Knowledge of the Holy - Sovereignty

Knowledge of the

Holy

Knowledge of the

HolyGod‟s Sovereignty

―Here is my view: God sovereignly decreed

that man should be free to exercise moral

choice, and man from the beginning has

fulfilled that decree by making his choice

between good and evil. When he chooses

to do evil, he does not thereby countervail

the sovereign will of God but fulfills it,

inasmuch as the eternal decree decided not

which choice the man should make but that

the should be free to make it. . . .Man‘s will

is free because God is sovereign. A God

less than sovereign could not bestow moral

freedom upon His creatures. He would be

afraid to do so.‖

- A. W. Tozer

Do you agree or disagree with Tozer?

• ―Supreme and independent power or authority‖

• ―Of God, his absolute right to do all things according to his own good

pleasure‖

• Greek: dynastes – ‗one who is in a position to command others‘

• God‘s right to control all and His infinite dominion over all things

What is God‘s Sovereignty?

―There is no attribute more comforting to His

children than that of God‘s Sovereignty. Under the

most adverse circumstances, in the most severe

trials, they believe that Sovereignty has ordained

their afflictions, that Sovereignty overrules them,

and that Sovereignty will sanctify them all. There is

nothing for which the children ought more earnestly

to contend than the doctrine of their Master over all

creation—the Kingship of God over all the works of

His own hands—the Throne of God and His right to

sit upon that Throne. On the other hand, there is no

doctrine more hated by worldlings, no truth of which

they have made such a football, as the great,

stupendous, but yet most certain doctrine of the

Sovereignty of the infinite Jehovah. Men will allow

God to be everywhere except on His throne.‖

- Charles Spurgeon

God‟s Sovereignty in the Old Testament

―Whatever the Lord pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.‖

(Psalm 135:6)

―The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who

does all these. ‖ (Isaiah 45:7)

―Remember the former things long past, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one

like Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things which have not been done,

Saying, ‗My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure‘; ‖ (Isaiah 46:9–10)

―But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; And all of us are the work of Your

hand. ‖ (Isaiah 64:8)

―Who is there who speaks and it comes to pass, Unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the

mouth of the Most High That both good and ill go forth? ‖ (Lamentations 3:37–38)

―All the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, But He does according to His will in the host of

heaven And among the inhabitants of earth; And no one can ward off His hand Or say to Him, ‗What have

You done?‘ ‖ (Daniel 4:35)

―They will allow Him to be in His workshop to

fashion worlds and make stars. They will allow

Him to be in His almonry to dispense His alms and

bestow His bounties. They will allow Him to

sustain the earth and bear up the pillars thereof, or

light the lamps of heaven, or rule the waves of the

ever-moving ocean; but when God ascends His

throne, His creatures then gnash their teeth, and

we proclaim an enthroned God, and His right to do

as He wills with His own, to dispose of His

creatures as He thinks well, without consulting

them in the matter; then it is that we are hissed

and execrated, and then it is that men turn a deaf

ear to us, for God on His throne is not the God

they love. But it is God upon the throne that we

love to preach. It is God upon His throne whom we

trust.‖

– Charles Spurgeon

―I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can

be thwarted.‖

(Job 42:2)

God‟s Sovereignty in the New Testament

―Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the

will of your Father. ‖ (Matthew 10:29)

―that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus

Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign,

the King of kings and Lord of lords‖

(1 Timothy 6:14–15)

www.confidentchristians.org

God‟s Sovereignty over the Individual

―The Lord said to him, ―Who has made man‘s mouth? Or who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind?

Is it not I, the Lord? ‖ (Exodus 4:11)

―My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the

earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were

ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. ‖

(Psalm 139:15–16)

―Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, ―Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before

you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.‖ Then I said, ―Alas, Lord

God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, Because I am a youth.‖ But the Lord said to me, ―Do not say, ‗I

am a youth,‘ Because everywhere I send you, you shall go, And all that I command you, you shall speak.

