The
Sovereignty of God
Unwanted
Results of an Inordinate Emphasis on the Exercise of
Sovereignty
There is an unwanted
result of an inordinate emphasis on the exercise of sovereignty which is
excessive desire to see God unleash power.
Because men equate sovereignty with action, lack of performance
diminishes the validity of the claims of sovereignty.
Luke 9:54–56
54 And when
his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we
command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did?
55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.
56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save
them. And they went to another village.
Sadly, many, as
James and John, believe sovereignty must have expression in order to be of
value, and any limitation of action is a loss of sovereignty. In fact, the harsher the expression of God
the more valuable and certain is sovereignties’ existence. In other words, God must act so men can
believe it exists. We are all too much
like the Son’s of Thunder who know the record of Elijah and long to personally
experience the unleashing of God’s overwhelming power so men can see sovereignty
and fear.
This is a fatal flaw
in the thinking of many because God is sovereign apart from expression. Sovereignty is not an action but a state of
being. It is an established
jurisdiction. If God remained totally inactive He would
still be sovereign because expression does not make one sovereign. Expression only gives opportunity for men to
experience the sovereign state.
Sovereignty is rank and supreme sovereignty means supreme
rank.
Sovereign rank is a
state of authoritative jurisdiction in which a sovereign may act unopposed. Sovereign authority or jurisdiction is based
in the sovereign’s ability to enforce and maintain all expressions of will. However, there are degrees of
sovereignty.
In absolute
sovereignty, as with God, the Sovereign is the ultimate power enforcing the
jurisdiction of his actions and may disallow any possibility of dispute or
opposition according to His personal ability to enforce His sovereignty. This being stated, the sovereignty of God
rests firm because God is singularly omnipotent.
In a lesser degree
of sovereignty the sovereign may be subject to a higher sovereign establishing a
limited authoritative jurisdiction such as in the Magna Carta.
In the case of God,
His Person is the only temperance for His sovereignty. He will never in His absolute state of
sovereignty violate His Person. God
alone determines the expression of His sovereighty; no one else has that
ability. God may limit himself by His
own sovereign choice to do so. He may
revoke His self-imposed limitation as it pleases Him, and only Him. He may grant to His creation any authority He
wishes, even if for a time allowing freedom of will. He may rescind such allowances at any time He
wishes without destroying His sovereign state of Being or diminishing Him as
God.
God, the sovereign,
gave men the freedom to choose or reject his gift of salvation. At no time, does this, in any way, diminish
the sovereign state of God. Freedom of
choice does not diminish sovereignty, but demonstrates the unfathomable
confidence of God in His own sovereign state.
