God is sovereign – He possesses absolute freedom to do as He pleases, and has absolute control over the actions of all of His creatures. In this message we explore God’s sovereignty in creation and in providence. I think it will surprise you as to what the Bible says that God decrees shall take place.
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The Sovereignty of God in Creation and Providence
This morning we are going to embark on a series of studies in which we study the sovereignty of God.
But before, let’s try to get clear on what the sovereignty of God is. I’m going to define the sovereignty of God as “God’s absolute freedom to do as He pleases, and His absolute control over the actions of all of His creatures.” Another way we might define God’s sovereignty as “God’s absolute right to do all things according to His own good pleasure.” The big idea is that the same God that made the world runs the world. God is subject to none, influenced by none, absolutely independent. He does as He pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases.
Let me put some Bible under that definition.
Psalm 115:3, “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases.”
Psalm 135:6, “Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.”
Daniel 4:35, “All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth; and no one can ward off His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?”
Ephesians 1:11, “we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”
So, because God is absolutely free to do as He pleases, let’s look at three different areas in which God does as He pleases: Creation, Providence, Salvation.
1. The Sovereignty Of God In Creation
Before God created the heavens and the earth, He was sovereign. He could create or not create according to His good pleasure.
The Heavenly Bodies. God could create 1 solar system or 1 galaxy, or 100 billion of them. Why did God create the number of stars and planets that He did? Why are some stars very big and others very small? Why are some stars about the size of Saturn, while others are 1,600 times larger than our sun? Because it pleased Him to do so. 1 Corinthians 15:41 says, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.” Why would the heavenly bodies differ in glory from one another?
The Earth. Why is 2/3 of the earth covered by water? Why is one country fertile while another country is barren? Why is one country plagued by earthquakes while another country is free of them? Why does one country abound in rivers and lakes and another country is almost completely devoid of them? Why is one land rich in minerals while another produces none?
Plant Life. Why does one flower emit a fragrant aroma, while another has none? Why does one tree only grow a few feet tall, while another grows over 300 feet? Why does one tree bear wholesome fruit while another bears poisonous fruit? Why is one plant capable of enduring frost while another withers under it? Why does one plant flower twelve times a year while another only once in 25 years?
Animal Life. Why does a Greenland shark live between 300 and 500 years, while a mayfly will die within 24 hours? Why are some animals intelligent, while others are dumb. Why are sme fit for food, while others are not? Why are some beautiful like a lioness or deer, while others are ugly and repulsive like a rat or cockroach or an opossum? Why do some animals have great strength like an elephant, while others are very weak? Why are some fleet of foot like the cheetah while others can scarcely move like the sloth? Why are some tame, while others are fierce? Because it was the good pleasure of the Lord that they be so.
Humans. Why is one person healthy, while another is frail and sickly all their life? Why are some born in one country, while others are born in another? Why are some quiet, while others are extroverts? Why are some gifted in music or art, while others are gifted in mechanics or business? Why are some extremely intelligent, while others never progress past the intellect of a 3 year old?
The answer for all of these questions is “it was well-pleasing in Your sight.” In creation, God has done exactly as He pleases. He was under no constraint from anyone or anything else to create according to their will. In creation, God was absolutely free to do as He pleased.
2. The Sovereignty of God in Providence
What do we mean by providence? The Westminster Shorter Catechism defines the providence of God as “His most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all His creatures and all their actions.” Jerry Bridges defines God’s providence as “God’s constant care for and His absolute rule over all His creation for His own glory and the good of His people.” Notice the repeated reference to “all”. God rules over all – the good as well as the bad. He rules over the car accident as well as the pay raise, the cancer as well as the miraculous healing. God’s providence is constant. We don’t believe in a God who only intervenes at certain points in our lives, but is only an interested spectator the rest of the time.
John Calvin put it like this, “Our heavenly Father so holds all things all things in His power, so rules by His authority and will, so governs by His wisdom, that nothing can happen except He determine it.” The Westminister Shorter Catechism gave this answer to the question, “what are the decrees of God?” “The decrees of God are His eternal purpose according to the counsel of His own will, whereby for His own glory He has foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.” Probably the best Scripture that illustrates the providence of God is Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
The providence of God teaches us that God governs all things. Let’s take a look at some of the things that God governs.
1) God Governs The Heavenly Bodies.
Isaiah 40:26, “Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing.”
- God caused a star to appear to the magi, and settle over the home of the Christ child.
- God caused the sun to stand still for an entire day so that Joshua would be able to win an important battle (Josh. 10:12-14).
2) God Governs Nature And Animals.
- God brought a worldwide flood in the days of Noah.
- He brought hail and darkness to deliver His people from Egypt.
- He sent plagues of frogs, flies, gnats and locusts as well.
