Proverbs: The Sovereignty of God [Proverbs 16:1-15]

Proverbs: The Sovereignty of God []

The next few weeks we’ll be looking at some of the more difficult proverbs to understand and hopefully we can unlock some misunderstanding. Today we’re going to jump right into the deep end of the pool and look into the Sovereignty of God…no small subject, but maybe you’ll come away with a better understanding of God’s sovereignty.

Stand for the reading of the word of God. []

Sometimes the Word of God is difficult to swallow. The bible is clear that God is supremely sovereign and in control of all things [Latin: sove=all; reign=rule]. God knows everything before it happens. God declares the end from the beginning []. Nothing surprises God. But God’s sovereignty means more than that. God does whatever he wants []. Whatever God wants to happen is what will happen. These things are not difficult to understand, by they can be really difficult to accept. They can be a real challenge to our faith.

The concept of God’s sovereignty makes us uncomfortable because “I’ve got free will, and God can’t infringe on my choices, otherwise it’s not free will.” Right? Well, yes, you do have free will, and no, you really don’t. Let me explain. There is no such thing as absolute free will. There are two biblical reasons we understand our free will is not absolute, that we cannot do anything we want to do.

First, your will is constrained by your nature. You can only make choices in accordance with your nature. Let me give you an example, I am free to dunk a basketball, but I cannot because I lack the ability to do so in my nature [I want to believe me, but it ain’t going to happen]. Likewise you and I are sinners by nature, and we cannot chose not to sin. It’s inevitable that you will sin, regardless of how much you might not want to sin. While we do have the natural ability to make certain choices, our sin nature constricts us morally from actually doing it. Paul addressed that in Romans, the good I want to do I often don’t do it because of sin.

Second, the bible teaches that God can and does override human free will when he so desires. says, A king’s heart is like channeled water in the Lord’s hand: he directs it wherever he chooses.” God looks at a human king and says, I can turn you whichever direction I want you to turn. An excellent example is found in when Abraham goes to Gerar, where king Abimelech reigns.

As Abraham was prone to do, he lied about his wife Sarah and said she was his sister. He was fearful that the men in that region would try to kill him and take his beautiful Sarah as their wife. King Abimelech likes what he sees, and so he takes Sarah to be part of his harem of wives.

But God comes to Abimelech in a dream and says he is a dead man because he is about to commit adultery with another man’s wife. Abimelech objects that he did not know that. And God says: “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. I have also kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I have not let you touch her.” []. Abimelech certainly wanted to touch her, but God would not allow him. God can override the will of a human king, and he certainly can do that with us. God can prevent you from doing certain things. He can keep you from sinning.

God is supremely sovereign: he ordains everything that happens, without being the author of evil []. Everything that happens in the world or in our life, he either causes it or permits it. While this concept makes many uncomfortable, it is actually really, really good news. Here’s why, God’s sovereignty means that he can use evil acts to accomplish his good purposes. God can even turn the suffering in our lives into something really good for his glory and our good. []

For example, Joseph was cruelly mistreated by his brothers and sold into slavery, but God used all of that suffering to save the people of Egypt and the members of Jacob’s family. So Joseph told his brothers, “you planned evil against me; God planned if for good to bring about the present result-the survival of many people.” []. Because God is sovereign he can take rebellious acts meant for evil and use them to bring about his good plan. Nothing will thwart or frustrate or prevent his will and plan for the world or for our life as a Christian []. Therefore, the miseries in our lives are never the final word because we serve a sovereign God. This is the greatest news in the world. Solomon lays this out clearly for us in .

God is in complete control []

is one of those rare texts in the proverbs proper [ch. 10-31] that is in a unit, where Solomon is making a sustained argument, rather than random collection of verses. The passage is a unified whole because thematically it speaks of God’s sovereignty, man’s responsibility, and God’s sovereign rule on earth through the Messiah, who is symbolized here by a ‘king’. Key words in this unit link together the truth that God exercises his sovereign rule on earth through the Messiah.

God is sovereign over every aspect of our lives, including our free actions and choices. He is sovereign over the areas we think we control. says, “the reflections or plans of the heart belong to man, but the answers of the tongue is from the Lord.” That means, we make plans, but God’s will is what determines if they succeed, not our ingenuity. Yes, we are responsible to plan and make wise decisions, but God is the final determiner of whether they succeed of fail. Verse 3 says this reality should cause humble dependence on him: ‘commit our activities to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

God’s sovereignty is meant to diminish our pride, so the right response is to lean on him. These verses do not discourage planning or decision-making at all, but they do make us humbly aware of God’s role in the final outcome. The result belongs to God, not to you. So we don’t say, “look what I did” rather we say, “look what God did.” God is the one who oversees all of this.

