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The Providence of God

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LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

PROVIDENCE OF GOD

A RESEARCH PAPER TO BE SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR HEATH RICKMOND
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THEO 350 – FUNDAMENTAL THEOLOGICAL ISSUES

LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ONLINE

BY
MIKE WINNINGHAM

LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA
October 15, 2012

Introduction In the discussion of the providence of God there appears to be two primary schools of thought. First there is the school of thought that God created all things, and He is in control of the big picture but He gives humans the ability to make their own choices. Secondly, there is the school of thought that God created all things, set it into motion, and now continues to preserve His creation and govern His creation. God is fully involved in each and every detail of our lives. Both of these approaches to the providence of God have legitimate reasoning and a thought process that makes each creditable, but only one has the complete support of scripture. The Calvinist approach would be the view that God is intimately involved in all decisions in our life, and the Arminian view would be that God’s control is limited because He grants freedom of choice1. This paper will explore both schools of thought and then come to a conclusion of which school of thought is the most accurate and best supported by scripture.
Calvinist View of Providence
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The Calvinist viewpoint holds that God is in control of every aspect of mankind’s life through the preservation and governing of man. “Preservation is God’s maintaining his creation in existence. It involves God’s protection of His creation against harm and destruction, and His provision for the needs of the elements or members of the creation.”1 One does not have to look far in scripture to see God’s preservation of His creation. God’s Word says “Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed ; it shall be food for you;”(Genesis 1:29).2 1 All biblical references, unless otherwise indicated, will be taken from the New American Standard Bible 2 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 1998),414.
Nehemiah 9:6 says “You alone are the LORD. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their host, The earth and all that is on it, The seas and all that is in them. You give life to all of them and the heavenly host bows down before You.” God’s preservation is seen here, in that; God gives life to all things in Heaven and on Earth. God’s acts of preservation are seen throughout the history of Israel. The story of Joseph and how he was brought to Egypt and was put into position to provide the food needed for God’s chosen people during a time of great famine.3 God’s preservation is also seen in the protection of Moses, the lives of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Daniel and many others. Jesus also taught about God’s preservation when His disciples were concerned about the necessities of life, such as what would they eat and wear. Jesus reassured them that the Father takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, and He would certainly take care of them. He even tells them that the hairs on their heads are numbered.
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There are incorrect views of preservation that set themselves up against the Calvinistic view. One of the incorrect views that have occurred over the course of time is deism. A deist believes that God created the world, set it in motion and then He let it go. An example of this viewpoint would be a drill being started and the trigger lock being activated, and as long as no external elements are changed then the drill will continue to run. This system of belief is not supported fully by scripture, when one looks at the passages stated above that refer to God’s active presence in our lives. The deist belief system reduces God’s role in creation to that of a first cause.4 3 Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 1998), 417. 4 Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001), 129.

Another idea that should be avoided is the view that God is like a celestial repairman. This view holds that everything in creation functions normally most of the time, but there are times when God must intervene and fix something that has gone wrong. This view gives a person the idea that God is not needed when all is going well. All he does is observe and nod approvingly as long as things continue to go well. Scripture shows us a God who has a far more active involvement in our lives, such as the passage that says “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,” (Romans 8:15-16). God’s Spirit is continually in interaction with our spirit so that we can be assured of our place with Him, and our place with Him is that of a child of God. The fatherly relationship that is betrayed in scripture implies an active relationship between God and His creation.5
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The Calvinistic view of providence also embraces the idea of God’s governing as part of His providence. The governing of God refers to His activity in the world that is designed to achieve His plan for the world. In Matthew 5:45 Jesus responds to the Pharisees hatred of their enemies by telling them that the Father causes the sun to rise on their enemies and the rain to water their crops, so they should extend the love of the Father to their enemies instead of hatred.6 God has used the teaching of men to affect His will for the world. He has also used nature to affect His will, so much so; that scripture says the winds and waves obey Him. In God’s governing He is not limited to only things that seem to be good, on the contrary, He is capable of utilizing all

5 Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001),202 . 6 John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck, eds., The Bible Knowledge Commentary: an Exposition of the Scriptures (Wheaton, Ill.: David C. Cook, 1983), 31. things regardless of whether they are good or bad.7 Consider the Samaritan women found in the 6th chapter of John and how Jesus took what any other Jew would have considered an insult for this woman to speak to them, but Jesus used this as an opportunity to reach an entire village. One should not overlook the irony found in the placement of the story of the Samaritan woman directly after the story of Nicodemus in Chapter 3. Nicodemus was a teacher of the law, a member of the Jewish Supreme Court, and he finds himself speechless before Jesus. The Samaritan women on the other hand finds herself fully engaged in conversation with Jesus and becoming a part of God’s plan reaching others.8 The Calvinistic view takes God’s governing a step further by stating that God elects some people to salvation and some to damnation, and in doing so asserts that when someone is separated from God for eternity it is done at the will of God.9
Arminian View of Providence
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The Arminian view on providence is significantly different from those of the Calvinist. Their views on God’s preservation of His creation holds to the thought that mankind has the ability to choose and influence God’s preservation. What this means for the individual is that everyone has the ability to choose God’s gift of salvation without any election by God himself.10 God has provided His drawing of the believer by the acts of Jesus Christ and beyond that there is no further act needed on God’s part but instead the responsibility rest on the sinner to believe. There are other things that are affected by taking this stance, such as eternal security is no longer secure, 7 Gregory A. Boyd and Paul R. Eddy, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), 37. 8Andreas J. Köstenberger, A Theology of John's Gospel and Letters (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2009), 202
. 9 Erwin Lutzer, The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998), 177 10 Ibid,178.

