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Sovereign: A theological term which refers to the unlimited power of God, who has sovereign control over the affairs
of nature and history.
Sovereignty of God is His absolute right to do all things according to His own good pleasure.
Daniel 4:35
"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?"
Also see Romans 9:15-23; 1 Timothy 6:15; and Revelation 4:11.
Words to help us understand God's sovereignty: unsearchable - infinite - foreknowledge - merciful - omnipotent
- omniscient - omnipresent - righteous - holy - just - judge . . .
God is sovereign. Because He is King of all kings, Lord of all lords, Monarch of all monarchs, the most High Priest
of all high priests, the most Reverend of all reverends, He maintains the right to do whatever He pleases, regardless
of how "fair" or "unfair" it seems to His people. He reserves the right to give unlimited mercy
where it is unwarranted. He reserves the right to grant peace in the midst of chaos. He holds the key to our past,
present and future
Isaiah 45:9-19
"Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall
the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? Woe unto him that saith
unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth? Thus saith the LORD, the Holy
One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands
command ye me. I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens,
and all their host have I commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he
shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts. Thus saith
the LORD, The labour of Egypt, and merchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over
unto thee, and they shall be thine: they shall come after thee; in chains they shall come over, and they shall
fall down unto thee, they shall make supplication unto thee, saying, Surely God is in thee; and there is none else,
there is no God. Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour. They shall be ashamed,
and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols. But Israel shall
be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end. For
thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established
it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. I have not
spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD
speak righteousness, I declare things that are right."
God created the heavens, the earth, and all that are in them. Should He not have the right to rule them as He chooses?
The Bible declares that God is working out His sovereign plan of redemption for the world and that the conclusion
is certain. Immediately after the Fall He talked about the curse of human sin and specified the cure for man's
sin. To the serpent He said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel" Genesis 3:15. The whole redemptive story of the
Bible is the fulfillment of this prophecy by the sovereign God, as Paul clearly teaches in Romans 8-11.
The story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation is possible only because the sovereign God loves the created
world, fallen though it is, and is able to do something about it. Without the sovereign love of the Father ministered
to us through the Son and the Holy Spirit, there would be no real human freedom and no hope of everlasting life.
As humans, we are finite . . . we are constantly mindful of time, of beginnings and endings. But God is infinite.
. . He is NOT mindful of time, or of beginnings and endings since there is no beginning and ending to Him -- He
alwas ways and will always be. Hard for our finite minds to comprehend, but it is so with God. We tend to view
everything that happens to those around us and even to us individually, with the feeling of how it directly affects
us. But God, with His infinite wisdom, sees us as such a small piece of a whole picture.
His relationship to the world reminds me of one putting together a massive jigsaw puzzle. He see's a picture of
the finished product, but at the same time He works on small groupings of pieces. Those pieces fit together nicely,
but they are totally unaware of the other groupings or of how they eventually fit together to make the large picture.
That's why we cannot question His wisdom -- that's why He is sovereign.
I'm sure you have been in a position where you've asked God, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"
or even the flip side of the coin, "Why do good things happen to bad people?". What we forget is the
fact that we don't see the whole picture. We don't see the Master Puzzlemaker putting the pieces together to complete
the whole picture.
The Father is preparing a Bride for His Son. This Bride must be without spot or wrinkle. She must be perfect in
every way. The Father had a picture of this Bride in His mind before He even created the world. He planned the
formed the world and all of creation for this very purpose. He knew what it would take to cleanse His Bride [the
Lamb slain before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8)], He knew what it would take to mold her and make her
perfect [as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand (Jer 18:6)] for His Son, the Bridegroom.
Learning to submit to His sovereignty is a must! Just as Job never questioned God as to WHY he was allowed to suffer
so much, so must we learn to accept God's will for our lives.
We are very quick to spout out forumlas which will afford us the blessings of God, AND we are even quick to note
the formulas which will bring the curses of God upon us. But these are easy for us to comprehend because there
is always an "IF YOU WILL . . . THEN I WILL". But, learning to submit to the sovereignty of God, you
put aside the forumlas for spiritual success and you allow God to have His way. Ultimately, you are allowing Him
to be Lord of all lords in your life . . . King of all kings in your life . . . etc.
