Of Providence, V:3

God, in His ordinary providence, makes use of means, yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at His pleasure.

Short and to the point. As discussed yesterday, God's ordinary providence is to work through the natural order of things and to use means or second causes as his tools. Yet God is not bound to do so. He is free, according to his wisdom and good purposes, to work independently of means altogether, or even to work against them. By the evidence, it would seem that God restricts such actions to unusual times and events. We see in the Scriptures that the most significant (a telling word) concentration of "extraordinary" workings took place in the context of God's great redemptive actions: the Exodus and the life of Christ. The miraculous also accompanied the lives and ministries of Elijah and the apostles, providing divine authentication of their words and deeds.

Tomorrow: The relationship of God's providence to sin.