Sunday, April 28, 2013 am
THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD
Anyone who studies the Bible carefully comes face to face with the
providence of God. His hands is seen in events that unfold throughout
scripture, from Genesis through Revelation.
At times His working is miraculous, but at other times it is
providential. A few weeks ago I was asked about how God works today
through providence. This morning I would like to address that subject
for a few moments.
a.
Some deny the existence or work of God altogether
(Atheism). Since there is
no God, obviously he doesn’t work today.
b.
Some believe He does not work at all –
(Deism - a worldview that says God created the world but He has never
been involved in it since the miracle of creation) they believe that God
does nothing in the world but He might still judge us in the end.
It is contended that man’s belief in God and his “discovery” of
His will were designed by Him BEFORE or AS He created the world.
Such may or may not believe in Jesus.
c.
Some believe that God works miraculously.
Often this is the result of misunderstanding what a miracle
really is, but at other times it is a belief in true miracles – that God
works by superseding natural law (We’ll briefly mention this later).
d.
Some believe that God totally controls everything that happens.
This is the teaching of Calvinism which says that God predestines
the destiny of every man and everything.
They would say that everything is micromanages every event and
every life. In essence this
teaches that man has NO
control over His destiny.
e.
Some say that the only thing God does today is related to spiritual
matters (i.e. He forgives sins, accepts praise in prayers,
etc.) but in physical matters He is “hands off”.
Such would say that your prayers can only be directed toward
spiritual needs. Such would
say you should not pray for the sick, for strength in dealing with
temptations, God’s help for wisdom, or for anything related to this
physical world. This is not
a denial of God’s power, but simply a belief that He does not directly
act for us today.
f.
Still others believe in God’s providence.
This means that God can and does interact in the affairs of a man
according to His will, but THROUGH natural means.
This is the conviction I have
and I would like to discuss this today.
a.
“The foreseeing care and
guidance of God or nature over the creatures of the earth.” (Random
House Dictionary, www.dictionary.com)
b.
Simply stated, providence is God working to accomplish a task
THROUGH natural means. A
key element of providence is that because it is accomplished THROUGH
natural means you cannot specifically attribute it to God as it occurs
(i.e. it could be coincidence, or nature simply taking its course,
etc.).
c.
The word providence is a word
that actually means “to see before”.
The actual word is only used in scripture in reference to men,
(Acts 24:2 where we find Paul has been arrested and the Jewish leaders
are accusing him before Felix.
He says, “Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being
brought to this nation by your
foresight.”)
But that gives us an idea of how God can work providentially.
He DOES know what the future holds and can see to its execution.
The great difference between the “foresight” attributed to Felix
and that of God is that God is in COMPLETE control of the universe and
can do as He will unhindered.
We see this throughout scripture.
We often refer to the miracles of God in scripture, but if you study the
Bible you will find that MOST of His work did not involve the
miraculous. WE find
prophecies where He spoke of natural events
that would occur and when.
He identified individuals years before they did what they would
do. Through Daniel he
foretold the rise and fall of four empires (Daniel 2:44).
Through Isaiah and later Jeremiah and Ezekiel he told of Israel
and Judah’s captivities. His
will was accomplished.
Nations were blessed and suffered based upon their faithfulness or lack
thereof. The same occurred
with individuals.
Ultimately the providence of God is seen in the fulfillment of His plan
which accomplished our salvation.
From Genesis 3 to the death of Jesus (and even beyond) we find
His hand in all that is accomplished.
d.
Providence is best demonstrated with Biblical examples:
i.
While often God’s providential
work in scripture was not clearly identified as such, we DO have
examples that we can refer to.
ii.
Joseph
– was sold into slavery by his brothers which in time results in him
being exalted so that his family would have a place to reside outside of
Canaan which God desired.
His mistreatment by his brethren, being put in prison and various
other acts in time made this possible.
Joseph expressed it best in Genesis 50:20, “But
as for you, you meant evil against me;
but God meant it for good, in
order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
iii.
Esther
– the book of Esther is about the deliverance of Israel from destruction
at the hands of the Medo-Persian Empire.
A remarkable fact about this book is that it never mentions God
by name, yet you cannot read a page of the book without seeing His
presence and work. The book
describes a long and complex series of events that results in Israel’s
deliverance. Consider Esther
4:14, where Mordecai is encouraging Esther to appear before the king on
behalf of here people. He
says to her, “For if you remain
completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for
the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will
perish. Yet who knows whether you
have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
iv.
Philemon
– this short book is about an escaped slave, Onesimus, who finds Paul in
Rome and is converted to Christ.
Because he is a law breaker, Paul sent him back to his master,
Philemon with a letter pleading on the slave’s behalf.
In the letter Paul presents a possibility as to why these things
happened. “For
perhaps he departed for a while
for this purpose, that you might receive him forever” Philemon
15
v.
And thus we can see what
providence is.
e.
But does God still work providentially today?
It is my conviction that He still can and DOES work in our lives.
I say this because of numerous passages of scripture that would
have to be dismissed if God were not at work today.
i.
