Preservation
God Sustains All Things
Providence · 6 verses
The doctrine of preservation asserts that God actively upholds and maintains all created things in existence by His powerful word. This continuous sustaining work distinguishes biblical theism from deism, which posits a God who creates but then withdraws, leaving creation to operate independently according to mechanistic laws.
Scripture References
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;”
“And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
“Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.”
“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”
“These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. That thou givest them they gather: thou openest thine hand, they are filled with good. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created: and thou renewest the face of the earth.”
“If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.”