Discover What the Sovereignty of God Really Means
We know that God is sovereign. But many people misunderstand what this actually means. As a result, they struggle with their comprehension of their Sovereign Lord’s character.
The word sovereign appears nearly three hundred times in the Bible. Aside from the book of Ezekiel, most of those verses are God’s people rightly addressing him the Sovereign Lord (such as Genesis 15:2, Psalm 71:5, and Luke 2:29).
Yet sovereign appears mostly in the book of Ezekiel, 210 times. In most of those passages, God refers to himself as Sovereign Lord. Sometimes he says this indirectly (Ezekiel 2:4), but other times he directly states it (Ezekiel 5:5).
Therefore, we see from Scripture that God is Sovereign. Yet, we may still grapple to grasp what it means and how to interpret it to properly fathom our Lord’s character through his sovereignty.
God is Sovereign
Dictionaries tell us that one who is sovereign exercises supreme authority. Think of it like a monarch. Therefore, since God is sovereign, he exercises supreme authority over his creation. That includes us.
As sovereign, God is our supernatural monarch, our ultimate authority, and our supreme ruler. There is none higher. He deserves our praise, our worship, and our adoration. We should defer to him above all else.
Yet we need to not read more into his sovereignty than we should.
Misunderstanding God’s Sovereignty
A common human perspective of God is that he is up in heaven, looking down on us and meticulously orchestrating everything that happens, down to the tiniest of details.
Though God—as all knowing, all powerful, and all present—can do exactly that, he doesn’t. At least he doesn’t do that for the most part.
This errant view of God’s sovereignty overstates what the word means. As a result, people blame God for a lot of things that aren’t his fault. They ask plaintive questions such as “Why did God do that?” or “Why didn’t God stop this from happening?”
If anything bad happens, they assume it’s God’s doing and, therefore, his fault. But usually the bad things that happen are a result of sin in the world, the laws of nature, or our own decisions.
We’re wrong to blame the impact of these realities on our lives because God is sovereign.
The Consequences of Sin
We live in the fallen world. Sin is all around us. I sin. You sin. Everyone sins. Though our sins are forgiven through Jesus, there are still consequences of sin. And we can suffer because of those consequences.
But our suffering isn’t God’s fault. And we’re wrong to blame him for it.
Because of sin, people do bad things. They can say hurtful things to us. They can do harmful things to us. And they can steal from us. As a result, we suffer. Yet God didn’t cause it. Sin did.
If there’s anyone to blame, it’s Satan. Because of him, sin entered the hearts of mankind. And he also tempts us to sin.
The Effects of the Laws of Nature
When God created our world, he established laws of nature. A big one is gravity. Another is inertia.
If we trip and fall, it isn’t God’s fault. It’s because of gravity. If we take a turn too fast in our car and slide out of control, it isn’t God’s fault. It’s a result of inertia.
Yes, God made gravity, and he made inertia. But when we’re not careful and these forces detrimentally affect us, it’s our doing and not God’s.
The Results of Our Own Decisions
Sometimes we make bad decisions. Though these may be a result of sin, they may not.
If we fail to nurture a friendship and that person turns on us, we must be brave enough to admit that we caused it. Though we can seek God for help in restoring that broken relationship, we’re wrong to blame him for the rift. We did it on our own.
If we spend all our money on one purchase and don’t have enough later for a more important one, it’s not God’s fault that we ran out of money. It’s because we didn’t use the money that he had given us wisely.
Where is God in All This?
In accepting the realities of sin, the laws of nature, and our decisions, we may be left wondering where’s God in all this? We’d be wrong to conclude that he’s distant and aloof, having made us and then left us to flounder on our own.
No. He promised that he would work out all things for good to those that love him and do his will (Romans 8:28). That’s so comforting. Yet we must also realize that it’s rare for him to do something to put us in those circumstances in the first place.
Yet he can. God has the power to do that, and sometimes he does. He can test us (Genesis 22:1); this is for our own good. We can encounter trials; this is for our own good too (James 1:12).
Know that God works out everything according to his will (Ephesians 1:11-12).
Because God is Sovereign, he does what he pleases (Psalm 115:3 and Daniel 4:35). Because God is Sovereign, there is no one else like him, and his purpose will stand (Isaiah 46:9–10). His will cannot be subverted (Job 42:2), he rules over all (Psalm 103:19), and he is exalted (1 Chronicles 29:11).
Why? Because God is Sovereign. Let’s understand this for what it is and not tack on wrong assumptions of what it is not.
That’s how we can best honor our Sovereign Lord.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront a status quo faith and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.
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