UNDERSTANDING THE FOUR ORDERS

PHYSICAL ORDER

The laws through which God ordinarily governs the physical universe.

Time moves forward. Seasons follow cycles. Objects respond to gravity. Growth normally requires process. 

These laws are real and dependable. But Scripture repeatedly shows that the God who established them is not imprisoned by them.

 

Examples:

GRAVITY — ELIJAH

Elijah was taken up into heaven.

2 Kings 2:11

 

BUOYANCY — JESUS & PETER

Jesus walked on water, and Peter briefly did the same at His command.

Matthew 14:25–29

 

TIME — JOSHUA & HEZEKIAH

Joshua experienced an extraordinary extension of daylight. Hezekiah received a sign in which the shadow moved backward.

Joshua 10:12–14; Isaiah 38:7–8

 

GROWTH / PROCESS — WATER TO WINE

Wine ordinarily requires grapes, growth, harvesting, crushing, fermentation and time.

 

At Cana:

WATER → WINE

No vine. No harvest. No crushing. No fermentation. No waiting.

The process was bypassed.

THE PRINCIPLE 

In the physical order, God can SUSPEND, REVERSE, ACCELERATE or BYPASSd the ordinary process.

The reliability of the normal order is precisely what makes the miracle extraordinary.

BIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL ORDER

The processes God established through which life ordinarily functions.

Conception ordinarily requires biological conditions. Growth takes time. Healing requires physiological restoration. Biological and biochemical change normally follows identifiable processes. 

But those processes are not sovereign. God is.

 

Examples:

REPRODUCTION — JESUS

The conception of Jesus bypassed the ordinary reproductive process.

Matthew 1:18–25

 

FERTILITY — SARAH & ELIZABETH

Age and reproductive circumstances pointed toward one outcome. God produced another.

Genesis 18:11–14; Luke 1:7, 13, 24–25

 

MATURITY — AARON’S ROD

The rod budded, blossomed and produced ripe almonds in an extraordinarily compressed period.

Numbers 17:8

BUD → FLOWER → FRUIT → MATURITY 

God compressed the process.

 

HEALING — WOMAN WITH THE ISSUE OF BLOOD

Twelve years of illness changed in one encounter with Jesus.

Mark 5:25–34

 

THE PRINCIPLE

In the biological and biochemical order, God can RESTORE, REVERSE, ACCELERATE or BYPASS processes that would ordinarily constrain the outcome.

Biology matters. But biology is not sovereign. God is.

KINGDOM PRINCIPLE FOR LIFE

Principles God established to govern fruitfulness, consequence and responsibility.

Seedtime and harvest. Sowing and reaping. Diligence. Stewardship.

Unlike the first two buckets, these are not simply processes standing between us and an outcome. They are principles God repeatedly instructs us to practise.

 

Therefore:

BREAKTHROUGH DOES NOT NORMALLY MEAN ESCAPING THE PRINCIPLE.

It often means God doing something extraordinary with what faithful obedience has already put in place.

 

Examples: 

SOWING & REAPING

“Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

— Galatians 6:7

SEED → GOD GIVES INCREASE → EXTRAORDINARY HARVEST

 

DILIGENCE — JOSEPH

At 17, Joseph had the dream.

But the dream did not immediately produce the palace.

He served. He managed. He interpreted. He developed administrative capability.

Then one day Pharaoh had a problem for which Joseph had already been prepared.

God did not manufacture Joseph’s competence that morning.

The competence had been developing for years.

DILIGENCE PREPARED JOSEPH. GOD ACCELERATED THE MANIFESTATION.

 

STEWARDSHIP — DAVID

Sheep before soldiers.

A few people before hundreds.

Judah before all Israel.

The anointing came early. The capacity to carry it developed progressively.

 

THE PRINCIPLE

God ordinarily does not make faithfulness unnecessary. He can take faithful seed, diligence and stewardship—and ACCELERATE or MULTIPLY their harvest.

RELATIONAL & SOCIAL ORDER

The principles through which trust, influence, honour and relationships ordinarily develop.

You can be gifted without being trusted. 

You can be anointed without having influence.

You can have a title without having followership.

Some apparent delay may actually be God building the social capacity required to sustain the breakthrough.

 

For example:

TRUST — DAVID

David was already God's chosen king in 1 Samuel 16.

But he did not immediately become king over Israel.

SHEPHERD → ROYAL COURT → MILITARY LEADER → LEADER OF MEN → JUDAH → ALL ISRAEL

Each stage increased David’s competence, exposure, influence and trust.

 By 2 Samuel 5:1–3, Israel was not merely responding to an anointing. The nation had experienced the man.

 Then make this one of the strongest statements on the page:

GOD WAS NOT ONLY PREPARING DAVID FOR THE THRONE.

HE WAS PREPARING THE NATION TO TRUST ITS KING.

 

HONOUR — SOLOMON

Solomon offered one thousand burnt offerings to God. That night, God appeared to him and invited him to ask.

Solomon asked for wisdom.

God gave him wisdom—and added riches and honour he had not requested.

1 Kings 3:4–13

Solomon honoured God extraordinarily. God multiplied the consequence of that honour extraordinarily.

 

THE PRINCIPLE

In relational and social order, God often BUILDS before He ACCELERATES.

 Then: 

Trust is accumulated before it can be leveraged. Influence is built before it can be expanded.