The Doctrine of God and Creation: The Providence of God.

Notes from the Summary of Christian Doctrine by Louis Berkhof.

Introduction.

God not only created the world but He upholds all that he has made. Thus we pass from creation to Divine Providence.

Divine Providence is that work of God in which he preserves all His creatures, is active in all that happens in the world, and directs all things to their appointed end.

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1. The Three Elements of Divine Providence.

1. Divine Preservation.That is the continuous work of God by which He upholds all things. While the world has a distinct existence and is not part of God, it nevertheless has the ground of its existence in God and not in itself. It endures through the continued exercise of divine power by which all things are maintained in being and action. Note these passages.

Psa 136:25  Who gives food to all flesh; for His mercy endures forever.

Psa 145:15  The eyes of all wait on You; and You give them their food in due season.

Neh 9:6  You, even You, are Jehovah alone. You have made the heavens, heaven of the heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things on it, the seas, and all in them, and You preserve them all. And the host of the heavens worships You.

Act 17:28  For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also certain of your own poets have said, For we are also His offspring.

Col 1:17  And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. ( and in and through Him the universe is a harmonious whole.)WNT

Heb 1:3  He brightly reflects God's glory and is the exact representation of His being, and He upholds the universe by His all-powerful word. After securing man's purification from sin He took His seat at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

upholds :  He holds everything together through his powerful words.GW.  sustaining the universe with his powerful word.GNB

b. Divine Concurrence. This that work of God by which He co-operates with all His creatures and causes them to act precisely as they do. This acknowledges that there are real secondary causes in the world, such as the powers of nature and the will of man, and asserts that these do not work independently of God. God works in every act of His creatures, not only in their good but also in their evil acts.

He stimulates them to action, accompanies their every action at every moment, and makes this action effective. However, we should never think of God and man as equal causes; the former is the primary cause, and the latter only a secondary cause. Neither should we think of each of them doing a part of the work like a team of horses. The same action is in its entirety both a deed of God and a deed of amn. Also, we should guard against the idea   that this co-operation makes God responsible for man’s sinful deeds. Note these Scriptures.

Deu 18:18  I will send them a prophet like you from among their own people; I will tell him what to say, and he will tell the people everything I command.

Psa 104:20  You made the night, and in the darkness all the wild animals come out.

Psa 104:21  The young lions roar while they hunt, looking for the food that God provides.

Psa 104:27  All of them depend on you to give them food when they need it.

Psa 104:28  You give it to them, and they eat it; you provide food, and they are satisfied.

Psa 104:29  When you turn away, they are afraid; when you take away your breath, they die and go back to the dust from which they came.

Psa 104:30  But when you give them breath, they are created; you give new life to the earth.

Amo 3:6  Does the war trumpet sound in a city without making the people afraid? Does disaster strike a city unless the LORD sends it?

Mat 5:44  But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Mat 5:45  so that you may become the children of your Father in heaven. For he makes his sun to shine on bad and good people alike, and gives rain to those who do good and to those who do evil.

Act 14:17  But he has always given evidence of his existence by the good things he does: he gives you rain from heaven and crops at the right times; he gives you food and fills your hearts with happiness."

Php 2:13  because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey his own purpose. GNB

To be continued.