The concept of God's providence is a central theme in Christian theology, referring to God's continuous involvement with all created things, guiding them toward their ultimate purpose. This divine guidance is often understood to operate through the use of means, where God employs natural laws, human actions, and circumstances to accomplish His will.

Biblical Foundation

The Bible provides numerous examples of God's providence working through means. In Genesis 50:20, Joseph, reflecting on his journey from slavery to becoming a ruler in Egypt, tells his brothers, "As for you, you intended evil against me, but God intended it for good, to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" . Here, God uses the actions of Joseph's brothers, though intended for harm, to bring about a greater good.

Similarly, in the account of Esther, God's providence is evident as He uses Esther's position as queen to save the Jewish people from destruction. Esther 4:14 highlights this, where Mordecai tells Esther, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" . This suggests that Esther's rise to queenship was part of God's providential plan.

Human Responsibility and Divine Sovereignty

The interplay between divine providence and human responsibility is a recurring theme in Scripture. Proverbs 16:9 states, "A man's heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps" . This verse encapsulates the balance between human initiative and divine control, indicating that while humans make plans, it is ultimately God who directs the outcome.

In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul acknowledges this relationship in Philippians 2:12-13: "Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence but now even more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose" . Here, Paul emphasizes that believers are to actively pursue their spiritual growth, yet it is God who empowers and guides their efforts.

Means in the Natural World

God's providence is also evident in the natural order. Psalm 104:14-15 describes how God provides for His creation through natural processes: "He makes the grass grow for the livestock and provides crops for man to cultivate, bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face shine, and bread that sustains his heart" . This passage illustrates how God sustains life through the means of agriculture and natural growth.

Prayer and Providence

Prayer is another means through which God's providence operates. James 5:16-18 highlights the power of prayer in the life of Elijah: "The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops" . This demonstrates that while God is sovereign, He invites human participation through prayer to bring about His purposes.

Conclusion

The providence of God, as connected with the use of means, underscores the belief that God is actively involved in His creation, working through natural laws, human actions, and circumstances to fulfill His divine purposes. This understanding encourages believers to trust in God's sovereignty while actively engaging in the means He provides to accomplish His will.1 Kings 21:19
And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus said the LORD, Have you killed, and also taken possession? And you shall speak to him, saying, Thus said the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 Kings 22:37,38
So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth to me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Luke 2:1-4
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Acts 27:22,31,32
And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

God's Providence
... of man are represented as inseparably connected with the ... we shall behold the bow
of God encircling the ... As a seventh ground for believing in Providence, it may ...
/.../chapter vi gods providence.htm

On Divine Providence
... his written word: All the oracles of God, all the ... and the New, describe so many scenes
of divine providence. ... particular, that it is not a connected history of ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 67 on divine providence.htm

What a Revival of Religion Is
... But every thing goes to show that God has connected means with the ... He neither
administers providence nor grace with that sort of sovereignty that dispenses ...
/.../finney/lectures on revivals of religion/lecture i what a revival.htm

Covenanting Confers Obligation.
... not he will conform to the duties connected with it ... by Divine teaching, the fearers
of God adopt means ... In His providence, however, their lawful purposes are in ...
/.../the ordinance of covenanting/chapter v covenanting confers obligation.htm

On Friendship with the World
... Has not his providence recommended these to me?" Undoubtedly it ... best of each other;
seeing, as God has joined ... Parents are almost as nearly connected with their ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 80 on friendship with.htm

The New Hampshire Baptist Confession. AD 1833.
... from superficial professors; [2120] that a special Providence watches over ... We believe
that the Law of God is the ... and of the means of grace connected with the ...
/.../the new hampshire baptist confession.htm

Baptists.
... them from superficial professors; that a special Providence watches over ... AND
GOSPEL."That the law of God is the ... and of the means of grace connected with the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hayward/the book of religions/baptists.htm

On the Righteousness and Efficacy of the Providence of God
... the act and the transgression of the law are inseparably connected, and therefore ...
(1.) The Punishment of sin is an act of the providence of God, by which ...
/.../the works of james arminius vol 1/disputation 10 on the righteousness.htm

Introduction
... If they argue against providence, from the faultiness ... plain series of propositions
necessarily connected and following ... certainty of the being of God, and to ...
/.../clarke/a discourse concerning the being and attributes of god/introduction.htm

Allegation 2 "We Teach that God Ordained Men to Hell-Fire, and ...
... For punitive justice and the destruction of man are connected, and the ... elect, and
pertain to the more general decree of providence, by which God left man to ...
/.../arminius/the works of james arminius vol 3/allegation 2 we teach that.htm

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