The sovereignty of God is one of the major themes of the Word of God. However, it is an immensely challenging and controversial doctrine, being opposed and even denied both in and outside the Church. In my mind though, it is one of the most blessed and comforting doctrines revealed in scripture, particularly for such a time as this.
The term sovereign, as a noun, represents a supreme ruler, a king, one who has absolute power and authority. And as I noted in my previous post, God is the only true King who fully possesses such attributes.
When we say that God is sovereign, we first and foremost affirm His right to govern all that He has made for His own glory (Isaiah 43:7) as He pleases. God works not just some things, but all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph. 1:11). His purposes are all-inclusive and never thwarted; nothing takes Him by surprise. The sovereignty of God is not merely that God has the power and right to govern and control all things, but that He does so, always and without exception.
The sovereignty of God is thus the Biblical revelation that all things that occur in the universe, our world and in our individual lives, are under the absolute rule and control of an infinitely good, wise and just God, and that nothing happens in these domains apart from God ultimately permitting or ordaining that it occur. It affirms that God is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, and thus He is under no obligation to anyone to give an account for how He carries out His plans and purposes (Isaiah 46:8-11).
Christian theologian and author A. W. Pink, in his book titled The Sovereignty of God, writes “What do we mean by the sovereignty of God? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Daniel 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psalm 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psalm 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.”
The truth of God’s sovereignty is revealed throughout the Bible. The Book of Genesis exalts the sovereignty of God in creation (Genesis 1), in His ordaining evil for good purposes (Genesis 50:15-21) and in His judgment on sin (Genesis 6:5-8).
The Book of Exodus reveals the sovereignty of God over man’s abilities and disabilities (Exodus 4:10-11 ) and over the false gods and idols devised by men (Exodus 12:12). It reveals that God is sovereign in establishing the laws in which men are to live in relationship to Him and one another (Exodus 20:1-17), and in man’s salvation (Exodus 33:19).
The Book of Job is written to provide insights into the sovereignty of God over the devil (Job 1:6-12), over human suffering and adversity (Job 2:10), and over all the events in our lives (Job 12:13-25) including the day of our birth and the day of our death (Job 14:5).
The Book of Daniel provides insights into God’s sovereignty over the nations of the world, its rulers and peoples (Daniel 7:13-14).
The Book of Proverbs reveals God’s sovereignty over the outcome of our plans (Proverbs 19:21), and even who wins in Vegas (Proverbs 16:33).
In the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we have God the Holy Spirit sovereignly conceiving in the womb of the virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, God the Son, the promised Messiah (Matthew 1:18-21), who through His life, death and resurrection would fulfill God’s sovereign plan of redemption (Ephesians 1:7). Jesus, in His three plus years of ministry, demonstrates the sovereignty of God over the weather, the seas, the devil, the plants and animals, over sin, sickness and disease, and over physical and spiritual death (Luke 7:22-23), concluding with His own death and resurrection from the dead and the promise of the same to those who entrust their lives to Him (John 6:40).
Then we have the Book of Revelation which presents Jesus as the sovereign ruler of human history (Revelation 1:9-20). It reveals His sovereignty over His church, comprised of those who have trusted Him as Savior and (sovereign) Lord (Romans 10:8-9). It reveals that over the course of history, from the time of His resurrection to the time of His second coming, Jesus is sovereignly protecting His church from the attempts of the devil/Satan and the beastly rulers of the unbelieving world around them to defile and destroy them through persecution, false religions and worldly seductions. He sovereignly empowers His people to overcome this through faith in His sacrificial death and their testimony to the great love He has demonstrated in saving them from their sins (Revelation 12:7-11).
The Book reveals that there is coming a day in the future when Christ will sovereignly and summarily judge Satan and his demons, as well as all of mankind who joined them in their rebellion against God’s rule, disposing of them in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15). He then will faithfully bring everyone written in the Lamb’s book of life, written there by His sovereign decree, into the new heavens and new earth where they will know only fullness of joy and pleasures for evermore (Revelation Chapters 21 and 22).
Sounds like a wonderful, glorious and comforting doctrine to me. However, it is not so to everyone. The idea or concept of a sovereign God, one who has absolute power and authority to order and ordain all that happens, is welcome by few if any in what the Bible refers to as this “present evil world”. I will look at this more closely in my next post.
In the interim, I would encourage you to take time to watch John Piper’s short teaching on the Sovereignty of God.
Grace and Peace ×