In the WCF, chapter V, sec. III: God in his ordinary providence maketh use of means; yet is free to work without, above, and against them, at his pleasure.
I understand this section of the Confession first to be stating that God uses means in order to accomplish His purposes. But what I have questions with is the statement that He is free to work "without, above, and against" those means.
Perhaps the easiest of these three (without, above, against) for me to understand is that God is free to work against them. Therefore I will look at this first. The proofs provided, being 2 Kings 6:6 ("And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim."), and Daniel 3:27 ("And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them."), speak of God's power to work miracles, thus working against the means of the usual laws of nature.
Like the third, the second, God's work above means, appears to be very similar if not synonymous to the third, His work against means. The single proof provided, Romans 4:19-21 ("And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."), also appears to be a miracle performed by God. How this is distinguished from the part for against, I am not quite certain.
Now to the most puzzling, God's working without means. The proofs for without being Hosea 1:7 ("But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen."), Matthew 4:4 ("But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."), and Job 34:10 ("Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity."). This is the one that gives me the most trouble.
The first indicates that the Lord intends to save the house of Judah without such means as the bow, sword, battle, horses and horsemen. Alright. The second, appears to be saying that it is not by means of bread (or by bread alone) by which man shall live, but by "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Whereas the first proof indicates an absence of means (it does not indicate any other means by which God shall save the Israelites), this text very clearly indicates that God works with means. The third proof is even more puzzling. I can make neither head nor tail of this one, in this context. I could take a few shots in the dark at this one, but they would shed no more light on the issue, and function only to present more problems.
Can anybody help me to understand this?
EDIT: I have seen another version of the WCF that uses Job 34:20 instead of 34:10. This is a significant alteration, and lends much clarity to the issue for me, although there are still the qusetions already raised, and possibly new ones as well. I do not understand why there are two different versions? Typographical error? Editing? Can someone clear this up for me?
I understand this section of the Confession first to be stating that God uses means in order to accomplish His purposes. But what I have questions with is the statement that He is free to work "without, above, and against" those means.
Perhaps the easiest of these three (without, above, against) for me to understand is that God is free to work against them. Therefore I will look at this first. The proofs provided, being 2 Kings 6:6 ("And the man of God said, Where fell it? And he shewed him the place. And he cut down a stick, and cast it in thither; and the iron did swim."), and Daniel 3:27 ("And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them."), speak of God's power to work miracles, thus working against the means of the usual laws of nature.
Like the third, the second, God's work above means, appears to be very similar if not synonymous to the third, His work against means. The single proof provided, Romans 4:19-21 ("And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb: 20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform."), also appears to be a miracle performed by God. How this is distinguished from the part for against, I am not quite certain.
Now to the most puzzling, God's working without means. The proofs for without being Hosea 1:7 ("But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen."), Matthew 4:4 ("But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."), and Job 34:10 ("Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity."). This is the one that gives me the most trouble.
The first indicates that the Lord intends to save the house of Judah without such means as the bow, sword, battle, horses and horsemen. Alright. The second, appears to be saying that it is not by means of bread (or by bread alone) by which man shall live, but by "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Whereas the first proof indicates an absence of means (it does not indicate any other means by which God shall save the Israelites), this text very clearly indicates that God works with means. The third proof is even more puzzling. I can make neither head nor tail of this one, in this context. I could take a few shots in the dark at this one, but they would shed no more light on the issue, and function only to present more problems.
Can anybody help me to understand this?
EDIT: I have seen another version of the WCF that uses Job 34:20 instead of 34:10. This is a significant alteration, and lends much clarity to the issue for me, although there are still the qusetions already raised, and possibly new ones as well. I do not understand why there are two different versions? Typographical error? Editing? Can someone clear this up for me?
