Understanding the Sovereignty of God
The sovereignty of God is a theological term well established in the Bible and
confirmed in all His works. His sovereignty is not only an attribute, but is
grounded upon His eternal Godhead. This means that our sovereign God has
absolute authority and right of dominion over all of His creation. He has the
sovereign right to do whatever pleases Him. It may not look as though God is in
charge of all nations at all times, but He is, and He will remain in sovereign power
throughout all time and eternity. God created all things and He keeps all things
functioning of His creation. God never sleeps.
All the power of darkness, sin, satan, demons, and the wickedness of mankind
cannot alter the purpose of our sovereign God. Look at how many times the devil
tried to dwarf God’s plan, only to see it come to pass by something that he did.
The devil tried to pervert the seed by evil angels mixing with the seed of mankind
and we have to thank God for Noah who found favor in God’s eyes, and Noah
built the ark as God told him and mankind was saved from the flood (Genesis 6).
In the times of Moses, the Egyptians were killing all male babies, but Moses was
put in a basket and the daughter of the Pharaoh found the baby and took him in;
and not only called him her son, but had the mother of Moses nurse him. Now
when Moses came of age, after killing the Egyptian, he had to leave, and was in
the wilderness for 40 years. Yet when the time came, God called him from the
burning bush, and sent him back to deliver the Israelites.
When the king heard about the birth of Christ, he tried to destroy the baby, he
ordered all babies two years old and under to be destroyed. But the angel of the
Lord told Joseph to take the baby and go into Egypt; and they were there until
the king was dead.
Even when the devil thought to kill Jesus, he played into God’s hands, because
by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, God was able to redeem mankind
(Romans 5).
It is impossible for the finite mind to fully comprehend the sovereignty of God.
When He appeared to Abraham He said, “I am Almighty God”. We can only know
Almighty God as He is revealed to us in His infallible word. Moses said, “the
secret things belong to the Lord Yahweh our God, but those things which are
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of
this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Only eternity will be long enough for us to
understand all there is to know about our sovereign God.
Sovereignty means that God has supreme authority and power over the
universe. All other authority is delegated, God has all power over, and absolute
control of, all things in heaven and all things on earth (Matthew 28:18) “and Jesus
came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to Me in heaven and earth”.
The apostle Paul in awe and worship, says “Oh, the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments, and
His ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has
become His counselor”? (Romans 11:33,34).
When the prophet Isaiah compared the sovereignty of nations with the
sovereignty of God, he said “behold the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and
are counted as the small dust of the scales” (Isaiah 40:15). Sovereign nations
have boundaries but the sovereignty of God knows no boundaries and is under
no external restraints. It is immeasurable, without limits of any kind.
In the darkest hour of Jeremiah’s ministry, God gave him a vision of His sovereign
throne (Jeremiah 18:1-11) says “the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord
Yahweh, saying. Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause
you to hear My words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he
wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred
in the hand of the potter so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to
the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord Yahweh came to me, saying. O
house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Says the Lord Yahweh.
Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand. O house of
Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a
kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it. If that nation, against
whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought
to do to them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and
concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it. If it do evil in My sight, that to obey
not My voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, thus says the Lord Yahweh; Behold, I frame evil against you,
and devise against you, return you now every one from his evil way, and make
your ways and your doings good”.
His throne is the place of worship and refuge. Without this, great and comforting
truth, the doctrine of sovereignty of God would be a dreaded and frightening
fact. We would live in constant fear, but now we know that His throne is the place
of our sanctuary. A refuge to flee to. God is sovereign over all nations and
individuals. He either dispenses sovereign judgment or bestows sovereign grace,
according to His just nature, but He never punishes of shows grace arbitrarily; He
always has a purpose that befits His holy character. God is the righteous Judge
and He has to pass judgment at times (Hosea 11:4-12) “I drew them with gentle
cords. With bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from
their neck. I stooped and fed them. He shall not return to the land of Egypt. But
the Assyrian shall be his king. Because they refused to repent. And the sword
shall slash in his cities. Devour his districts, and consume them. Because of
their own counsels. My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they
call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him. How can I give you up, Ephraim? How
can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you
like Zeboliun? My heart churns within Me. My sympathy is stirred. I will not
execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am
God, and not man. The Holy One in your midst; and I will not come with terror.
They shall walk after the Lord Yahweh, he will roar like a lion; when He roars.
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west. They shall come trembling like
a bird from Egypt. Like a dove from the land of Assyria, and I will let them dwell in
their houses, says the Lord Yahweh. Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, and the
house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God, even with the Holy One
who is faithful”.
