Dr Paul Allen

One of Scripture’s most difficult concepts is that God can bring good out of evil. We remember that Joseph’s brothers betrayed him and, upon being reunited with him in Egypt, feared his revenge. But Joseph said to them, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). That was God’s intention. He used the brothers’ treacherous activity in order to save lives, sanctify Joseph, and bring His plan to pass. One of the most comforting passages in the New Testament is Paul’s statement:   “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28).  We must be careful here. Paul does not say that everything that happens, considered in and of itself, is good. Nor is our theme song “Que Sera, Sera,” “Whatever will be, will be.”  We do have the astonishing promise, however, that everything will work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.   This means t...

Sovereignty over nature: God is sovereign over the most random things you can imagine. Proverbs 16:33: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” Now, well, how would we say that today? We would say, “The dice is rolled in the Gold Coast Casino, and every stopping of the dice with those numbers up is from God — all of them.” Or if you’re playing Scrabble at home and stick your hand into the bag and pull out your letters, God decides what letters you get. If you play UNO, God decides. Master of Every Molecule This is Jesus talking. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?” In other words, they are utterly insignificant. “And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:29–30). The role of the dice in a Casino — every one of them — or in your board game at home, and the tiny birds dying in a thousand forests, are governed by God. That’s Jesus’s way and Proverbs’s...

Providence is not a word in the English Bible. In that sense, it is like the words Bible, biblical, Trinity, discipleship, evangelism, exposition, counselling, ethics, politics, charismatics. None of those words is in the Bible, which shows that the reality that words point to is more important than the words themselves, even though the words are precious and indispensable — and in this case with the Bible, inspired and God-given. Well, since providence is not used in a specific biblical text, there’s no biblical governor on its definition, its meaning. We can’t say, “The Bible defines providence this way.” We could only say that if the Bible actually used the word providence. Now, you can see what that implies when we are trying to talk about the biblical view of providence since the Bible doesn’t use the word. It implies that the issue before us — in those conversations about the meaning of providence and in my book — is not the meaning of the word providence. All-Powerfu...

Martin Luther struggled greatly with the relationship of God ’s sovereignty to human free will and sin. In fact, one of the greatest books ever written on the subject, The Bondage of the Will , is from Luther’s pen. When Luther grappled with this issue, he especially struggled with the Old Testament passages where we read that God hardened Pharaoh ’s heart (Ex. 4:21; 7:3–4, 13–14, 22–23; 8:15, 19, 30–32; 9:27–10:2; 10:16–20, 24–28). When we read these passages, we tend to think, “Doesn’t this suggest that God not only works through the desires and actions of humans, but that He actually forces evil upon people?” After all, the Bible does say that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. When Luther discussed this, he observed that when the Bible says that God hardened the heart of Pharaoh, God did not create fresh evil in the heart of an innocent man. Luther said that God didn’t harden people by putting evil in their hearts. All that God must do to harden anyone’s heart is to withhold His o...

Yahu-Bihdi, governor of Hamath, being flayed alive by the Assyrians. HISTORY OF EGYPT, CHALDEA, SYRIA, BABYLONIA, AND ASSYRIA by G. MASPERO, Volume VII., Part C. LONDON: THE GROLIER SOCIETY PUBLISHERS (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The relationship between God ’s sovereignty and human responsibility is not instantly obvious, and at first glance it seems paradoxical. But Scripture offers us considerable insight into how these twin truths harmonize within the plan of redemption. The first step in understanding the compatibility between God’s sovereignty and human will is to recognize that they are not mutually exclusive, and Scripture makes this absolutely clear. In God’s design, human responsibility is clearly not eliminated by God’s sovereign control over His creation. That’s true even though evil was included in His grand design for the universe even before the beginning of time, and He uses His creatures’ sin for purposes that are always (and only) good. Indeed, in His infinite wisd...

Psalm 1 in 1628 printing with tune, metrical version by Thomas Sternhold. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Our God remains incomprehensible and retains His simplicity. He tells us in His Word that He is not a God of confusion but of order. He is not at war with Himself. He is altogether good, altogether holy, and altogether sovereign. This we must affirm to maintain a biblical concept of divine sovereignty . Yet we must always balance this understanding with a clear understanding that God always exercises His power and authority according to His holy character. He chooses what He chooses according to His own good pleasure . It is His pleasure that He does. He chooses what is pleasing to Himself. But that pleasure is always His good pleasure, for God is never pleased to will or to do anything that is evil or contrary to His own goodness. In this we can rest, knowing that He wishes for, and has the power to bring about, all good things for us His children.What difficulties are you c...

