Apr 24
13
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Baptist Catechism 14
Q. 14. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions. (Neh. 9:6; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; Ps. 103:19; Matt. 10:29,30)
Scripture Reading: Matthew 10:16–39
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Introduction
As I began to write this sermon about God’s providence my mind went to the creation account of Genesis 1. God took six days to create, remember? And on the seventh day, he entered into rest. I suppose that some may take this to mean that God entered into a state of inactivity. But that would be a misunderstanding. No, when the scriptures say that God rested, they mean that God rested from his work of creation. God does not create continuously as he did in the beginning. In the beginning, he created the heavens and the earth. He then formed and fashioned the earth into a place suitable for humans to live. Lastly, he created man in his image and gave them dominion over the creatures. This he did in six days. And he rested on the seventh day… from his work of creation. But God does not sit in heaven now in a state of inactivity as if he were napping while human history unfolds. This would be a terrible misunderstanding concerning God’s relationship to the world he has made.
We confess that in the beginning, God created the heavens and earth. Now we are concerned with the question, how does God relate to this world that he has made? Is he distant from it? Has he turned his back on it? Is he hands-off? Is he sleeping in heaven? No! Though it is true that God rested from his work of creation on the seventh day, we confess that God entered into another kind of work, namely his work of providence.
The question before us this afternoon is, What are God’s works of providence?
Our confession of faith – the Second London Baptist Confession Of Faith – has a very beautiful and helpful chapter on providence. Chapter five is seven paragraphs long. Each of them is important, but please allow me to read only paragraph one. It says, “God the good Creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto his infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of his own will; to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.” That is certainly true and very helpful.
Our catechism communicates the same truths, but much more briefly.
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Preserving and Governing
What are God’s works of providence? God’s works of providence are His… preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions.
The words “preserving and governing” describe the two ways God providentially cares for this world.
Firstly, we say that God preserves this world.
This draws our attention to the fact that God upholds this world according to the nature of the things he has made. While the earth remains there is day and night, summer and winter, seedtime and harvest. The process of procreation continues on in the animal kingdom and amongst the human race, etc, etc. We call this the natural order, but it would be a mistake to think that God is uninvolved. In truth, the “natural order” of things is upheld and sustained by the providential care of God. He created the world in the beginning, and now he preserves the world that he has made. He promised to do so in the covenant he transacted with creation in the days of Noah. And he does so through the eternal Son. This is what the letter to the Hebrews means when it says, “he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1:3, ESV).
When we say that God preserves the world we mean that he upholds it. And we also mean that he provides for his creatures. He gives us our daily bread. Or consider the words of the Psalmist as he speaks to God, saying, “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing” (Psalm 145:15–16, ESV).
Secondly, we say that God governs his creatures.
When we say that God governs his creatures we mean that he rules over them. God is Lord Most High. He is the Sovereign One. In Isaiah 46:9 God says, “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose…’” (Isaiah 46:9–10, ESV).
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All His Creatures, And All Their Actions
And what does God providentially preserve and govern? Our catechism is right to say that God preserves and governs “all His creatures, and all their actions.”
In other words, there is nothing that is outside of his sovereign control. Psalm 103 testifies to this, saying, “The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19, ESV).
His rule extends even to the smallest of creatures. Do you remember what Jesus said concerning God’s providence? “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29–31, ESV).
And there in that text, we find another truth: God exercises a special kind of loving providence over his people. Listen to the way that God speaks to his chosen people in Zechariah 2:8: “he who touches you touches the apple of his eye…” (Zechariah 2:8, ESV)
One question that people often ask when presented with this teaching is, what about sinful actions? How can we say that God governs sinful actions? One, he governs sin by permitting sin. God allows men to sin, but he himself does not tempt men to sin. This is what James says. “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13, ESV). Two, God governs sin by restraining sin. And three, God governs sin by using that which is evil for good. Joseph knew this, and so he was able to speak to his brothers who sold him into slavery in this way: “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today” (Genesis 50:20, ESV).
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Holy, Wise, And Powerful
So we have learned that God’s works of providence are… His preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions. But you have probably noticed that I skipped a phrase. Our catechism describes God’s preserving and governing of his creatures and their actions as “most holy, wise, and powerful.” This is an important description, for it describes the quality of God’s providence.
God’s providence is most holy. Psalm 145:17 says, “The LORD is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17, ESV)
God’s providence is most wise, for in him “are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:3, ESV)
And God’s providence is most powerful. Indeed, “all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:35, ESV)
The words “holy, wise, and powerful” should sound familiar. They should remind you of Baptist Catechism 7. The question raised there is, “What is God?” Answer: “God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.” So, the God who is infinitely, eternally, and unchangeably wise, powerful, and holy, is “holy, wise, and powerful” in his preserving and governing of the world he has made. The word “most” reminds us that these qualities are perfections in God.
Certainly, when our catechism teaches us that God’s providence is “most holy, wise, and powerful” it is to train us how to think of God’s providence in relation to the evil, sin, and suffering we see in the world. The words, “most holy, wise, and powerful”, function as guardrails to keep us from going places we must not go.
Does God preserve and govern all His creatures and all their actions? Yes.
Does sin and suffering exist in the world? Yes.
Does God do evil? No. Does he cause his creatures to do evil or tempt them to do evil? No. For he is holy.
Does he permit his creatures to sin and thus to suffer? Yes, he must.
Is it a bear, meaningless, purposeless permission? No. For God is not only most holy, he is must wise. Though we cannot always see the purpose of our sufferings, God does. He works all things for his glory. He works all things for the good of those in Christ Jesus.
And is there anything outside of God’s control? No. For God is most powerful.
Though it may seem to us that the world is out of control, it is not. God is sovereign over it. He is governing the world he has made. And he is most holy, wise, and powerful.
The question of God’s sovereignty in relation to evil, sin, and suffering is not an easy one. Many books have been written on this subject. In fact, if you were to go to chapter 5 of our confession of faith – The Second London Confession – you would find a much more thorough and nuanced statement on this subject. I’d encourage you to read that statement sometime soon. But our catechism presents us with the teaching of the Holy Scripture on this important subject most succinctly and clearly.
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Conclusion
God is not asleep in heaven, brothers and sisters. No, he is “preserving and governing all His creatures, and all their actions” in a “most holy, wise, and powerful” way. It is because of this that we can trust him.
