GOD’S POWER OVER NATURE
Trusting God by Jerry Bridges • Sermon • Submitted
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· 739 viewsCan we trust God's control over nature?
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God has not walked away from the day-to-day control of His creation. Certainly He has established physical laws by which He governs the forces of nature, but those laws continuously operate according to His sovereign will.
The Bible teaches that God controls all the forces of nature, both destructive and productive, on a continuous, moment-by-moment basis. All expressions of nature, all occurrences of weather, whether it be a devastating tornado or a gentle rain on a spring day, are acts of God.
Many sensitive Christians struggle over the multitude of large-scale natural disasters around the world—an earthquake in one place, famine in another, typhoons and floods somewhere else. Thousands of people are killed immediately, others slowly starve to death. “Why does God allow all this?,” we may ask.
One thing to acknowledge right off is that we do not have to understand everything to trust God with everything.
One thing to acknowledge right off is that we do not have to understand everything to trust God with everything.
It is not wrong to wrestle with these issues, as long as we do it in a reverent and submissive attitude toward God.
It is not wrong to wrestle with these issues, as long as we do it in a reverent and submissive attitude toward God.
Indeed, to fail to wrestle with the issue of large-scale tragedy may indicate a lack of compassion toward others on our part.
However, we must be careful not to, in our minds, take God off His throne of absolute sovereignty or put Him in the dock and bring Him to the bar of our judgment.
Isaiah
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (pp. 267-268). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 267). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 267). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
God Himself accepts the responsibility, so to speak, for disasters. He actually does more than accept the responsibility; He actually claims it. In effect, God says, “I, and I alone, have the power and authority to bring about both prosperity and disaster, both weal and woe, both good and bad.” We obviously do not understand why God creates disaster, or why He brings it to one town and not to another. We recognize, too, that just as God sends His sun and rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous, so He also sends the tornado, or the hurricane, or the earthquake on both. God’s sovereignty over nature does not mean that Christians never encounter the tragedies of natural disaster.
Illness and physical affliction is another area in which we struggle to trust God.
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 268). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 268). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
The ultimate cause of all pain and suffering must be traced back to the Fall.
The ultimate cause of all pain and suffering must be traced back to the Fall.
sets up the context for verses 19–22 in which Paul writes that the Christian’s suffering of this present age is not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to come:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.
The Greek word for creation (ktisis – κτίσις)
in verse 19 has been the subject of some debate, but in context it clearly refers to the non-human creation; the creation is distinguished from humanity in verse 21.6
In verse 20 Paul explains why creation is anticipating the revealing of the sons of God. The reason Paul gives “is that the subhuman creation itself is not what it should be, or what God intended it to be.”7 It is this way because Adam’s sin spoiled God’s very good creation (), and as a consequence it is now in frustration.
But who subjected it to frustration? A number of suggestions have been made:
Adam who brought sin and death into creation,
Satan whose temptation led to the fall,
God who cursed the creation in .
Moo rightly sees God as the one who subjected it to frustration, as He “alone has the right and power to condemn all of creation to frustration because of human sin.”8
Schreiner also believes Paul is probably drawing on the tradition found in , in which creation is cursed by God due to Adam’s sin. He points out that “futility” means that creation has not filled the purpose for which it was made.9
Moreover, the term “subjected” “ὑπετάγη [hypetagē] is a divine passive (subjected by God) with reference particularly to .”10
Paul’s comments in , contrary to Dr. Collins’s claims, clearly reflect his belief that the Fall brought about a change in the workings of creation. It is important to keep in mind that Paul has already discussed how the Fall brought about changes in creation. In he demonstrates how the Fall11changed mankind’s view of God, as now in the “futility” (8:20) of their mind they worship the creature rather than the Creator (). A more specific change in creation is the entrance of sin and death that came into the world through Adam’s disobedience (), a clear reference to . In Paul continues to trace the consequences of Adam’s disobedience to the futility to which creation has been unwillingly subjected and is now corrupted because of his disobedience.
What's more, if Paul did not have in mind, then the question is when did God subject the creation to futility? There is nothing in that indicates that there was any kind of corruption in the original creation ().12 If Creation were already in a state of futility at its creation, then how could it be subjected to corruption, since it would already be in that state? God’s subjecting the creation is clearly a reference to the curse in .
But what about Bauckham’s argument that is not a reference to , but to and 17–20? A number of things should be said here. First, there is no obvious link to in in which Paul has already made a very clear link to creation and Genesis in the overall context of Romans (1:18–23; 5:12), and he clearly continues that link with a reference to . Moreover, numerous commentators recognize that in Paul is drawing on in which creation is cursed, by God, because of Adam’s sin.13 Second, there is no specific act of human sin in Joel 1that would result in God’s judgment on creation. Third, and 8:21 speak of the curse on the ground, while explicitly refers to the curse in , and speaks of the curse that would come upon Israel’s land, crops, and animals if they were disobedient. Therefore, the connection between man’s sin and the earth mourning, plants withering and animals dying that we find in is preceded by the mention of these in and . Joel is clearly dependent on these, not vice versa.14
Furthermore, the words of may not match in the Septuagint, but the language of the passage clearly refers to . Collins’s objection that does not use the words of nor the word curse also overlooks the fact that a concept or idea can be conveyed without using certain vocabulary.
