The Sovereignty of God
(The scope of God’s Rule)
(Note: In addition to Scripture, I am especially indebted to the writings of 3 Bible teachers [here and there I have even used some of their wording since I could not improve upon it]: Dr. John Piper, teaching pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, a former professor of mine, Dr. Wayne Grudem, now Research and Bible professor at Phoenix Seminary, and the late Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon, formerly of London’s Metropolitan Tabernacle)
I believe…
Behind every sunrise or snowstorm, behind every leopard eating a wildebeest or baby finch that tumbles from its nest and dies, behind every marriage blessed with delight or despair, behind each roll of the dice in Atlantic City, behind every financial windfall or bankruptcy, behind every automobile accident, behind every job hire or firing, behind every cancer in a six year old body, or stroke, or incurable disease, behind every country turning into a Muslim state…, God has determined it, and acted.
Note: These are the convictions of Keystone’s sr. pastor Keith Rohrer. Other Christians at Keystone hold different convictions as do others in the EFCA denomination.
Of all the doctrines of the Bible, none is so offensive to human nature as the doctrine of God’s sovereignty. Bishop J.C. Ryle
God,
from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will,
freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so, as thereby
neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of his
creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but
rather established” (3:1).
“Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first cause,
all things come to pass immutably; yet, by the same providence, he ordereth
them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily,
freely, or contingently” (5:2). Westminster Confession of Faith
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will… Ephesians 1:11
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What is God like?
We can be similar God in many ways: He loves, we love; He is patient, we can be patient. He is wise, we can be wise.
But there are some things that are true of God alone. They aren’t even a little true of us; can’t be.
How is God Sovereign?
What do we mean when we say that God is sovereign? We’re talking about His rule, his administration of the universe He created. When we talk about things happening for a reason, we flirt with the idea of God’s sovereignty. We are saying that even the most unexpected—the most unwanted event, has some purpose if a good God is behind it. Even most irreligious people credit some force with making the world go ‘round, with bringing things to pass.
Most Christians agree that God is sovereign. The Bible says He is nearly 300 times in Genesis and Revelation and 21 other books in between. He rules His universe. He’s in control. But, not all Christians agree how God is sovereign, how God rules. What is the scope of His rule?
On September 11, 2001, a United Airlines 757 plowed into the ground near Shanksville, PA going 580 mph. The impact was so violent that they found the black box 47’ below the surface of the ground. 5500 gallons of jet fuel incinerated everything within reach—including the plane and those on board. Did God ordain and control those events, or did he simply permit them?
· God is Sovereign: He rules over the universe that He created.
· God exercises His Providence: Though the term’s not found in the Bible, we use the word to explain how God carries out the particulars of his ancient plan, His “decrees.”
· God’s Preservation: God’s efforts by which he keeps created beings alive and continuing to posses their respective properties. Take a raccoon: As long as a raccoon lives, God keeps it alive, and makes sure it continues to have fur, black circles around its eyes, whiskers, and to wash its food carefully. In other words, God preserves the existence of all things He created and maintains the properties He originally gave them (rocks stay hard, water stays liquid). This orderliness is why science works. What a scientist observes in numerous roses, she can infer is true of most or all roses. Because a consistent and orderly God rules creation, predictability about His creation is not only possible, but likely. He sustains all that He made and does so in basically predictable ways.
Examples of God’s preserving power:
· Isaiah 46:4: God made you and sustains you
· Hebrews 1:3: Christ upholds the universe by His power
· Colossians 1:17: In Christ, all things hold together
· Acts 17:28: In Him we live and move and have our being.
· 2 Peter 3:7: God will preserve the current heavens and earth for judgment. (In other words, it won’t end until He says so.)
· God’s use of Concurrent forces: These are secondary forces which cooperate with God to carry out what originated in His mind/will; to do what He “ordained.” It may be weather, animals or birds, human beings, angels, even the devil. For example, when it rains, God doesn’t just hurl water from his hands, but uses concurrent forces. To create a shower in May He instructs warm air over Lake Erie to turn lake water into water vapor. The vapor rises which forms clouds containing small drops of water. As the clouds rise higher and higher, the air becomes colder and colder. Once the water vapor in the cloud gets too heavy, it spills onto the earth as rain. Ultimately, God caused the shower but it was through many other secondary (concurrent) forces that it rained just the right amount at just the right place at just the right time.
