God’s Sovereignty

Artwork by Jeff Brown at http://www.creationswap.com/media/7964

There’s a lot about Christianity that can boggle the mind.  Creation, salvation, predestination, grace, suffering, etc.  I’m not sure that you can say one is more complex than the other.  When someone digs into the nuts and bolts of the whole thing, Christianity is one big mega-puzzle.  It’s all because we have this God who is beyond definition.  And because He’s beyond the scope of our imagination.  But I suppose if any one of us could narrowly define God and pinpoint who He really is, He really wouldn’t be that great of a God, would He?

It’s with this thought in mind that I attempt to look at and explain the sovereignty of God.  Sovereignty is typically used in terms of government, mainly with monarchies.  So it’s probably quite fitting when we think about the fact that there is no one who fits this definition better than God.  If we know anything about Him, it is that God personally Hhas established Himself as the King of kings.  That statement alone deserves more thought and attention than what I can give here.  But let’s settle on this point that Scripture makes it clear that God is King.

So what is sovereignty?  How does this fit into one aspect of the character of God?  Simply put, Black’s Law Dictionary defines sovereignty as:

The supreme, absolute, and uncontrollable power by which any independent state is governed; supreme political authority; the supreme will; paramount control of the constitution and frame of government and its administration; the self-sufficient source of political power, from which all specific political powers are derived; the international independence of a state, combined with the right and power of regulating its internal affairs without foreign dictation; also a political society, or state, which is sovereign and independent.

Another definition, and probably more applicable, as put forth by the Mountain Retreat states this about sovereignty:

There are basically two aspects in any definition of sovereignty. In order for anyone to be a king he must possess, (1) Absolute Authority, and, (2) All Power. A king must have the right to rule, and the ability to carry out his will. God said through Isaiah, ".. for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me .. My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure." Isa. 46:9-10. Our God is a unique King in that his reign is eternal, "..the LORD sitteth King for ever." Psa. 29:10.Hi

I think it’s fitting to state that in terms of sovereignty, God should and does have absolute power and authority.  If He didn’t, how can anyone trust that God will do what He says He will do?  It would probably minimize God’s effectiveness to that of man’s.  Think about how many times people have failed or disappointed you.  Wouldn’t it be sad to think that God is as inept as man?

For the God of all heaven and earth, it really isn’t a stretch of the imagination to believe that He is all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present.  Imagine a being that is capable of creating everything around us.  From the smallest of molecules to the complexities of DNA, which are the building blocks of life, to the vast expanse of the universe and all its known (or even unknown) galaxies, God created them all.

Yet even with all of this, we still have only a glimpse into the transcendent nature of God.  It is impossible to bring God down to our level, and somehow that is what we still attempt to do.  Why?  Because we want to understand.  However, if we continue to try to minimize God just so we can understand, we actually limit our understanding to a few vague notions that will only succeed in fitting only our perspective or point of view.  Why would we do that to God?  We need to accept the fact that His ways and thoughts are far greater in scope than our minds can handle.

Isaiah 55:9

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Now let’s step back and read Romans 9 with these ideas in mind.  Try to remove any preconceived notions that you might have about God and let His Word speak His Truth into your heart.  It may be a little lengthy, but try to focus on what the Apostle Paul is saying here.  This passage helps us to see several things about God…and about us.  First, God is in complete control.  Even when man brought sin into the picture, God had a plan.  Secondly, man cannot manipulate or leverage God to get his way.  Also, God’s sovereignty is evident as He demonstrates His power and authority in areas of mercy, compassion, patience, justice, wrath, and even in creation.

Romans 9:6-29

6 But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son." 10 And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, "The older will serve the younger." 13 As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16 So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

19 You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?" 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

"Those who were not my people I will call 'my people, 'and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" 26 "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people, 'there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"

27And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

"If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah."

For some, I imagine that this passage is difficult to digest.  Paul is basically telling us that God has created some people for the purpose of displaying His wrath.  And in doing so, no one can even say that God is unfair.  Does that make sense to you and me?  In our limited view of God, I’m thinking that it doesn’t.

But there’s something we need to remember.  God’s ways and thoughts are greater than ours.  We can try to reason this passage to fit our image of what God should be like.  But would that be right?  I think we need to let God’s Word speak for itself.  God is sovereign and is more than capable of exacting justice on the unrighteous even when it is God who in all practicality created “the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction.”

