Providence

John Piper

• Publisher: Crossway
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781433568343
• eBook ISBN: 9781433568374
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

New from Best-Selling Author John Piper

From Genesis to Revelation, the providence of God directs the entire course of redemptive history. Providence is "God's  purposeful sovereignty." Its extent reaches down to the flight of electrons, up to the movements of galaxies, and into the heart of man. Its nature is wise and just and good. And its goal is the Christ-exalting glorification of God through the gladness of a redeemed people in a new world.

Drawing on a lifetime of theological reflection, biblical study, and practical ministry, pastor and author John Piper leads us on a stunning tour of the sightings of God's providence—from Genesis to Revelation—to discover the allencompassing reality of God's purposeful sovereignty over all of creation and all of history. Piper invites us to experience the profound effects of knowing the God of all-pervasive providence: the intensifying of true worship, the solidifying of wavering conviction, the strengthening of embattled faith, the toughening of joyful courage, and the advance of God's mission in this world.

Part 1

A Definition and a Difficulty

1

What Is Divine Providence?

The reason this book is about the providence of God rather than the sovereignty of God is that the term sovereignty does not contain the idea of purposeful action, but the term providence does. Sovereignty focuses on God’s right and power to do all that he wills, but in itself, it does not express any design or goal.

Of course, God’s sovereignty is purposeful. It does have design. It does pursue a goal. But we know this, not simply because God is sovereign, but because he is wise, and because the Bible portrays him as having purposes in all he does. “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose” (Isa. 46:10).

The focus of this book is on God’s sovereignty considered not simply as powerful but as purposeful. Historically, the term providence has been used as shorthand for this more specific focus.

The Building Blocks of Providence

Why was the English word providence chosen to capture this biblical teaching? In reference to God, the word does not occur in most English versions of the Bible (e.g., ESV, KJV, HCSB, NRSV).1 It is difficult to be certain about the history of a word and why it came to carry its present meaning. But here is a suggestion.

The word providence is built from the word provide, which has two parts: pro (Latin “forward,” “on behalf of”) and vide (Latin “to see”). So you might think that the word provide would mean “to see forward” or “to foresee.” But it doesn’t. It means “to supply what is needed”; “to give sustenance or support.” So in reference to God, the noun providence has come to mean “the act of purposefully providing for, or sustaining and governing, the world.”

Why is this? There are two interesting reasons, one based on an English idiom and the other based on a biblical story.

God “Sees to It”

We have an English idiom that goes like this: “I’ll see to it.” Like all idioms, it means more than the words, taken individually, seem to signify. “I’ll see to it” in English means “I’ll take care of it” (which is itself an idiom!). I’ll provide for it. I’ll see (or make sure) that it happens. So it could be that putting the Latin vide (“see”) together with the Latin pro (“to,” “toward”) produced “see to” and came to mean more than “foresee,” but to mean “see to it” in the sense of “take care of it” or “see that it happens.” That would be what we mean by God’s providence: he sees to it that things happen in a certain way.

Providence on Mount Moriah

Then, even more interestingly, there is the biblical story of Abraham’s offering of his son Isaac. Before they went up Mount Moriah, Isaac said to his father, “Where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Gen. 22:7). Abraham answered, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (22:8). And when God had shown Abraham a ram caught in the thorns, “Abraham called the name of that place ‘The Lord will provide’” (22:14).

What is striking is that whenever the word provide occurs in Genesis 22, the Hebrew word is simply “to see.” Very simply, Abraham says to Isaac, “God will see for himself the lamb” (יִרְאֶה־לֹּ֥ו הַשֶּׂ֛ה‎ 22:8). Similarly in verse 14: “‘The Lord will provide’ [the Lord will see יְהוָ֣ה יִרְאֶ֑ה‎]; as it is said to this day, ‘On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided’ [it shall be seen בְּהַ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה יֵרָאֶֽה‎].”

The old King James Version preserves this literal rendering of Genesis 22:14, even transliterating the Hebrew of “the Lord sees” as Jehovah-jireh: “Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.” The New King James Version has joined virtually all other contemporary versions by translating see as provide: “Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, ‘In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.’”

With regard to the doctrine of God’s providence, the question is this: Why does God’s seeing in Genesis 22 actually refer to his providing—his providence?

The answer I suggest is that in the mind of Moses, and other authors of Scripture, God does not simply see as a passive bystander. As God, he is never merely an observer. He is not a passive observer of the world—and not a passive predictor of the future. Wherever God is looking, God is acting. In other words, there is a profound theological reason why God’s providence does not merely mean his seeing, but rather his seeing to. When God sees something, he sees to it. Evidently, as Moses wrote Genesis 22, God’s purposeful engagement with Abraham was so obvious that Moses could simply refer to God’s perfect seeing as implying God’s purposeful doing. His seeing was his seeing to. His perception implied his provision—his providence.

