Aaron Lee speaks with theologian and professor Adamson Co on his new book Providence in the Story of Scripture. The discussion centers on why God’s providence is practical, relational, and meant to draw us into partnership with Him. Adam shares his own story of discovering providence, his “Tomorrowland” illustration, the “eighth day of creation,” and how providence speaks uniquely to the Asian American experience.
Transcript
Aaron Lee
Hi everyone, this is Aaron for SOLA Network, and I am here with Adamson Co. Adam, I read and reviewed your book. I loved it. Would you please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your book and the thesis behind it?
Adam Co
Yeah, well, thank you, Aaron. What a privilege to be here and to be, well, reviewed by you. Um, well, I am a professor at California Baptist University. This is now my 15th year of teaching here. I teach theology, amongst other things. I also teach a preaching class, as well as our introductory Old Testament and New Testament survey. The book that I wrote is on the doctrine of providence. It’s called Providence in the Story of Scripture: The Work of God Through Creation, Fall, Redemption, and New Creation.
What this book really is, is—well, it’s an introductory book, but it’s really me trying to help my readers appreciate this doctrine, because very often when we come to a topic like Providence, we often get bogged down in the quagmire of the debates—you know, divine sovereignty, human free will, problem of evil. And, you know, we get so intellectually entangled or tangled up that we forget that this is a very, very important, practical, down-to-earth, reassuring doctrine. So while I’m all for the debates and all that, I really don’t want the edification aspect of this doctrine forgotten. And so this is my attempt to get into it and to help my readers capture the sense and the beauty and the usefulness of the doctrine.
Aaron Lee
Yes, I loved it. Okay, so framing it in terms of the storyline of Scripture—I thought that was excellent. And then I also really appreciated how you said we’re partnering with God in providence. Is that correct? Can you explain a little bit more of that? Because I really hung on to that. I don’t think I’ve recalled really latching on to hearing providence explained like that before. I used to think that it’s just like, okay, providence—God doing His thing. But really, what you said made it practical and what I see is more relational in that sense. Can you speak to that?
Adamson Co
Yes. That’s really one of the things that I want to convey—to show that this is really a very practical, very useful kind of doctrine. Because very often we think of providence, as you said, as sort of a one-way street. And I don’t doubt for a moment that God is the one working behind the scenes. But if that’s all our focus is on, then we miss the point. It’s not just to inform us, but ultimately providence is supposed to stir us to do God’s will, to partner with Him.
Now, the question of course is, well, where did we get that idea of partnership? I mean, is that just something dreamed up? What I argued in the book is this is really from the very beginning, when God created us in His image, the imago Dei. Bound up in that is not just that God promises to strengthen us in what He’s called us to do, but really it’s God designing us to—well, to rule the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, not as solo beings but in partnership with Him. It’s not a 50–50 partnership. It’s God as our senior partner, and we’re the junior partners. And to that extent, we look to Him for strength. We look to His part of the provision—ergo, His providence—to enable us to do what God’s called us to do.
Aaron Lee
You’re a professor. You wrote a book on providence. Obviously you’ve been doing this for a long time. I want to know: do you remember when you first learned about God’s providence, if you can remember, and just tell me the story of that? And then also, how did it change you? Or to put it another way, how has it been changing you? Because I’m sure, you know, as you go along, you’re refining maybe your thoughts about it. Yeah. Can you tell us that?
Adam Co
Well, that’s a great question. You know, I can answer it in two ways—formally and informally. So on an informal basis, I mean, you know, I can’t go through life not sensing and seeing the hand of God’s providence at work. And when did I first discover providence? I think really the best example of that would be my conversion. Ah, you know, when I think of my conversion—under all things being equal—I really shouldn’t be a Christian. But it was God’s providence to bring me to Himself.
And every time I look at my conversion—I didn’t come from a Christian home. There are many factors in my life that really should have kept me from getting to this point. So that definitely is—whether I knew it as providence or not—now I know it was God working. But all throughout my life, God’s been providing in many, many different ways. If I had the time—probably we don’t—even my becoming a professor here at CBU, I attribute this to the work of God’s providence because I couldn’t have imagined myself being in this stage in my life. I didn’t plan it, but God wonderfully worked through the situations in my life to bring me to this point.
But on a formal basis—in other words, how did I learn some of these things? Well, it’s in seminary, to be honest, where I learned a lot of this. Two classes in particular from two professors: Dr. Bruce Ware, who teaches now at Southern Seminary, but he was at Trinity when he taught a class on models of sovereignty, divine sovereignty—there I really learned a lot about providence. Also, I took a class with Dr. Feinberg, John Feinberg, on the problem of evil. And so these are areas that I was really, really interested in. And getting into them, I definitely delved deeply into the doctrine of providence.
I must say that those were great courses to introduce me. But like you mentioned, I’m still refining, I’m still growing, I’m still learning. God’s teaching me in His own way how best to articulate and understand biblically more and more the doctrine of providence.
Aaron Lee
Thank you for sharing that. Yeah, even though you learn about it in seminary, I appreciate you for bringing it to a readable level for people like me and making it understandable and also very enjoyable.
