Acts 17:22-31 theme verse Acts 17:27-28
The praise and honor and glory be to our heavenly Father who seeks true worshipers who worship Him with the Spirit and truth.
In this ninth Sunday of 2025, I pray that His grace of the application of all the benefits which Jesus earned for our salvation and also the glorious ministry of the proclamation of His kingdom by the power of the Holy Spirit may be full in our life. Last week, we meditated on the purpose and meaning of God’s creation, yet this week, we would like to look at the eternal providence of God together.
1) The Acts 17:22-31, today’s text, is Paul’s sermon, standing in the midst of the Areopagus at Aden in Macedonia in his second missionary journey, after seeing they were worshipping lots of idolatries that he would let them know who the unknown god was as he found an altar to the unknown god. In his sermon, he said that the God who made the world and everything in it, being a Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human beings, nor is He served by human hands as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything and also He made from one every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, so that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him and find Him, yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for in Him, we live and move and have our being. And he continued to say that therefore, He commands all people everywhere to repent, not worshipping idols, for we are indeed His offspring, testifying that as a proof, God sent His Son to be crucified and raised for vicarious atonement. In other words, Paul proclaimed that God is Creator, Providential carer and Judge.
2) In addition, the Bible clearly teaches God’s providential control (1) over the universe at large, as Ps. 103:19 says “The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” and also as Dan. 4:35 and Eph. 1:11 testify; (2) and over the physical world, as Job 37:5 says “God thunders wondrously with his voice; he does great things that we cannot comprehend” and also as Ps. 104:14; 135:6 and Matt. 5:45 testify, (3) and also over the brute creation, as Ps. 104:21 says “The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God” and also Matt. 6:26 and 10:29 testify, (4) and over the affairs of nations, as Job 12:23 says “He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away” and also as Ps. 22:28; 66:7 and Acts 17:26 testify. And also God controls (5) over man’s birth and lot in life, as Ps. 139:16 says “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them” and also 1 Sam. 16:1; Isa. 45:5 and Gal. 1:15 & 16 testify (6) and also over the outward successes and failures of men’s lives, as Ps. 75:6 & 7 says “For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another” and Luke 1:52 testify; (7) and over things seemingly accidental or insignificant, as Prov. 16:33 says “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord” and Matt. 10:30 testify, (8) and also in the protection of the righteous, as Ps. 4:8 says “In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety” and also Ps 5:12; 63:8; 121:3 and Rom. 8:28 testify, (9) and in supplying the wants of God’s people, as Deut. 8:3 says “And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” and also as Gen. 22:8, 14 and Phil. 4:19 testify (10) in giving answers to prayer, as 2 Chron. 33:13 says “He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God” and also as 1 Sam. 1:19; Isa. 20:5, 6;; Ps. 65:2; Matt. 7:7; Luke 18:7, 8 testify and finally (11) in the exposure and punishment of the wicked, as Ps. 7:12 & 13 says “If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts” and also as Ps 11:6 testifies.
3) And even the Belgic confession Article 13 confesses on the Providence of that “We believe that this good God, after creating all things, did not abandon them to chance or fortune but leads and governs them according to his holy will, in such a way that nothing happens in this world without God's orderly arrangement. Yet God is not the author of, and cannot be charged with, the sin that occurs. For God's power and goodness are so great and incomprehensible that God arranges and does his works very well and justly even when the devils and the wicked act unjustly. We do not wish to inquire with undue curiosity into what God does that surpasses human understanding and is beyond our ability to comprehend. But in all humility and reverence we adore the just judgments of God, which are hidden from us, being content to be Christ's disciples, so as to learn only what God shows us in the Word, without going beyond those limits..”
4) And also Heidelberg catechism Q&A 27 teaches us God’s Providence by answering to the question “What do you understand by the providence of God?” that “The almighty and ever present power of God by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty - all things, in fact, come to us not by chance but by his fatherly hand.”
