SOVEREIGNTY DEFINED
"Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the
victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is
Thine; Thine is the kingdom, O LORD,and Thou art exalted as Head above all" (1
Chron. 29:11).
The Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood.
It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was a theme frequently
expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth which brought comfort to many hearts,
and gave virility and stability to Christian character. But, today, to make
mention of God's Sovereignty is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown
tongue. Were we to announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our
discourse would be the Sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we
had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas! that it should be
so. Alas! that the doctrine which is the key to history, the interpreter of
Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the foundation of Christian
theology should be so sadly neglected and so little understood.
The Sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the
supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the god-hood of God. To say that God is
Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to
declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of
Heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand
or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Daniel
4:35). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty,
the Possessor of all power in Heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His
counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psalms
115:3). To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that He is "The Governor
among the nations" (Psalms
22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the
course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is Sovereign is to
declare that He is the "Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1
Timothy 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.
How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The
conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who
profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous
travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless,
effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God
of the popular mind is the creation of maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a
present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence.
To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God
the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that
God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter
of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellowmen
are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity; is to say that God the
Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that
God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but
there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is "trying His best" to
save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to
insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the
creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not
remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan
is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme Being.
To declare that the Creator's original plan has been frustrated by sin, is to
dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that
He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity, is to degrade the
Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue that man is a free
moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he has the
power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of
Omnipotence. To say that the creature has burst the bounds assigned by his
Creator, and that God is now practically a helpless Spectator before the sin and
suffering entailed by Adam's fall, is to repudiate the express
declaration of Holy Writ, namely, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee:
the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain" (Psa.
76:10). In a word, to deny the Sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path
which, if followed to its logical terminus, is to arrive at blank atheism.
The Sovereignty of the God of Scripture is absolute, irresistible, infinite.
When we say that God is Sovereign we affirm His right to govern the
universe which He has made for His own glory, just as He pleases. We affirm that
His right is the right of the Potter over the clay, i. e., that He may mold that
clay into whatsoever form He chooses, fashioning out of the same lump one
vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor. We affirm that He is under no rule
or law outside of His own will and nature, that God is a law unto
Himself, and that He is under no obligation to give an account of His matters to
any.
Sovereignty characterizes the whole Being of God. He is Sovereign in all His
attributes. He is Sovereign in the exercise of His power. His power is
exercised as He wills, when He wills, where He wills. This fact is
evidenced on every page of Scripture. For a long season that power appears to be
dormant, and then it is put forth in irresistible might. Pharaoh dared to hinder
Israel from going forth to worship Jehovah in the wilderness—what happened? God
exercised His power, His people were delivered and their cruel task-masters
slain. But a little later, the Amalekites dared to attack these same Israelites
in the wilderness, and what happened? Did God put forth His power on this
occasion and display His hand as He did at the Red Sea? Were these enemies of
His people promptly overthrown and destroyed? No, on the contrary, the Lord
swore that He would "have war with Amalek from generation to generation"
(Exo. 17:16).
Again, when Israel entered the land of Canaan, God's power was signally
displayed. The city of Jericho barred their progress—what happened? Israel did
not draw a bow nor strike a blow: the Lord stretched forth His hand and the
walls fell down flat. But the miracle was never repeated! No other city fell
after this manner. Every other city had to be captured by the sword!
Many other instances might be adduced illustrating the Sovereign exercise of
God's power. Take one other example. God put forth His power and David was
delivered from Goliath, the giant; the mouths of the lions were closed and
Daniel escaped unhurt; the three Hebrew children were cast into the burning
fiery furnace and came forth unharmed and unscorched. But God's power did not
always interpose for the deliverance of His people, for we read: "And
others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds
and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being
destitute, afflicted, tormented" (Heb.
11:36, 37). But why? Why were not these men of faith delivered like the
others? Or, why were not the others suffered to be killed like these? Why should
God's power interpose and rescue some and not the others? Why allow Stephen to
be stoned to death, and then deliver Peter from prison?
God is Sovereign in the delegation of His power to others. Why did God
endow Methuselah with a vitality which enabled him to outlive all his
contemporaries? Why did God impart to Samson a physical strength which no other
human has ever possessed? Again; it is written, "But thou shalt remember the
Lord thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth" (Deut.
