Tag Archives: Sovereignty

On the Sovereignty of God

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Oh how I wish I could have come across even a hint of A.W. Pink’s understanding of the Sovereignty of God while reading ordination exams this year.  Instead, if the paper even mentioned sovereignty (and the question was on the relationship of Christian worship to the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God), it was usually some mealy-mouthed, namby-pamby, milquetoast notion of a “great and powerful oz” – I mean, God.

The Sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Dan. 4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psa. 115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psa. 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Tim. 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.

How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the creation of maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence. To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellowmen are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity; is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion.

The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite. When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to govern the universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i. e., that He may mold that clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour. We affirm that He is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to any.

About God

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Continuing my posts on a Statement of Faith, I now turn to a brief statement on what I believe about God:

I believe in the one true God, who is the author, creator, and source of all life, goodness and blessing. 

God is one, yet exists and has revealed Himself as three distinct persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  There are numerous ways to describe this Triune nature of God (a three-leaf clover, a triple-helix, a triangle, etc), but no one example is complete.  The fact is, the One and Three nature of God is a mystery, but it is Biblical (see Matt. 3:13-17, 2 Cor. 13:14, 1 Cor 12:4-6; Matt. 28:19-20, Eph 4:4-6; John 14:26, and more).

God, who exists outside of space and time, stepped into space and time, cre­ating everything that is for His own purposes, to demonstrate His own glory, power, wisdom and goodness.  God continues to provide for and sustain His creation.  As the sovereign over all of creation, there is nothing that is beyond God’s control, nothing that is beyond His power to redeem, and no one that is beyond God’s saving reach.  God has a plan for all things (Eph 1:10), and His sovereign will cannot be thwarted.

God is a God of love. In grace God chooses to show love and mercy. When we were dead in trespasses and sin, God made us alive with Christ, saving us by grace through faith, as a sheer gift of sovereign love.  However, God’s gracious loving kindness did not compromise His justice.  God remains perfectly just and holy in the salvation of sinners by placing the judgment and wrath for our sins upon His sinless Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.  Proving His love for us, He sent Christ to die for us, so that by His grace, we may live righteous and holy lives in the power of His Holy Spirit.

God, and God alone, is worthy of worship.  Worship is what God deserves, simply because of who God is.  Worship is our rightful and joyful response to God’s love.  Indeed, our purpose in life is to “glorify God and enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Shorter Catechism, Q. 1).  Worship is not merely something that we do when we gather as a congregation on a Sunday morning, it is a way of life that proclaims the gospel, celebrates the goodness and majesty of God, and submits to His righteous and gracious lordship over all of creation, and over every aspect of our individual and corporate lives.