The Wonderful Works of God on Growth in Grace

The Value of General Revelation

Sat, 25 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000

We live in a world suspended between beauty and decay. We see the brilliance of human culture and are confronted, in the same afternoon, by violence and moral collapse. It’s tempting, when we’re fixed on the saving grace of Christ, to write off the ordinary grace that keeps the world from tearing itself apart — to treat culture, conscience, and civic order as spiritually beside the point. It’s just as tempting to go the other way: to fall so hard for the good, the true, and the beautiful in the natural world that we quietly stop needing a Savior. In the fourth chapter of The Wonderful Works of God, Herman Bavinck sets out to hold both temptations at bay at once. General revelation, he argues, cannot save anyone. But it is the scaffolding that keeps the whole human project standing long enough for salvation to reach it.

General Revelation

Sat, 18 Apr 2026 15:16:00 +0000

We are surrounded by a world we did not make, yet we often live as if we are the masters of it. We study the stars, harness the wind, and dissect the atom, pushing nature to reveal its secrets. Yet when we turn our gaze toward the Creator of all these things, our tools fail us. We cannot put God under a microscope or force Him to disclose His character. In the third chapter of The Wonderful Works of God, Herman Bavinck addresses this reality: all true knowledge of God begins with His sovereign decision to speak. If God did not voluntarily make Himself known, we would be left in absolute silence.

The Knowledge of God

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:17:00 +0000

To know someone is fundamentally different from knowing facts about them. We can study a person’s biography, memorize their habits, and list their achievements without ever having met them or experienced the warmth of their presence. When it comes to God, we are prone to the same mistake. We easily swap a collection of theological doctrines—information about Him—for a personal, living communion with Him. In the second chapter of The Wonderful Works of God, Herman Bavinck addresses this crucial distinction. He shows us that the knowledge of God is not an intellectual trophy we win, but a covenant relationship into which we are graciously drawn.

Man's Highest Good

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 18:31:00 +0000

We feel a persistent pull toward something beyond ourselves, an insatiable itch that the material world cannot scratch. We chase comfort, status, and experience, yet the satisfaction we seek remains just out of reach. This tension is the starting point for Herman Bavinck as he begins The Wonderful Works of God. He sets before us a foundational truth: God, and God alone, is man’s highest good (our summum bonum). While God is the source of being and life for every creature, only humanity has the capacity to recognize, enjoy, and find rest in Him.