BASIC CONVICTIONS
Lesson 9: The Doctrines of Preservation and Providence
Introduction
Creation includes all God’s work that is embraced in the 6 days of Gen 1 and 2 (original
creation). This work came to an end (heavens and earth were finished and God rested).
Preservation and providence include all God’s work that occurs in the constituted order
subsequent to creation.
I. Preservation
A. The Basic Idea
Preservation is the positive continuous and immediate work of the triune God by which he
upholds in existence the entire created universe in all its laws, powers, properties, processes.
1. No absolute cessation of Divine working
God’s ending his work and resting (Gen 2:2) does not mean an absolute cessation. For he
works continuously and did not stop with creation. His resting (Heb. = “Sabbath”) on the
7th day is a divine rest from a particular kind of working.
Col 1:17—“in him all things hold together.”
Neh 9:6 (ESV)—“You preserve all of them” (heavens, starry host, earth and seas and
all that is in them).
Ps. 36:5-7, 9—“O Lord, you preserve both man and beast” … “For with you is the
fountain of life; in your light we see light.”
Ps 66:9—“He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping.”
John 5:17—“Jesus said to them, ‘My Father is always at work to this very day, and I,
too, am working.”
2. The work of the Triune God
a. The Father—John 5:17 (above)
b. The Spirit—Ps 104:30: “When you send your Spirit, they are created and you renew
the face of the earth.”
c. The Son—Col 1:17 (above) and John 5:17 (above); Heb 1:3—“The Son is the radiance
of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his
powerful word.”
3. The objects of preservation
Man and beast in life and light (Ps 36:5-7,9); healing and maintaining of life (John 5:17);
heavenly bodies, earth, seas, and everything in them (Neh 9:6); the stability and cohesion
of the cosmos (Col 1:17); the sustenance of the universe (Heb 1:3); the processes of air,
earth, sea, moon, sun and all that is in them (Ps 104); life given to everything (1 Tim
6:13); the life and breath of all creatures (Job 12:10); the maintenance of the heavens and
their starry host (Isa 40:26); the reign of kings (Dan 5:26); man’s life (food, Ps 145:15);
nature’s processes (Job 38); climatic conditions (Jer 51:16); rain, crops, food chain
processes (Acts 14:17); sunshine and rain on both good and evil persons (Matt 5:45);
human existence (Acts 17:28); human moral effort (Phil 2:12,13); human life (Deut
30:20); human life again (Ps 66:9).
B. The Scope of Preservation
1. The cohesion and stability of the universe
Col 1:17 indicates that Christ “holds together” the universe. This has implications for the
cohesion of electronic matter. Were it not for this “holding together” of the universe, it
would cease to exist.
2. The laws and processes of nature
God’s action of preservation embraces the following (not exhaustive):
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a. Control of climatic conditions (Ps 104:10,14; Ps 29 (all); Acts 14:17; Job 38; Jer 51:16)
b. Fertilization of the soil (Ps 104:30—“You renew the face of the earth”)
c. Growth of vegetation (Ps 104:14—“He causes the grass to grow”)
d. Orderly sequence of day, night, and seasons (Ps 104:19-22; Matt 5:45—“He makes
his sun to shine and rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on
the unjust”)
e. Movement of heavenly bodies (Isa 40:26—“…not one of them is missing [or, falls]”)
f. Preservation of every living thing (Job 12:10—“in whose hand is the soul of every
living thing, and the breath of all mankind”)
g. Round of birth and death of animals (Ps 104:28-30; Matt 10:28-30)
h. God as the sole basis of life in all its phases (Acts 17:28—“For in him we live and
move and have our being”).
(1) we live—God is the source of our life: creation, procreation, birth.
(2) we move—God is the power by which we act, move, think, and feel (Phil 2:12,13)
(3) and have our being—God is the ground of our continued existence. Cf. Deut 30:20
C. Alternative Views
1. The deistic view
The universe is a self-sustaining mechanism, a machine—God has built a perfect
machine that needs no subsequent tinkering or “patching up” (David Hume—the Biblical
God is a “patching up” God and inferior to his deistic God).
