God’s Sovereignty
There are many examples of God having planned everything from the beginning. While it is hard for us to get our minds around that, God helped us by revealing Himself to us through His creation: Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they (those who reject God) are without excuse.” That is why the lie of evolution is so important to demonic activity. Unfortunately many elements of evolution have crept in to Christian thinking – which serves to dilute our understanding of the power of God.
Centuries before Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, God told Abraham “know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.” (Genesis 15:13). At the beginning of Israel’s (430 year) captivity, Joseph said to his brothers after they had thrown him into a pit, and then sold him into slavery: “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result”. God didn’t “respond” to the brother’s evil deed and convert it into a good act. Scripture declares that it was part of His plan from the beginning of the world.
God sent Satan to Job: “The Lord said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job?… then the Lord said to Satan, ‘Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your had on him.” (Job 1:8,12) God instigated the conversation with Satan – then sent Satan to do what he did – and put specific limits on what he could do. Praise God for the story of Job! We learn so much about Him through that book. In addition to a better understanding that the Law of the Harvest (what you sow, so shall you reap) can happen in the temporal or the eternal, we learn much about God’s sovereignty. Yet, our sense of “fairness” (human perspective) would have us telling God that it was wrong to do what He did – just so we could learn from Job’s pain today.
Paul said in Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” Amen! Paul repeated the idea in his first letter to Corinth: “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11) “Happened to them as an example” implies intentionality – God intended “these things” to happen to them so that we could learn from it.
Even non-believers are familiar with the Biblical plagues of Egypt. In Romans 9:17 Paul declared:”For the scripture says to Pharaoh, ‘For this very purpose I raised you up, to demonstrate my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.” The purpose of the story of the Exodus and God’s miracles was intended by God to reveal to coming generations Who He Is. God’s decree stands even today – He proclaimed His name (which includes His sovereign power) throughout the whole earth with that story – and He used an evil king to do it. It is amazing how Exodus describes God hardening Pharaoh’s heart – and then holds him accountable for it! His thoughts are clearly not our natural thoughts.
Here are more examples of God’s Sovereignty:
2 Kings 19:25,27,28 “Have you not heard? Long ago I did it. From ancient times I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass… but I know your sitting down, and your going out and your coming in, and your raging against Me… Therefore I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips…”
Psalm 139:16 (the anti-abortion Psalm): “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance, and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
Proverbs 16:4 “The LORD has made everything for its own purpose, even the wicked for the day of evil.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11, 14 “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”
Isaiah 14:24,26,27 “The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, “Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand, to break Assyria in My land, and I will trample him on My mountains. Then his yoke will be removed from them and his burden removed from their shoulder. This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations. For the LORD of hosts has planned, and who can frustrate it? And as for His stretched-out hand, who can turn it back.”
Isaiah 45:7 “The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord Who does all these.”
Isaiah 46:9-11 “…I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure…truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.”
Matthew 4:1 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” It was the Holy Spirit of God Who led Jesus into the temptation.
Matthew 10:29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father, but even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Acts 2:23 “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death”
Acts 4:27,28 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”
Ephesians 1:4 “For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world.”
Revelation 17:17 “For God has put it in their hearts to execute His purpose by having a common purpose, and by giving their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled.”
Even the Westminster Confession of Faith states: “God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass“. Ordain is not synonymous with “allow”.
It is true that some scripture can make it appear that God reacts to events. “When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning their calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them and He did not do it.” (Jonah 3:10) However, when you consider not only God’s sovereignty but also His omniscience (all knowing), one conclusion from narratives of this type, is that it was written for human consumption and from a human perspective – it appears that God reacts to events – when in fact, it was included in His plan from the beginning. Either way, like the co existence of God’s Sovereignty and Man’s Responsibility, scripture’s depiction of God “reacting” to anything remains a mystery to us and should never dilute our understanding of His Sovereignty.
There is a lot of talk about where the Covid-19 virus came from. Whether it was intentional, an accident, or a convenient accident that others have politicized. The words for virus in the Bible are pestilence and plague. They appear over 100 times in scripture. Almost every time scripture says God sent the plague or the pestilence: “I will send a pestilence among you, so that you shall be delivered into enemy hands.” (Leviticus 26:25) A few times it says God saves us from it: “For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence.” (Psalm 91:3) “For you have made the Lord my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent.” (Psalm 91:9,10).
Yes, mankind is committing evil throughout the world, and no doubt demonic activity is behind it, but the story of Job teaches that nothing happens outside of the control of God, and everything happens according to His plan. This is why Jesus says He gives us a different peace than the world gives. Worldly peace is circumstantial. In Matthew 6:34 Jesus said “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” In John 14:27 Jesus said “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
The amount of your peace is directly proportional to your Biblical knowledge of God. Two attributes of God that give us the most peace possible are His Sovereignty and His perfect Love for us (John 3:16). If you are not a believer, you have no peace. You put your hope in things that will fail – or you have no hope. If you are a newer believer or not very spiritually mature, your level of peace may not be that much greater than a non believer. This has nothing to do with your salvation – just whether you are at peace in these very troubling times. Jesus wants us to be at peace even though “each day has enough trouble of its own.” The peace He is referring to doesn’t come from just “believing in Him” – it comes from knowing Him. And you can only do that with disciplined intentionality.
One of the greatest witnesses to our faith we can have is when others see we are not “stressing out” about “what’s going on”. Everyone wants peace. Many mature believers are mentioning how others are asking why they aren’t “freaking out like everyone else!” Others will notice if you are truly at peace – which becomes a tremendous witness opportunity.
Understanding God’s sovereignty is key to our peace and how we respond to events in this life. However, once we put God’s sovereignty on the table, the discussion is not complete without addressing Man’s Responsibility. Not fully understanding God’s Sovereignty will lead to worry, stress, anxiety, fear, and maybe even depression – while on this planet. However, not fully understanding Man’s Responsibility will result in lack of understanding what makes man any different from the animals. Without that understanding we lack meaningful Purpose, we won’t live our life in service to our King, our stewardship will be diminished, and we will loose out on the opportunity to store treasure in heaven as Jesus commanded us to do.
Part Three Addresses Man’s Responsibility (Free Will) In View Of God’s Sovereignty
Kim Fettig
God Bless!
Stay in the Spiritual Gym!
Yea, He has chosen us for His glory not ours. Do they see Christ in us or just us. Teemed good or bad is still just our flesh. “no glory in that”