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 269). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
Nevertheless, Collins believes the key term in verse 21 is “corruption” (decay). He states that the
creation is ‘in the bondage to decay,’ not because of changes in the way it works but because of the ‘decay’ of mankind, and in response to man’s ‘decay’ God brings decay to the earth to chastise man.15
Yet this overlooks the fact that there is a direct connection between the liberation of creation and the liberation of the “sons of God.” This, however, would be lost if the creation has always been in a state of corruption and futility because it would be unconnected to the fallen state of man. Paul describes the glory that awaits the sons of God in terms of freedom, and this freedom is associated with the state of glory to which the sons of God are destined. The creation itself will be set free from the bondage to corruption and into the glory of the sons of God.
Moreover, the language of the deliverance16 of creation from its bondage of corruption is inconsistent with evolutionary thinking and the belief in an old earth. Given that theistic evolutionists and old-earth creationists believe that death and suffering have always been a part of creation (even before they believe man was on the earth), they must be able to explain what creation needs to be delivered from and what it will be restored to. Will it be restored to a state of continuing death and suffering?
Paul makes it clear that there is going to be a work done in creation itself and not just human beings. Paul’s point in verse 22 is that the creation, which again is non-human, is groaning and suffering, not from natural disasters and suffering before the Fall, and not just because it has sinful mankind in it (contra Collins), but from the Fall of Adam in , which the context in makes clear.
It is important to remember that Jesus came to redeem and reconcile not only a fallen humanity but also a fallen creation that awaits its restoration (). The Fall and its consequences as well as Christ’s redemption and reconciliation of all things are respectively the foundation and blessed hope of the gospel message and the coming restoration in the Consummation.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Christians need to realize that the idea of evolution and millions of years is not just a side issue or just about how people understand , but it has consequences for how we read the rest of Scripture. Sadly, today, more and more evangelical Christian scholars are having to redefine passages of Scripture that so clearly refer to because they have applied the idea of evolution and millions of years into their thinking.
So, Let’s Talk About What Scripture Says
So, Let’s Talk About What Scripture Says
Under the whole heaven he lets it go,
and his lightning to the corners of the earth.
For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.
By the breath of God ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen fast.
He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
the clouds scatter his lightning.
They turn around and around by his guidance,
to accomplish all that he commands them
on the face of the habitable world.
Whether for correction or for his land
or for love, he causes it to happen.
Job 37:11-
He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares rain for the earth;
he makes grass grow on the hills.
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;
who can stand before his cold?
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
Psalms 147:
When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for you do all these things.
“I also withheld the rain from you
when there were yet three months to the harvest;
I would send rain on one city,
and send no rain on another city;
one field would have rain,
and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
so two or three cities would wander to another city
to drink water, and would not be satisfied;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“I struck you with blight and mildew;
your many gardens and your vineyards,
your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword,
and carried away your horses,
and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for you do all these things.
Jeremiah
“I also withheld the rain from you
when there were yet three months to the harvest;
I would send rain on one city,
and send no rain on another city;
one field would have rain,
and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
so two or three cities would wander to another city
to drink water, and would not be satisfied;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“I struck you with blight and mildew;
your many gardens and your vineyards,
your fig trees and your olive trees the locust devoured;
yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
What is God taking responsibility for in and ?
What is God taking responsibility for in and ?
Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?
I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the Lord, who does all these things.
John 9:
What reason does Jesus give in John 9:1-3?
What reason does Jesus give in John 9:1-3?
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (pp. 270-271). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.
What does God teach us about the conception of children in these verses?
What does God teach us about the conception of children in these verses?
And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.
Genesis 16
When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 271). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
Genesis 29:
And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son.
Judges 13
But to Hannah he gave a double portion, because he loved her, though the Lord had closed her womb.
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
Psalms 139:
If a couple is unable to have children, how can these verses help them maintain a trusting attitude toward God?
Describe an experience in your life that caused you to doubt God’s control and to ask why.
Describe an experience in your life that caused you to doubt God’s control and to ask why.
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 272). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
Bridges, Jerry. Trusting God (p. 273). The Navigators. Kindle Edition.
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Habakkuk 3:17
Why would memorizing this verse help us?
Why would memorizing this verse help us?
Habakkuk
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Trusting God is easier when we acknowledge His control of nature.
Trusting God is easier when we acknowledge His control of nature.