The sovereignty of God is defined as God’s control and supremacy over everything. He does whatever He pleases and no man can hinder His decrees (Job 23:13). He frustrates the wisdom of the wise and scoffs at the plans of the skilled (1 Corinthians 1:19). There are many devices in man’s heart but God’s counsel alone shall stand (Proverbs 19:21). No one can question God or enslave Him (Isaiah 45:11). He is the unrivalled Creator God and He does everything He pleases (Psalm 135:6) in accordance to His own good counsel (Ephesians 1:11). He grants mercy to those who do not deserve it, and bestows faith on the faithless. Hence, the fearsome declaration on Romans 9:15: “I will have mercy to those whom I will and have compassion to those whom I choose”. Ah, how it makes a mere creation reverently tremble with the knowledge that we are under His mercy! But how equally comforting is it also to know that God is omnipotent and in control!
God is sovereign over times, seasons and events. It was He who caused the sun to stop at the time of Joshua. It was also the Lord who caused time to run 10 paces backwards as a sign to King Hezekiah. It was He who turned the worst act of men, the crucifixion, to the greatest act for men, our salvation. It was He who used the afflictions of Job for his own benefit. He turns suffering into joy and turns the tide of battle wherever He pleases. By the stroke of His hand, a kingdom falls. But by the same hand, He raises a nation in a day! How fearsome, mighty and glorious is this Lord!
God is also sovereign over all creation. Every inanimate entity is under His command. Rain pours when He wills it. Sun shines wherever He pleases. Every living organism in this planet is known to God and sustained by Him. Not a single sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing (Matthew 10:29). He created the fiercest animals. It was He who made the Ostrich foolish with her young but wise in sport (Job 39: 13-18). God feeds the cubs of lions and directs the eagle to its prey.
With a word, God created the universe. With single utterance, light came to existence. He sustains all life and in Him do all things hold together (Col 1:17). It was He who designed some plants to bear many a beautiful flower; while some to bear not a single one. It was He who ordained that some trees were to die after a few years and some to last for all time. He does all these things for His own sovereign pleasure. Ah, shall anyone question Him or His right to do so?
All men alike are subject to Him. He grants mercy to the wicked as He pleases and none shall question that. He withholds His justice and chooses to be patient even with the most despicable men! It is He who transformed the Gospel persecutor Saul into the Gospel preacher Paul. He sways kings and turns them wherever He pleases (Proverbs 21:1).
The enemy, himself, can only do what God allows. We find out in the book of Job that none can be touched by Satan without God’s permission. It was He who allowed the devil to test Job. It was God who allowed an evil spirit to act treacherously against Abimelech in Judges 9:23. It was also He who allowed Saul to be tormented by an evil spirit for his disobedience (1 Samuel 16:15; 1 Samuel 18:10). God can destroy all evil at this moment. But in accordance to His pleasure, mercy and foreordination, He has decided to restrain His righteous anger until the Day of Judgment.
God alone is subject to worship. He subdues mighty angels with a single word – such as the one sent to destroy a nation in 1 Chronicles 21:17. The demons know the Lord well and they shudder fearfully at the thought of Him (James 2:19). They even run to Him and bow down in fear (Mark 3:11; 5:6). None can withstand God and His righteous rod has no limitations. There is nothing beyond His reach and nothing too difficult for Him to do. Ah, how formidable and comforting is the declaration of the Apostle Paul on Colossians 1:16-17
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.
What then is the effect of the doctrine of God’s sovereignty to the Christian?
1) It increases the depth of our veneration for God. To be affirmed in Scripture that God is before all things results to a higher esteem of His worth. A glimpse of God’s sovereignty causes a regenerate believer to fall prostrate before His holy throne. It evokes a song of praise, a spirit of fear and a deep adoration for God. It removes the belittling of God and sets our hearts straight.
2) It humbles men and puts them in their proper place before Him. How humbling is it to find out that God is in control and not man? How it defeats our sinful flesh to rediscover again and again that it is God who holds all things and without Him nothing can be accomplished? The knowledge of God’s sovereignty is deeply humbling to the creature.
3) It repudiates boasting in self and promotes boasting in the Lord. Paul declares in 1 Corinthians 4:7 “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” There is no place for boasting before God when His sovereignty is boldly proclaimed. No one shall say to God “I saved myself. I deserved salvation and I did it on my own will.” Foolish man, there is no one who seeks God (Romans 3:11). It is only by His power that you were able to because faith is a gift from God, not of ourselves (Ephesians 2:8). It is not that we loved God initially, but that He loved us eternally (1 John 4:10). We did not deserve to saved, yet He saved us. This is why salvation is only possible by grace alone – the unmerited and undeserved favour of God.
4) It grants rest, security, and comfort amidst affliction and doubt. Those who embrace the sovereignty of God will find comfort in the midst of trials, knowing their God is in control and that they are suffering for a good reason. They also receive security and assurance in their salvation knowing that even though there are periods of unfaithfulness, none can snatch them from the hand of God (Romans 8:38). They also find rest – Psalm 4:8 “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” In these busy days, is it not truly refreshing and relieving to find out that God is in control no matter what?
5) Finally, we shall find the boldness to endure and persevere by trusting in God’s sovereignty. Psalm 56:11 “In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” This shall be the cry of a believer who has been trained by the knowledge of God’s sovereignty.
Truly the nations are but a drop in a bucket in God’s sight (Isaiah 40:15) and men are but a speck of dust under His palms (Psalm 90:3). God the omnipotent, the omniscient and the omnipresent One is the sole Ruler and Governor of all things! To Him be the glory now and forever!
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