Main Text: Acts 23:12-35
Main Idea: Since God is in complete control and He cares for us, we can fully trust Him in every circumstance.
The Context: Acts 23:11: The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
- The startling story of Paul’s deliverance.
- The deep doctrine of God’s providence.
Wayne Grudem defines God’s providence: God is continually involved with all created things in such a way that he (1) keeps them existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them; (2) cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do; and (3) directs them to fulfill his purposes.
The Heidelberg Catechism (1563) Q. 27. What dost thou understand by the Providence of God? “The almighty everywhere present power of God, whereby, as it were by His hand, He still upholds heaven and earth, with all creatures; and so governs them, that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, meat and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things, come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand.”
John Calvin: “providence means not that by which God idly observes from heaven what takes place on earth, but that by which, as keeper of the keys, he governs all events.”
- God’s providence means preservation, that “God keeps all created things existing and maintaining the properties with which he created them.” Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 1:17
- God’s providence means concurrence, that “God cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do.” Job 37:6-13; Ps. 135:7; Ps. 104:27-29; Matt. 6:26; Prov. 16:33; Job 38:27, 29-30; Acts 17:26; Dan. 4:34-35; Ps. 22:28; Jer. 10:23; Prov. 16:9; 20:24; Ps. 139:16; Gen. 50:20; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; 1 John 1:5
- God’s providence means government, that “God has a purpose in all that he does in the world and he providentially governs or directs all things in order that they accomplish his purposes.” 4:35; Eph. 1:11; Rom. 8:28; Matt. 28:19; Rom. 10:14-15; 2 Tim. 2:10; Matt. 6:10
- The assuring application for our daily lives.
Genesis 22:7-8; Romans 8:28-39
The Heidelberg Catechism Q. 28. What does it profit us to know that God has created, and by His providence still upholds all things?
“That we may be patient in adversity; thankful in prosperity; and for what is future, have good confidence in our faithful God and Father, that no creature shall separate us from His love; since all creatures are so in His hand, that without His will they cannot so much as move.”
Today’s Key Insight! If you were to share a key insight from today’s sermon with a friend, what would you say?
Today’s Lunch Discussion: What does this passage teach about the way God works to accomplish His purposes? Explain the doctrine of God’s providence. Do you find it easier to affirm the providence of God theoretically rather than resting in the providence of God experientially? Explain your answer. How is the doctrine of providence comforting to your life and circumstances? What is God’s ultimate display of His providential care? RC Sproul said, “God wants us to come to the place in our Christian maturity where we can say in times of adversity, ‘God, I don’t understand what you are doing, but I trust you.’” What have you learned in this sermon that can help you grow toward that stage of maturity?