Lamentations 3:22-23, 31-33 it says “through the Lord Yahweh’s mercies, we are
not consumed. Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness. For the Lord wil not cast off forever. Through He
causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His
mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men”.
Many may ask, how can God be absolutely sovereign, while man is completely
responsible for his own decisions and actions? In Deuteronomy chapter 28, from
verse 1:14 God shows us all the blessings that will come upon us, if we will hear
and observe His commandments; then in verses 15-68 God shows us all the
curses that will come upon us, if we will not hear and observe His
commandments. God desires to bless us, but those who are disobedient He has
to take His hand off them, and the curses come upon them, but God does not
want any to perish, but to come to the knowledge of Christ. Nothing can compare
to God, His power and presence are awesome, and when He speaks, we must
listen. Too often we presume to speak for God, as did Job’s friends, to put words
in His mouth, to take Him for granted, or to interpret His silence to mean that He is
absent or unconcerned. But God cares, He is in control and He will speak. Be
ready to hear His message in the Bible, through the Holy Spirit.
We have elsewhere shown, and the Scriptures affirm, that there are mysteries in
God’s secret will and knowledge that necessarily defy human comprehension, just
because these mysteries are understood completely by God alone. We need to
read Romans 9 through; we dare not imagine that we will ever comprehend more
than we have been gifted to understand, even in our finally glorified state in the
presence of God. Thus, Paul says, “it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs,
but of God who shows mercy”. We bow before this truth, and acknowledge our
inability to penetrate all that is said here, when he says, “therefore He has mercy
on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens”. However, at the same time,
Paul makes clear that God holds us accountable for our response to His
overtures of grace, love, and government. “Who are you to reply against God?
Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have You made me like this”?
God has the right, grounded in His sovereignty, goodness, and trustworthiness,
to expect and demand that we trust Him with all things. Therefore, in reverence
and obedience, let us resolve not to question the ways of God that surpass our
understanding, rather, let us humbly respond to His earnest invitation to become
His adopted complaint children through the finished work of Christ presented in
the gospel.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: December 28, 2010
The sovereignty of God is a theological term well established in the Bible and
confirmed in all His works. His sovereignty is not only an attribute, but is
grounded upon His eternal Godhead. This means that our sovereign God has
absolute authority and right of dominion over all of His creation. He has the
sovereign right to do whatever pleases Him. It may not look as though God is in
charge of all nations at all times, but He is, and He will remain in sovereign power
throughout all time and eternity. God created all things and He keeps all things
functioning of His creation. God never sleeps.
All the power of darkness, sin, satan, demons, and the wickedness of mankind
cannot alter the purpose of our sovereign God. Look at how many times the devil
tried to dwarf God’s plan, only to see it come to pass by something that he did.
The devil tried to pervert the seed by evil angels mixing with the seed of mankind
and we have to thank God for Noah who found favor in God’s eyes, and Noah
built the ark as God told him and mankind was saved from the flood (Genesis 6).
In the times of Moses, the Egyptians were killing all male babies, but Moses was
put in a basket and the daughter of the Pharaoh found the baby and took him in;
and not only called him her son, but had the mother of Moses nurse him. Now
when Moses came of age, after killing the Egyptian, he had to leave, and was in
the wilderness for 40 years. Yet when the time came, God called him from the
burning bush, and sent him back to deliver the Israelites.
When the king heard about the birth of Christ, he tried to destroy the baby, he
ordered all babies two years old and under to be destroyed. But the angel of the
Lord told Joseph to take the baby and go into Egypt; and they were there until
the king was dead.
Even when the devil thought to kill Jesus, he played into God’s hands, because
by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, God was able to redeem mankind
(Romans 5).
It is impossible for the finite mind to fully comprehend the sovereignty of God.
When He appeared to Abraham He said, “I am Almighty God”. We can only know
Almighty God as He is revealed to us in His infallible word. Moses said, “the
secret things belong to the Lord Yahweh our God, but those things which are
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of
this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29). Only eternity will be long enough for us to
understand all there is to know about our sovereign God.
Sovereignty means that God has supreme authority and power over the
universe. All other authority is delegated, God has all power over, and absolute
control of, all things in heaven and all things on earth (Matthew 28:18) “and Jesus
came and spoke to them, saying, All power is given to Me in heaven and earth”.
The apostle Paul in awe and worship, says “Oh, the depth of the riches both of
the wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His judgments, and
His ways past finding out. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has
become His counselor”? (Romans 11:33,34).
