An Exposition of Article Thirteen of the Belgic Confession -- "Nothing Happens Apart from His Direction"

Creation and providence are two doctrines which fit together like hand and glove. God created all things visible and invisible from nothing (the doctrine of creation), and God sustains the world he has made and so rules over it that all things fulfill the ends for which they have been created (this is the doctrine of providence). Christians believe God is distinct from the world (unlike the pantheists, who confuse God with the world). Yet, while distinct from the world, nevertheless, we believe and confess that God is intimately involved in every aspect of the world he has made. In believing this, we reject all forms of deism, which teach that after creating all things, God steps back (so to speak), allowing human history to simply run its course.

Articles Twelve and Thirteen of the Belgic Confession address the closely related doctrines of creation and providence. As we have seen throughout our study of articles Eight through Eleven of our confession, which deal with the Trinity and the deity of the Son and Holy Spirit, the Triune God creates and sustains all things. The Christian view of creation and providence is quite different from other monotheistic religions such as Judaism and Islam, both of which deny the deity of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, as well as their respective roles in the creation of all things.