2 – The Contrast
Between Calvinism & Arminianism – The Providence of God – In General
The Providence of God – In General
In
General: Providence is seen as God’s continuing work;
“the continuing action of God by which He preserves in existence the creation
He has brought into being and guides it to His intended purposes for it.” (Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology, 2nd Ed., Baker Books, p. 413) It is God’s sovereignty applied according to
His eternal plan. It is “God’s ongoing
relationship to his creation.” (Wayne
Grudem, Systematic Theology, (Grand
Rapids, MI: Intervarsity Press, Great
Britain and Zondervan Publishing House 2000), p. 315) Providence “teaches that though God is
actively related to and involved in the creation at each moment, creation is
distinct from him.” Ibid.
There are several basic positions worthy of
note.
The
Reformed or Calvinist position
1. Preservation – “God keeps all created things existing and
maintaining the properties with which he created them.” Ibid., p. 316
2.
Concurrence – “God cooperates
with certain things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to
cause them to act as they do.”
Ibid. “. . . (C)oncurrence is an expansion of the idea contained in the
first aspect, preservation. (For example, Ephesians 1:11 . . . God
accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will . . .) “The word translated ‘accomplishes’ (nergeo)
indicates that God ‘works’ or ‘brings about’ all things according to his own will. No event in creation falls outside of his
providence.” Ibid., p. 317
3.
Government – “. . . God has a
purpose in all that he does in the world and he providentially governs or
directs all things in order that they accomplish his purposes.” Ibid., p. 331
The Arminian position is summarized by
Arminian theologian, “Jack Cottrell . . . (who states) that in some cases, God
intervenes in the world in an uncommon way, using ‘subtle manipulations of such
[natural] laws and of mental states.’
But he calls these unusual events ‘special providence,’ and says, ‘It is natural that the Old Testament teems
with accounts of special providence. But
we have no reason to assume that God was working in Australia and South
American in such ways at the same time.’”
Ibid., p. 339 (Quoting Cottrell, The
Nature of Divine Sovereignty, pp. 112-113)
However, as Grudem states, “God does not just
cause some of the grass to grow; he
causes all grass to grow. He does not
just send some rain; he sends all the
rain.” Ibid., p. 342
Next we’ll look at “The Providence of God -
Evil.”
Doug
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