When the prophet Isaiah compared the sovereignty of nations with the
sovereignty of God, he said “behold the nations are as a drop in the bucket, and
are counted as the small dust of the scales” (Isaiah 40:15). Sovereign nations
have boundaries but the sovereignty of God knows no boundaries and is under
no external restraints. It is immeasurable, without limits of any kind.
In the darkest hour of Jeremiah’s ministry, God gave him a vision of His sovereign
throne (Jeremiah 18:1-11) says “the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord
Yahweh, saying. Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause
you to hear My words. Then I went down to the potter’s house, and behold, he
wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred
in the hand of the potter so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to
the potter to make it. Then the word of the Lord Yahweh came to me, saying. O
house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? Says the Lord Yahweh.
Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand. O house of
Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a
kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it. If that nation, against
whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought
to do to them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and
concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it. If it do evil in My sight, that to obey
not My voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, thus says the Lord Yahweh; Behold, I frame evil against you,
and devise against you, return you now every one from his evil way, and make
your ways and your doings good”.
His throne is the place of worship and refuge. Without this, great and comforting
truth, the doctrine of sovereignty of God would be a dreaded and frightening
fact. We would live in constant fear, but now we know that His throne is the place
of our sanctuary. A refuge to flee to. God is sovereign over all nations and
individuals. He either dispenses sovereign judgment or bestows sovereign grace,
according to His just nature, but He never punishes of shows grace arbitrarily; He
always has a purpose that befits His holy character. God is the righteous Judge
and He has to pass judgment at times (Hosea 11:4-12) “I drew them with gentle
cords. With bands of love, and I was to them as those who take the yoke from
their neck. I stooped and fed them. He shall not return to the land of Egypt. But
the Assyrian shall be his king. Because they refused to repent. And the sword
shall slash in his cities. Devour his districts, and consume them. Because of
their own counsels. My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they
call to the Most High, none at all exalt Him. How can I give you up, Ephraim? How
can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I set you
like Zeboliun? My heart churns within Me. My sympathy is stirred. I will not
execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I am
God, and not man. The Holy One in your midst; and I will not come with terror.
They shall walk after the Lord Yahweh, he will roar like a lion; when He roars.
Then His sons shall come trembling from the west. They shall come trembling like
a bird from Egypt. Like a dove from the land of Assyria, and I will let them dwell in
their houses, says the Lord Yahweh. Ephraim has encircled Me with lies, and the
house of Israel with deceit; but Judah still walks with God, even with the Holy One
who is faithful”.
Lamentations 3:22-23, 31-33 it says “through the Lord Yahweh’s mercies, we are
not consumed. Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness. For the Lord wil not cast off forever. Through He
causes grief, yet He will show compassion according to the multitude of His
mercies. For He does not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men”.
Many may ask, how can God be absolutely sovereign, while man is completely
responsible for his own decisions and actions? In Deuteronomy chapter 28, from
verse 1:14 God shows us all the blessings that will come upon us, if we will hear
and observe His commandments; then in verses 15-68 God shows us all the
curses that will come upon us, if we will not hear and observe His
commandments. God desires to bless us, but those who are disobedient He has
to take His hand off them, and the curses come upon them, but God does not
want any to perish, but to come to the knowledge of Christ. Nothing can compare
to God, His power and presence are awesome, and when He speaks, we must
listen. Too often we presume to speak for God, as did Job’s friends, to put words
in His mouth, to take Him for granted, or to interpret His silence to mean that He is
absent or unconcerned. But God cares, He is in control and He will speak. Be
ready to hear His message in the Bible, through the Holy Spirit.
We have elsewhere shown, and the Scriptures affirm, that there are mysteries in
God’s secret will and knowledge that necessarily defy human comprehension, just
because these mysteries are understood completely by God alone. We need to
read Romans 9 through; we dare not imagine that we will ever comprehend more
than we have been gifted to understand, even in our finally glorified state in the
presence of God. Thus, Paul says, “it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs,
but of God who shows mercy”. We bow before this truth, and acknowledge our
inability to penetrate all that is said here, when he says, “therefore He has mercy
on whom He wills, and whom He wills He hardens”. However, at the same time,
Paul makes clear that God holds us accountable for our response to His
overtures of grace, love, and government. “Who are you to reply against God?
Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, why have You made me like this”?
God has the right, grounded in His sovereignty, goodness, and trustworthiness,
to expect and demand that we trust Him with all things. Therefore, in reverence
and obedience, let us resolve not to question the ways of God that surpass our
understanding, rather, let us humbly respond to His earnest invitation to become
His adopted complaint children through the finished work of Christ presented in
the gospel.
Study by: Harriet Bond
Date: December 28, 2010