What actually stuck with me the most were some of your illustrations. One of them was you were explaining like a car accident and how there’s a proximal cause, but also, you know, I guess the providential cause would always be God, I guess. But really, another one was your illustration of Tomorrowland, and that was kind of like the hook that I used for my review.
Can you explain that? Then I think that also might tie into your point on the eighth day of creation a little bit, or you can go into that. I want to know—how did those illustrations come to you, basically?
Adam Co
Well, let me answer it this way. I’ve been a professor for 15 years, but I was a pastor before I became a professor. So, you know, this is really my pastor really coming out.
But also, when I wrote this book, I told my editor at Baker Academic, said, you know, my writing style is I’m a pastor. I really love to illustrate and bring things out clear. And he, to his credit, encouraged me. He said, you know, do that—make it as clear and illustrate however you want. And that really freed my hand, because in most academic works, you know, you don’t really do a lot of that.
And so I’ve made it a point to be pastoral in that sense. Now, to come back, I did use the illustration of Tomorrowland. Before I get into that, one of the ways I suggested so that we don’t get bogged down in all the debates and forget the doctrine of providence is to say, let’s key it—as you mentioned—to redemptive history. I think when you look at the doctrine of providence from that standpoint—creation, fall, redemption, new creation—it really puts the doctrine in the proper light. And it takes the unnecessary debates out of the equation, and it helps you appreciate that.
Having said that, so when—by the way, when God works providentially, He works in each stage of redemptive history. And what the early fathers have done is to say that really redemptive history can also be divided up into two basic portions: something called the seventh day of creation, and that is before Christ came, before the new covenant. God has been providing for His people and the world in a certain way. But then when Christ came, God definitely brought His own providential blessing in a very special way through Christ, and it is the new creation. It’s the eighth day of creation, if you will.
And I said, well, all of those are wonderful blessings that the Bible teaches. But many of those are yet future—I mean, you think of the eternal rest that we’re going to have, our inheritance in Christ. And I said that the Bible itself talks about the already and the not yet. And, you know, there’s the not yet that’s to come. But how do we bring the already into our present existence?
And I suggested that the eighth day of creation is not necessarily purely future, but there are aspects that we can experience today. And the example of that would be Ephesians 1:13–14. The Holy Spirit, we’re told, is the arrabōn—is the down payment of that future to come.
Well, how do I illustrate that? Really, you know, all of that—what I just said—is very abstract. And so what I did was to tap into my childhood, my growing-up years. I love going to Disneyland. And one of the places that I loved going to in Disneyland was Tomorrowland, where you’re exposed to everything yet future. And that was the intent of Walt Disney. And I said, you know, every time I go to Tomorrowland, I walk away feeling as though I’ve been to the future and back.
And I said that that is really what God would have us experience today through the Holy Spirit—indeed, through the body of Christ, the church imbued by the Holy Spirit. When we gather together and the Holy Spirit’s working, we do get the sense of the future today. And what a blessing it is. So yes, there’s more to come, but we have a foretaste of that today. And that’s why Paul said the kingdom of God is not food, drink, and all that, but it’s the Holy Spirit, right? It’s love, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit.
And I said that where Tomorrowland and the eighth day of creation are different is that Tomorrowland over time actually lost its steam. You know, you go to Tomorrowland today—you don’t get the sense of the future because they failed to really keep up. But God’s promise of a Tomorrowland, an eighth day, a future, is something that we can always tap into. He always updates that for us—through the church, through the working of the Holy Spirit in His people.
Aaron Lee
I love how it was so personal to you, and it obviously resonated with me too. Thank you for that. I think we should end on this also very personal question. This being the SOLA Network podcast, I like to ask this question a lot: What about providence can speak specifically to the Asian American experience or identity? I honestly don’t know if I’ve read anything about that or even done any research on that before.
Adamson Co
Yeah, well, thank you. You know, it’s funny—I taught on providence, I preached on providence in one of the Asian American churches one time. It was actually on James 4. And anyway, I said, you know, there’s no such thing as luck, you know, from a Christian point of view. But you know what’s fascinating is Asian Americans—we’re hardworking, but we also are aware that success is not just because we work hard, but there’s always something behind the scenes. Call it luck, call it whatever—but we all are conscious of it.
And this is really where I think our topic really—there’s that crossover. Whereas in the Asian American community, especially in the non-Christian ones, they realize that—they want to talk about luck. What we can do is bring in providence and say there’s something—not just some immaterial, forceless being working—but there’s God. And to Him you look for this extra thing that you’re looking for. It’s Him who provides what’s lacking to give life true meaning.
Aaron Lee
That is so good. I love that. What a great way to end. Adam, thank you so much for your book and for your work and for your ministry.
Adamson Co
Well, thank you, Aaron. Appreciate this time.
Aaron Lee
Yeah. You, me, and Kevin Chen need to get together. Shout-out to FCBC Walnut.
Adamson Co
Amen. Yes, we should. That’s true. Thank you, Aaron. I appreciate this.