Here’s a summary and a list of Scriptures that we discussed.
Study #2 ( May 25 )
Introduction to the Sovereignty of God
The “sovereignty” of God means that he reigns over all things. He is in control of everything that happens and of all creation.
From Monergism.com:
“This [Sovereignty of God] simply refers to the fact that all things are under His rule and control, and that nothing happens in this Universe without His direction or permission. He is a God Who works, not just some things, but all things after the counsel of His own will (see Eph. 1:11). God’s purpose is all- inclusive and is never thwarted (see Isa. 46:11). Nothing Takes Him by Surprise
- God is sovereign over the entire universe: Ps 103:19; Rom 8:28; Eph 1:11
- God is sovereign over all of nature: Ps 135:6-7; Mt 5:45; 6:25-30
- God is sovereign over angels & Satan: Ps 103:20-21; Job 1:12
- God is sovereign over nations: Ps 47:7-9; Dan 2:20-21; 4:34-35
- God is sovereign over human beings: 1 Sam 2:6-7; Gal 1:15-16
- God is sovereign over animals: Ps 104:21-30; 1 Ki 17:4-6
- God is sovereign over “accidents”: Pr 16:33; Jon 1:7; Mt 10:29
- God is sovereign over free acts of men: Ex 3:21; 12:25-36; Ez 7:27
- God is sovereign over sinful acts of men and Satan: 2 Sam 24:1; 1 Chr 21:1; Gen 45:5; 50:20″
We started with Genesis 37, the story of Joseph:
8 They saw him [Joseph] from afar, and before he came near to them they [his brothers] conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
Then we read in Genesis 39:
Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.
However, due to the lies of Pharaoh’s wife, Joseph ended up in prison:
20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
After God gave Joseph the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams, he rose to second in command in all of Egypt and prepared the country for the years of famine ahead. Eventually, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt seeking to buy grain. When he finally reveals himself to them, instead of anger, Joseph shows them love. He says in Genesis 45:
“Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. 7 And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Do we find any other passages of Scripture that would back up Joseph’s claim that it was GOD who sent him to Egypt? We read the very same thing in Psalm 105. Read it and circle all the times the psalmist says “GOD did…HE did…He did….” Now look at verses 16-17—only there the stakes are raised even higher.
16 When HE summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17 HE had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
Not only was God in control of the actions of these brothers to get Joseph to Egypt, but God summoned the famine. He didn’t just see it coming and respond to it. God planned the famine and God prepared the deliverance.
WHY? Why would God do this? Psalm 106:8 gives one reason:
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
And Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50:20-
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.
The verse does not say, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God turned it for good…” although God certainly does that. God actually intended the famine, He intended Joseph to be sold into slavery in Egypt, intended that he spend time in prison, intended that he prepare the country for the famine….God has purposes in all that He does.
The Westminster Confession of Faith, Ch. III:1 states it this way-
God from all eternity did by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass; yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin; nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established.
This led into a discussion of some of the attributes of God, namely His omniscience, His omnipotence, and His immutability. For the verses below, just click on the link and you can view the verse in the ESV version.
OMNISCIENCE: God knows all
His understanding is perfect. Job 37:16
He knows the hearts of all. Jer 17:10; Ps 139:1-4; 1 Sam 16:7; 1 John 3:20
He knows all “contingencies,” or what would happen in any given circumstance. 1 Sam 23:10-13; 2 Kings 13:19; Ps 81:14-15; Is 42:7; Is 48:18
He knows all that people do. Deut 2:7; Job 23:10; Job 24:23; Job 31:4; Ps 1:6; Ps 119:168
OMNIPOTENTENCE: God is able to do all. He is all-powerful!
IMMUTABILITY: God cannot change or be changed by anything!
Heb 1:11-12; Heb 6:17-18; James 1:17
Reality is the way it is because GOD said so! He has plans and purposes and decrees that were made before the foundation of the world. Ps 33:11; Is 46:10; Acts 2:23; Eph 3:11; Eph 1:11; Rev 4:11
Since God KNOWS everything, CAN DO everything, and CANNOT be changed by anything, then why are there things that happen that are contrary to “His will?” When we see the term “God’s will” in the Bible, we need to be aware that there are at least “two wills” in God, or two ways of willing. We read that God decrees one thing while also willing and teaching that a different thing should actually happen. Consider the death of Jesus. Didn’t God command that we should not kill? Yet He allowed Jesus to be put to death. In Acts 2:23 we read that Jesus was, “delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.”
This distinction in the way God wills has been expressed in various ways throughout the centuries. It is not a new thought. For example, theologians have written about God’s sovereign will and moral will, or His efficient will and permissive will, or His secret will and revealed will, or His will of decree and His will of command, decretive will and preceptive will, voluntas signi (will of sign) and voluntas beneplaciti (will of good pleasure), etc. What is the difference between these two wills? God’s COMMANDS can be broken, disobeyed, resisted. There have been changes in some of those commands. For instance, we don’t follow Old Testament ceremonial law and sacrifice lambs anymore. However, God’s purposes, what He INTENDS to do, can’t be changed or thwarted by anything.
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Each group looked up the verses and then after discussion, one or two of the verses was chosen as best representative of the biblical teaching regarding the answer.
1. Does God own the earth and everything in it? Or did God give the earth to Adam and then lose controlling rights/ownership of it when Adam fell?
2. Does God own and control all nations? Or does He own and control only His own people?
Verses- Deut 7:22; Ps 33:10; Ps 47:8; Ps 82:8; Ps 113:4; Ps 98:2; Ps 102:15; Dan 4:35; Acts 17:26
3. What is God relationship to humanity in terms of control and authority? Does He have control and authority over all people or just His own people?
Verses- Ps 33:10-11; Is 43:13; Is 45:9; Dan 2:21; Dan 4:17; Dan 4:35; Acts 17:26
Our study closed with reading an article by John Piper titled, Why I Do Not Say, “God Did Not Cause the Calamity, but He Can Use It for Good” This I posted in May.
Filed under: Sunday Study, Theology | Tagged: Bible, control, God's will, immutability, John Piper, omnipotence, omniscience, purpose, sovereignty of God