Is God responsible for everything that happens in His universe?
NonChristian beliefs:
Christian options:
When something happens…
· God causes some things and permits others.
· God ordains all things (some things He causes and carries out, other things He causes and other forces carry out)
Bible Study
What does God rule?
i. In fact, God precisely regulates where it rains and how much. Amos 4:7-8
ii. Lightening. Job 36:32; 37:15
I believe that every particle of dust that dances in the sunbeam does not move an atom more or less than God wishes – that every particle of spray that dashes against the steamboat has its orbit, as well as the sun in the heavens – that the chaff from the hand of the winnower is steered as the stars in their courses. The creeping of an aphid over the rosebud is as much fixed as the march of the devastating pestilence – the fall of . . . leaves from a poplar is as fully ordained as the tumbling of an avalanche. C.H. Spurgeon
(Caution: the Scriptures never accuse God of doing evil, being happy over evil, nor do they ever excuse or justify man for his evil. James 1:13 says God does not tempt to do evil, nor can He be tempted to do evil.)
a. Job’s Plight. Job 1:7-2:7.
i. Satan was the evildoer (but God did more than give permission)
ii. Job believed God’s hand had brought trouble (Job 2:10; later, Job 42:1-2)
iii. The writer (whether Job or another) believed God’s hand brought trouble (Job 42:11)
iv. God seems to suggest He was behind the trouble (Job 40:8, 41:10b-11)
b. The census. The choice was human, divine, and demonic all at once.
i. 2 Samuel 24:1—God prompted him to do it
ii. 1 Chronicles 21:1—Satan prompted him do it
iii. 1 Chronicles 27:24—God punished him for doing it.
c. Paul’s Thorn. 2 Corinthians 12:7
i. Some sort of physical ailment was a messenger from Satan
ii. Yet clearly this was ultimately from the hand of God (“…given me”) for the purpose of keeping Paul from being conceited (not the sort of thing Satan would try to stop)
d. Jesus’ crucifixion.
i. God planned this long ago (Acts 2:23)
ii. God predicted this long ago (Acts 3:18)
iii. God even planned that Judas would betray Christ and be lost (John 17:12)
iv. But evil men carried this out (Acts 4:28)
v. And God held Judas responsible (John 19:11)
· Joseph’s brothers. Evil included jealousy, slave-trafficking (Gen.45:5; 50:20). God’s greater purpose was to prepare food and a place of safety for the expansion of the people of God. When Joseph reassured his brothers after their father’s death, he said, “You intended to “harm me” (ra, feminine singular), but God intended it (the pronoun is feminine singular—declaring that its antecedent is ra) for good.
· Pharaoh. Evil was that Pharaoh’s heart was hard (and that God made it so). Even before the showdown, God had planned to do the hardening Himself (Exodus 4:21; 7:3). And he did (Exodus 8:32; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10). True, sometimes it says pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15, 32, 9:34). But in the vast majority of cases, it’s that God hardened pharaoh’s heart, or that it “became hard” or “was hard” which could again make God the agency. Why’d God harden him? Exodus 9:16 (see also Romans 9:17-18): God’s greater purpose was to display His power and gain great glory. (same objective as in Jn.9:1-3)
· Samson. Evil was that he wanted to marry an ungodly woman (Judges 14:3-4) God’s greater purpose was to confront, put an end to the Philistines’ power over Israel.
· Job. Evil was that his children and their spouses were all killed, and his possessions, health, and respect were all taken from him (Job 1-2). God’s greater purposes were to prove Job’s faithfulness to Satan, and likely to deepen his faith too. James 5:11 indicates that whatever the purpose was, it was compassionate and merciful (i.e., good). You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (Translation is English Standard Version; NIV does not present it adequately)
· David. Evil was that David’s son slept with his father’s wives in public. (2 Samuel 12:11-12 cf. 16:22) God’s greater purpose was to punish David for his sin with Bathsheba and her husband.
· Israel. Evil was that pagan Assyria brutally conquered Israel (Isaiah 10:5-7). God’s greater purpose was to judge pagan Assyria. (True, sent by God to judge Israel, but in the end also judged)
· Jesus. Evil was that Jesus was betrayed by a follower, and tortured terribly. (Colossians 1:19-20) God’s greater purpose was to deliver the human race from its doom.
Conclusion: God ordains all things (Ephesians 1:11) and does so for His glory (Romans 11:36; Isaiah 6:3; 43:7; 48:9-11; 59:19; Ezekiel 39:21) as well as for the good of His people (Romans 8:28). When Satan (or evil men) are in the thick of what God ordains, the difference is that God’s intent is a good one, while Satan’s is an evil one; God seeks to build up, Satan seeks to tear down; God means to construct, Satan means to destroy (John 10:10).
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The Big Questions
If by ‘the author of sin,’ be meant the sinner, the agent, or the actor of sin, or the doer of a wicked thing…, it would be a reproach and blasphemy, to suppose God to be the author of sin. In this sense, I utterly deny God to be the author of sin. Jonathan Edwards
If God is evil, then the Bible doesn’t tell the truth about Him.
· Psalm 34:8: Taste and see that the LORD is good;
· Psalm 100:5: For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
· James 1:13: God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.
· Psalm 111:7: The works of his hands are faithful and just.
· 1 Peter 3:12: …but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil.
Someone has tried to explain the quandary this way: God looks through both a wide-angled and a telescopic lens. Though the telescopic he sees evil actions for what they are and abhors them. But looking at evil through His wide-angled lens, he sees all the events leading to it and flowing from it. He sees how it all contributes to his vast, wise, comprehensive (and good) purposes and in relation to this, decrees it.
God is NOT the author of evil, cannot be tempted to do evil, and doesn’t tempt people to do evil. Nevertheless, in laying out the vast landscape of His creation, He ordained that evil exist. While Satan uses evil for evil purposes, God uses evil—mostly through secondary means and causes—for good purposes such as His own glory, the good of the saints, and the judgment of the wicked.
2.If God already has everything ordained, why pray? Nothing will change anyway.
First, God says we should pray; secondly, He promises that He will answer. In the Bible we can see many, many instances when He did.
1. 2 Chron.7:14. God promised Israel that if she repented of her sins and prayed, he would heal their land.
2. Genesis 8:20-33. In response to Abraham’s prayers, God said, “Yes, I will set aside my plans and spare Sodom if you find at least 10 righteous people there.”
3. Ex.32:9-14; Amos 7:1-9. In Exodus, Moses persuaded God to “change” His mind. In the Amos passage, the prophet did.
4. 2 Kings 20:1-6. After learning God said he was about to die, Hezekiah prayed for more time. God said, “I’ve heard your prayers and will give you 15 more years.
5. Daniel 9:23 After Daniel prayed, an angel arrived saying he was dispatched with an answer as soon as Daniel prayed.
6. Acts 12:5-11. The prayers of the church were answered.
These truths seem to collide with and oppose each other: On the one hand, God ordained all things long ago, yet on the other, God still answers prayers we pray today. But wouldn’t that impossibility seem like something a infinitely powerful God could do?
Zaire missionary, the late Dr. Helen Roseveare told this story about an expectant mother at the mission station. “After she died giving birth to a premature baby, we tried to improvise an incubator to keep the infant alive. But the only hot water bottle we had was beyond repair. So we asked the children to pray for the baby and for her sister. One of the girls responded. ‘Dear God, please send a hot water bottle today. Tomorrow will be too late because by then the baby will be dead. And dear Lord, send a doll for the sister so she won't feel so lonely.’
