Scriptural Proofs on God's Sovereignty (part 2)

Very few dare to expound on the sovereignty of God as they think it will somehow remove or lessen human responsibility. But rightly interpreted, God's sovereignty and human responsibility do not contradict each other. In fact, the more we understand how God deals with His creations, the more we become responsible as His created.

In my last post, I tried to enumerate some of the evidences of God's sovereignty over the inanimate matters and irrational creatures. In this post, I will expound on the sovereignty of God over the spirit beings (Good angels and Satan and his demons).

God's sovereignty over Spirit beings

Polytheism is grounded on the belief that there is multiplicity of gods who  have the powers to rule over men. Little did they know that there is ONLY ONE GOD and even the demons believe in that truth and tremble (James 2:19). There is also a notion even among Bible believers that there are two kingdoms that co-exist, one belong to Satan who is the "god" of this world and the other is the GOD in the heavens who has limited powers over Satan and his demons. But the Scripture teaches that Satan is just a created being. He is formerly a guardian cherub who was created by God to serve and worship Him alone (Ezekiel 28:13-15). But in God's secret counsel he allowed Satan to rebel against Him so that He may use Him to make Himself known to man (Ezekiel 28:17). Had Satan not rebelled against God, there will be no agent to entice Adam and Eve to sin and we will not know about God's forgiveness and love. Even sin was allowed by God so that we may know of His character and in return we might appreciate His goodness and mercy as we appreciate light because of darkness.

That God is sovereign over the spirit beings is very evident in the Scriptures. In the book of Job we will read that Satan and the evil spirits went before God and asked for His permission to test Job (Job 1:6-12). Everything that transpired in Job's life, from the death of his sons and daughters to his sickness and to the restoration of his wealth and health, they were all by God's permission. Satan cannot simply do whatever he wants. How much more his demons?

Over the good angels, there is no question that they just do whatever God permits them to do. Like Satan, they are not independent beings who can do  whatever they please. They are doing only what God has commanded them such as in the case of angel Gabriel who announced to Mary the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, or in the case of the angel of death who killed only the firstborn of the Egyptians and spared the firstborn of the Israelites as per God's instruction, or the angels who are sent to take care of the elect (Psalm 91:11) and the angels who are tasked to guard the innocent children (Matthew 18:10). Good angels' primary duty is to worship and serve God and they are ones who will gather the elect 'from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.' (Mark 13:27) before the Great White Judgment.

Scriptural Proofs on God's Sovereignty (part 1)

Almost every single page of the Scriptures proves that God is sovereign over all things whether inanimate or endowed with life. From the great stars of the galaxies, to spirit beings, to the animal kingdom, to the heathens, to His chosen people and to the smallest bacteria that cannot be seen by the naked eyes, God is in complete control over them. 

God's complete control over inanimate matter

Genesis narrates how God commanded inanimate matters to come into being and obey His bidding. He said 'let there be light' and light came forth. He commanded the water that once enveloped the earth to divide itself and it was so. He ordered the planets and stars of the galaxies to bring forth light and they obeyed His command (Genesis 1:1-19). He commanded the heaven and the springs to release the water in them and flood covered the whole earth for about one whole year (Genesis 7:12) then He sent the wind to dry up the land and it was so (Genesis 8:1). 

When the Israelites were cornered by the Egyptians, God demanded the Red sea to let the Israelites pass through it and the sea parted and the Israelites were able to walk on dry land. Jonah wanted to escape from God, but the the wind and the sea on His order became violent which prompted the sailors to throw Jonah out of the ship (Jonah 1:3,17). Jesus rebuked the strong wind and waves  saying "be still" and they obeyed Him (Matthew 8:26). Was it not written that He is the One who commands the lightning to hit its mark? (Job 36:30,32). The examples of inanimate matters submitting themselves to God are too numerous to fit in this post.

God's complete control over irrational creatures

God ordered all the frogs of Egypt to assemble together in the Nile and go into the palace, bedrooms and ovens and kneading troughs of the Egyptians (Exodus 8:3-4). And just by His word all of them simultaneously give out their breath and make the air of Egypt foul with the exception of Goshen where the Israelites were living.

Noah did not gather the animals that were to be saved from the great flood but it was the animals who went into the ark two by twos or in pairs of seven just in time before the rain started. It was God who instructed them to travel from where they came from to the place where Noah constructed the Ark. And so the ferocious lions of the jungles, the innocent sheep, the elephants of the forests, the playful monkeys, the fragile butterflies, the monkey eating eagles and the creatures that move along the ground marched, crawled and flew to Noah and went inside the Ark as per God's instructions (Genesis 7:7-8). By God's order, a donkey talked and rebuked the prophet Balaam (Numbers 22:27), a fish swallowed Jonah (Jonah 1:17),  Ravens fed Elijah (1 Kings 17:6) and a fish with a drachma coin bit the bait of Peter (Mattthew 17:27). (to be continued...)

The Sovereignty of God Defined

The Word of God has firmly established the truth that God is sovereign. Daniel 4:5 declares, 'And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?' But the word sovereignty has become a foreign word to all nowadays. This is the age when people want nobody to reign and rule over them. It is the golden age of human freedom, when man's ways are being exalted and God's ways are relegated to the sidelines.

By definition  sovereignty means simply means the 'power to rule'. When ascribed to God, it means God's absolute power and control over all things, all creatures and all history. It means that God is the possessor of all power in heaven and earth so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purposes or resist His will. To declare that God is sovereign is to  acknowledge that He is 'the governor among nations' (Psalm 22:28) who sets up kingdoms and governments, overthrows empires, and determines the courses of all countries and dynasties according to what He pleases. this is the God of the Scriptures.

Sadly this is not the God that is depicted today in most pulpits. The God of the modern Christianity is very much different with the God of the Holy Bible. God is now being depicted not as a Supreme Ruler but as a weak, defeated, impotent deity.  The God of this century is a miserable caricature, a helpless effeminate being as A. W. Pink puts it, a pathetic travesty of truth.  This is the prevalent view of God even by those who profess to be believers of the Scriptures.

In the next post we will discuss further the evidences of God's sovereignty as seen from the Scriptures and in our everyday experience. Lord willing...