There is another side to this equation that I think we need to consider here, however.  Paul is also saying that God “has endured with much patience” these vessels of wrath “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory.”  If we’re completely honest with ourselves, none of us are deserving of His mercy.  It’s not so much a mystery that God would pour out His wrath on the unrighteous.  It’s much more of a mystery that He would extend compassion and mercy on those that are completely undeserving.  Think about it.  God creates man and what does man do but sin against Him and live in rebellion against Him.  We ought to be filled with awe and gratitude toward God who provided a way through His Son to pay the price for our sins so that we can be reconciled with Him and have a relationship with Him.  Isn’t that really the greater mystery?

Now dig a little deeper.  What about justice?  We have a tendency to view the child molester, the rapist, and the mother who murders her daughter as the most hideous creatures on earth.  But what about the rest of us?  Doesn’t the Bible tell us that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God?  It goes back to this idea that we don’t see things the same way that God does.  In fact, worshipping idols or false gods is a greater travesty in God’s eyes.  And many of us are guilty of this, even me.  Given that we’re all prone to sin, we should really wonder why we aren’t the “vessels prepared for destruction.”  It is only due to God’s sovereignty that He would have the authority to place His justice upon His Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins.  I can only praise God that it is because of His sovereignty, not that He’s impotent and incapable of redeeming a people for Himself, that we have hope through Jesus!

Again, I go back to what I said at the beginning.  Christianity is mind-boggling.  And what God has done for us is even more mind-boggling.  Praise Jesus!  For those that do put their faith and hope in Him, they can be called “sons of the living God!”  And it’s all because of His sovereignty!

The Man and President: John Adams

This work is in the public domain in the United States.

John Adams, 1823–24, Second President of the US. Painting by Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828).

 It is with reservation that I would try to write and somehow expound on the life of a Founding Father (FF).  By no means do I consider myself a history buff or expert on any level.  I do, however, find that learning more about our history helps us to understand who we are and where we came from.  So with that little disclaimer, I encourage anyone who would find something I write inaccurate to correct me on factual evidence.

This past weekend, somewhat coincidentally on the 4^th of July weekend, my wife and I watched the HBO miniseries on John Adams.  It was through the beginning portion of this series that led us to some questions as to the historical context.  Ashamedly, we found ourselves knowing very little about the many events that took place before and after the American Revolution.  Relying on what we could find on the internet, and through the miniseries itself, we learned a little bit more about our history and about some of our Founding Fathers.

I have never been naïve to believe that all those who came to America during that era were all somehow Bible-believing, born-again Christians.  But I have believed, and still do, that many Colonists and immigrants lived moral lives based primarily on Biblical principles.  This, of course, does not suggest that this was all-exclusive behavior throughout the Thirteen Colonies.  However, it does lend some background to the events that took place.  For the most part, the leaders of that day evidently did hold to Christian theology.  So, in turn, decisions were made and laws and documents were heavily influenced by their understanding and relation to God.

John Adams, as portrayed in the HBO series, was a very intelligent man.  Some have regarded him as being one of the most important FFs of the United States.  Not only was he a signer of the Declaration of Independence (DOI), he was virtually responsible, or at least integral, in its conception.  According to the miniseries, Adams was the one who nominated Thomas Jefferson to draft this important document and was even part of the process in its final state.  Interestingly, the three most responsible (Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin) were not what we would consider Christian, but each was drawn to certain Biblical principles as evidenced in the DOI.   This is not to say that only these three drafted or revised this important document, but their handiwork was responsible for most of its content.

The other FFs in our nations’ beginnings, the leaders of the Constitutional Convention, were also highly influential in shaping the political foundations.  93% of them were considered Christian.  Stand to Reason shows that Christianity was responsible for shaping the nation and its politics.  Given this, one would assume that the United States would be a Christian nation.  But as Stand to Reason states, “the Founders stopped short of giving their Christian religion a position of legal privilege. In the tradition of the early church, believers were to be salt and light. The First Amendment insured the liberty needed for Christianity to be a preserving influence and a moral beacon, but it also insured Christianity would never be the law of the land” (emphasis mine.)

Perhaps due to this important point regarding the intentional exclusion of Christianity as a legal basis in the Constitution, I believe there’s much indeed to be learned from what our FFs did intend.  And this weekend I enjoyed spending some time learning about the life of John Adams.  Though there were perhaps many influences in Adams’ life, from his father who urged him to become a minister, to his education at Harvard, a missionary-oriented college back then, it was his wife Abigail who was perhaps the one who gave him the greatest council during his prestigious political career.  According to Adherents.com, “They were lovers, friends, counselors, and mentors to one another into old age […] one of history's great partnerships.”  This was also seen quite clearly in the miniseries.  This fact is not a small thing considering Abigail’s upbringing in a Christian home and her understanding of theology.  This was certain to have played a factor in John and Abigail’s relationship and Abigail’s influence in her husband’s religious and political leanings.