―Do not be afraid of them, For I am with you to deliver you,‖ declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out

His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ―Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

―See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, To pluck up and to break

down, To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant.‖ ‖

(Jeremiah 1:4–10)

―The king‘s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes. ‖

(Proverbs 21:1)

―If there is any part of creation

outside of God‘s sovereignty, then

God is simply not sovereign. If

God is not sovereign, then God is

not God. If there is one single

molecule in this universe running

around loose, totally free of God‘s

sovereignty, then we have no

guarantee that a single promise

of God will ever be fulfilled.‖

R. C. Sproul

―OK, so God‘s sovereign

over everything. But He

created me as a free

creature so He won‘t violate

my freedom of choice in

things…‖

Two Problems with that Position

1. The Bible clearly demonstrates

that God sovereignly does

―violate‖ humanity‘s ―free‖

choice

2. The Bible teaches that all

humanity is enslaved to sin,

dead spiritually, and will not on

its own choose God or carry out

His will

God is Sovereign Over Individual Circumstances

―The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

‖ (Proverbs 16:1)

―The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. ‖

(Proverbs 16:9)

―The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the Lord. ‖

(Proverbs 16:33)

―Many plans are in a man‘s heart, But the counsel of the Lord will stand. ‖

(Proverbs 19:21)

―But for this purpose I have raised you [Pharaoh] up, to show you my power, so that

my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.‖ (Exodus 9:16)

God Sovereignty Over “Free Will”

―The word of the LORD came to Jonah the son of Amittai saying,

―Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their

wickedness has come up before Me.‖ But Jonah rose up to flee

to Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. . . . And the Lord

appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the

stomach of the fish three days and three nights.‖

(Jonah 1:1–3, 17)

―Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after

house, and dragging off men and women, he would put

them in prison. . . . As he was traveling, it happened that

he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light

from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the

ground and heard a voice saying to him, ―Saul, Saul, why

are you persecuting Me?‖ And he said, ―Who are You,

Lord?‖ And He said, ―I am Jesus whom you are

persecuting, but get up and enter the city, and it will be

told you what you must do.‖ ‖ (Acts 8:3, 9:3–6)

God Does „Violate‟ the Free Will of People

―Then God said to him in the dream, ―Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this, and I

also kept you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. ‖

(Genesis 20:6)

―The Lord said to Moses, ―When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders

which I have put in your power; but I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. ‖ (Exodus 4:21)

―I know, O Lord, that a man‘s way is not in himself, Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. ‖

(Jeremiah 10:23)

―The Lord had caused them to rejoice, and had turned the heart of the king of Assyria toward them to

encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel. ‖ (Ezra 6:22)

―For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, ―He has blinded their eyes and He hardened

their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I

heal them.‖ ‖

(John 12:39–40)

―For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order

that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. ‖

(2 Thessalonians 2:11–12)

God is Sovereign over Spiritual Truths

―At that time Jesus said, ―I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these

things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. ―Yes, Father, for this way was

well-pleasing in Your sight. . . . No one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the

Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.‖ (Matthew 11:25–26)

―Jesus answered them, ―To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,

but to them it has not been granted. ‖ (Matthew 13:11)

―Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, ―Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things

which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. ―For He will be

handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have

scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.‖ But the disciples understood none

of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not

comprehend the things that were said. ‖

(Luke 18:31–34)

―While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But

their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him. ‖

(Luke 24:15–16)

―So then He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires. You will say to

me then, ―Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?‖ On the contrary, who are you, O

man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ―Why did you make

me like this,‖ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same

lump one vessel for honorable use and another for common use? What if God, although willing to

demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of

wrath prepared for destruction? And He did so to make known the riches of His glory upon

vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory‖ (Romans 9:16–23)

God Receives Glory in His Mercy and Wrath

―What if God, although willing to

demonstrate His wrath and to

make His power known, endured

with much patience vessels of

wrath prepared for destruction?

And He did so to make known the

riches of His glory upon vessels of

mercy, which He prepared

beforehand for glory‖

(Romans 9:22–23)

―For the wrath of man shall praise You; With a remnant of wrath You will gird

Yourself.‖ (Psalm 76:10)

God‟s Sovereignty Over Individual Suffering

―Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall

entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right.‖

(1 Peter 4:19)

Scripture spells out clearly that human will can never restrict

God‘s sovereignty

―Here is my view: God sovereignly

decreed that man should be free to

exercise moral choice, and man from the

beginning has fulfilled that decree by

making his choice between good and

evil.

-A. W. Tozer

Indeed, man had ―free‖ choice in the

garden, but after the fall, the Bible says

we are dead spiritually and cannot

choose God on our own. Instead, we

naturally rebel and turn from God.

The Crux of the Issue with Tozer‘s Statement

Paul on Moral Inability

―as it is written, ―There is none righteous, not even one; There is none who understands,

There is none who seeks for God . All have turned aside, together they have become

useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.‖ (Romans 3:10–12)

―For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,

because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to

the law of God, for it is not even able to do so‖

(Romans 8:6–7)

―For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are

being saved it is the power of God. ‖ (1 Corinthians 1:18)

―But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are

foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually

appraised.‖

(1 Corinthians 2:14)


―It was by the evil use

of his free-will that

man destroyed both it

and himself.‖ - Augustine

God Sovereignly Saves

―When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been

appointed to eternal life believed.‖ (Acts 13:48)

―Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name.

(Acts 15:14)

―A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the

Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul. ‖ (Acts 16:14)

―For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.‖

(Philippians 1:6)

―Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh

and give you a heart of flesh. ‖ (Ezekiel 36:26)

―(as it is written, ―A father of many nations have I made you‖) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who

gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.‖ (Romans 4:17)

―But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His

name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. ‖ (John 1:12–13)

―And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and

we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. ‖ (1 John 5:20)


―Reformed Christians believe that men

believe and choose. It is the order of

events that is in dispute. Every Christian

has chosen Christ, believed in Christ,

embraced Christ, and even more,

continues to do so. The question is not

‗must a person believe,‘ but can a person

believe while a slave to sin? Further,

whose decision comes first: the decision

of God to free the enslaved, dead sinner

and give him the ability to believe, or the

free-choice decision of the sinner that

then makes him or her one of the elect?‖

- Dr. James White


―I would pay any price to be able to

say truthfully ‗All will be saved.‘ But

my reason retorts ‗Without their

will, or with it?‘ If I say ‗Without

their will,‘ I at once perceive a

contradiction; how can the

supreme voluntary act of self-

surrender be involuntary? If I say

‗With their will,‘ my reason replies

‗How if they will not give in?‘‖

- C . S. Lewis

Applications for Us

God‟s Sovereignty…

1. Guards us from false teaching

2. Provides assurance He is in

complete control and supplies

trust in His care for us

3. Provides confidence in every

circumstance

4. Causes us to rely solely and

ultimately on Him and not

ourselves; it keeps us humble

5. Causes unending thanksgiving

on our part



―The seriousness of this question [God‘s sovereignty] has been brought home to me

during fifteen years of ministry to the cults. I have found at least one common

denominator among all of those I studied – the belief in human autonomy. . . .

History has shown that the dogma of human autonomy gradually eats away at the

foundations of orthodoxy until eventually it collapses entirely. The idea of God is

radically modified or discarded altogether as the hope for salvation is transferred to

humanity‘s determination and ingenuity rather than God‘s sovereign grace. . . . The

gospel must be made palatable to the sinner, whose personal autonomy, after all,

must be respected even by God.‖

- Dr. Alan Myatt

Guards us from False Teaching

Trust in God‟s Care

―Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it. ‖ (Psalm 37:5)

―Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the

righteous to be shaken. ‖ (Psalm 55:22)

―What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ‖

(Romans 8:31)

―Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with

thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God,

which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in

Christ Jesus. ‖ (Philippians 4:6–7)


―It is of little comfort to me to know

that God loves me if he is not in

control of the events of my life. . . .

This is one of the crucial

differences. It enables us to trust

God. It enables us to obey Jesus‘

command, ‗Don‘t be afraid,‘

because we know that our lives

are not subject to chance or luck,

to the whims of nature, or the

malevolent actions of other

people.‖

- Jerry Bridges


Confidence in Every Circumstance

―Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of

grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help

in time of need.‖

(Hebrews 4:16) www.confidentchristians.org

Sovereignty Causes Humility

―So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who

runs, but on God who has mercy.‖

(Romans 9:16)


―Those who have received

salvation are to attribute it to

sovereign grace alone, and give

all the praise to Him, who makes

them to differ from others.‖

- Jonathan Edwards

Sovereignty Causes Thanksgiving

―Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God

and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which

God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago‖ (Titus 1:1–2)

―who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to

His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity‖

(2 Timothy 1:9)

Knowledge of the

HolyGod‟s Sovereignty

Knowledge of the Holy - Sovereignty

Spiritual

Transcript of Knowledge of the Holy - Sovereignty