Verse 2 says that God’s sovereignty extends to judgment; “all a person’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs motives.” God is the sovereign judge because he judges rightly. He judges motives, not just actions. We all think we are right. As sinful human beings, we have a tendency to deceive ourselves about our own goodness. If judgment belonged to us, we would certainly find ourselves innocent. That is because we judge ourselves against our own standard and because we typically want to see the good in ourselves.

We are typically much harsher judges of other people than we are of ourselves. We are also masters of justifying and rationalizing our sin so that we are at peace with it. We say, “I know I shouldn’t have lost my temper, but what they did to me was really awful.” Or, “I know I have trouble controlling my tongue, but there’s this guy at work who swears like a sailor. At least I’m better than him.” i.e. we measure ourselves against our own, wrong standard that is far beneath God’s standard. That is a big problem for us because God judges us against his righteous standard.

He even knows the secrets of our hearts []. We might put on masks with other people and fool them, but nothing is hidden from him, not even our motives and thoughts. He even knows the times that you do a good thing but do it for your own selfish gain. That is a scary thought. Our response should be to commit our work to him, Submit to God in all things.

Now let’s be clear. We are not to be determinists. We are not fatalists. That is a pagan concept. We make real choices. We are free and responsible to make wise decisions. Divine sovereignty and human responsibility go together and somehow work together. The bible says to embrace both of them.

There are two wrong assumptions that people often make. First, we think for us to be truly free, God cannot be completely sovereign. Second, we conclude for God to be truly sovereign, we have to be robots. Both of those assumptions are dead wrong. The bible teaches both that God is in complete control and that we make real choices that really matter and for which we are really accountable for.

First, we think for us to be truly free, God cannot be completely sovereign. Second, we conclude for God to be truly sovereign, we have to be robots. Both of those assumptions are dead wrong. The bible teaches both that God is in complete control and that we make real choices that really matter and for which we are really accountable for.

There are two wrong assumptions that people often make.

These verses mean you should not go about doing your work and making your own plans and then pray and ask God to make them successful. Rather, you pray beforehand and allow God’s word to be the supreme guide as you make your plans. Then work hard at your work, submitting all of it to the Lord. Don’t be paralyzed by fear forever. Pray. Act. Plan. Work. Trust. Depend. Submit.

Recognize that even if your plans do not work out as you had hoped, God can use what happened for a deeper, better plan in your life that you may not see. Live in peace, recognizing that God is in control and you can sleep at night. We really misunderstand the bible if the doctrine of God’s sovereignty makes us scared and uncomfortable. It’s not meant to scare us… It’s meant to be a soft pillow at night to lay your head upon. God’s got this! You are not in control of your life, so stop fretting like you are! Remember what we used to sing as children? “He’s got the whole world in his hands.” That’s good theology right there.

God will Sovereignly judge evil []

is one of those verses that often rubs us the wrong way. It reads “The Lord has prepared everything for his purpose-even the wicked for the day of disaster.” God brings everything to his desired end and goal, even the wicked for judgment. There are two possible ways to interpret the last line of the verse.

Either it means that God has created the wicked for destruction or that even the punishment of the wicked is part of his plan. Whichever option you take, the bible is clear that God is not the author of evil. It seems to best fit the flow of the passage if we interpret this verse as meaning that God uses human rebellion for his good purposes.

Again, this truth is good news because it means that nothing escapes God, including wickedness. There is no exception. Even though it may look like the wicked are getting away with it, verse 5 assures us that the prideful who do not submit to God will not go unpunished. They will not escape judgement. It is certain that there will be an ultimate reckoning and final accountability. The wicked will not get away with it in the end, even if they do now.

The text is not concerned with the how or the when, only with the certainty of it. That is both frightening, since we are sinners, and comforting, since all of us have thought from time to time, “Why doesn’t God do something about all the evil and injustice in the world?” Friends, Don’t worry… He will! The Bible tells me so.

These verses also teach us that people’s wickedness doesn’t frustrate God’s plan…the good news is, God actually uses their evil to accomplish his plan. No one can stop God’s plan from coming to fruition. God can even use the wickedness of evil men crucifying the Son of God to sovereignly accomplish his purpose of saving the entire world.

God’s sovereignty is good news because it means that evil and suffering won’t last forever. Evil and suffering won’t win in the end; God does. If you ever find yourself uncomfortable or questioning the notion of God’s supreme sovereignty, ask yourself this question… “do I really want to live in a world where God is not supreme and in control?” If God is not in complete control, how can we be sure that what says about a day with no more tears will actually come about? If he is not sovereign and in complete control, we cannot be certain that he will conquer evil and stop suffering. Without the sovereignty of God, there is no way to say that there will be no more tears, sickness, pain, sorrow, or death for certain…but we can say that because God is in dead Sovereign and will judge evil.

