The Sovereignty of God
This audio is from a teaching recorded at our Wednesday Gathering on November 15, 2023.
Key Terms
Arminianism:
This system of biblical doctrine arose as a rejection of Calvinism and its doctrines of predestination and election, teaching that God has given humans free will, and humans are able to freely choose or reject salvation.
Calvinism:
The system of biblical doctrine often known as “Calvinism” grows out of a deep conviction that God’s glory is the goal of all things, and that his freedom and his sovereignty are essential to his deity. Because God is free and sovereign and glorious, he doesn’t need to be served by anyone to meet his needs and, therefore, he is gloriously free to be gracious to us.
Concurrence:
The co-operation of the divine power with all subordinate powers, according to the pre-established laws of their operation, causing them to act and to act precisely as they do.
The sovereignty of God:
The Bible’s teaching that God has decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to past.
The providence of God:
The Bible’s teaching that God, the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, to the end for which they were created.
Key Texts & Quotes
Isaiah 40:25–26,
To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.
Isaiah 41:4,
Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, Yahweh, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Isaiah 43:5–7,
bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
Isaiah 45:5–7,
5 I am Yahweh, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
6 that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am Yahweh, and there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am Yahweh, who does all these things.
Isaiah 46:8–10,
8 “Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
9 remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
10 declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
… I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.
Isaiah 48:9-11,
“For my name’s sake I defer my anger; for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
Isaiah 55:10-11,
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
London Baptist Confession of 1689:
3.1 God hath decreed in himself, from all eternity, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely and unchangeably, all things, whatsoever comes to pass;1 yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein;2 nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established;3 in which appears His wisdom in disposing all things, and power and faithfulness in accomplishing His decree.4
1 Isa. 46:10; Eph. 1:11; Heb. 6:17; Rom. 9:15,18 2 James 1:13; 1 John 1:5 3 Acts 4:27–28; John 19:11 4 Num. 23:19; Eph. 1:3–5
5.1 God the good Creator of all things, in His infinite power and wisdom does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things,1 from the greatest even to the least,2 by His most wise and holy providence, to the end for the which they were created, according unto His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will; to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, infinite goodness, and mercy.3
1 Heb. 1:3; Job 38:11; Isa. 46:10–11; Ps. 135:62 Matt. 10:29–31 3 Eph. 1; 11
Question 27 of the Heidelberg Catechism (1563):
Question: What do you understand by the providence of God?
Answer: The almighty and ever-present power of God1 by which God upholds, as with his hand, heaven and earth and all creatures,2 and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty—3 all things, in fact, come to us not by chance4 but by his fatherly hand.
John Gill (1697–1771):
The purposes and decrees of God, which are within himself, are wisely formed by him, eternal and unfrustratable; and they shall stand, or be accomplished, being the counsels of him who is all-wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, unchangeable, true, and faithful; whether by the providence of God in general, and the government of it, or to particular persons, and their affairs, from the time of their birth to their death.
John Piper:
This “all things” includes the fall of sparrows (Matthew 10:29), the rolling of dice (Proverbs 16:33), the slaughter of his people (Psalm 44:11), the decisions of kings (Proverbs 21:1), the failing of sight (Exodus 4:11), the sickness of children (2 Samuel 12:15), the loss and gain of money (1 Samuel 2:7), the suffering of saints (1 Peter 4:19), the completion of travel plans (James 4:15), the persecution of Christians (Hebrews 12:4-7), the repentance of souls (2 Timothy 2:25), the gift of faith (Philippians 1:29), the pursuit of holiness (Philippians 3:12-13), the growth of believers (Hebrews 6:3), the giving of life and the taking in death (1 Samuel 2:6), and the crucifixion of his Son (Acts 4:27-28).
We hold together:
God has decreed all things, whatsoever comes to pass.
God by no means commits evil, is evil himself, or judges evildoers unjustly.
Humans are responsible for the choices they make, and they make those choices willingly.
Resources for Further Study
30-minutes of reading:
What Is Calvinism? By Herman Selderhuis
Divine Concurrence (Ligonier)
Has God Predetermined Every Tiny Detail In the Universe, Including Sin? By John Piper
The Absolute Sovereignty of God, sermon by John Piper
2-hours of reading:
Is God Less Glorious Because He Ordained That Evil Be? (Piper/Edwards)
5-hours of reading:
