“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.” Psalm 115:3
The Sovereignty of God is an important attribute when we consider who God is and what He is like. Sovereign is defined by Merriam-Webster as “one that exercises supreme authority within a limited sphere.”1 This does not quite describe God’s sovereignty. God’s sovereignty is supreme authority over all that exists. God is in complete control. He is “…God the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords…” 1 Tim 6:15-16. God is ether completely sovereign or not God at all. There cannot be something He does not rule, or He would cease to be omnipotent. There cannot be something God does not know or He would not be omniscient. Every atom, every quark, every perpetual motion particle (or whatever they find tomorrow that’s smaller), every little thing is under God’s control. Find this hard to believe? So do I, but it is, nevertheless the truth. “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” Col
OK so by now, if you are like me, you are asking the question, “What about…?” The answer is “Yes” He is in control of that too. A. W. Tozer points out in his book Knowledge of the Holy some of the stumbling blocks we trip over trying to understand the sovereignty of God. What about free-will? What about evil, death, and pain in the world? God has, in His infinite sovereignty, holiness, wisdom, and goodness, allowed man to have a free-will.2 When man exercises his free-will, for good or bad, he reinforces the will of God that man should have free-will. However, this free-will must necessarily create the opportunity for evil to exist. Man must be able to choose good or evil if he is to be a morally free agent. Now, man not being perfect, as God is, will eventually make an evil choice. This is what we call sin. Sin has corrupted the world and all that is in it – except God Himself who cannot be less than perfect or ceases to be God at that point. So we live as fallen people in a fallen world, but God, who knew the consequences of free-will (the death of His Son as a substitute for our lives as a sacrifice for our sin), went ahead and created the world anyway. Imagine how it must bless Him when we choose to do good and live for Him! He has chosen to make His dwelling inside of us to help our frail wills to be able to choose good. Tozer points out only a sovereign God in complete control would allow His subjects free-will.3 Were He not sovereign, He would be afraid to do so. One day, He has promised to end all evil, death and pain. Only a sovereign God in complete control could allow evil for a time and then fully expunge it. If He were not sovereign, evil would become out of His control and He could not put an end to it. So man has free-will and God is sovereign. Evil exists and God is sovereign.
When we contemplate God we must we willing to accept two things which look contradictory can exist in perfect harmony where He is involved. He is merciful and righteous. He dispenses blessing and wrath. He is three in one. He has compassion and righteously judges perfectly. He is sovereign and has given man free will. He is sovereign and evil does exist for a time. One day He will roll back the sky like a scroll and reveal He is whom He claims to be, but woe to those who have not believed until that moment-they may never get the chance to accept Him as Savior.
Nothing is forced on God. He is never “put between a rock and a hard place.” He has limitless power to solve problems. He has limitless knowledge to apply to problems. He has no problems. Satan and God are not equal and opposite powers. Satan is a created, limited being who is not omnipresent, omniscient, or omnipotent. These qualities belong to God alone. Indeed, they by definition could only belong to one being. So here we find tremendous relief and ultimate confidence in our walk with Him. God is sovereign. All things are under His control and He will set all things straight in the end. He is not governed by our time frames, nor is His required to end our pain or suffering on our schedule. We should always pray in faith for God to heal, yet we must remember He is sovereign and our prayers do not govern Him. Be certain, He cares. He has provided the ultimate remedy, evil and pain and suffering and death will cease to exist at some point. We must wait patently and look for His return and accept what He gives whenever He gives it. However, His sovereignty does not negate our need for faith, nor our pursuit of Him. He is faithful to His promises and a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. He cannot lie and, therefore, all is promises are true. God is a person of complete fidelity and integrity. He can be unconditionally trusted. The sovereignty of God does not scare us because we understand His nature. He loves. He is good. He is faithful. “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom….The lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made….The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made….The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Ps 145:3, 8, 9, 13,18.
For more illumination on the sovereignty of God, look up the following scriptures: Gen 18:14, Ps 115:3, Ps 135:6, Jer 32:27, Dan 4:35, Matt 19:26, Luke 1:37.
Oh, Lord God Almighty, Sovereign Potentate, ruler of all that is, we humbly bow in Your Presence which dwells right inside us. Help our feeble minds to comprehend more of you. Help our souls to dwell in the awareness of Your awesome presence and power. Help our spirits to commune with Your Holy Spirit living in us. Help our bodies to display the actions which represent You. We subscribe all power to You, and we thank You for giving us free-will. Help us use it to glorify You, for you alone are worthy of all our affections and actions. You alone are the best thoughts we could think. You alone show us the best way to live. Let our heart, soul, mind, strength and spirit be ever focused on and captivated by You, the Only Great and Mighty One! Amen!
Footnotes
1 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sovereign
2 Tozer, A. W. The Knowledge of the Holy: the Attributes of God, Their Meaning in the Christian Life. New York: Harper & Row, 1961. 108-113. Print.
3 Tozer. 111.
Resources:
All Scriptures not specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.
Duffield, Guy P., and Nathaniel M. Cleave. Foundations of Pentecostal Theology. Los Angeles, Calif.: L.I.F.E. Bible College, 1983. Print.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/9170/SPROUL10.HTM
