How God Interacts With the World

God is a purposeful personal being, not a passive observer of the universe. But what does he do? Precisely how is God involved in the world? Humans can best understand God’s work by considering his relationship with everything he has made.

Creation

As seen from a human perspective, God’s work begins with creation. God created everything out of nothing (Romans 4:17), by the simple command of his word (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 33:6-9). In fact the entire Trinity was involved in creation (John 1:3; Psalm 104:30), and everything God created was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). God did not need to create anything, but he created to show his glory (Revelation 4:11). 

Creation is distinct from God, yet dependent on him. Consider four views of God and creation that fall short of what the Bible reveals about this.

• Materialism posits a creation (nature), but no God.
• Pantheism views nature and God as one inseparable reality.
• Dualism pictures nature and God existing eternally side by side.
• Deism imagines that God created but does not rule and is not involved.

Contemporary science typically reflects materialism. This creates an apparent conflict between the Bible and science. Ultimately, when everything is known about the universe, science and scripture will coincide. Certainly, secular theories of origins that leave God completely out are incompatible with the Bible. Yet given various theories that do include God as Creator, biblical orthodoxy is defined not by any particular view of how God created, but by the fact that God created all things. 

Providence 

Creation is complete (Genesis 2:1-2). Providence is defined as the continuing relationship of God with his creation. God “rested” from his work of creation, but he is still actively involved in the world and in our lives. Providence means that God is not distant or unaware. We can face the future with confidence, knowing that the world is in his hands, and things don’t just happen by chance. Theologians have defined three aspects of God’s providence.

Preservation

God is active keeping all things that he created in existence (Nehemiah 9:6). Jesus, as God, “sustains everything by the mighty power of his command” (Hebrews 1:3) and “he holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17). No part of creation is self-sufficient. It all depends on God’s ongoing work to sustain and preserve it. A deist thinks the world is like a self-driving car. Christians understand that God actually has his hands on the steering wheel. Because of God’s preservation, we can have confidence in the regularity of the created world. What scientists call “the laws of nature” are simply God’s regular ways of acting to sustain his creation.

Governance

Not only does God preserve what he has made, he actively governs it. God has purposes for the universe he made, and directs all things in order that they accomplish his purposes (Ephesians 1:11). “The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything” (Psalm 103;19).

God controls the forces of nature (Job 37:6-13). He guides and directs the animal creation (Psalm 104:27-29). He directs human history and the destiny of nations (Acts 17:26; Job 12:23). God works in the circumstances of individual persons (Romans 8:28). He rules even in what appear to be chance occurrences (Proverbs 16:33). All of this means that history is purposeful. It is always moving forward toward the fulfillment of God’s plans.

Finally, we affirm that God’s government is always good (Romans 8:28). It reflects his righteous, holy, loving and wise character. That’s why we can trust him no matter what circumstances befall us.

Concurrence

Closely related to God’s governance, concurrence means that God cooperates with created things in every action, directing his creatures to bring about his purposes through their choices and actions. We can talk about concurrence whenever there is more than one cause for an action or event. We can see concurrence at work in Proverbs 16:9: “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.” This extends to all aspects of our lives (Jeremiah 10:23). 

It’s one thing to talk about God ruling the forces of nature and the animal world. But two problems arise when we consider the concurrence of God’s rule with human actions.

Human Freedom and Responsibility

If God is truly governing the world, do humans have free will? Yes and no. Humans are not free in the sense of exercising their will completely independent of or outside of God’s will. Humans are free in the sense that they make willing choices that have real consequences. Because of this, human beings are responsible for their actions.

This makes sense when you consider that there are two causes for every event: primary and secondary. The primary cause is what God plans and initiates. The secondary cause (or causes) is the actions of his creatures. God works through means. He uses secondary causes to accomplish his will. In other words, God governs history through human actions. But because those actions contribute to God’s ultimate purpose doesn’t mean that humans are not accountable for what they choose to do.

The crucifixion of Jesus is the most prominent example of this. Acts 2:23 describes how the cross was God’s “prearranged plan”, but it was actually carried out by “lawless” men. Acts 4:27 describes the choices made by Herod, Pilate and others to oppose Jesus. They are accountable for their choices. Their actions were not coerced by God, but freely occurred based on their own individual motivations. “But everything they did was determined beforehand according to [God’s] will” (Acts 4:28). So God did not just allow the crucifixion of Jesus to happen. He willed it to happen for our salvation. If God did not cause it to happen, there was no guarantee that the event needed for the eternal redemption of humanity might actually occur. But God worked through the choices and actions of human beings to make sure his purposes were fulfilled.

This applies to prayer. If God governs everything, and it all happens according to his will, why pray? Again, God works through secondary causes. He is pleased to use our prayers, freely given, as a secondary cause to bring about his purposes.

The Problem  of Evil

If God is ruling his creation, why does evil exist? Philosophers have framed the problem like this: 

If God is able to prevent evil, but not willing to do so, he is evil himself.

If God is willing to prevent evil, but not able, he is impotent.

But consider two points. First, evil is a necessary possibility that goes with the creation of human beings. God does not create evil. But he did create the possibility of evil by making human beings with the capacity for meaningful choice. Second, God is not defined in terms of a human definition of good, but in terms of his superior wisdom. We must take this larger perspective into account including both the final results and the larger time frame.

For example, when Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, they clearly committed an evil act that wronged him. But years later, Joseph was able to see the final result and the larger time frame. He recognized that “it was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives” from the regional famine (Genesis 45:5), and that “you intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good” to save thousands of peoples’ lives (Genesis 50:20). Did God merely allow evil things to happen to Joseph? Did he cause them to put Joseph in the right place at the right time? Or did he work through the evil actions chosen by individuals, in order to bring about the purpose he had all along?

Another example is Pharaoh of Egypt. Moses came to him announcing God’s mandate to let the Israelites go. Exodus 4:21 tells us that God purposed to harden Pharaoh’s heart. But Exodus 8:15 says that Pharaoh hardened his heart. Which is it? Both factors can be true at the same time.  

So God can righteously bring about evil events. He causes evil as judgment for sins. He causes evil to bring sinners to repentance. God uses evil to bring about good purposes. It’s all part of his ongoing involvement in his creation. He preserves and cares for what he has made. He directs it toward the plans he chooses. He works through his creatures to accomplish those plans.