God created and sustains all of the universe through His Word, which is Jesus (Psa 33:6; John 1:1-3; Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 8:6; Col. 1:16-17; Heb. 1:2). Nothing that has been made has been made without Him. This is hard teaching but it is one of the most fundamental truths in all of Scripture, continually reaffirmed and asserted; God is the great creator, and He sustains His creation by and through His Son, Jesus.
God is our Great Sustainer. He sustains creation. Logically, this means that all of creation is kept and held by Him from moment to moment. This is not just in terms of sheer matter, but also, and more importantly, He sustains us spiritually.
In Calvinism, spiritual sustaining is oft referred to as the perseverance of the saints. Simply put, God keeps and sustains those who are His. God protects and prompts the spiritual status and growth of believers. He accomplishes this purpose by propelling the spiritual growth of His children by His Word and the Holy Spirit, but He also acts in propelling the obedience of His children.
Salvation is certain in Christ. That being said, salvation is not and cannot be guaranteed apart from believers adhering to His will. "Once saved, always saved," is a common and pervasive heresy that should be quickly and decisively thrown out for the blasphemy it is. On the contrary, the biblical account of salvation is quite clear that salvation can be lost due to disobedience to Christ (Matt. 7:21; John 15; Rom. 8; Col. 1:21-23; Gal. 5:4; Heb. 10:26-29; Jam. 5:19-20).
The last two verses, Heb. 10:26-29 and Jam. 5:19-20, speak to this provocative truth directly. If we do not follow-up our belief with a life that conforms to the mind of Christ and the will of the Holy Spirit and the Holiness of God, then we will not be saved. There are conditions to the New Covenant which is in Christ (Jer. 33:31; Heb. 10). Luckily, we have the Holy Spirit, an advocate and helper that sustains us so that we can meet those conditions. Therefore, if the Holy Spirit is not working in our hearts, minds, and lives, we will not be sustained.
This is challenging doctrine. Our salvation is sustained and secure only in Him but it is made faulty and tenuous only in us. The conditional requirements of the Covenant of Christ are, in their minimum: confession, belief, repentance, and sanctification. In each of these steps, the Lord is the center and sustainer. The Lord, by the Holy Spirit, reveals sin which causes confession. He is the object of belief. He is the holy Lord who we repent towards as we repent away from ourselves. And He is the powerful working sanctifier who works in the lives of believers, continually causing growth in holy consecration.
Therefore, God truly sustains His children. We, as His children, simply need to believe in who He is and act out that faith by obedience and discipline to Him. He is our Great Sustainer and should be understood and praised for it. We, as His agents, serve purposes in sustaining by our obedience to His Word and in adhering to its requirements. By this, we are truly sustained in every circumstance, we are kept through every hardship, and we are continually being remade in His likeness. This is the ultimate goal of sustaining: that we may be kept in Him, at all times, and in all things. Praise be to God! For He sustains His children!
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