him to be enabled to discern the Father’s hand guiding, shaping, controlling all that enters his life; and not only so, but that He is also governing this world, and all persons and events in it.” A.W. Pink
The Scriptures clearly and emphatically teach that God sovereignly and providentially governs the world; the historic confessions and creeds and catechisms accurately and faithfully summarize this essential doctrine; the greatest of teachers have expounded this truth. Why do so many of us have difficulty believing it and living our lives in terms of it? Dr. Sproul explains that the pervasive secularism of our generation makes it challenging for us to see beyond material circumstances to discern the plans and purposes of God in His decrees of providence. “One way in which the secular mind-set has made inroads into the Christian community is through the worldview that assumes that everything happens according to fixed natural causes, and God, if He is actually there, is above and beyond it all. He is just a spectator in heaven looking down, perhaps cheering us on but exercising no immediate control over what happens on earth. Historically, however, Christians have had an acute sense that this is our Father’s world and that the affairs of men and nations, in the final analysis, are in His hands. That is what Paul is expressing in Romans 8:28—a sure knowledge of divine providence.”
A sure knowledge of divine providence pays many dividends to those who will study to attain it.