8:18), but God does not bestow this power on all alike. Why not? Why has He
given such power to men like Morgan, Carnegie, Rockefeller? The answer to all of
these questions is, Because God is Sovereign, and being Sovereign He does as He
pleases.
God is Sovereign in the exercise of His mercy. Necessarily so, for
mercy is directed by the will of Him that showeth mercy. Mercy is not a right to
which man is entitled. Mercy is that adorable attribute of God by which He
pities and relieves the wretched. But under the righteous government of God no
one is wretched who does not deserve to be so. The objects of mercy, then, are
those who are miserable, and all misery is the result of sin, hence the
miserable are deserving of punishment not mercy. To speak of deserving mercy is
a contradiction of terms.
God bestows His mercies on whom He pleases and withholds them as seemeth good
unto Himself. A remarkable illustration of this fact is seen in the manner that
God responded to the prayers of two men offered under very similar
circumstances. Sentence of death was passed upon Moses for one act of
disobedience, and he besought the Lord for a reprieve. But was his desire
gratified? No; he told Israel, "The LORD was wroth with me for your sakes,
and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee" (Deut.
3:26). Now mark the second case: "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto
death. And the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him,
Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live.
Then he turned his face to the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, saying, I beseech
Thee, O LORD, remember now how I have walked before Thee in truth and with a
perfect heart, and have done that which is good in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept
sore. And it came to pass, afore Isaiah was gone out into the middle court, that
the word of the LORD came to him, saying, Turn again, and tell Hezekiah the
captain of my people, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I
have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee: on
the third day thou shalt go unto the house of the LORD. And I will add unto thy
days fifteen years" (2
Kings 20:1-6). Both of these men had the sentence of death in themselves,
and both prayed earnestly unto the Lord for a reprieve: the one wrote: "The Lord
would not hear me," and died; but to the other it was said, "I have heard thy
prayer," and his life was spared. What an illustration and exemplification of
the truth expressed in
Romans 9:15!—"For
He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I
will have compassion on whom I will have compassion."
The Sovereign exercise of God's mercy—pity shown to the wretched—was
displayed when Jehovah became flesh and tabernacled among men. Take one
illustration. During one of the Feasts of the Jews, the Lord Jesus went up to
Jerusalem. He came to the Pool of Bethesda where lay "a great multitude of
impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water."
Among this "great multitude" there was "a certain man which had an infirmity
thirty and eight years." What happened? "When Jesus saw him He, and knew that he
had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made
whole? The impotent man answer Him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is
troubled, to put me into the pool: but when I am coming, another steppeth down
before me. Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. And
immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked" (John
5:3-9). Why was this one man singled out from all the others? We are not
told that he cried "Lord, have mercy on me." There is not a word in the
narrative which intimates that this man possessed any qualifications which
entitled him to receive special favor. Here then was a case of the Sovereign
exercise of Divine mercy, for it was just as easy for Christ to heal the whole
of that "great multitude" as this one "certain man." But He did not. He put
forth His power and relieved the wretchedness of this one particular sufferer,
and for some reason known only to Himself, He declined to do the same for the
others. Again, we say, what an illustration and exemplification of
Romans 9:15!—"I
will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I
will have compassion."
God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love. Ah! that is a hard
saying, who then can receive it? It is written, "A man can receive nothing,
except it be given him from Heaven" (John
3:27). When we say that God is Sovereign in the exercise of His love, we
mean that He loves whom He chooses. God does not love everybody; if He did, He
would love the Devil. Why does not God love the Devil? Because there is nothing
in him to love; because there is nothing in him to attract the
heart of God. Nor is there anything to attract God's love in any of the
fallen sons of Adam, for all of them are, by nature, "children of wrath"
(Eph. 2:3). If
then there is nothing in any member of the human race to attract God's love, and
if, not withstanding, He does love some, then it necessarily
follows that the cause of His love must be found in Himself, which is only
another way of saying that the exercise of God's love towards the fallen sons of
men is according to His own good pleasure.