God Sovereignly saves and rewards sinners who submit to Him []

God must pour out his wrath upon sin because he is holy, but he also makes atonement for sin. All evil breaks his heart and must be judged, but he graciously judges human sin at the cross so we can escape hell. says, “iniquity is atoned for by loyalty and faithfulness, and one turns from evil by the fear of the Lord.”

All sin is evil and an affront to God, but God graciously turns his wrath away from our sin by the blood of a substitute in our place. In the OT, atonement was made by the blood of an animal, but all the animal blood of the old covenant points to the final sacrifice of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. indicates that atonement reveals God’s covenant love-his loyalty and faithfulness-toward us.

We know atonement leads us to being made more like Jesus because the end of verse 6, after atonement has been made, references the fear of the Lord and turning away from evil. After you are saved by the atonement, you are then made wise and holy through fear of the Lord-dependence upon him therefore turning away from evil, it’s a sanctification reference.

Verse 7 says that salvation includes the defeat of your enemies. In the new covenant our enemies are not flesh and blood but rather sin, Satan, and death. Jesus has defeated them all in his life, death, and resurrection, and we get to share in that! God’s sovereignty is good news because it means that he saves us from our sin, makes us wise, and defeats our enemies.

The cross of Christ clearly reveals the supreme sovereignty of God. The cross is the ultimate example of God using evil to accomplish his good plan. , states, “though Jesus was delivered up according to God’s determined plan and foreknowledge, He used lawless people to nail Jesus to a cross and kill him.” The cross was God’s plan, but lawless people hung Jesus there because they wanted him dead. holds both man’s responsibility and God’s sovereign plan together.

God predestined the cross, but men freely and wickedly chose to kill Jesus. These work together. Pontius Pilate, Herod, the Jews, and the Romans were not kicking and screaming with their hands tied behind their backs saying, “we don’t want Jesus to die, but we were forced to do this.” God used the wicked choices of man to bring about his glorious sovereign plan which is for our good.

This is good news because God’s sovereignty means that the suffering and chaos in your life is not meaningless or ultimate. You may not see how in the world what is happening to you could ever be used for good, and you may never understand until eternity. But you can trust God did not remain distant from your suffering-but rather entered into your world, suffered even beyond what you are suffering, and died in your place-he has a good reason and a plan for why he is allowing all these things to happen in your life. One day, he will do away with all evil and suffering forever! Evil can succeed temporarily and the righteous can suffer, but in the end God turns the tables forever.

God Sovereignly rules the world through the Messiah []

Verses 10-15 gives us the picture of the ideal messianic king who rules on earth. It’s used to illustrate the Messiah’s reign mirrors the sovereign reign of God.

In the OT, God’s sovereignty is mediated to the people through a human king. Notice the description of God’s rule through Messiah in these verses. [bulletins]

The lips of the king are fair [v.10] Jesus is the judge who judges rightly, he doesn’t do anything that is unjust, but is always fair, upholding and executing justice.

The king is honest [v.11] This is an example of God justice mediated through the king. With human kings and rulers there is always the fear of them being dishonest and unjust in their judgment and actions…not with king Jesus who oversees the kingdom honestly. The church should model this attribute as well, fairness, equity, and righteousness to the world should be modeled by the body of Christ. i.e. be honest in your dealings with people.

Wickedness is detestable to the king [v.12] because king Jesus is fair and upholds justice, wickedness is detestable to the king. It is detestable because His kingdom reigns in righteousness and justice…wickedness has no place in the kingdom of God.

To speak what’s right delights the king [v.13] because wickedness has no place in the kingdom, to speak what is right is the kings delight. This encapsulates all the activities of the kingdom: work, actions, and speech. The king is to govern over all these things…i.e. the Messiah’s sovereign over ever area of our lives....Jesus is Lord over our work, our actions, and our speech.

The king’s wrath is death [v.14]

The king’s face is life [v.15] The Messiah, Jesus is both judge and punisher, as well as savior and friend. Life and death are in His hands. Jesus is both Judge and Savior…our response to him is to bow the knee before him.

Conclusion: Why bow to Jesus? Because God’s sovereign plan for the world is centered on Him. God’s sovereign plan is to exalt the Son and through him redeem people from every people group on earth to Himself. God’s plan will not be stopped, so why would we stand against it? rather, embrace it. It’s foolish to attempt to live outside the sovereignty of God. Submit to the King!

Anyone who repents of sin and believes in Jesus will be saved and be part of God’s sovereign plan for the world. For some of us this may be scary, or some have a hard time agreeing with it, But we should believe and find great comfort by this great news. God saves sinners completely.

We sang about his earlier in our song ‘In Christ alone’, “From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand!” If that is not the greatest news you’ve ever heard I don’t know what is… submit to the Sovereign king Jesus.