Proclaimer Blog
Doctrine of ordinary means
OK, so this may be a name I have made up myself, but the point is that God works out his purposes through very ordinary means. We've seen that clearly as we've been working through the book of Ezra with students in Asia. Our Cornhill team has been working with a small group of church leaders and the nine members of an expository preaching course to understand Ezra as a Christian book to be preached. We've got to chapter 6 (two more days to go) and it's been wonderful to see the outworking of God's providence (oh, yes, that's the word) as he moves in the hearts of pagan kings, first Cyrus and then Darius, to achieve his purpose – in this case the temple being rebuilt.
In fact Ezra 6.14 is quite clear. The temple gets finished under the decree of God and under the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes (included here, though his effect will come later in the book of Nehemiah). It's wonderfully thrilling to have this rounded view of God's work in the world.
- It helps makes sense of the cross of course, as Peter makes clear in Acts 2.23.
- It helps us make sense of life today under God's rule. In fact, all that is good in the world comes from the Father of lights and he often achieves his good purposes through ordinary men and women, even those like the pagan kings who refuse to acknowledge him. We visited Gandhi Smriti with the team, the place where Gandhi was shot. Whatever you think of his politics and views on partition, you have to agree that at certain moments in his life God used him for his good purposes. He was not a believer. But he was part of God's work in the world.
I wonder if we preach the Scriptures faithfully enough to convey this awesome truth?