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Wellsprings
christian-theology-properfeatured in 30 works

Divine Providence

God not only made the world but governs and upholds it toward its appointed end

Divine providence is the teaching that God governs and sustains all creation, guiding it toward its appointed ends. Boethius explored it in his Consolation of Philosophy, written in prison, and Augustine reflected on God's ordering of history. On this the historic churches broadly agree: nothing falls outside God's care, and his wisdom directs both the whole of creation and the lives within it.

How it traveled

  1. Romans
    Corinth · 67
    explains
  2. Matthew
    Antioch · 80
    explains
  3. Acts
    Rome · 84
    explains
  4. Luke
    Rome · 84
    explains
  5. First Epistle to the Corinthians
    Rome · 99
    explains
  6. Dialogue with Trypho
    Rome · 165
    explains
  7. A Plea for the Christians
    Alexandria · 190
    explains
  8. Against Heresies: Book II
    Lyons · 202
    explains
  9. Against Heresies: Book IV
    Lyons · 202
    explains
  10. Apology.
    — · 220
    explains
  11. The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians.
    — · 220
    explains
  12. The Octavius of Minucius Felix.
    Rome · 250
    explains
  13. A Treatise of Novatian Concerning the Trinity.
    Rome · 258
    explains
  14. A Treatise on the Anger of God Addressed to Donatus
    — · 325
    explains
  15. Of the Manner in Which the Persecutors Died
    — · 325
    explains
  16. The Life of Constantine with Orations of Constantine and Eusebius
    Caesarea · 339
    explains
  17. The Church History of Eusebius
    Caesarea · 339
    explains
  18. Defence of His Flight. (Apologia de Fuga.)
    Alexandria · 373
    explains
  19. Against the Heathen. (Contra Gentes.)
    Alexandria · 373
    explains
  20. The Letters
    Caesarea (Cappadocia) · 379
    explains
  21. The Hexæmeron
    Caesarea (Cappadocia) · 379
    explains
  22. The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril
    Jerusalem · 386
    explains
  23. Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen
    Nazianzus · 390
    explains
  24. The Great Catechism
    Nyssa · 395
    explains
  25. Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose
    Milan · 397
    explains
  26. On the Duties of the Clergy
    Milan · 397
    explains
  27. A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles
    Constantinople (Istanbul) · 407
    explains
  28. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom
    Constantinople (Istanbul) · 407
    explains
  29. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Paul's Epistle to the Romans
    Constantinople (Istanbul) · 407
    explains
  30. The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians
    Constantinople (Istanbul) · 407
    explains

Key passages(20)

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 16. - THE WORLD, CREATED BY GOD, STILL CHERISHED AND PROTECTED BY HIM. EACH AND ALL OF ITS PARTS GOVERNED BY HIS PROVIDENCE. — part 3↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 16. - THE WORLD, CREATED BY GOD, STILL CHERISHED AND PROTECTED BY HIM. EACH AND ALL OF ITS PARTS GOVERNED BY HIS PROVIDENCE. — part 4↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) — Question. 22 - THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD (FOUR ARTICLES) — part 2↗explains

Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 16. - THE WORLD, CREATED BY GOD, STILL CHERISHED AND PROTECTED BY HIM. EACH AND ALL OF ITS PARTS GOVERNED BY HIS PROVIDENCE. — part 1↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 16. - THE WORLD, CREATED BY GOD, STILL CHERISHED AND PROTECTED BY HIM. EACH AND ALL OF ITS PARTS GOVERNED BY HIS PROVIDENCE. — part 2↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 16. - THE WORLD, CREATED BY GOD, STILL CHERISHED AND PROTECTED BY HIM. EACH AND ALL OF ITS PARTS GOVERNED BY HIS PROVIDENCE. — part 6↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 17. - USE TO BE MADE OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE. — part 1↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) — Question. 22 - THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD (FOUR ARTICLES) — part 1↗explains

Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas

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Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) — Question. 22 - THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD (FOUR ARTICLES) — part 3↗explains

Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas

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Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) — Question. 22 - THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD (FOUR ARTICLES) — part 4↗explains

Treatise on The One God (QQ[2-26]) · Thomas Aquinas

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City of God — Of fate, freewill, and God’s prescience, and of the source of the virtues of the ancient Romans. — Concerning the Universal Providence of God in the Laws of Which All Things are Comprehended.↗explains

City of God · Augustine of Hippo

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A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles — Homily XLIX on Acts xxiii. 6-8. — part 3↗explains

A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles · John Chrysostom

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A History of the Work of Redemption — PERIOD I. From the Fall to the Incarnation. — PART V. From David to the Babylonish Captivity. — part 2↗applies

A History of the Work of Redemption · Jonathan Edwards

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A History of the Work of Redemption — PERIOD III. From Christ's Resurrection the End of the World. — PART X. Improvement of the Whole. — part 3↗explains

A History of the Work of Redemption · Jonathan Edwards

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A Treatise on the Anger of God Addressed to Donatus, Chap. IX.—Of the providence of God, and of opinions opposed to it↗explains

A Treatise on the Anger of God Addressed to Donatus · Lactantius

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A Treatise on the Anger of God Addressed to Donatus, Chap. X.—Of the origin of the world, and the nature of affairs, and the providence of God↗explains

A Treatise on the Anger of God Addressed to Donatus · Lactantius

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 16. - THE WORLD, CREATED BY GOD, STILL CHERISHED AND PROTECTED BY HIM. EACH AND ALL OF ITS PARTS GOVERNED BY HIS PROVIDENCE. — part 5↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 17. - USE TO BE MADE OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE. — part 2↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 17. - USE TO BE MADE OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE. — part 3↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Very high
Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator — CHAPTER 17. - USE TO BE MADE OF THE DOCTRINE OF PROVIDENCE. — part 4↗explains

Book First. of the Knowledge of God the Creator · John Calvin

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Very high