That afternoon a large package arrived from England. The children watched eagerly as we opened it. Much to their surprise, under some clothing was a hot water bottle! Immediately the girl who had prayed so earnestly started to dig deeper, exclaiming, ‘If God sent that, I'm sure He also sent a doll!’ And she was right! The heavenly Father knew in advance of that child's sincere requests, and 5 months earlier He had led a ladies' group to include both of those specific articles.”
Not so. Hundreds and hundreds of commands in the Bible presume we have the ability to choose: I’ll obey, I’ll disobey. Over and over the Scriptures indicate that people can decide “yes,” can decide “no;” or, decide not to decide at all. Individuals can choose from multiple options.
· 1 Peter 4:3. Pagans choose to do the evil things they do
· Acts 6:33. Church members were asked to select godly men to serve as deacons
· Hosea 8:4. Israel set up king without God’s consent, set up princes without His approval.
· Proverbs 3:31. A person can decide to mimic, or reject the ways of a violent man.
· 1 Chronicles 1:9-12. God gave David a choice between 3 options.
Again, we are stuck with two seemingly contradictory truths: God decides, and so do we. But wouldn’t such a reality seem like something an infinitely powerful God could design; would design? On the one hand, God has determined all things beforehand, on the other, we have an authentic, a genuine will with which we can make bona fide choices. It’s just that our wills are not utterly “free,” the adjective we prefer. Only God is utterly free, unfettered by any other. The wills of animals, humans, angels (good or bad), Satan—of all creatures, are ultimately subject to God.
What is fate? Fate is this: Whatever is, must be. But there is a difference between that and Providence. Providence says, Whatever God ordains, must be; but the wisdom of God never ordains anything without a purpose. Everything in this world is working for some great end. Fate does not say that. . . . There is all the difference between fate and Providence that there is between a man with good eyes and a blind man. C.H. Spurgeon
Again, the testimony of Scripture is that God does/will hold everyone accountable.
Probably the greatest danger of an incomplete view of God’s sovereignty, is a kind of fatalism that says, “What’s going to be, will be; since I cannot change my destiny or make choices, I’m not to blame.” This one-sided conclusion ignores the biblical testimony of human responsibility and the biblical testimony that God provides us with grace to be co-creators with Him in the great drama of life.
No. Nor would we want him to be. If He was fair, He would be required to give each one of us the one and only thing that we so richly deserve: hell (Romans 5:12, 16). Mercy and grace are not tools administered in fairness, but in compassion.
· Romans 9:18-21: Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
i. It energizes/enhances worship as God grows in our sight; we stand flabbergasted at the enormity of God’s hands-on involvement with us and His created world.
ii. It shatters any pride we might have about our accomplishments.
iii. It weans us off of self-reliance.
iv. It reduces fear & anxiety about the future.
v. Since there are no such things as accidents, it eliminates the need to do “what if” thinking in the wake of tragedies.
vi. It reassures us that there is a purpose to all the waters we pass through, whether deep and wild ones, or those shallow and pleasant.
vii. It assures us that whatever is God’s plan for us, He will supply supernatural power to carry it through.
viii. It eliminates the worry that we could—or did—screw things up.
ix. It gives us more hope that when we share the gospel, people might respond!
x. It makes us more confident we are saved.
On October 4, 1980, a young nursing student was murdered in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. After the police began investigating, student Steve Linscott who was studying at Emmaus Bible College, went to police with details about the crime he’d seen in a dream the night of the murder. Police eventually arrested him believing his description was actually that of the murderer’s. Found guilty by a jury, he was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He served 12 years before being proven innocent and released. In the book Maximum Security [Crossway books, 1994], he wrote this:
I have come to realize that we cannot judge God’s purposes, nor where He places us, nor why He chooses one path for our lives as opposed to another. The Bible itself is replete with accounts of divine action (or inaction) that does not seem fair, that does not make sense except when viewed in light of God’s perfect plan. Thousands of Egyptian children were massacred while a baby named Moses was spared. Jacob was a liar and a thief, and yet it was he, not his faithful brother Esau, who received the blessing of their father Isaac and of God. On one level it makes no sense that God would allow His Son to die for the sins of Humankind. But God has a plan—a perfect plan.