God Turning Evil into Good in Scripture
The concept of God turning evil into good is rooted in various biblical passages and has been explored by theologians throughout history. A key scripture that illustrates this idea is Genesis 50:20, where Joseph says to his brothers, "You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good, that he might exalt me... and might save many people" [1]. This verse demonstrates that God can take the evil intentions of humans and redirect them towards a positive outcome.
In the patristic tradition, Augustine grappled with the question of how God can be said to do good even when permitting evil. He argued that God's permission of evil is not a passive act, but rather an active decision that serves a greater good. According to Augustine, "God does well even in the permission of what is evil. For He permits it only in the justice of His judgment. And surely all that is just is good" [2]. This perspective emphasizes God's sovereignty and His ability to bring about good even in the face of evil.
The Reformed tradition has also explored this concept. John Calvin, for instance, noted that God can "bring good out of evil" and that this is a manifestation of His providence [3]. Charles Hodge, one theologian, further explained that God's influence on human minds is not limited to believers, but is a general influence that can restrain evil and incline people towards good [5].
The biblical account of Joseph's life is often cited as an example of God turning evil into good. Joseph's brothers had intended to harm him, but God used their actions to bring about a greater good, namely the preservation of the Israelites during a time of famine [1]. This narrative illustrates that God's purposes can be achieved even when humans act with malicious intent.
The idea that God can turn evil into good is not limited to the biblical narrative. It is also reflected in the broader Christian tradition. Tertullian, an early Christian writer, noted that God's goodness is not limited to creating good things, but also extends to using evil things for His own purposes [4].
Sources
- Genesis “Genesis 50:20 (DRC) — You thought evil against me: but God turned it into good, that he might exalt me, as at present you see, and might save many people.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 3: Augustine — On the Holy Trinity — CHAP. 96.--THE OMNIPOTENT GOD DOES WELL EVEN IN THE PERMISSION OF EVIL.: Nor can we doubt that God does well even in the permission of what is evil. For He permits it only in the justice of His judgment. And surely all that is just is good. Although, therefore, evil, in so far as it is evil, is not a good; yet the fact that evil as well as good exists, is a good. For if it were not a good that evil should exist, its existence would not be permitted by the omnipotent Good, who without doubt can as easily refuse to permit what He does not wish, as b”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 34: to bring good out of evil,” ( Augustin. in Ps. 111:2 ). 4. In the same way is solved, or rather spontaneously vanishes, another objection—viz. If God not only uses the agency of the wicked, but also governs their counsels and affections, he is the author of all their sins; and, therefore, men, in executing what God has decreed, are unjustly condemned, because they are obeying his will. Here will is improperly confounded with precept , though it is obvious, from innumerable examples, that there is the greatest difference between the”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “ANF Vol 4: Tertullian IV, Minucius Felix, Commodian, Origen — CHAP. LIV.: Let us see, then, briefly what holy Scripture has to say regarding good and evil, and what answer we are to return to the questions, "How is it that God created evil?" and, "How is He incapable of persuading and admonishing men?" Now, according to holy Scripture, properly speaking, virtues and virtuous actions are good, as, properly speaking, the reverse of these are evil. We shall be satisfied with quoting on the present occasion some verses from the 34th Psalm, to the following effect: "They that seek the LOuD shall no”
- CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 138: is the familiar mode of Scriptural representation. As God is everywhere present in the material world, guiding its operations according to the laws of nature; so He is everywhere present with the minds of men, as the Spirit of truth and goodness, operating on them according to the laws of their free moral agency, inclining them to good and restraining them from evil. 3. That the Spirit does exercise this general influence, common to all men, is further plain from what the Scriptures teach of the reprobate. There are men from whom God wit”