But:
The God of the Bible is an active God, not a lesser God to the deistic one—just a
different kind of God. He desired a world with which He would enter into fellowship.
Thus, he did not desire to make man independent of himself. Moreover, Hume’s
analogy of the universe as a “machine” is not a very apt one.
2. Continuous creation
Creation is like a series of motion pictures. God creates continuously in a repeated
series of acts.
But:
a. This denies, or implies a denial, of second causes and thus the causation of free
causative wills. The result is that it makes God the author of sin.
b. It leads also to the denial of enduring responsibility and morality.
II. Providence
A. Its Nature
Providence is the continuous work of the triune God whereby he controls all things in the
universe for the purpose of accomplishing his own wise and loving plan in ways
consistent with the free moral agency of his creatures.
1. It is all-pervasive and comprehensive.
All things are “of him, through him, and unto him” and “in him all things consist.” This
teaching correlates with God’s omnipresence which means that God is present in, with,
and amidst all things in heaven and earth. Every detail of being and occurrence is
embraced.
2. It is exercised in various ways.
God’s providence employs secondary agency as well as primary agency. It
presupposes the reality and efficacy of creature agency. This is so because it
presupposes creation, and creatures are not a fancy, illusion, or phantom. God is not the
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only agent in the sphere of providence. Thus we must posit a mode of divine action that
will conserve and ensure the agency of created beings.
3. It takes three different forms of Divine action.
a. Ordinary providence—God uses the agencies which he has created and endowed
with certain powers. These agencies and powers are adapted and efficient to the
accomplishment of certain desired results.
b. Extraordinary providence—God brings about an exceptional convergence or
coincidence of secondary agencies for the accomplishment of his purpose in grace and
judgment.
c. Miraculous providence—God accomplishes certain results by the exercise of his
immediate power (miracles).
B. Ordinary Providence
1. General biblical teaching
Ps 103:19—“The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over
all.”
Ps 66:7—“He rules forever by his power, his eyes watch the nations—let not the
rebellious rise up against him.”
Ps. 33:13-22—“From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his
dwelling place he watches all who live on earth—he who forms the hearts of all, who
considers everything they do. … The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on
those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them
alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him
our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us,
O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”
Eph 1:11—“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan
of him who works out everything in conformity to the purpose of his will.”
2. Specific instances
Physical nature (Josh 10:12-14; Ps 148:8); plant life (Jonah 4:6); animal life (Jonah 1:17;
Matt 17:27); man’s birth and career (Jer 1:5; Gal 1:15,16); death (Deut 32:40-50; John
21:19; 2 Tim 4:6-8); provision for man’s needs (Matt 5:45; 6:8; 11:28; Acts 14:17);
guidance of God’s people (Hos 2:6; Isa 42:16); ministry of God’s servants (Phil 1:12);
leadings to Christ (Acts 8:26-39; Phil 1:5-6); calamities (Eph 3:1; Phil 1:12); temptations
(1 Cor 10:13); answers to prayer (Rom 15:30-32); judgments on evil-doers (Acts 12:23);
control of nations (Ps 75:6-7; Acts 17:26; Dan 4:17-25); trivialities (Matt 10:29-30;
Esther 6:1); acts of evil men and spirits (John 19:11; Acts 4:28; Ps 76:10; Job 1:12; 2:6; 1
Kings 2:19-25).
3. Methods used by God
a. Creation and preservation of the laws of nature—God employs the laws and ordinary
workings of nature which he has created (Ps 148:8—“Lightning and hail, snow and
clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding”)
b. Miracle—Acts 2:4-11—“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them … we hear them declaring the
wonders of God in our own tongues!”
c. Acts of free moral agents—Gen 50:20: “you intended to harm me, but God intended it
for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
4. Relation of providence to evil actions
a. Preventive providence
Gen 20:6: “Then God said to him [Abimelech] in the dream, ‘Yes, I know you did this
with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against me. That is why I
did not let you touch her.”
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b. Limiting providence—God sets bounds to the creature’s agency
2 Thess 2:7—“For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who
now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.”
Isa 10:5-15 (esp. vss 7,12-13)—“Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose
hand is the club of my wrath! I send him … When the Lord has finished all his work
against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, ‘I will punish the king of Assyria for
the willful pride of his heart … Does the ax raise itself above him who swings it …?