Adams’ career did not start out in politics, however.  He began his career out of Harvard as a lawyer.  It was while he was practicing law that he also served in the Massachusetts legislature.  From there, he distinguished himself as a patriot and was elected a member of the Continental Congress.  About.com lists the process of Adams’ career and is nearly mirrored throughout in the HBO miniseries.

But it’s not necessarily Adams’ career that I think adequately describes this man.  He was a patriot and a leader.  He was also a man driven by purpose.  He seemingly wanted to be remembered for doing the right thing, not necessarily the popular thing.  Apparently, he was opposed not only by another political party, but opposed even within his own party (the Federalists.)  If nothing else, Adams was a man of principle and he stood by those principles even if history would one day present an adverse depiction of him.  Interestingly, Adams may have saved the United States from certain war as a young and fragile nation.  Through his perseverance, he kept the nation at peace and allowed it to grow militarily and financially, ultimately keeping the nation intact.

I would love to say that it was because Adams was a devout Christian that he was blessed and given all of this success in life.  Although there are some indications that his faith grew and it is possible he drew close to God in the latter days of his life, it would be disingenuous to suggest otherwise.  It is possible, and I believe this to be true, that even though someone is not a sincere believer in Christ Jesus that if they apply the principles of the Bible to life’s circumstances, they may find success in their endeavors.  For example, for a man and wife to take marriage according to God’s principles, they can have success in their union.  This seems to follow the principle of sowing and reaping.

I also believe there are lessons we can draw from the life of Adams based on principle.  I like what is written about him on Adherents.com:

Adams was aware of (and wary of) the risks, such as persecution of minorities and the temptation to wage holy wars, that an established religion poses. Nonetheless, he believed that religion, by uniting and morally guiding the people, had a role in public life.

Though he couldn’t exactly reconcile religion into how this matched with Christian behavior, he did acknowledge the legitimacy of Scripture.  Unfortunately, he also applied this reasoning to other religions as well.

There’s another side to this issue, John Adams’ belief system that is.  It seems clear God was working His plan during the founding of this nation.  Does that mean that God condoned the Founding Fathers’ decision to break off ties from the authority of the King of England?  Not necessarily.  However, God does use people, whether they make good or bad decisions, to accomplish His purposes.  He is Sovereign in all things.  It is quite possible that God used Adams, a vessel created for His purposes, to bring about a goal He had in mind.  Romans 8:28 says that, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  This verse obviously wouldn’t apply to Adams, but definitely would toward God’s children living in America.  In addition, Romans 9:20-22 says, “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 not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction?”  This would indicate that God could have used Adams to advance His cause for this nation.

I think rather than ascribing certain accolades to men, we should look at the events at the founding of our nation and be in awe of the Divine Author and Supreme Being who is Almighty God!  I have no problem giving certain credit and praise to men such as Adams for their role, but ultimately it is God who orchestrates the affairs of man.  As Proverbs 19:21 states, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” 

When I think about how close it came that America could have been defeated by England, I’m even more in awe of God’s sovereignty.  Even George Washington was aware of the Lord’s providence:

The time is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions will now depend, under God, on the courage and conduct of this army. Our cruel and unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or die.

The cause of our common country calls us both to an active and dangerous duty; Divine Providence, which wisely orders the affairs of men, will enable us to discharge it with fidelity and success.

I now make it my earnest prayer, that God would have you, and the State over which you preside, in his holy protection, that he would incline the hearts of the Citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to Government, to entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another, for their fellow Citizens of the United States at large, and particularly for their brethren who have served in the Field, and finally, that he would most graciously be pleased to dispose us all, to do Justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that Charity, humility and pacific temper of mind, which were the Characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed Religion, and without an humble imitation of whose example in these things, we can never hope to be a happy Nation.

So, as much as there is to admire about the life of John Adams, my hope and prayer is that we look instead more intently into the heart of God who has blessed us with so great a nation.  There may be those who disagree and contend that God had/has nothing to do with the greatness of the United States.  These same people would argue that man in his wisdom has brought about the success, prosperity, and privileges of our country.  I disagree.  That is why it is so important that Christians stay engaged in politics and events of our time.  If Christians think that success and God’s blessings will come without effort, we should consider our FFs and their sacrifices.  As Stand to Reason declares, “Christians have no special privileges simply because Christianity was America's first faith. ‘If America ever was or ever will be a “Christian nation,”’ [John] Seel observes, ‘it is not by conscious design or written law, but by free conviction.’  Success for the Christian cannot be measured in numbers or political muscle, but only in faithfulness. Our most important weapon is not our voting power, but the power of the truth freely spoken and freely heard.”

And with that, I say “Amen.”