The absolute sovereignty of God is a difficult doctrine for many to understand and accept. I love this doctrine, it is the foundation for all I understand about God. Johathan Edwards the great American preacher of the 1700 speaks about his journey to believe this doctrine:
“From my childhood up, my mind had been full of objections against the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, in choosing whom he would to eternal life, and rejecting whom he pleased; leaving them eternally to perish, and be everlastingly tormented in hell. It used to appear like a horrible doctrine to me…there has been a wonderful alteration in my mind, in respect to the doctrine of God’s sovereignty, form that day to this; so that I scarce ever have found so much as the rising of an objection against it, in the most absolute sense, in God’s shewing mercy to whom he will show mercy, and hardening whom he will. God’s absolute sovereignty and justice, with respect to salvation and damnation, is what my mind seems to rest assured of, as much as of any thing that I see with my eyes, at least it is so at times. The doctrine has every often appeared exceeding pleasant, bright, and sweet. Absolute sovereignty is what I love to ascribe to God.”(Jonathan Edwards, Selections (New York: Hill and Wang, 1962, 58-59).
Let me ask a question for further reflection of the sovereignty of God. In Ephesians 1:11-12 we find that God "works all things after the counsel of His will.” What do you suppose all things include?
Thanks, Andy. I needed this reminder today. There is such great comfort in meditating on God's sovereignty over all things.
ReplyDeleteOK,
ReplyDeleteThis is a hard topic for me to digest fully, given my Armenian upbringing :). I found a really great resource online to study this very topic:
http://www.fcfonline.org/content/1/sermons/082607M.pdf
Here is my answer:
Emphasis should be placed on "working" all things. God is not the author of evil, but can certainly work all acts of man, whether evil or not, to His purposes. His divine forthought, allows me to rest in the fact that He knows me, the path that I will take, whethe I will follow or forsake Him and I can rest in his grace to complete the work in me.
On a personal note: this gives me comfort in my current circumstances that God is not taken by surprise at any event. He knows the hearts of man, and may even use his people, in the midst of their sinfulness and disobedieince to complete his purposes. This frees me to act according to waht I interpret His will to be, trusting that as I obey what is revealed to me, His sovereign power will not allow my human error to mar His divine plans!
That was fun Andy!