5) As such, the Providence which the Bible and other confessions taught us can be divided to two, I mean, general Providence which refers to God’s Control of Whole Universe and Special Providence which refers to His care for each part of it in relation to the whole, in other words, God’s Special Care for His Rational Creatures. And there are two elements in providence, namely preservation and government, as Calvin, the Heidelberg catechism, and some of the more recent dogmaticians like Debney, the Hodges, Dick, Shedd, McPherson said. Here preservation may be defined as that continuous work of God by which He maintains the things which He created, together with the properties and powers with which He endowed them and the divine government may be defined as that continued activity of God whereby He rules all things teleologically so as to secure the accomplishment of the divine purpose. In the end, through this eternal providence, God sustains and governs them all by His infinite power so that they may serve humanity in order that humanity may serve God as Belgic confession article 12 confesses.
6) And the benefits of confessing this providence of God is that firstly, it gives us unspeakable comfort, since it teaches us that nothing can happen to us by chance but also by the arrangement of our gracious heavenly Father, who watches over us with fatherly care, sustaining all creatures under His lordship, so that not one of the hairs on our heads nor even a little bird can fall to the ground without the will of our Father. Secondly, it makes us trust in God, since God holds in check the devils and all our enemies, who cannot hurt us without divine permission and will. And thirdly, it makes us patient when things go against us since we believe that He will persevere us and give us the best of the best to us always and thankful when things go well, since we believe that every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father. And finally it makes us have good confidence in our faithful God and Father, since nothing in creation will separate us from His love and without His will, they can neither move nor be moved, since all creatures are so completely in God’s hand.
7) By the way, even with these, we have to know that the Providence of God does not attack the freedom and erase the responsibility of human beings. In other words, even though God worked all things in all, as 1 Cor. 12:6 says, and worked all things, also in this respect, according to the counsel of His will, as Eph. 1:11 says and also gave Israel power to get wealth, as Deut. 8:18 says, and worked in believers both to will and to do according to His good pleasure, as Phil. 2:13 says and also we live and move and have our being, in Him as Acts 17:28 says, and this divine activity accompanies the action of human being a every point, but it does not rob human freedom in any way. Therefore, the action of human beings remains the free act of human beings, an act for which we are held responsible and human beings are and remain the real subject of the action so that this providence is not a fatalism. And also it does not make God the responsible author of sin, as Pelagians, Semi-Pelagians, and Arminians argued, because (a) sinful acts are under divine control and occur according to God’s pre-determination and purpose, but only by divine permission, so that He does not efficiently cause men to sin, (b) and God often restrains the sinful works of the sinner, and (c) God in behalf of His own purpose overrules evil for good.
8) As such, the reason God created the world and maintains and governs them and bless us, as Deut 8:1-10 taught us that God continued to feed and clothe and protect them, even though the Israelites continued to sin against God was God wanted to make them know that they live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Secondly through these processes, God wanted to make them keep the commandments of God, by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. And thirdly God wanted to make them bless God by blessing them. Therefore, I pray that this year, we may know this providence of God and walk in His ways and bless Him, having comfort, trust, endurance, gratitude and confidence in God.
Key Questions as Small Group Activity
Q1 According to today’s sermon, we can know that God not only created the universe and everything in it, but also maintains and reigns them and blesses them. So, after meditating on this providence of God, thinking what comfort it provides us, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.
Q2 And also this providence of God is not a fatalism and also does not erase the freedom and responsibility of human beings. So, after meditating the reason why, I hope we could share our thought and experience with our team members together to learn from each other.
Love you. Thank you. God bless you.
Prayer Note
Dear ( God’s attribute which you found Today ) God!
Thanks for ( something you received through the sermon or even during the week )
Praise, gratitude and glory be to You, Lord!
Today, I realized my sin (pains) that ( the sin God reminded through the sermon ),
please forgive (or heal) me and help me not to repeat ( the sins you recognized ).
I learned that ( something you learned through the sermon )
Please help me to live in that ( learned way of life )
I pray in ( Jesus’ attribute you find ) Jesus’ name. Amen.
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