Let's start with understanding the word, sovereignty. The Oxford dictionary defines the word sovereignty as "complete power to govern a country". A king, or sovereign ruler has the absolute and greatest power to govern his land or territory. Within his territory, the sovereign ruler is free to rule the way he wants and he is completely independent. When we are talking about Sovereignty of God, we mean the kingship of God, and the supremacy of God over His works of creation. He independently governs and rules the whole universe with His great might and power. He is the Almighty and the possessor of all power in Heaven and on earth.
Take a look at the Bible, you will see that the Sovereignty of God is displayed on every page of the scriptures. Paul describes God as He "who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality,who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see." (II Timothy 6: 15 - 16). I like the phrase, only Sovereign there. There are kings and lords in the world, who think that they are sovereign on their own. Little do they know that they are subjected to God, the only Sovereign ruler who rules over all. He is the King of these kings and Lord of the these lords.
God displayed His kingship over Nebuchadnezzar, the king of the Babylonian empire. God abased him, striped him of his pride and He made him to live in the forest with animals for seven years. And afterwards, the then greatest man on earth humbly confessed:
"At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored him who lives forever, for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?” " (Daniel 4: 34 - 35)
Can you see how the pagan king confesses the Sovereignty of our God? One of the things I find amazing in this declaration is the fact that our God is independent of man in His actions. He does whatever He wants to do according to His own will and no one can question Him nor stop Him. Our God is the one "who works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1: 11). King David of Israel also realizes this and he says, "Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth..." (Psalms 135: 5 - 6).
In II Chronicles 29:10 -13, David also declares before all Israel:
"“Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all. Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name." Such is the God of the Bible. He is God and He is Sovereign. He rules over all.
The whole of the scriptures show how God rules over the works of His creation and over the affairs of men. In general, the scriptures declares that our Sovereign God is under no rule or law outside of His own will and nature. God is a law unto Himself and He is under no obligation to give account to any one. God does not try to do something, He does whatever He wants to do according to His purpose and plan. God declares by himself: "My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, ... I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it." (Isaiah 46:10-11).
The scriptures talk about the Sovereignty of God in many ways. One of the ways is that God is sovereign in the exercise of His power. God shows His power to the children of Israel in Egypt, at the red sea, in Jericho and many other places. He also delivered Daniel from the lion's den and the three Hebrew children in the burning fiery furnace. However, God did not deliver Paul and the other apostles from martyrdom. They "were tortured ... others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword." (Hebrews 11:36-37). God's power does not always interpose for the deliverance of His people. Even Jesus, His dear son, God did not deliver Him from been crucified. But why? The simple answer is because God is Sovereign and "He works all things accords to His will.".
The Sovereignty of God is also displayed in His words to Moses, "And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy." Exodus 33:19. God is not under any law or rule in showing His mercy and grace. He is Sovereign in His mercy and grace. That is why God decided to answer king Hezekiah by blessing him with more years to live but did not listen to the plea of Moses. He chooses to retain the kingdom of Israel with David and his family forever but He takes it away from Saul, even though both of them sinned. Also, even before Jacob and Esau were born, God declares "Jacob I love, ... but Esau I hate" (Malachi 1:3-4). God is Sovereign in His love, Sovereign in His plan of Salvation, Sovereign over nature and history. This is what the Bible professes. The topic of the Sovereignty of God is very broad and deep. I hope to write more about different aspects in subsequent posts in this blog.
I will conclude by saying that the knowledge of God's Sovereignty should stir up worship, adoration and fear of God in the heart of a believer. Knowing that God, the Sovereign ruler is in possession of all power and might in the whole universe, should make us surrender our total being unto Him. This is what He expects from us and that is why He made us.
