Systematic Theology Part 17(2)-He's Got the Whole World in his Hands Part 2

Think about all the people that play at least some role in your school:

Teachers, subs, bus drivers, coaches, principals, secretaries, students, janitors, lunch ladies, parents, superintendent, safety officer, secretary of education and even the President of the United States.

If we were to order these individuals from greatest authority to least authority there might be some disagreement, but I think we would all have much the same list. We know whose in charge. We know who has authority.

But put everyone at the ball-field and things change. Now coaches move much higher in authority and new authority is introduced, such as umpires. Take this same group of people and put them at a community pool. Their authority has changed once again. Now the pool lifeguard takes a greater place of authority than most others.

Even the President has checks and balances on his authority. But what about God's authority...his governance?

Check out what King Nebuchadnezzar says in Daniel 4:34-35 when confronted with the absolute authority of God (to see what led to this statement of belief, read Daniel 4:28-33):

"I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 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?'"

Truth: God answers to no one in his governance.

While we have to answer to a variety of people and levels of authority change depending on location and situation, God's Providence as Governance places him in a transcendent position above all others, never to be challenged.

But God's governance is also an immanent governance. As we have seen before God directs nature, rulers and nations, and individuals. Let's look at 3 more areas where God's providence governs.

I love board games, but they can be frustrating because they rely, at least to some extent, on chance. You can have all but one cherry off your Hi-Ho-Cherry-o tree and spin right into a spilled bucket and you're back to square one. You can be 3 spots from the finish of Candy Land and draw a card that sends you back nearly to the beginning. An opponent draws a "Sorry" card and that pawn that was just about to enter the safe zone is suddenly back in the start circle.

Chance. It can be cruel, but it can also deliver at just the right time.

Proverbs 16:33 shows us that God's providence governs over even accidents. In this case the casting of lots, a chance activity. Jonah 1:7-10 was a time when God intervened in the casting of lots to show the ship crew whose fault the storm was. The disciples used the casting of lots to determine (after prayer) who would take Judas' place as a disciple.

Does this mean that every time a coin is flipped or dice are rolled or black jack is played that God is directly affecting the outcome? Not necessarily, but he can if he wants to. Also we have to remember who created the physics of the dice and coin and the probabilities of the cards.

The great news for us is that we don't have to depend on games of chance to know God. The casting of lots takes place 70 times in the old testament and only 7 times in the new. God has given us the Holy Spirit, prayer, his word and the church to help where lots may have been depended on in the past. But know that God still governs over those things often counted as "luck" or "coincidence".

God's providence also governs over free actions.

Proverbs 19:21
"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."

If this is true, are people really free to act or is God always "pulling the strings?" Sincere Christians 0n both sides of the issue have disagreed on this for centuries. What we do see in scripture are people acting freely and God directing them to act.

Here's a word for you: Concurrence. Concurrence is when "both God and his creatures work together to accomplish God's sovereign purposes in the world." (A Theology for the Church, p280) Here are a few passages that contain some concurrence: Gen 1:11-12; Psalm 127:1; 1 Kings 9:9; 2 Chron 9:13; Neh 13:18; Acts 8:1-4; Acts 4:27-28; Phil 2:12-13; 1 Cor 12:11; Rom 12:6; Acts 1:8. There are more but this is enough to show that, as Wayne Grudem says, "we make willing choices, choices tha thave real effects."

Our freedom and God's providence. There will always be a tension here.

One obvious area of human freedom is our persistent run toward sin. But God is not absent in this either.

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 shows us one example how God's providence governs over sinful actions.

But wait. How can this be? Does this mean that God causes sin? Remember our interpretation principles. We have to start with what's clear. James 1:4 and 1 John 2:16 are clear that God does not cause sin. But he does act in relation to it.

4 Ways God acts in Relation to Sin

1. God prevents sin (Genesis 20:6; Psalm 19:13)

2. God permits sin (Acts 14:16; Rom 1:24-28; Mat 19:8; 2 Chron 32:31; Psalm 81:12-13)

3. God directs sin (Gen 50:20; Rom 8:28-29; Rom 11:13-15)

"God is...like a judo expert who redirects the evil efforts of sinful human beings and Satan in such a way that they become the very means of doing good. We must recognize here the amazing nature of divine omnipotence...our omnipotent God is able to allow evil humans to do their very worst, and still accomplish his purposes." (Erickson, p426)

4. God limits sin (Job 1:12; Job 2:6; Psalm 124:1-3)

"There are times when he does not prevent evil deeds, but nonetheless restrains the extent or effect of what evil humans and the devil and his demons can do...Even when God permits sin to occur, he imposes limits beyond which it cannot go." (Erickson, p426)

God's providence is something we have to wrestle with. The answers will not always be comfortable. I encourage youto wrestle with questions of God's providence, but be sure of this:

God's providence "means that we are able to live in the assurance that God is present and active in our lives. We are in his care and can therefore face the future confidently, knowing that things are not happening merely by chance. We can pray, knowing that God hears and acts upon our prayers. We can face danger, knowing tha the is not unaware and uninvolved." (Erickson, p413)