Knowing Faith

#25 – Providence, Sovereignty, Aseity—Oh My!

Episode Summary

What is the doctrine of providence and how is that different from God’s sovereignty? We discuss how God continues to reign and rule over His creation.

Episode Notes

What is the doctrine of providence and how is that different from God’s sovereignty? Jen Wilkin, JT English, and Kyle Worley discuss how God continues to reign and rule over His creation.

“We talk about these things in the light so that we can stand on them in the dark.” Kyle Worley

Questions Covered in This Episode:

• What is providence? 
• What are the key positions of providence? 
• Where do you fall?

Helpful Definitions:

• Providence: God’s continued care and governance over the whole of his creation. 
• Infinite: No limit of any kind.
• Sovereignty: He has the authority to use His power.
• Omniscient: All things are known effortlessly and instantly.
• Aseity: God is a se, or has aseity: He is self-existent and self-sufficient.
• Libertarian Free Will: I am in no way caused to choose either A or B. Nothing external forces me to choose.
• Molinism: God possesses knowledge of not just everything that is and everything that isn’t but everything that could be. This knowledge is called middle knowledge. God chose to actualize a world, because there are all these possible worlds that could have been, and God saw every possible world that could have been and chose to put into effect the world that preserved the maximum amount of human free will with the least amount of collateral damage from evil.
• Theological Compatibilism: We are free to act in accordance with our desires. God determines the course of the world in accordance with our desires that are either broken by sin or redeemed by grace.
• Theological Determinism: Everything that is done is because of the superintendence of God.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Colossians 1:15-20, John 6:35-40, Genesis 45:4-5, Acts 2:23, Ephesians 2:10, Genesis 1-2, 1 Samuel 12:12
• “Calvin: Institutes of the Christian Religion” by John Calvin

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What is the doctrine of providence and how is that different from God’s sovereignty? We discuss how God continues to reign and rule over His creation.

Sponsored by:

You can learn about the Bible through the eyes of its people. Or, you can take a journey to see Christ as central to the storyline of scripture. Find out more about the Bible studies at lifeway.com/characters and lifeway.com/gospelfoundations.