1 Corinthians 10:13
says, “No temptation has overtaken
you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the
temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to
bear it.”
ii.
James 1:5,
“If anyone lacks wisdom let him
ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will
be given to him.”
iii.
Matthew 6:25-33,
speaks of not worrying and how God will take care of His people, if we
seek first the kingdom of God.
iv.
2 Corinthians 9:8–11,
“And God is able to make all grace
abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all
things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He
has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness
endures forever.” Now
may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and
multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your
righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality,
which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”
v.
2 Peter 2:9,
“ then the Lord knows how to
deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under
punishment for the day of judgment“
vi.
These are just a few of the
many passages that provide promise for His people, even today.
f.
Some thoughts on providence –
i.
Because God may work
providentially today does not mean that everything that happens is His
work.
When God puts the laws of nature into motion as He created the
world, they became LAWS. In
general, nature will take its course without God needing to do anything.
The significance of understanding this is to know that there are
consequences to your actions.
You cannot live in perpetual sin or act foolishly and expect God
to bail you out.
Much of God’s law is designed to sustain itself.
ii.
Whatever He does, is according
to His will.
He may choose to do nothing (and often does).
Rom. 8:28 says, “We
know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to
those who are called according to His purpose.”
NOTE: The actual text of this verse is dealing with God
accomplish HIS will in man’s redemption.
Satan will NOT deter that!
When we approach God, we need to keep that in mind.
1 John 5:14 says, “Now this
is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according
to His will, He hears us.”
iii.
Let it be known that if God’s
will is accomplished THROUGH natural means, it STILL demonstrates His
power.
He is all powerful, all seeing and all knowing.
iv.
WE have no right to expect
personal favoritism from Him.
v.
His laws still apply.
Matt. 5:45 says that he rains to the just and the unjust alike.
vi.
We don’t know.
Never forget that the nature of providence, because it is through
natural means, can never be said that God definitely did it.
At least at the moment.
I do believe that as time goes by one can look back and see the
hand of God at work. Such is
true of Joseph, Esther, and possibly Philemon.
vii.
Regardless of whether or not
He providentially works, give Him the glory in your life.
1 Thess. 5:18 says, “In everything
give thanks.”
1 Pet. 4:11,”If anyone speaks, let
him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as
with the ability which God supplies, that
in all things God may be
glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the
dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
a.
We will not in this lesson
examine all the views mentioned at the beginning because of time, but I
want to briefly examine 2 of them.
b.
Does God work miraculously today?
i.
The answer is NO!
A TRUE miracle by definition is a supernatural act produced by
God’s special intervention.
It is something IMPOSSIBLE through natural means.
NOTE: It is important that we define this term as it is misused
and redefined by far too many today.
ii.
While such were present in
times past, including while Jesus was upon this earth and shortly
thereafter, they have completed their purpose.
1.
We are told in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12 that miracles would cease.
This passage is enough.
2.
This also accords with their purpose.
In general, when miracles were performed, God’s word was being
revealed. They were designed
to verify that the messenger was from God.
Mark 16:20 says, “And they
went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and
confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.”
Also Matthew 9:1-4 where Jesus healed the paralytic, He proved
this point. We NOW have the completed word – Jude 3, 2 Pet. 1:3, etc.
Because we have the completed word, we don’t need verification.
3.
Also, it can be shown that the only way one was given the ability to
perform miracles was either through direct intervention of the Holy
Spirit (which only happened twice – Acts 2:1-4 & Acts 10:44-48) OR
through the laying on of the apostle’s hands – cf. Acts 8:14-19.
Since there are neither apostles, nor contemporaries of the
apostles today, miracles have ceased.
iii.
Add to this the fact that we
don’t see REAL miracles today.
What miracles workers claim as miracles can be explained
naturally or coincidentally.
There is a reason those who claim to perform miracles are rejected –
THEY’RE NOT REAL MIRACLES!
c.
What about those who believe
God does nothing in this life?
There are some who believe that in matters physical He is “hands
off”. This is true even
among brethren.
i.
While I understand that God
doesn’t micromanage our lives and that much of what He does is the
result of the influence of His word and other factors He has put into
force in nature, that doesn’t mean He cannot do what is needed or that
He cannot help us today.
ii.
I have a problem with this
view because:
1.
It invalidates numerous passages that are a part of the Christian life.
The only thing one can who believes God is “hands off” is say
that the word tells us what to do.
That doesn’t explain our call to pray for the sick, for one
another, wisdom, dealing with temptation, etc.
2.
Furthermore, God is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4
John 10:27-30 find Jesus as the chief shepherd saying that Satan cannot
snatch His sheep out of His hand.
We are clearly warned of the power of Satan and to beware of him (2 Cor.
2:1, 1 John 5:19, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked
one”, & 1 Pet. 5:8, He walks about as a roaring lion).
Can God help us overcome Satan?
I think He can!
Conclusion: Exactly how God
works today is not known, but we do know that He can, and He can
accomplish His will without miracles.
Therefore we can go to Him in prayer with the confidence that if
we ask Him anything according to His will, He hears us (and He CAN do
something about it). Do you
trust God?