God has made covenant with Israel -- physical and spiritual -- that He would be our God and we would be His people.
But the covenantal promises of God are still lower than His sovereign will.
The Sovereign Will of God serves as an umbrella which covers every other covenant, promise, act of mercy, etc.
that God bestows upon His people. It does not affect our ability to trust God, in fact it should enhance our ability
to trust God knowing He has everything that happens to us (good and bad) in control because He sees the bigger,
complete picture. Understanding the sovereignty of God should never shake anyone's faith. It should make our awareness
of how big God really is even more comprehensible.
Although the word "sovereign" in itself is not in the Bible, it is referred to many, many times. The
following pages have scripture references which will help anyone understand the greatness and power and SOVEREIGNTY
of God.
Let's all pray that God would teach us to easily submit to His sovereign will for our lives. Let's learn to wait
on Him to move regardless of what our finite minds tell us. Let's not doubt God's ability to work in any given
situation just because we don't see Him moving the way we think He should. Let's learn to allow God to be God at
all times in our lives and in the lives of those we love. Let's not question God's motives, God's timing, God's
rewards and blessings, or God's discipline. Let's learn to be almost "jealous" of His right to be God
in every situation. Let's truly be clay in the Potter's Hand, so He can mold us into the image of His Son and prepare
us to be that Bride for the soon-coming Groom!
Gen 14:18-20
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And
he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be
the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. (KJV)
Gen 14:22
And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor
of heaven and earth, (KJV)
Gen 24:3
And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take
a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell: (KJV)
Exod 8:22
And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be
there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. (KJV)
Exod 9:29
And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD;
and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is
the LORD's. (KJV)
Exod 15:18
The LORD shall reign for ever and ever. (KJV)
Exod 18:11
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods: for in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he was above
them. (KJV)
Exod 19:5
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto
me above all people: for all the earth is mine: (KJV)
Deut 4:39
Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the
earth beneath: there is none else. (KJV)
Deut 10:14
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.
(KJV)
Deut 10:17
For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regardeth
not persons, nor taketh reward: (KJV)
Josh 2:11
And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in
any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. (KJV)
1 Sam 2:6-8
The LORD killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up. The LORD maketh poor, and
maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar
from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of
the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon them. (KJV)
1 Chr 29:11-12
Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that
is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.
Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine
hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. (KJV)
2 Chr 20:6
And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of
the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? (KJV)
Neh 9:6
Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth,
and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host
of heaven worshippeth thee. (KJV)
Job 9:12
Behold, he taketh away, who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What doest thou? (KJV)
Job 12:9-10
Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the LORD hath wrought this? In whose hand is the soul of every
living thing, and the breath of all mankind. (KJV)
Job 12:16-17
With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leadeth counsellors away spoiled,
and maketh the judges fools. (KJV)
Ps 22:28-29
For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon earth shall
eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.
(KJV)
Ps 47:2-3
For the LORD most high is terrible; he is a great King over all the earth. He shall subdue the people under
us, and the nations under our feet. (KJV)
Ps 50:10-12
For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains:
and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and
the fulness thereof. (KJV)
Ps 66:7
He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
(KJV)
Ps 74:12
For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. (KJV)
Ps 75:6-7
For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. But God is the judge: he
putteth down one, and setteth up another. (KJV)
Ps 93:1-2
The LORD reigneth, he is clothed with majesty; the LORD is clothed with strength, wherewith he hath girded himself:
the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved. Thy throne is established of old: thou art from everlasting.
(KJV)
Ps 135:5-6
For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did
he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places. (KJV)
Eccl 9:1
For all this I considered in my heart even to declare all this, that the righteous, and the wise, and their
works, are in the hand of God: no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them. (KJV)
Isa 40:22-23
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth
out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: That bringeth the princes to nothing;
he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. (KJV)
Isa 45:7
I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (KJV)
Isa 45:23
I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me
every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (KJV)
Lam 3:37-38
Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High
proceedeth not evil and good? (KJV)
Matt 11:25
At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid
these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. (KJV)
James 4:12
There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another? (KJV)
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