The Sovereignty of God - Defined

The Sovereignty of God

 

Defined

 

The sovereignty of God is simple to state. God who is sovereign can and may do anything that pleases him.. God can do anything he pleases because he has the ability to do so. God may do anything that pleases him because he has the authority to do so.

Psalm 115:2–3

² Wherefore should the heathen say,

Where is now their God?

³ But our God is in the heavens:

He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.

 

Psalm 135:5–6

⁵ For I know that the Lord is great,

And that our Lord is above all gods.

⁶ Whatsoever the Lord pleased,

That did he in heaven, and in earth,

In the seas, and all deep places.

 

Daniel 4:34–35

³⁴ And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlaThissting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: ³⁵ And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?

 

Job 42:1–2

Then Job answered the Lord, and said,

² I know that thou canst do every thing,

And that no thought can be withholden from thee.

 

God’s sovereignty is demanded, if in truth, He is God. To be less than sovereign would be to be less than God.

 

However, God’s sovereign acts are always tempered by His nature. Adherence to His stated nature is demanded, if in truth, He is God. Each attribute of God works in harmony with all other attributes of God.

 

Numbers 23:18–21

¹⁸ And he took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear;

Hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

¹⁹ God is not a man, that he should lie; Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Hath he said, and shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

²⁰ Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; And I cannot reverse it.

²¹ He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a king is among them.

 

God although sovereign would not act contrary to his stated nature which would make him less than God and like man. Non-God-like behavior would impugn His nature. Although God is sovereign; He does not please to act in discord with his stated attributes as God.