- He sent a raven to feed the prophet Elijah.
- He caused a donkey to speak to Balaam.
- He caused two she-bears to devour Elisha’s tormentors.
- He sent dogs to eat the flesh of Jezebel.
- He sealed the mouths of the lions so that they would not harm Daniel, but ordained that they would devour Daniel’s accusers.
- He caused a great fish to swallow Jonah, and then caused Him to vomit Jonah forth onto dry ground.
- He caused a fish to carry a coin to Peter to use for his taxes.
3) God Governs Satan And Demons.
- God set limits on how far Satan was allowed to go in doing harm to Job.
- Indeed, Satan had to get permission to sift Peter like wheat, but the Lord prayed for Peter so that he would turn again and strengthen his brothers.
- The Bible says that an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized Saul (1 Sam. 16:14).
- The Lord put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of Ahab’s 400 prophets who told him to go up to battle against the Arameans and conquer (1 Kings 22)
Clearly, Satan is not God’s equal. He is a created being that is under God’s governing authority. He can only do what God commands or permits.
4) God Governs Political Rulers and Events
This is good news when we believe we have an ungodly man ruling over our nation and releasing more ungodliness upon our land.
Romans 13:1, “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.”
Proverbs 21:1, “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” The king’s word was law. His authority was unrestrained. The stubborn will of the most powerful monarch on earth was directed by God as easily as a farmer directs the flow of water in an irrigation canal.
1 Kings 12:1-15. King Jereboam rejected the good counsel of the elders to serve the people, and instead made their life a living hell. Verse 15 says, “So the king did not listen to the people; for it was a turn of events from the Lord, that He might establish His word, which the Lord spoke through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.” When Israel split up into the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom, Reheboam assembled his army to fight against the northern 10 tribes to restore the kingdom, but the Lord spoke through Shemaiah the prophet, “Thus says the Lord, “You must not go up and fight against your relatives the sons of Israel; return every man to his house, for this thing has come from Me.”
5) God Governs Military Victories
2 Kings 5:1, “Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram.” Now notice this – the Lord had given victory to Aram through Naaman. Naaman was a Gentile captain in charge of a Gentile army. This text is saying that God was giving the military victories to a Gentile army! God does not just govern over the military conquests of His own people, but of all people.
In the days of King Abijah and Jereboam there was civil war between the Northern and Southern kingdoms. 2 Chronicles 13:13-16, “But Jeroboam had set an ambush to come from the rear, so that Israel was in front of Judah and the ambush was behind them. When Judah turned around, behold, they were attacked both front and rear; so they cried to the Lord, and the priests blew the trumpets. Then the men of Judah raised a war cry, and when the men of Judah raised the war cry, then it was that God routed Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. When the sons of Israel fled before Judah, God gave them into their hand.”
The Bible makes it very clear that it was God who gave the victory to Abijah and Judah.
6) God Governs The Bearing of Children
Genesis 29:31, “Now the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, and He opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.”
1 Samuel 1:4-5, “When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, but the Lord had closed her womb.”
1 Samuel 1:19, “Then they arose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in Ramah. And Elkanah had relations with Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the Lord.”
We tend to think that one couple is unable to have children just because of dumb luck or fate. The Bible says the Lord closes the womb, and the Lord opens the womb.
7) God Governs Random or Chance Events
Proverbs 16:33, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.” If we rolled the dice or flipped a coin to make a decision, we would think that whatever happened was just random. However, the Bible teaches that even these things are governed by God.
8) God Governs Our Talents and Spiritual Gifts
Exodus 31:1-6, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, and in the cutting of stones for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of craftsmanship. And behold, I Myself have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are skillful I have put skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you”
Now, this is fascinating. This is telling us that whatever talents we have ultimate have come from God. If you are a skilled musician, seamstress, poet, author, speaker, or cook, that is because the Lord has granted you those abilities. Folks, we can’t take credit even for natural talents in our lives. They come from God.
1 Corinthians 12:7, “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good… but one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.” Likewise, God governs over our spiritual gifts. He is the One who makes the decision as to what gift(s) you and I will have.
9) God Governs Over The Length Of Our Lives
Job 14:5, “Since his days are determined, the number of his months is with You; and his limits You have set so that he cannot pass.”
Psalm 139:16, “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them.”
You and I will not die one minute before the time the Lord has ordained for us.
10) God Governs The Afflictions In Our Lives
Exodus 4:11, “The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?”
Donald Grey Barnhouse once said, “No person in this world was ever born blind that God had not planned for him to be blind; no person was ever deaf that God had not planned for htat person to be deaf. If you do not believe that, you have a strange God who has a universe which has gone mad and He cannot control it.”
Amos 3:6, “If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble? If a calamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it?”