Catch-22 in Writing a Book Like This

Those are my suggestions for how the English word providence has come to mean “the act of God’s providing for or sustaining and governing the world.” Of course, it is of minor importance whether I am right about that. When it comes to words, what matters is not that we know where they came from or how they got their meaning. What matters is that we grasp truly what a writer or speaker intends to communicate with his words.

Then the real task begins: Does what an author intends to communicate with words conform to reality? Is the conception of providence that an author describes true? Or, in the case of this book, since I take the Bible to be the touchstone of truth: Do we grasp truly what the Bible teaches about God’s providence?

So as I turn to clarify more specifically what I mean by God’s providence, it should be clear that I am caught in a kind of catch-22. On the one hand, I should give my evidence from the Bible first, in order to support my understanding of God’s providence. On the other hand, I have to use the term providence all along the way as I lay out that evidence, and the term should have a clear meaning for my readers, which can only come from that evidence. I can either give you a clear sense of what I mean by providence before I give you the evidence for it, or I can use the word providence ambiguously throughout the book and wait for a clear conception until the end.

I don’t like ambiguity. I think it is the source of much confusion and error. So I choose the first option. Here at the beginning, I’m going to give you as clear a conception as I can of what I mean by divine providence, knowing that it is based on evidence not yet provided. Then you may view the rest of the book as biblical support and explanation and application and celebration for this conception of providence.

My aim in this book is not to develop a new meaning of providence that the church has not embraced in its historic statements of faith. Instead, I aim to gather from the Scriptures some very old kindling of truth, pile it up in plain view, and put a match to it. This is not because I want to consume it, but because I want to release its incendiary properties for the intensifying of true worship, the solidifying of wavering conviction, the strengthening of embattled faith, the toughening of joyful courage, and the advance of God’s mission in this world.

Some Good, Old Views of Providence

Let’s reach back a few centuries for some definitions of providence that I am very happy with, because I...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Newsletter Signup
• Endorsements
• Other Crossway Books
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction Four Invitations
• Part 1 A Definition and a Difficulty
• 1 What Is Divine Providence?
• 2 Is Divine Self-Exaltation Good News?
• Part 2 The Ultimate Goal of Providence
• Section 1 The Ultimate Goal of Providence before Creation and in Creation
• 3 Before Creation
• 4 The Act of Creation
• Section 2 The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the History of Israel
• 5 Overview
• 6 The Exodus Unfolds
• 7 Remembering the Exodus
• 8 The Law, the Wilderness, and the Conquest of Canaan
• 9 The Time of the Judges and the Days of the Monarchy
• 10 The Protection, Destruction, and Restoration of Jerusalem
• Section 3 The Ultimate Goal of Providence in the Design and Enactment of the New Covenant
• 11 The Designs of the New Covenant
• 12 Christ’s Foundational Act in Establishing the New Covenant
• 13 The Entrance of Sin into Creation and the Glory of the Gospel
• 14 The Glory of Christ in the Glorification of His People
• Part 3 The Nature and Extent of Providence
• Section 1 Setting the Stage
• 15 Knowing the Providence of the God Who Is
• Section 2 Providence over Nature
• 16 The Loss and Recovery of a Theater of Wonders
• 17 Earth, Water, Wind, Plants, and Animals
• Section 3 Providence over Satan and Demons
• 18 Satan and Demons
• 19 The Ongoing Existence of Satan
• Section 4 Providence over Kings and Nations
• 20 Israel’s Divine King Is King of the Nations
• 21 Human Kingship and the King of Kings
• 22 To Know and Rejoice That the Most High Rules
• Section 5 Providence over Life and Death
• 23 A Bath of Truth and the Gift of Birth
• 24 The Lord Has Taken Away; Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
• 25 We Are Immortal till Our Work Is Done
• Section 6 Providence over Sin
• 26 Natural Human Willing and Acting
• 27 Things We Know and Things We Do Not Need to Know
• 28 Joseph
• 29 Israel Hated, Pharaoh Hardened, God Exalted, Helpless Saved
• 30 Broken Families
• 31 Deception and Dullness of Heart
• 32 Though He Cause Grief, He Will Have Compassion
• 33 A Wickedness God Especially Abhorred
• Section 7 Providence over Conversion
• 34 Our Condition before Conversion
• 35 Three Biblical Pictures of How God Brings People to Faith
• 36 Saving Faith as the Gift of Providence
• 37 Driven Back to the Precious Roots of Election
• Section 8 Providence over Christian Living
• 38 Forgiveness, Justification, and Obedience
• 39 God’s Command-and-Warning Strategy
• 40 Those Whom He Called, He Also Glorified
• 41 Blood-Bought Zeal for Good Works
• 42 Working in Us That Which Is Pleasing in His Sight
• 43 Killing Sin and Creating Love—by Faith
• Section 9 The Final Achievement of Providence
• 44 The Triumph of Missions and the Coming of Christ
• 45 New Bodies, New World, Never-Ending Gladness in God
• Conclusion Seeing and Savoring the Providence of God
• General Index
• Scripture Index