All Articles For Contending for the Faith

What is the Scriptural idea of the miracle, or wonder? We can understand that the miracle should be discussed in connection with the providence of God, and particularly with that aspect of God’s providence which is known as Government. When discussing the providence of the Lord we distinguish between Preservation, Cooperation and Government. And Government stresses that aspect of God’s providence whereby the Lord guides all things to their own determinate end, as willed by Him from before the foundations of the world.

In our preceding article we called attention Jo Augustine’s view of original sin and the origin of the human soul. We concluded the article with a brief discussion of the three views of the origin of the human soul, known as Traducianism, Creationism and Preexistentianism.  As to Augustine’s view with respect to these three views of the origin of the human soul, Schaff writes as follows (History of the Christian Church, Vol. III, 831-832):

It can hardly be said of the concordistic theory, i.e., that the days of Genesis 1 are not really days of twenty four hours, but periods of thousands or millions of years in duration, that it represents an honest attempt to explain the days of Genesis 1 in the light of Scripture.

Toward the conclusion of our preceding article, we had begun to call attention to Augustine’s conception or doctrine of God’s redeeming grace. We noted that this church father’s conception of grace was so completely different from that of Pelagius. He had experienced personally this power of the living God. That Augustine, as guided by the Holy Scriptures, makes the proper distinction between deism and pantheism is expressed very clearly in the following quotation from his Confessions, as quoted by Schaff:

We now continue with our discussion of God’s creation of the heavens and the earth, calling attention to the question whether the “days” of Genesis 1 are to be viewed as ordinary days or as periods extending over thousands and millions of years. In our preceding article we first called attention to the significance of the word “YOM” in Genesis, the Hebrew word for day.

We concluded our preceding article by calling to a definition of miracles which defines them as supernatural works of God. And we concluded that this distinction does not hold. One who believes in the providence of God does not distinguish between natural and supernatural works of the Lord. The Word of God calls even the most common events the works of God, as in Ps. 107:23-32 and throughout the Scriptures. 

Concluding our discussion of the question whether the “days” of Genesis 1 are periods or days of twenty four hours, we wish to ask the question: “What does the Scripture reveal to us concerning this work of God?” And we may certainly say that the Word of God does, not leave us in the dark in regard to this truth. 

Miracles Of the Wonder of the grace of God the center is Immanuel, God with us, in Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we concluded our preceding article by calling attention to the fact that He is Himself, centrally, this Wonder of Divine grace. We now conclude our articles on the miracles of Holy Writ. 

In our preceding article we concluded our discussion of the question whether the days of Genesis 1 are periods or ordinary days. And this also concludes our discussion of the doctrine of creation. We now wish to call attention to the doctrine of the providence of God. This follows naturally from the discussion of creation. The doctrine of Cod’s providence has, of course, many interesting features.

In our preceding article we had begun to call attention to the view of sin as held by Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas was the Doctor Angelicus of the schoolmen, and by far the most influential theologian in the Latin Church since the days of Augustine. Anselm taught that original sin, although simply the loss of original righteousness, is nevertheless truly and properly sin. Others, however, including Abelard, took the position that the loss of original righteousness left Adam precisely in the state in which he was created, and, as his descendants share his fate, they are born in the same state.