Therefore, the Lord Almighty will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy
warriors …”
Job 1:12—“The Lord said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands,
but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”
c. Permissive providence—Rom 1:24: “As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed
among the Gentiles because of you.”
Acts 14:16: “in the past, he let all nations go their own way.”
d. Directive providence (i.e., channeling)
Gen 50:20—see above
Prov 21:1—“The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord; he directs it like a watercourse
wherever he pleases.”
Ps 76:10—“Surely your wrath against men brings you praise, and the survivors of your
wrath are restrained.”
e. Indirect means are sometimes stated as if direct
Biblical statements sometimes attribute things to God directly which he only permits to
be done:
(1) See 1 Chron 21:1 and 2 Sam 24:1—the first passage says Satan incited David to
number Israel, whereas 2 Samuel says God incited David.
(2) See Job 1:12 and Job 1:21—in the first reference, it is Satan, with God’s permission,
that brings the plagues upon Job, but the second reference assigns the responsibility
to God.
(3) See 1 Chron 10:13-14 and 10:2-4—“Saul died because he was unfaithful to the
Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for
guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death.” But 10:2-4
says Saul killed himself by falling on his sword.
5. Purpose of providence
a. The security, comfort, and peace for the children of God.
The purpose of God’s providence is to guarantee the security, peace and comfort of
the people of God. Even our sins are permitted to sharpen our character.
Rom 8:28—“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
2 Cor 2:14—“But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in
Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him”
Ps 121:3—“He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber.”
Ps 4:8—“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in
safety.”
Phil 2:12,13—“… continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
God who works in you to will and to act according to his good pleasure.”
b. The purpose is often unclear until after the event.
God’s purposes are unsearchable and unless revealed in advance by God, they seldom
can be clearly seen until after the events have taken place:
Rom 11:33—“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
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1 Cor 2:6-8—“… we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden
and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age
understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.”
C. Defective Views
1. Partial providence—God controls everything except little things. But: this is (a) based
on an anthropomorphic view of God who is very big but not infinite, and (b) illogical, for
how can God control the big and not the little?
2. Chance—there is no connection between cause and effect. Passages that speak of
“chance” are cited (e.g., 1 Sam 6:9; Eccl 9:11,12). But: these passages speak of a free
universe as it appears to human sight. We all speak this way at times. In reality, there is
no such thing as chance. All things are settled by God. I can only speak about chance
from my viewpoint.
3. Fatalism—events are determined arbitrarily by the nature of things (e.g., “fate” with
most ancient pagans) or by arbitrary will (Allah).
4. Determinism—events are determined by God who himself exercises freedom (some
would deny even this) and who controls all without the freedom of any creature. This
denies secondary agency or causes.
5. Overpowering God—evil pushes God into a corner but he ultimately works his way out
and overpowers evil (popular view among many Christians).
D. Providence and Catastrophes
1. God is always involved—we can’t say that God has no part in catastrophes for Scripture
declares:
a. God is behind natural laws and processes which cause such disasters. Isa 45:7—“I
form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do
all these things.”
b. God is able to prevent such occurrences. Matt 8:26—“You of little faith, why are you
so afraid? Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely
calm.”
c. We know that God has used special judgments in the past (i.e., floods and the 10
plagues, etc.)
2. Catastrophes not due necessarily to peoples’ greater sinning than others. Luke 13:15—re: the Galileans slain by Pilate and the falling of the tower of Siloam: the victims
were not worse sinners than others. All are guilty and will equally perish unless they
repent.
3. Catastrophes have ultimately a good purpose—the Bible teaches that God has a
purpose for good in catastrophe, a rationale of which we frequently do not and cannot be
expected to fathom. We say—God could have prevented the event, but he chose to permit
it in order to”
a. warn men of danger in this life
b. bring out better qualities of men
c. stimulate people to activity (e.g., safety devices, etc.)
d. turn the minds of men to him in view of our helplessness (Ps 107:28—“They cry to
Jehovah out of their distresses”)
e. warn people of coming final judgment (Luke 13:1-5—see above).
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