The Sovereignty of God

What Do You Believe about God?

What do you believe about God? How do we know about God? Some people reject the existence of God and even the concept of God. Many hold that the existence of God is self-evident. A courageous and brilliant Chinese friend once told me that his academic professors in China categorically rejected the existence of God, but in dormitory discussions their students came to the conclusion by observing nature, humanity, and their own experiences and knowledge that there had to be a God and were eager to find out more, which was fortunately available to them through forbidden but available sources. They wanted to know the nature of God and found God through Scripture, radio, and secret contacts and discussions at considerable risk to themselves and contacts.  

One of the basic doctrines of Biblical Christianity is the Sovereignty of God, although there is widespread modern dilution of this foundational understanding of the nature of God.  However, according to both New and Old Testament Scripture, God is absolutely sovereign over all of creation forever without subordination to anything but his own nature and will. God is all-powerful, all-wise, and perfect and infallible in knowledge. His nature alone defines goodness. All this is actually beyond our understanding. Sovereignty is part of the very nature of the God we know through nature and Scripture.

In this article, I will simply let Scripture speak for itself, followed by a few explanatory quotes.

Genesis 18:14.  Is anything too hard for the Lord?

Job 12:23.  He makes nations great and destroys them; He enlarges nations and disperses them.

Job 42:3.  I know you can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted.

Daniel 4:35.  He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him,  What have you done?”

Proverbs 16: 33. The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Proverbs 19:21, Many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it’s the Lord’s purpose that prevails. 

Matthew 28:18. Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.

Ephesians 1:11. In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with his purpose.

Ephesians 1:22.  And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the Church.

Isaiah14:24. The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely as I have planned, so will it be, and as I have proposed, so it will stand.

Isaiah 40:8. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 46: 9-11.  Remember the former things, those of long ago. I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. From the East, I summon a bird of prey; from a far-off land, a man to fulfill My purpose. What I have said that I will bring about; what I have planned, that will I do.

Isaiah 55:11.  So is My word that goes from my mouth; it will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Jeremiah 32:17. Ah, Sovereign Lord, You have made the heavens and the earth by your power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You

Psalm 115:3. Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases Him.

Psalm 127:1. Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Psalm 135:6. The Lord does whatever pleases Him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths.

Romans 9:20-21.  But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to Him who formed it, why did you make me like this? Does the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

Isaiah 40: 15, 17, 21-23. Surely the Nations are like a drop in the bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales./ Before Him all the nations are nothing, they are regarded by Him as worthless and less than nothing./ Do you not know? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing.

Some of the following verses testify to the Sovereignty of God and the related doctrine of the Providence of God:

Matthew 10:29-31.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the hairs of your head are numbered. So do not be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows.

Deuteronomy 30: 19. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live. 

1 Samuel 2:6-10.  The Lord brings death and makes alive; He brings down to the grave and raises up. The Lord sends poverty and wealth; He humbles and He exalts. He raises the poor from the dust of the earth and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord’s; upon them He has set the world. He will guard the feet of His saints, but the wicked will be silenced in darkness. It is not by strength that one prevails; those who oppose the Lord will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven.  The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give strength to His King and exalt the horn of the anointed.

Ephesians 2:1-2, 4-6.   And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience./ But God rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by Grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2: 8-11. For by Grace you have been saved through Faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God. Not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Some quotes on Providence may help clarify both the Sovereignty of God and the Providence of God:

“The framers of the Westminster Confession [Section IX.1, on Providence, 1646 in England] said even though we believe in a Sovereign Providence which governs all things and ordains whatsoever comes to pass, nevertheless, that Sovereign Providential Government is not exercised in such a way as to destroy what we call human freedom or human volition, but so that human choices and actions are part of the overall providential scheme of things. God brings His will to pass by the free decisions of His moral agents. The fact that my free decisions fit into this overarching plan in no way lessens the reality of that freedom”—R. C. Sproul.   

“The Bible teaches both the Sovereignty of God and the free moral choices of men with equal emphasis. It is impossible for us to reject either of these great truths, and it is equally impossible for our minds to reconcile them.”—Jerry Bridges.

“Nothing is too large or too small to escape God’s governing hand. The spider building its web in the corner and Napoleon marching his army across Europe are both under God’s control.—Jerry Bridges.

“The circumstances surrounding our lives are no accident: they may be the work of evil, but that evil is held firmly within the mighty hand of our Sovereign God…All evil is subject to Him, and evil cannot touch His children unless He permits it.”—Margaret Clarkson.

“When God intends great mercy for His people; the first thing He does is set them a praying.”—Matthew Henry.

“The nature of the Divine Goodness is not only to open to those who knock, but also to cause them to knock and ask.”—Augustine

“There are ultimately no loose ends in God’s world.”—D. A. Carson 

When God ordains anything to come to pass, His purpose in doing so is altogether and absolutely good.”—R. C. Sproul.   

Here is a strongly recommended classic: The Sovereignty of God, Arthur W. Pink, 1918, 1961, 222 pages. The original 1918 version was written while Pink was pastor of the Northside Baptist Church in Spartanburg, SC.  Pink was born in England in 1886 and died in Scotland in 1952. He was the author of over 50 books,  including, The Attributes of God,  original version 1930-31, 128 pages. His popularity began to surge nine years after his death, when the Banner of Truth republished an updated version of The Sovereignty of God in 1961.

Resolution on the Sovereignty of God:

Psalm 96: 2-4a, 6-10a

“Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare His Glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise…Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are his sanctuary. Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength! Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come into his courts! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him all the earth. Say among the nations, The Lord reigns.”