Divine providence as God’s attribute 1

 

In talking about providence, lets see what the Oxford current English dictionary defines the word – providence, to be:

“being provident; having or showing wise foresight for the future needs or events;

2) The beneficent care of God or nature”

And seeing God in this respect as God’s providence. Through generations, He is the I AM THAT I AM; THE ALPHA and OMEGA (Beginning and the End); He is Omnipotent, the All sufficient One; The One true God in whom there is no variableness or change. He is, He was and He is to come; God does not change His nature or form in any way. Likewise His governmental hand upon His creation is not subject to any creations’ scrutiny. So I would start by establishing this fact that GOD IS DIVINE and so is His nature. And as such it will be right firstly, to consider God’s providence as divine providence as acknowledged which according to J.I Parker in his book ‘Evangelism and the sovereignty of God’:

Divine Providence is the means by and through which God governs all things in the universe. The doctrine of divine providence asserts that God is in complete control of all things. This includes the universe as a whole (Psalm 103:19), the physical world (Matthew 5:45), the affairs of all nations (Psalm 66:7), human birth, existence and destiny (Galatians 1:15), human successes and failures (Luke 1:52), and the protection of his people (Psalm 4:8). This doctrine stands in direct opposition to the idea that the universe is governed by chance, coincidence or fate as many believe.

IS THERE A PURPOSE FOR GOD’S PROVIDENCE?
It is important to assert that there is a purpose, a goal, and an ultimate explanation for this divine providence. It is to accomplish the will of God. To ensure that His purposes are fulfilled, God governs the affairs of men and works through and in the natural order of things. He orchestrates all things according to His timing and seasons. And the laws of nature are nothing more than a depiction of God at work in His own creation, the universe. The laws of nature as such have no inherent power, nor do they work independently; they are the rules and principles that God set in place to govern how things work.

At an individual level, the same goes for human choice. In a very real sense, we are not free to choose or act apart from God’s will. Everything we do and everything we choose is or rather should be in full accordance to God’s will—Sadly sometimes this could even include our sinful choices (Genesis 50:20). The bottom line is that God in a way controls our choices and actions (Genesis 45:5; Deuteronomy 8:18; Proverbs 21:1), yet He does so in such a way that does not violate our responsibility as free moral agents, nor does it negate the reality of our choice. It is a fact that God has given us, His creation that unique entity called ‘free will’. Our right to exercise this however lies under His ability and control.

“God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established” (WCF, The Westminster Confession of Faith, 3.1).