Isaiah 45:7, “The One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.”
Lamentations 3:37-38, “Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both good and ill go forth?”
In 1 Peter 4:19 the Bible speaks of those who “suffer according to the will of God.”
I hope it is abundantly clear that God not only governs all the good things that come about, but all the afflictions and calamities as well. Therefore it is Biblical to speak of tornadoes, hurricans, tsunamis, earthquakes and floods as “acts of God.” God either permitted them to come about, or actively brought them about. They could not have happened apart from His sovereign will.
11) God Governs The Good Actions Of Men
Philippians 2:13, “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now the God of peace… equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
12) God Governs The Evil Actions Of Men
Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Joseph’s brothers had one intention in mind when they hated him and sold him into slavery – their intentions were evil. However, God was actively overruling their evil intentions because He had some good intentions in all of it. God intended to preserve many people alive through their evil actions. So, yes, God ordained that Joseph’s brothers would do hurtful things, but because He had a greater purpose in mind.
Judges 14:2-4, “Samson came back and told his father and mother, “I saw a woman in Timnah, one of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife.” Then his father and his mother said to him, “Is there no woman among the daughters of your relatives, or among all our people, that you go to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?” But Samson said to his father, “Get her for me, for she looks good to me.” However, his father and mother did not know that it was of the Lord, for He was seeking an occasion against the Philistines.” Samson was disobeying the will of God in seeking a Gentile wife, especially since his only criteria seems to be that she looks good to him! But God overruled Samson’s evil choice and brought about His own purposes.
Joshua 11:19-20, “There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.”
Acts 4:27-28, “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” Here the Bible is speaking of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, undoubtedly the most evil act that has ever occurred on planet earth. Can you imagine anything more wicked than for men to murder the Creator when He has come to earth to save them? Yet, even in this act, God governed men, because God predestined the cross to occur.
I’m going to draw out five truths that we need to understand and hold in tension when it comes to God governing the evil actions of men.
- God uses the evil actions of men to fulfill His purposes. If we say that God does not use evil to fulfill His purposes, then we would have to admit that there is evil in the universe that God did not intend, is not under His control, and might not fulfill His purposes. How could we affirm Romans 8:28? If evil came into the world in spite of the fact that God did not intend it, and did not want it to be there, what guarantee do we have there will not be more and more evil that He does not want and does not intend in heaven, or on the New Earth?
- God never does evil Himself, and never can be charged with evil. If we say that God Himself does evil, we would have to conclude that He is not a good and righteous God and therefore is not really God at all.
- God rightfully blames and judges evil men for the wicked actions they commit. Acts 2:23 says, “this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” The cross was by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. But it was also by the hands of godless men. God holds men responsible for their evil actions even though God governs over those actions.
- People make real choices with real results. Let’s say that John Grisham wrote a book where terrorists assassinate the President. Some could ask the question, “who killed the president?” On one level, the terrorist did. On another level, John Grisham did. It wouldn’t be right to say because the terrorist killed the President, John Grisham didn’t. Nor would it be right to say that because John Grisham killed the President, the terrorist didn’t. On the leve of the characters in the book, the terrorists fully caused the President’s death. On the level of the author of the book, Grisham fully caused the President’s death. God fully causes things in one way, and we fully cause things in another way.
- There is a difference between God’s sovereign will and His moral will. People ask all the time, “Is this the will of God?” Well, it’s just not that simple. We have to ask what kind of will are they referring to? Sometimes, God decides something will take place which is according to His sovereign will, but is not according to His moral will. The moral will is what God has declared is morally pleasing to Him. His sovereign will is what God has determined will come to pass. The cross of Christ is a good example. The murder of God’s Son was not morally pleasing to Him, but it was determined to come to pass. Therefore the cross was not God’s moral will, but it was God’s sovereign will. Some theologians call this God’s secret will and His revealed will.
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, the Bible teaches that God governs over everything! Literally everything! Psalm 103:19 says, “His sovereignty rules over all.” Ephesians 1:11 says that God “works all things after the counsel of His will.” This great truth means at least three things:
- We Can Be Confident! There is no such thing as chance, fate, or luck. Everything in one sense or another is determined by an all-wise, holy, good God. My friend, you are indestructible until God is through with you.
- We Can Be At Peace! It is possible for the Christian to be anxious for nothing. Why? Because God is in control and He loves me. Why should I worry and fret! God is on the throne.
- We Can Rejoice! There is a sovereign God who is working all things together for my good! That is why we can obey Paul’s words, “Rejoice always, and again I say rejoice!” If God was only in control some of the time, then I could only rejoice some of the time. But since He is in control all of the time, I can rejoice always.
Saints, be confident, be at peace, and rejoice because your God reigns!
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