God’s sovereignty is the attribute that I’d like to share about today.
Very briefly, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Reformers, with their lives at stake, defiantly wrote about newly re-discovered scriptures that showed God to be the only Sovereign Head of His Church and His Word to be the only rule for His people.
At the time, Catholic church had a monopoly over all things to do with religion in Europe. It was a church that un-biblically reserved the right to override God’s will as expressed in the Bible, and who had raised-up a man, the Pope, to speak for God. Naturally, Catholic leaders found these re-discovered truths to be most inconvenient to their earthly endeavors, so they labeled the protesting rebels as heretics, and tried by many means, including violence, to quench their ideas.
The truths these protestors (the Protestants) fought for became known as the doctrines of the Reformation. They had adherents in Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, and many others.
I was in my early 30’s when I first came to into contact with these Reformed truths and embraced them. One of the major hallmarks of the Reformation is God’s sovereign rule over the world, over the church, and over humanity.
Around the time I was reading the Reformers (and checking their views against scripture), the church we were attending hung some beautifully sewn banners emblazoned with the attributes of God.
These banners were huge, about 20 feet high, spectacularly colorful, and an all-around good idea that keyed-off of stain glass windows in a building that didn’t have any stained glass.
I want to note here that it’s interesting - - really quite telling - - to closely observe what the wall messages and general falderol in a church building say about the church’s core beliefs.
Anyway, though the banners seemed a good idea, I found them very disconcerting. The attributes of God were displayed with Love at the top followed by Savior, Provider, Holy, Protector, and so forth.
Superficially, it all looked ok, but I was troubled because all of the Lord’s attributes that benefit us were given precedence of place, and “Sovereign” sat at the very bottom like an afterthought.
Everybody wants love, protection, provision, a Savior, but the Lord’s sovereignty is to His honor and glory alone. From our human perspective, it only seems to involve us obliquely.
I was feeling offended on the Lord’s behalf because human pride hates the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything.
This attitude seemed to be reflected in the banners’ order of attributes. Very good women had made the banners with excellent intentions, but human nature is sneaky like that.
Now I must confess, in the beginning of grasping the importance of God’s sovereignty, I was a zealot; and though I’ve relaxed a bit over the decades, it’s still a truth that thrills me. I remain steadfastly committed to the Lord, not only as my Savior, but also as my High King. This is true, I would like to point out, not because I am so faithful, but because God wills it to be so for me.
I purposefully taught my sons about the sovereignty of the Lord and I think you should, too. So what are the practical manifestations of this attribute, and what should they mean to us?
1. First of all, His commandments should be obeyed as if an immensely powerful and great High King had handed them to us personally. - - Because He has. This is a reality.
2. Second, God will not allow any circumstance or person to derail His purposes. Our lives are blighted when we resist His holy will and rule.
We need to understand that scriptures reveal that God is in complete control of all forces of nature - and even over events that, from our point of view, are random. Many Jewish people refer to God as the Master of the Universe, which I think makes the point very nicely.
The Lord may not cause everything, but He is in control of everything. We can trust that nothing will befall us outside of His will. There are no limits to God’s rule. This is part of what it means to be God.
God is sovereign over the whole world, and everything that happens in it. He is never helpless, never frustrated, never at a loss.
Whenever God acts, He acts in a way that pleases Himself. God is never forced to do a thing that He despises.
Therefore, for those in Christ, God’s awesome, sovereign providence is the place we feel most reverent, most secure, and most free.
Understanding the sovereignty of God provides a great empowerment to our worship because it takes our eyes off of ourselves. It makes our worship more fully “true worship” by focusing on the one who is our LORD GOD.
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