Every thinking person readily sees that some sovereignty rules his life. He
was not asked whether or not he would have existence; nor when, where, or what
he would be born; whether in the twentieth century or before the flood;
whether white or Negro; whether in America or in China. It has been recognized
by Christians in all ages that God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe,
and that as the Creator and Ruler of the universe He is the ultimate source of
all the power that is found in the creatures. Hence nothing can come to pass
apart from His sovereign will; and when we dwell upon this truth we find that
it involves considerations which establish the Calvinistic and disprove the
Arminian position.
By virtue of the fact that God has created
every thing which exists, He is the absolute Owner and final Disposer of all
that He has made. He exerts not merely a general influence, but actually rules
in the world which He has created. The nations of the earth, in their
insignificance, are as the small dust of the balance when compared with His
greatness; and far sooner might the sun be stopped in his course than God be
hindered in His work or in His will. Amid all the apparent defeats and
inconsistencies of life God actually moves on in undisturbed majesty. Even the
sinful actions of men can occur only by His permission. And since he permits
not unwillingly but willingly, all that comes to pass including the actions
and ultimate destiny of men must be, in some sense, in accordance with what
He has desired and purposed. Just in proportion as this is denied God is
excluded from the government of the world. Naturally some problems arise here
which we in our present state of knowledge are not fully capable of solving;
but that is no sufficient ground for rejecting what the Scriptures and the
plain dictates of reason affirm to be true.
If the power of an earthly king Is law in
his kingdom, how much more shall the word of God be in His! For example, the
Christian knows that the day is certainly coming when, willingly or
unwillingly, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father. In the Scriptures He is represented to
us as God ALMIGHTY, who sits upon the throne of universal dominion. He knows
the end from the beginning and the means to be used in attaining that end. He
is able to do for us exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or even
think. The category of the impossible has no existence for Him "with whom all
things are possible," Matt. 19:26; Mark 10:27. This, however, does not mean
that God has power to do that which is contrary to His nature, " to work
contradictions. It is impossible for God to lie, or to do anything which is
morally wrong. He cannot make two and two equal five, nor can He make a wheel
turn around and stand still at the same time. His omnipotence is as sure a
guarantee that the course of the world will conform to His plan as is His
holiness a guarantee that all His works will be right.
Not only in the New Testament but In the Old
Testament as well we find this doctrine of God's sovereignty consistently
developed. Dr. Warfield says concerning the doctrine as it is found there:
"The Almighty Maker of all that is is represented equally as the irresistible
Ruler of all that He has made; Jehovah sits as King for ever (Ps. 29:1 0). "
He goes on to say that the writers rarely use such expressions as "it rains;"
they instinctively speak of God sending rain, etc. The possibility of accident
and chance are excluded and even "the lot was an accepted means of obtaining
the decision of God (Joshua 7:16; 14:2; 18:6; 1 Sam. 10:19; Jonah 1:7). All
things without exception, indeed, are disposed by Him, and His will is the
ultimate account of all that occurs. Heaven and earth and all that is in them
are the instruments through which He works His ends. Nature, nations, and the
fortunes of the individual alike present in all their changes the transcript
of His purpose. The winds are His messengers, the flaming fire His servant:
every natural occurrence is His act; prosperity is His gift, and if calamity
falls upon man it is the Lord that has done it (Amos 3:5, 6; Lam. 3:33-38; Is.
47:7; Ecel, 7:14; Is. 54:16). It is He that leads the feet of men, wit they
whither or not; He that raises up and casts down; opens and hardens the heart;
and creates the very thoughts and intents of the soul." (Biblical Doctrines,
art. Predestination, p.9.)
