Of Divine Providence

The end of paragraph 5 in chapter 5, “Of Divine Providence”, in the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, ends with the following sentence:

“So that whatsoever befalls any of his elect by his appointment, for his glory and their good.”

There are fewer sentences with as much power and comfort as this. The providence of God reveals both the God-ness of God and the goodness of God. I will first define “divine providence”, then discuss how it reveals the God-ness of God, next the goodness of God, and we will end discussing the gospel in divine providence.

The definition of “Divine Providence” that I will use is basically a paraphrase of the first paragraph in chapter 9 of the confession:

God, the good Creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise will, to the end for which they were created, to the praise of the glory of his wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.

Here is a simpler definition I will give of “Divine Providence”:

God causes every action and event to take place. He does this according to His wisdom and will for two main purposes. Those two purposes are that His glory be displayed and for the good of His elect.

Now that we’ve briefly given thought to definitions of providence, let’s move to where we can begin to see the God-ness of God in divine providence. Do you realize how incredible the providence of God is? Think about it: God orchestrates every action and event, ever. Think about all the different actions you take a day and all the events that happen in a day for you. Now multiply that by over 7 billion for every person in the world. God is in charge of all of that, all at once. God is always doing an infinite number of things. Beyond just human events, God is simultaneously holding up the universe. He is causing the earth to spin and holding the planets in rotation at the same time as He is putting breath in your lungs and causing your blood to flow. The earth is as it is because God is holding it together. You are reading this because God is giving you sight and a brain that connects with what you’re seeing. God is big.

On top of all the behind the scenes work of providence that God is doing, everything that happens to you is under His divine doing as well. Every person you meet in a day, every laugh, every tear, every loved one that dies – all of it lives under the roof of God’s providence. God providentially directs everything that happens to you, from the biggest life events to the smallest details that go unnoticed. This is the God-ness of God.

Now that we’ve shortly discussed the God-ness of God, we will now move to the goodness of God in His divine providence. Everything that God does, He does for His glory. However, for those who are in Christ, God not only directs all things in their lives for His glory, but also for their good. For those who have rejected Christ, the non-elect, we cannot say that things work for their good, because that would certainly not be true. But for the elect, those in Christ, everything, from every major event to the most miniscule detail is somehow working for their good. That such a sovereign God would do this for His children reveals the infinite goodness of the providence of God. The providence of God in the life of the believer is one of the most comforting doctrines of scripture. We can rest knowing that even the most painful and sorrowful things are not meaningless and they will not be sad forever, but they are somehow, someway, that God intends for our infinite good and eternal joy in God. Nothing comes against God’s elect that God does not give consent to. Satan cannot tempt or touch God’s elect without asking permission like a little child with no power. Satan is like a dog on a leash that God lengthens and shortens according to His will and the good of His children. For the Christian, God has an infinitely good purpose in His providence over our happiest joys and saddest sorrows. In the darkest times in the life of the Christian, there can be a deep sense of genuine joy and a real comfort in resting on the soft bed of God’s providence, covering ourselves in the warm blanket of God’s sovereignty, and laying our heads on the cozy pillow of God’s goodness.

God is for His people. He is not for any other people. God is concerned for the eternal welfare of His children. While many Christians have lives of perpetual pain and live under a dark shadow in this life, there is goodness in Christ stored up for them in the silos of eternity. There is joy unimaginable and currently un-expressible that will last forever that is awaiting the suffering Christian now. God is infinitely good in His divine providence.

We will now end discussing the gospel in accordance with divine providence. Or we could say the divine providence of the gospel. The way to keep our hearts soft when learning the deep doctrines of the scripture is to remember them and discuss them in light of the gospel. We must remember that the means that God bestows His provident goodness on His elect were purchased at the cross. The fact that all things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose is only possible because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus who bought infinite joy for us at the cross. And what is even more breath-taking is that it was under the providence of God that Jesus died on the cross to purchase his bride and all the spiritually blessings He freely gives to His bride.

The gospel is that God providentially provided Christ as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of His elect in order that we may be made right with God and brought into His family to enjoy God forever in Christ to the praise of His glorious grace.