Part 2: The Sovereignty of God Explained (a bit!)
Posted by James MacDonald on December 8, 2007 10:01 PM | Comments (11)How could we ever explain the sovereignty of God? Of course we cannot but we can share the light Scripture gives as in Isaiah 45:7,
"I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these."
Underline that second part, He is "causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these things."
When I was going through Isaiah at Harvest Bible Chapel, I asked our pastoral staff to help me identify the key passages our people would most benefit from. We read the book of Isaiah together and most of our pastors strongly agreed that Isaiah 45:7 was a verse that was both perplexing and powerful. They wanted me to teach it because they felt that many people struggled with the relationship between an all-powerful God who claimed to be loving yet didn't stop suffering. In reality God does far more than fail to stop human hardship; the Bible says He causes it. Read it again: "I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these."
It's an amazing statement. We love the good news. Everybody is in favor of the God who says, "I am the One who causes well-being." I've never been to a worship service or heard a preacher that didn't celebrate the kind of God, "who causes well-being."
But most of us struggle with the God of the Bible who goes on to say, "Wait! I'm not only the Author of well-being, I'm the One who creates calamity." Whoa. How can we marry those two? Here's the truth: God created a world in which we have the freedom to choose right or wrong, good or bad, sin or righteousness. God is not the Author of sin but He is the One who created a world in which we can choose. And from our choices flow the sin and suffering we see all around us. Much of the pain in our world is the direct consequence of individual sin such as greed and hatred. But there is also the suffering we all must bear as members of a fallen race. The effects of a sinful humanity show up randomly in human sickness, natural disasters, and the very process of aging itself. While God does not hurl these hardships at individual people or nations, He most often refuses to prevent the fall-out from a fallen world. In that sense it can accurately be said that God is the Author of a world in which calamity does strike.
In spite of that reality, the world He made is a good one for all who receive the gifts He offers freely. Into this world of sin and suffering God does not hesitate to say, "I'm the One who made the world this way, and if you trust me you will see that My plan is good." He brings well-being for those who turn to Him regardless of any hardship He may allow and eventual calamity for those who reject Him regardless of how well their immediate life may be going. God ensures His desired ends regardless of the choices we make. His total and complete sovereignty blows the circuits of our finite minds.
As I write this, I'm praying for a couple on our church staff. Last weekend they received news that the wife's father had suddenly died of a heart attack. They're not completely sure whether he knew the Lord though they had shared and prayed with him many times. In the midst of this heartache, the wife was at the very end of her pregnancy. Two days after her dad's death, she went into labor and delivered a healthy baby. Imagine the conflict of emotions: grief weighing heavy on her heart at the death of her dad and joy as she brought her daughter into the world.
We're quick to embrace the God who calls Himself the Author of life. "Yes, that's God! God's the One who brought that new baby into the world." But wait. God is also the One who took that father out. God's also the One who said, "his days are finished." Then we begin to say, "God, how could You allow that to happen? Why now God? Why at the same time? Why the conflict of feelings?" And we poke our bony finger in the face of a Sovereign God. What audacity!
You may wonder, "is it wrong then to ask questions?" No, asking questions is essential to a growing faith, provided you look for and discover the wonderful answers that are available and then let the mysteries that remain be just that--mysteries hidden in the heart of Sovereignty.
Comments
Posted by: Cherie Hill | December 9, 2007 03:10 PM
Thank you for this humbling Word from God, pastor. It causes me to go to the book of Job...for all the questions Job had for God, God had questions for Job too...such as, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?"....boy, when you read that..you know Job is IN FOR IT! God didn't provide Job with answers to the suffering in his life; but he gave Job greater blessings in the second half of his life because his faith remained in Him, regardless of his situation. God bless you pastor.
Posted by: Amy | December 10, 2007 10:31 AM
Thanks for this encouraging word....it's one I needed to hear today. I continue to be blessed by your blog even though I don't comment often--keep it up!
Posted by: myron | December 12, 2007 05:48 PM
I am amazed when I ponder Gods’ sovereignty. I know my limited mind can’t begin to know HIS never ending greatness. How blessed HE is to be so great and yet mindful of us. My LOVE for HIM can never be greater than the treason I have shown HIM, yet HE died for me so that I could call HIM friend (John 15: 13,15). Praise JESUS, KING of Kings and Gentle Sheppard.
Posted by: Anne Richardson | December 12, 2007 08:44 PM
God is all sovereign and as we bow down and worship him, how can we not thank him for our being even in the midst of trouble he is there, and you know what? What is even though we don`t see things quite his way when we accept his way even though we don`t understand it .Wow! Great things happen.
Merry Christmas All.
Posted by: Fred M. Schmid | December 13, 2007 03:59 AM
Dr. James. How does sovereignty work with open theism? Some would tie the two together-God knows all that is now...and God knows the general fulfilment of his plans that are in Christ. BUT! God does not know whether or not I will be faithful in a given "future" moment? I think you can still have sovereignty here. Your thoughts? Also, I've been blessed by your ministry so much. Just wondered what you do with source criticism, redaction criticism, form criticism, etc. Thanks!!
Peace,
Fred >
Posted by: Matthew Westerholm | December 13, 2007 04:07 PM
I can speak for most people who read this blog by saying that we disagree with open theism. Jesus knew Peter's denial in great detail, wouldn't you agree?
I found Bruce Ware's books very convincing and learned from John Piper's writing on this topic. Read it here. A blog's too short and informal to debate critical methodology.
Posted by: Don | December 13, 2007 11:16 PM
Mr. Schmidt,
Open Theism is a false doctrine, which was started by a man named Clark Pinnock in about 1980.
Refer to this web site for more information.
http://www.ondoctrine.com/20openth.htm
Posted by: Fred Matthew Schmid | December 16, 2007 04:47 PM
Hello, thanks for your comments. I've read the articles you've linked.
"Sovereignty" is a theological construction. It is not a biblical term. It is a mystery. This is why Christians fall on both sides of the issue. I'm OK with the mystery.
One thing, this issue should never cause division in the church. It is a non-essential of the faith.
In the essentials...unity
In the non-essentials...liberty
In all things...Love
Blessings in Christ,
Fred Matthew Schmid >
Posted by: Ellen Bell | December 19, 2007 03:53 PM
The sovereignty of God is not a mere intellectual construct--it goes to the core of what the Bible teaches--that God is absolute in all things. He has absolute freedom but at the same time He has absolute knowledge of all things and the absolute power to effect His will. The fact that we have a problem with Him when we suffer the effects of our fallen world is a measure of our fallen nature. As finite creatures,to judge God as being cruel or incompetent is ridiculously arrogant.
Posted by: jeff (podcast listener from Maryland) | December 21, 2007 09:19 AM
I've always struggled with the concept of sovereignty-- not that I don't believe it. I just question the implications we tend to put on it.
When a christian shrugs and says, "Well, God is in control", many times it serves as an excuse to absolve themselves for the responsibility of their lives.
I love Pastor James' article here because God's ultimate sovereignty is that he gives US choice. He is soooo sovereign that He will even let us choose NOT to serve Him.
Pastor James, keep it up!!
Posted by: Bob B | January 21, 2008 08:57 AM
I was hoping from some insights here that would answer some of my lingering questions on sovereignty. Instead, I come to the same impasse: God is responsible for well-being; we are responsible for calamity. But I don't read this in Isaiah 45:7. It is God, not us, who "creates calamity." My question: For those living by faith in obedience who experience hardship (e.g., Job), have they brought calamity on themselves? Also, why is God good to some & not others?