English: Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane Stained glass by Willement, 1829; one of six scenes from the life of Christ in the east window of St John the Baptist's Church. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) "What's the big idea of the Christian life?" The big idea of the Christian life is Coram Deo. Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life. This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or before the face of, God . To live coram Deo is to live one's entire life in the presence of God , under the authority of God, to the glory of God. To live coram Deo is to live one’s entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God. To live in the presence of God is to understand that whatever we are doing and wherever we are doing it, we are acting under the gaze of God. God is omnipresent. There is no place so remote that we can escape His penetrating gaze. To be aware of the presence of God is also to b...

Oil painting of a young John Calvin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Related articles The secret things of the LORD our God belong to Him. That refers to what we call the hidden will of God . Now usually when we're speaking of the hidden will of God we have in our mind the decretive will of God. And when people say, "What is the will of God for my life?" The Bible uses the word "will of God" in several different ways. The first way in which we talk about the will of God is what we call the decretive will; and the decretive will of God is that will of God by which God sovereignly brings to pass whatsoever He wills. Sometimes it's called the absolute will of God; sometimes it's simply called the sovereign will of God; sometimes it's called in theology the efficacious will of God. But normally, we talk about the decretive will of God. That is, when God decrees sovereignly that something should come to pass, it must needs come to pass. The Bi...

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553): Adam and Eve. Beech wood, 1533. Bode-Museum, Berlin (Erworben 1830, Königliche Schlösser, Gemäldegalerie Kat. 567) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) There is no problem in reconciling the sovereignty of God with man’s free will as long as we understand the biblical concept of freedom . With respect to mankind, human beings are given the ability to make free choices, but our freedom is a limited freedom. We are not absolutely free. Remember, God said to Adam and Eve , “You may eat of all of the trees in the Garden .” But then he added a restriction: “Of this tree you may not eat. If you do, you will surely die.” Now, God is a being who has the ability to make free choices, and I am a being who has the ability to make free choices. The difference, however, is that I am not sovereign. God is sovereign. God has more authority than I do. God has the right and the power and the authority to do whatsoever he pleases. I have the power and the ability and th...

The Baptism of Christ, 1474-1475, Verrocchio assisted by Leonardo da Vinci (Uffizi, Florence) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Sovereignty of God . What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven , and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to...

Lucas Cranach the Elder (1472-1553): Adam and Eve. Beech wood, 1533. Bode-Museum, Berlin (Erworben 1830, Königliche Schlösser, Gemäldegalerie Kat. 567) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I don’t see any problem in reconciling the sovereignty of God with man’s free will as long as we understand the biblical concept of freedom . With respect to mankind, human beings are given the ability to make free choices, but our freedom is a limited freedom. We are not absolutely free. Remember, God said to Adam and Eve , “You may eat of all of the trees in the Garden .” But then he added a restriction: “Of this tree you may not eat. If you do, you will surely die.” Now, God is a being who has the ability to make free choices, and I am a being who has the ability to make free choices. The difference, however, is that I am not sovereign. God is sovereign. God has more authority than I do. God has the right and the power and the authority to do whatsoever he pleases. I have the power and the ability an...

Image via Wikipedia Our God remains incomprehensible and retains His simplicity. He tells us in His Word that He is not a God of confusion but of order. He is not at war with Himself. He is altogether good, altogether holy, and altogether sovereign. This we must affirm to maintain a biblical concept of divine sovereignty . Yet we must always balance this understanding with a clear understanding that God always exercises His power and authority according to His holy character. He chooses what He chooses according to His own good pleasure . It is His pleasure that He does. He chooses what is pleasing to Himself. But that pleasure is always His  good  pleasure, for God is never pleased to will or to do anything that is evil or contrary to His own goodness. In this we can rest, knowing that He wishes for, and has the power to bring about, all good things for us His children. What difficulties are you currently facing? Reaffirm your trust in the sovereignty of God, who is worki...

Image via Wikipedia The Bibles teaches, that God is sovereign over all things, and yet it also teaches, that man is responsible to turn from his sin and come to God. Here are two great quotes that discuss how we can reconcile these things.  The first comes from Andrew Fuller . A fleshly mind may ask, “How can these things be?” How can Divine predestination accord with human agency and accountableness ? But a truly humble Christian, finding both in his Bible, will believe both, though he may be unable fully to understand their consistency; and he will find in the one a motive to depend entirely on God, and in the other a caution against slothfulness and presumptuous neglect of duty. And thus a Christian minister , if he view the doctrine in its proper connexions, will find nothing in it to hinder the free use of warnings, invitations, and persuasions, either to the converted or the unconverted. Yet he will not ground his hopes of success on the pliability of the human...