In the final analysis, the exercise of God's love must he traced back
to His Sovereignty or, otherwise, He would love by rule; and if He loved by
rule, then is He under a law of love, and if He is under a law of love then
is He not supreme, but is Himself ruled by law. "But," it may be asked, "Surely
you do not deny that God loves the entire human family?" We reply, it is
written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom.
9:13). If then God loved Jacob and hated Esau, and that before they were
born or had done either good or evil, then the reason for His love was not in
them, but in Himself.
That the exercise of God's love is according to His own Sovereign pleasure is
also clear from the language of
Ephesians 1:3-5,
where we read, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According
as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before Him in love. Having predestinated us unto the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure
of His will." It was "in love" that God the Father predestined His chosen ones
unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, "according"—according
to what? According to some excellency He discovered in them? No. What then?
According to what He foresaw they would become? No; mark carefully the inspired
answer—"According to the good pleasure of His will."
We are not unmindful of the fact that men have invented the distinction
between God's love of complacency and His love of compassion, but this is an
invention pure and simple. Scripture terms the latter God's "pity" (see
Matt. 18:33),
and "He is kind unto the unthankful and the evil" (Luke
6:35)!
God is Sovereign in the exercise of His grace. This of necessity, for grace
is favor shown to the undeserving, yea, to the Hell-deserving. Grace is the
antithesis of justice. Justice demands the impartial enforcement of law. Justice
requires that each shall receive his legitimate due, neither more nor less.
Justice bestows no favors and is no respecter of persons. Justice, as such,
shows no pity and knows no mercy. But after justice has been fully satisfied,
grace flows forth. Divine grace is not exercised at the expense of justice, but
"grace reigns through righteousness" (Rom.
5:21), and if grace "reigns," then is grace Sovereign.
Grace has been defined as the unmerited favor of God. ; and if unmerited,
then none can claim it as their inalienable right. If grace is unearned and
undeserved, then none are entitled to it. If grace is a gift, then none can
demand it. Therefore, as salvation is by grace, the free gift of God, then He
bestows it on whom He pleases. Because salvation is by grace, the very chief of
sinners is not beyond the reach of Divine mercy. Because salvation is by grace,
boasting is excluded and God gets all the glory.
In a remarkable manner Divine grace was exercised at the time of the
Saviour's birth. The incarnation of God's Son was one of the greatest events in
the history of the universe, and yet its actual occurrence was not made known to
all mankind; instead, it was specially revealed to the Bethlehem shepherds and
wise men of the East. And this was prophetic and indicative of the entire course
of this dispensation, for even today Christ is not made known to all. It would
have been an easy matter for God to have sent a company of angels to every
nation and to have announced the birth of His Son. But He did not. God could
have readily attracted the attention of all mankind to the "star"; but He did
not. Why? Because God is Sovereign and dispenses His favors as He pleases. Note
particularly the two classes to whom the birth of the Saviour was made known,
namely, the most unlikely classes—illiterate shepherds and heathen from a far
country. No angel stood before the Sanhedrin and announced the advent of
Israel's Messiah! No "star" appeared unto the scribes and lawyers as they, in
their pride and self-righteousness, searched the Scriptures! They searched
diligently to find out where He should be born, and yet it was not made known to
them when He was actually come. What a display of Divine Sovereignty—the
illiterate shepherds singled out for peculiar honor, and the learned and eminent
passed by! And why was the birth of the Saviour revealed to these foreigners,
and not to those in whose midst He was born? See in this a wonderful
foreshadowing of God's dealings with our race throughout the entire Christian
dispensation—Sovereign in the exercise of His grace, bestowing His favors on
whom He pleases, often on the most unlikely and unworthy.
It has been pointed out to us that God's Sovereignty was signally displayed
in His choice of the place where His Son was born. Not to Greece or Italy did
the Lord of Glory come, but to the insignificant land of Palestine! Not in
Jerusalem—the royal city—was Immanuel born, but in Bethlehem, which was "little
among the thousands (of towns and villages) in Judah" (Micah
5:2)! And it was in despised Nazareth that He grew up!! Truly, God's ways
are not ours.
—Sovereignty Of God, The
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