After teaching at BBC from 1993 to 1995, I agreed to pursue doctoral work in order to return to Bethany as a fulltime professor. Since I was to teach in the area of Bible/Theology, I needed to increase my exposure to theology. With that intent, I enrolled at Princeton Theological Seminary in order to do a Master of Theology (Th.M.), after which I enrolled at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland) to do a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in systematic theology.

While completing the Th.M. at Princeton, I wrote a thesis on the topic, “Recovering a Doctrine of Providence as a Context of Meaning for Prayer.” I later expanded this thesis into a proposal for a doctoral dissertation.^[1] I was initially aiming at two things: first, to assess the status of the doctrine of providence in contemporary Christian circles; and second, to develop my own thinking as to how God’s providential care in our lives, especially as God’s preservation and governing of the world, forms the necessary context for making prayer a real work.

As I pursued these ideas, it became clear that for many Christians the traditional concept of providence as the detailed outworking of God’s plan for both the world in general, and for each individual life had come under heavy criticism and doubt. Many Christians continued to believe vaguely in God’s personal providences, but had serious doubts about whether and how God could achieve specific purposes within the structures of society and culture. Such doubts were often fostered by a modern scientific view of the world as a closed system of cause-effect in which there was no place for God to act. Another source of doubt arose from the longstanding debate about how an all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful God could be ultimately responsible for such an evil world (the problem of theodicy). A related question revolves around the old problem of the relation between God’s knowledge of the future and human free will: If God knows the future exhaustively, can humans really have free will?^[2]

Further study of the topic of providence raised the question of who the Christian God is, that is, it raised the issue of the relationship of God as triune (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) to the doctrine of providence. Eventually, my doctoral dissertation focused on contemporary treatments of providence, and in each case raised the question of whether and how they related a doctrine of the Trinity to providence. The final chapter of the dissertation suggested several models of trinitarian divine action as ways of picturing God’s providential care of the world.

One such model which I have found especially helpful understands each divine work in the world to be a work of the whole Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit): the Father initiates, the Son provides the structure, and the Holy Spirit provides the energy.^[3] This model can be applied, for example, to the divine works of creation, redemption, and consummation. Such a model takes seriously the triune nature of the one God (Yahweh), and yet acknowledges the distinction of the divine Persons as revealed in Yahweh’s relationship to the world especially in the work of redemption.

My wife and I can testify to many instances of providential guidings and provisions as we have pursued a new area of ministry. But this confidence is based upon a belief in the possibility of providence which we already held. Our own experience illustrates the reason why I believe we need a renewed emphasis on the doctrine of providence. Without such a biblically based, scientifically informed and culturally relevant model of providence in place, it becomes difficult for Christians to interpret the ambiguous meanings of life’s experiences.

1. The title of my doctoral dissertation is, The Triune Provider.

2. A recent book by Terrance Tiessen (Providence and Prayer, Intervarsity Press, 2000) provides a helpful overview of the current spectrum of views on this issue.

3. Such models are of limited value, since they cannot account for the full complexity of the Trinity’s relation to the world. This is why multiple models are needed.