Three Minutes in Theology: The Providence of God

The Doctrine of Providence

Welcome to Three Minutes in Theology. I'm Pastor Alan Nelson, pastor of Perryville Second Baptist Church in Central Arkansas. Today we're gonna talk about the doctrine of providence. Providence is, in the words of Herman Bavinck, the act of God by which from moment to moment he preserves and governs all things.

That's an important definition. Preserves means every cell, every molecule, every particle of dust, all things great and small are sustained by the power of God. Governs means that not merely are all things sustained, they are being worked toward a predetermined end that is flowing out of the eternal counsels and decree of God.

Providence Includes the Smallest Details

Providence flows from the decree of God. So when we talk about providence, we're in danger of just thinking about the big events, the hurricane, the pandemic, the presidential election, all of these things are under, certainly they are under the providential hand of God, but these are not the only things.

The loose wire, the light bulb that needs changed, the seat you picked on Sunday morning, the creek in the car door, all 15 Rocky Balboa movies, the number of chips in the bowl when you decide to eat at a Mexican restaurant, all of these things, God preserves and governs all these things.

A church is called, in the words of one theologian, to live with confidence in the hand of God, which governs all things. And that leads me to my next point as we talk about providence, because the governance and preservation of all things has a point, it has a goal, it has an end.

The Glory of Christ as Providence's Ultimate Goal

If you go on vacation to Hawaii, you have an end in mind, you have a goal, a vacation to Hawaii, that's your goal. But in order to get to that goal, it requires all sorts of other things, plane tickets, a security check, sunscreen, driving to the airport, all of these things are working toward that one goal that you have, and that goal is a vacation in Hawaii.

Well, that illustration helps a little, it fails in some points, but the idea here is that God has a goal for the creation of the world, a goal for all things, and that goal is ultimately the glory of Christ.

Providence for the Good of the Church

But listen to this, within that goal of the glory of Christ does also contain the good of the church. What I'm trying to say here is that God is for his church, and so Paul Helm is able to write that everything that occurs is for the benefit of some, namely of the church.

In other words, the providence of God does benefit God's creation, all of God's creation in one way or the other, but there's a special end in mind, and that is God's care for and love for and benefit ultimately of his church.

So as we understand the providence of God, we don't wanna disconnect it from the church. God governs all things for the glory of Christ and for the good of his people. Thanks for joining us on Three Minutes in Theology.