because just as mans actions secure salvation those actions can also cause them to lose their salvation. God’s ability to save and preserve His creation is now limited by man’s choice of God. The Arminian view on God’s governing of his creation can be summed up in that God is not controlling every detail of what is going on in the world, but only in those things that affect His desire for His creation. This view would not remove God from acting in the world but it would certainly limit God’s activity, but not at mans doing but at God’s own choosing. God chooses to allow mankind to have a free will, because that is the only true way that love can be expressed. If a husband programmed his wife to behave in a way that he sees as perfect, and she does all that she is programmed to do, is she really showing love to her husband? Or, is she being forced to do something against her will? 11 One cannot govern nor cause true love and devotion from an individual, the opposite is true, an individual has to choose to devote themselves to and love another person.
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In the discussion of election the Calvinist would argue that God cannot be in control of just some things, He has to be in control of all or none. Meaning that God controls who is saved and who is lost.12 The Arminian rebuttal would be that scripture says “The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9) How could God predetermine who will and will not go to heaven and hell, but still refer to Himself as being patient for people to come to Him and stating His desire for none to perish? The Arminian would answer this by saying people have a choice in all that they do, including salvation.

11 Gregory A. Boyd and Paul R. Eddy, Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009), 42.
12 Ibid,43.

Alternative Views on Providence There are many variations out there that have input into the providence of God discussion, such as universalism; that states in the end all of mankind will be won over by God’s love. All men will be reconciled to God in the end.13 This view takes the Calvinistic view of God’s control to another level and adds that God will draw everyone to Himself before it over. Of course this view completely ignores scripture that speaks to mans responsibility to confess faith in God’s provision in Christ. In the universalist view there would have been no need for Jesus to have been sacrificed. Almost all other alternatives line up under compatibilism or incompatibilism, meaning that God’s control is compatible with free will or God’s control is incompatible.
Conclusion
There are compelling arguments on both sides of the providence discussion that have scriptural backing to support them. What has to be determined then is which argument aligns itself closest with scripture, but as the evidence is examined, the conclusion is that both arguments are close to scripture. However, in my opinion I do not believe that either is or can be a whole argument. One of the first things a theologian learns in the study of God’s Word is that scripture cannot contradict scripture, and if we hold to that rule, then we know that neither of these arguments can or should stand alone.
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The first question that should be answered in this discussion is, is the Bible God’s inspired Word to mankind? I believe that it is God’s Word to us, and that it is without error. I do not believe it to be a science book but when it addresses scientific matters it is accurate. 13 Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001), 1232.

The Bible is not a world history book, but when it addresses issues of history it has been found correct. God’s Word can be trusted because it has proven itself to be true and accurate.14 Once the determination is made that God’s Word is trustworthy, then one has to wrestle with the two arguments and the scripture that supports them. If the Bible is God’s Word to man then as a studier of God’s Word I need to know, what is the overall thrust of the Bible? The overall thrust of scripture is God’s process of redeeming His creation through the sacrifice of His Son. Once I have that established then I can take the two arguments and determine how they fit in God’s plan of redemption for His creation. First, it is clear that since both views are taught in scripture, then somehow they have to work together to accomplish God’s plan.
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Scripture teaches us that God is constantly drawing us in numerous ways, such as through nature, scripture, prayer, and fellow believers. Scripture also shows us that throughout history people have responded to that drawing and others have rejected it. I think it is safe to say that the providence of God manifest itself in God’s control and ability to draw the believer to Himself, and it is also seen in God’s limiting of His power in order to allow each person to choose how they will stand before God. God is unwavering and unchanging in His ways, and because of that we can be secure in His prevision, governing, and salvation.
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14 Norman Geisler et al., From God to Us: How We Got Our Bible (Chattanooga, Tenn.: Moody Publishers, 1974), 16.

Bibliography

Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.

Elwell, Walter A., ed. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2001.

Erickson, Millard J. Christian Theology. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 1998.

Geisler, Norman, William Nix, Norman L. L. Geisler, William E. E. Nix, Norman L. Geisler, and William E. Nix. From God to Us: How We Got Our Bible. Chattanooga, Tenn.: Moody Publishers, 1974

Köstenberger, Andreas J. A Theology of John's Gospel and Letters. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2009.

Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.

Towns, Elmer L. Theology for Today. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 2001.

Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, eds. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: an Exposition of the Scriptures. Wheaton, Ill.: David C. Cook, 1983.

Walvoord, John F., and Roy B. Zuck, eds. The Bib Sac Reader: Commemorating Fifty Years of Publication by Dallas Theological Seminary, 1934-1983. Chicago: Moody Press, 1983.

New American Standard Bible

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