sovereignty of God
Cana Class
Conclusion
No discussion of the attributes of God can be complete without reference to the “Godhood of God” which is His divine sovereignty over all things. It is only by His sovereignty over all things that we know that our God is GOD!
Reformed theology stresses the sovereignty of God in virtue of which He has sovereignly determined from all eternity whatsoever will come to pass, and works His sovereign will in His entire creation, both natural and spiritual, according to His pre-determined plan. It is in full agreement with Paul when he says that God “worketh all things after the counsel of His will,” Eph. 1:11. For that reason it is but natural that, in passing from the discussion of the Being of God to that of the works of God, it should begin with a study of the divine decrees.
I. GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IS AN ATTRIBUTE OF GOD
A. It is not just an attribute but the chief attribute of God. A. W. Pink, following the Puritans, called God’s sovereignty “The Godhood of God” because it is God’s sovereignty that makes all the attributes of God work together to accomplish God’s will.
B. This means that we cannot strip God of His sovereignty without destroying His deity.
C. God’s sovereignty amplifies and magnifies all the other attributes of God.
ex. God’s love becomes God’s sovereign love. (Jer. 31:3 K.J.V.)
God’s grace becomes God’s sovereign grace. (Eph. 2:8–9)
Note: What hope of salvation would we have if God were not sovereign?
Note: What assurance would we have that the good will ultimately triumph over the evil? that history is His-story? that it will reach its climax as predicted in Scripture? if God be not sovereign?
II. THE BASIS OF THE DOCTRINE OF DIVINE SOVEREIGNTY
A. Biblical Basis
1. General Statements of Scripture
O.T.
N.T.
a. Gen. 1:1
f. Rom. 8:28
b. Job 42:2
g. Rom. 11:33–36
c. Psa. 103:19
h. Eph. 1:11
d. Psa. 115:2–8
i. Acts 17:24–28
e. Dan. 4:34–35
j. Rev. 4:11
2. Specific Scriptures
a. 1 Chron. 29:10–13
b. 1 Sam. 1:6, 10; 2:1–10
c. Pro. 16:33
d. Col. 1:16, 17
e. James 4:13–15
3. The Names of God reveal that He is sovereign:
Lord (Adonai): Sovereign Upholder of the universe
Most High: Ruler over all things
Ruler Over All: Blessed Controller
King of Kings: Nations in His control
Lord of Lords: Rulers in His control
B. Historical Basis
The sovereignty of God is what the Christian faith has believed for nearly 2,000 years. Modern denials of God’s sovereignty reduce God to a finite god who sits with man in the back seat of a driverless car rushing to possible oblivion in a chance-based universe where nothing is secure! And they expect us to worship such a divine wimp? No way!
God’s sovereignty was one of the dominant principles of John Calvin’s life as well as of his biblical exposition and theology. It permeated all that he did and thought.
What did Calvin mean by God’s sovereignty? The word sovereignty means “rule”; hence, God’s sovereignty means that God rules. God’s sovereignty implies His supremacy, His kingship, and His deity. His sovereignty declares Him to be God, the incomprehensible Trinity who is nevertheless knowable insofar as He chooses to reveal Himself
For Calvin, God’s sovereignty is the heart of biblical doctrine, provided we understand that this sovereignty is not arbitrary and capricious
God’s sovereignty means that Scripture must be recognized as God’s inspired Book which must be interpreted faithfully at all times. God’s sovereignty means that His standards must prevail rather than man’s desired or devised code of ethics. Our only hope is in God’s sovereignty, for sinful creatures cannot exercise any faith in God without the aid of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God opens our eyes to the sovereign remedy of salvation that God has provided in His God-man Son, Jesus Christ, and His substitutionary work of atonement on behalf of sinners. The entire order of salvation, as well as the predestination behind that salvation, is rooted in God’s sovereignty.
viewing providence as “God’s governance extended to all his works,”
Is God sovereign over evil things that sometimes happen to me?
Calvin says texts such as Isaiah 45:7 make it plain that God is sovereign over all evil: “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.” Let’s reverse this question for a moment: What comfort would you have if God were not sovereign over your trials? Would Job have been comforted by believing that the suffering he underwent was beyond God’s control? Denying God’s sovereignty over our sufferings makes God impotent and robs us of the comfort that our heavenly Father knows how to discipline us far better than our earthly fathers, for His own glory and our profit, as Hebrews 12:5–11 affirms.