And shall we not believe that God can
convert a sinner when He pleases? Cannot the Almighty, the omnipotent Ruler of
the universe, change the characters of the creatures He has made? He changed
the water into wine at Cana, and converted Saul on the road to Damascus. The
leper said, "Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean," and at a word his
leprosy was cleansed. God is as able to cleanse the soul as the body, and we
believe that if He chose to do so He could raise up such a flood of Christian
ministers, missionaries, and workers of various kinds that the world would be
converted in a very short time. If He actually purposed to save all men He
could send hosts of angels to instruct them and to do supernatural works on
the earth. He could Himself work marvelously on the heart of every person so
that no one would be lost. Since evil exists only by His permission, He could,
if He chose, blot it out of existence. His power in this latter respect was
shown, for instance, in the work of the destroying angel who in one night slew
all the first-born of the Egyptians (Ex. 12:29), and in another night slew
185,000 of the Assyrian army (11 Kings 19:35). It was shown when the earth
opened and swallowed Korah and his rebellious allies (Nu. 16:31-33). Ananias
and Sapphira were smitten (Acts 5:1-11); Herod was smitten and died a horrible
death (Acts 12:23). God has lost none of His power, and it is highly
dishonoring to Him to suppose that He is struggling along with the human race
doing the best He can but unable to accomplish His purposes.
Although the sovereignty of God is universal
and absolute, it is not the sovereignty of blind power. It is coupled with
infinite wisdom, holiness and love. And this doctrine, when properly
understood, is a most comforting and reassuring one. Who would not prefer to
have his affairs in the hands of a God of infinite power, wisdom, holiness and
love, rather than to have them left to fate, or chance, or irrevocable natural
law, or to short-sighted and perverted self ? Those who reject God's
sovereignty should consider what alternatives they have left.
The affairs of the universe, then, are
controlled and guided, how? "According to the purpose of Him who worketh all
things after the counsel of His will." The present day tendency is to set
aside the doctrines of Divine Sovereignty and Predestination in order to make
room for the autocracy of the human will. The pride and presumption of man, on
the one hand, and his ignorance and depravity on the other, lead him to
exclude God and to exalt himself so far as he is able; and both of these
tendencies combine to lead the great majority of mankind away from Calvinism.
The Arminian idea which assumes that the
serious intentions of God way in some cases at least be defeated, and that
man, who is not only a creature but a sinful creature, can exercise veto power
over the plans of Almighty God, is in striking contrast with the Biblical idea
of His immeasurable exaltation by which He is removed from all the weaknesses
of humanity. That the plans of men are not always executed is due to a lack of
power, or a lack of wisdom; but since God is unlimited In these and all other
resources, no unforeseen emergencies can arise, and to Him the causes for
change have no existence. To suppose that His plans fail and that He strives
to no effect, is to reduce Him to the level of His creatures.
SCRIPTURE PROOF
Dan. 4:35: 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?
Jer. 32:17: Ah Lord Jehovah! behold thou
hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine
outstretched arm; and there is nothing too hard for thee.
Matt. 28:18: All authority bath been given
unto me (Christ) in heaven and on earth.
Eph. 1:22: And He put all things in
subjection under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the
church.
Eph. 1:11: In whom we were made a heritage,
having been foreordained according to the purpose of Him who worketh all
things after the counsel of His will.
Is.14:24, 27: Jehovah of hosts hath sworn,
saying, surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass . . . . For Jehovah
of hosts hath purposed, and who shall annul it? and His hand is stretched out,
and who shall turn it back?
Is. 46:9, 10, 11: Remember the former things
of old; for I am God. and there is none else; I am God and there is none like
me; declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that
are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my
pleasure . . . . yea, I have spoken; I will also bring It to pass; I have
purposed, I will also do it.
Gen. 18:14: Is anything too hard for
Jehovah?
Job 42:2: I know that thou canst do all
things, And that no purpose of thine can be restrained.
Ps. 115:3: Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever He pleased.
Ps. 135:6: Whatsoever Jehovah pleased, that
hath He done. In heaven, in earth, in the seas, and in all deeps.
Is. 55:11: So shall my word be that goeth
forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall
accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I
sent it.
Rom. 9:20, 21: Nay but, 0 man, who art thou
that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it,
Why didst thou make me thus? Or hath not the potter a right over the clay,
from the same lump to make one part a vessel unto honor, and another unto
dishonor?
END
