Dependence on God Revealed Through Natural World and Scripture
Humanity's dependence on God is revealed through both the natural world and the explicit teachings of Scripture. The Bible consistently presents God as the Creator and Sustainer of all things, a truth discernible to some extent through observation of the world, but fully understood through divine revelation [4, 7, 11].
The natural world provides evidence of God's existence and power. The creation of all things is ascribed to God in the Bible, offering an account of the world's origin [2]. By faith, believers understand that the world was "framed by the word of God," bringing visible things from the invisible [1]. The intricate design and order of creation point to a divine architect, a concept recognized even in ancient thought, where the mutual dependence of nature's parts witnesses to God [9]. As Charles Hodge notes, the facts of nature reveal God, and the denial of His existence leaves the universe's problem "unsolved and unsolvable" [10, 11]. The Apostle Paul, in Acts 14:15-17, highlights how God "gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness," and in Acts 17:24-25, he states that God "giveth to all life and breath, and all things" [13].
However, while nature reveals God's power and existence, it does not fully convey saving knowledge or the path to redemption [7, 8]. Scripture is essential for a complete understanding of humanity's dependence on God. The Bible teaches that humanity is fallen, guilty, and unable to free itself from sin, thus utterly dependent on God's grace and the Holy Spirit's power [5, 15]. The "new birth," for instance, is effected by God through Christ and the Holy Spirit, often instrumentally through the Word of God [3]. This spiritual righteousness cannot be achieved by human will alone but is "wrought in the heart when the Holy Ghost is received through the Word" [12].
The "Word of God," referring to the Bible, is considered infallible because it was written under the Holy Spirit's guidance, making it free from error in fact, doctrine, or precept [6]. All saving knowledge is obtained from this Word [6]. Without the written Word, people remain "ignorant of divine things—without God, without Christ, and without hope" [14]. Therefore, while the natural world offers a foundational understanding of God's power and existence, Scripture provides the comprehensive revelation necessary for understanding humanity's profound dependence on God for salvation and spiritual life [7, 8, 14].
Sources
- Hebrews “Hebrews 11:3 (DRC) — By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God: that from invisible things visible things might be made.”
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Creation — (The creation of all things is ascribed in the Bible to God, and is the only reasonable account of the origin of the world. The method of creation is not stated in Genesis, and as far as the account there is concerned, each part of it may be, after the first acts of creation, by evolution, or by direct act of God's will. The word create (bara) is used but three times in the first chapter of Genesis-- (1) as to the origin of matter; (2) as to the origin of life; (3) as to the origin of man's soul; and science has always failed to do any of these acts thus as”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: New Birth, The — The corruption of human nature requires -- Joh 3:6; Ro 8:7,8. None can enter heaven without -- Joh 3:3. Effected by God. -- Joh 1:13; 1Pe 1:3. Christ. -- 1Jo 2:29. The Holy Spirit. -- Joh 3:6; Tit 3:5. Through the instrumentality of The word of God. -- Jas 1:18; 1Pe 1:23. The resurrection of Christ. -- 1Pe 1:3. The ministry of the gospel. -- 1Co 4:15. Is of the will of God -- Jas 1:18. Is of the mercy of God -- Tit 3:5. Is for the glory of God -- Isa 43:7. Described as A new creation. -- 2Co 5:17; Ga 6:15; Eph 2:10. Newness of life. -- Ro 6:4. A spir”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: God — (A.S. and Dutch God; Dan. Gud; Ger. Gott), the name of the Divine Being. It is the rendering (1) of the Hebrew 'El, from a word meaning to be strong; (2) of 'Eloah_, plural _'Elohim. The singular form, Eloah, is used only in poetry. The plural form is more commonly used in all parts of the Bible, The Hebrew word Jehovah (q.v.), the only other word generally employed to denote the Supreme Being, is uniformly rendered in the Authorized Version by "LORD," printed in small capitals. The existence of God is taken for granted in the Bible. There is nowhere any argume”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Fall of man — An expression probably borrowed from the Apocryphal Book of Wisdom, to express the fact of the revolt of our first parents from God, and the consequent sin and misery in which they and all their posterity were involved. The history of the Fall is recorded in Gen. 2 and 3. That history is to be literally interpreted. It records facts which underlie the whole system of revealed truth. It is referred to by our Lord and his apostles not only as being true, but as furnishing the ground of all God's subsequent dispensations and dealings with the children of m”
- Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Word of God — (Heb. 4:12, etc.). The Bible so called because the writers of its several books were God's organs in communicating his will to men. It is his "word," because he speaks to us in its sacred pages. Whatever the inspired writers here declare to be true and binding upon us, God declares to be true and binding. This word is infallible, because written under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and therefore free from all error of fact or doctrine or precept. (See [670]INSPIRATION; [671]BIBLE.) All saving knowledge is obtained from the word of God. In the case of ”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 11: as the science of the facts of divine revelation so far as those facts concern the nature of God and our relation to him, as his creatures, as sinners, and as the subjects of redemption. All these facts, as just remarked, are in the Bible. But as some of them are revealed by the works of God, and by the nature of man, there is so far a distinction between natural theology, and theology considered distinctively as a Christian science. With regard to natural theology, there are two extreme opinions. The one is that the works of nature make ”
- 1 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 1 Corinthians 1:21: after that--rather, "whereas." in the wisdom of God--in the wise arrangement of God. world by wisdom--rather, "by its wisdom," or "its philosophy" (Joh 1:10; Rom 1:28). knew not God--whatever other knowledge it attained (Act 17:23, Act 17:27). The deistic theory that man can by the light of nature discover his duty to God, is disproved by the fact that man has never discovered it without revelation. All the stars and moon cannot make it day; that is the prerogative of the sun. Nor can nature's highest gifts make the moral day arise; that i”
- CCEL (Patristic) “Athanasius of Alexandria, Select Works and Letters, section 72: §27. The refutation of popular Paganism being taken as conclusive, we come to the higher form of nature-worship. How Nature witnesses to God by the mutual dependence of all her parts, which forbid us to think of any one of them as the supreme God. This shewn at length. But perhaps those who have advanced beyond these things, and who stand in awe of Creation, being put to shame by these exposures of abominations, will join in repudiating what is readily condemned and refuted on all hands, but will think that they have a well-ground”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 12: § 2. The Facts of Nature Reveal God . Those who deny that natural theology teaches anything reliable concerning God, commonly understand by nature the external, material universe. They pronounce the ontological and teleological arguments derived from the existence of the world, and from the evidences of design which it contains, to be unsatisfactory. The fact that the world is, is a proof that it always has been, in the absence of all evidence to the contrary. And the argument from design, it is said, overlooks the difference between dead”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 12: the facts of observation and consciousness, and that the denial of his existence leaves the problem of the universe unsolved and unsolvable. In other words, it may be shown that atheism, polytheism, and pantheism involve absolute impossibilities. This is a valid mode of proving that God is, although if be admitted that his existence after all is a self-evident truth. Theism is not the only self-evident truth that men are wont to deny. 24 B. Scriptural Argument for Natural Theology . The Scriptures clearly recognize the fact that the works”
- Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) “Augsburg Confession (Lutheran, 1530), 1 Of Free Will they teach that man’s will has some liberty to: 1 Of Free Will they teach that man’s will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work 2 things subject to reason. But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness; since the natural man 3 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2:14; but this righteousness is wrought in the heart when the Holy Ghost is received 4 through the Word. These things are said in as many words by Augustine in his Hypognosticon,”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 12: heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” ( Acts xiv. 15-17 .) To the men of Athens he said: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of the”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 1, section 30: known to them. Contrary to the Facts of Experience . 3. The doctrine in question is no less contrary to fact than it is to Scripture. The doctrine teaches that by the inward revelation of the Spirit saving knowledge of truth and duty is given to every man. But all experience shows that without the written Word, men everywhere and in all ages, are ignorant of divine things, — without God, without Christ, and without hope in the world. The sun is not more obviously the source of light, than the Bible is the source of divine knowledge. The a”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 103: Scriptures teach that man is a fallen being, that he is guilty and defiled by sin, that he is utterly unable to free himself from the burden and power of sin, that he is dependent on the grace of God and the power of the Spirit, if these truths are inwrought into the experience of all true believers. In like manner, if all Christians trust in Christ for their salvation; if they look to Him as their substitute, obeying and suffering in their stead, bearing their sins, sustaining the curse of the law in their place; if they regard Him as t”