God's Creation and Providence

There was nothing eternally existing that God used to create, rather all things that now exist came into being by the direct act of God. Genesis 1:1, John 1:1 refer to absolute beginning. The Psalmist in Psalm 33:6 emphasizes that by the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. He spoke, and it was done. Likewise, Psalm 104:24 says, "How manifold are the works of the Lord. In wisdom You have made them all." Isaiah 40:25-26,28-29, Romans 4:17, Hebrews 11:3, Revelation 4:11 all emphasize this truth as well.

Furthermore, this means that man was created by the direct act of God. There is something that occurred when God breathed into man the breath of life. This was not the end result of a long, lengthy evolutionary process whereby creatures continue to evolve until they finally reach a new state of moral awareness. God said it, and it happened. That leads us to believe that it was a short period of time. God breathed into man, it did not happen over a long, evolutionary process. This makes us know that the days were literal twenty-four hours instead of millions of years.

Creation is the bringing into existence all things that are. This is known as God's Providence. Providence is the upholding and governing of those things that God has created. Creation took place on the first six days. Providence is that activity whereby God enters into his creation, and upholds it.

It must be noted here that Providence is not the same as Continuous Creation. The language of the Scriptures is that God has created. The constant calling into existence everyday takes away my responsibility. The person I am today has nothing to do with the person I was yesterday; this therefore shows "continuous creation" to be false.

There are these types of Providence; the first is known as "Ordinary Providence". This occurs when God makes use of natural means in the natural courses of events. In the Jonah story, Chapter 1 verse 3, the presence of the boat when Jonah set out to sail, is part of God's ordinary providence. The second is known as "Extraordinary Providence". This is occurs when God uses something exceptional, out of the ordinary, to accomplish His purposes in a way, so that His purposes are clearly seen. In Jonah 1:4, there is a great wind that arose and it was very clear that this sudden storm was something that came out of the ordinary. It was extraordinary that Jonah happened to be there, on the sea, in the boat, when this storm occurred. The third and final type of Providence is know as "Supernatural Providence". This is the immediate forth pouring of the power of God. This is the biblical concept of "miracle". In Jonah 1:17, the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish for three days and three nights.