“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” (Chronicles 29:11).
“THE Sovereignty of God is an expression that once was generally understood. It was a phrase commonly used in religious literature. It was a theme frequently expounded in the pulpit. It was a truth which brought comfort to many hearts, and gave virility and stability to Christian character. But, today, to make mention of God’s sovereignty is, in many quarters, to speak in an unknown tongue. Were we to announce from the average pulpit that the subject of our discourse would be the sovereignty of God, it would sound very much as though we had borrowed a phrase from one of the dead languages. Alas! that it should be so. Alas! that the doctrine which is the key to history, the interpreter of Providence, the warp and woof of Scripture, and the foundation of Christian theology, should be so sadly neglected and so little understood.
The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him what doest Thou? (Daniel 4:35). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth, so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will (Psalm 115:3). To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is “The Governor among the nations” (Psalm 22:28), setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth Him best. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the “Only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15). Such is the God of the Bible.
How different is the God of the Bible from the God of modern Christendom! The conception of Deity which prevails most widely today, even among those who profess to give heed to the Scriptures, is a miserable caricature, a blasphemous travesty of the Truth. The God of the twentieth century is a helpless, effeminate being who commands the respect of no really thoughtful man. The God of the popular mind is the creation of a maudlin sentimentality. The God of many a present-day pulpit is an object of pity rather than of awe-inspiring reverence. To say that God the Father has purposed the salvation of all mankind, that God the Son died with the express intention of saving the whole human race, and that God the Holy Spirit is now seeking to win the world to Christ; when, as a matter of common observation, it is apparent that the great majority of our fellow-men are dying in sin, and passing into a hopeless eternity: is to say that God the Father is disappointed, that God the Son is dissatisfied, and that God the Holy Spirit is defeated. We have stated the issue baldly, but there is no escaping the conclusion. To argue that God is “trying His best” to save all mankind, but that the majority of men will not let Him save them, is to insist that the will of the Creator is impotent, and that the will of the creature is omnipotent. To throw the blame, as many do, upon the Devil, does not remove the difficulty, for if Satan is defeating the purpose of God, then, Satan is Almighty and God is no longer the Supreme Being.To declare that the Creator’s original plan has been frustrated by sin, is to dethrone God. To suggest that God was taken by surprise in Eden and that He is now attempting to remedy an unforeseen calamity, is to degrade the Most High to the level of a finite, erring mortal. To argue that man is a free moral agent and the determiner of his own destiny, and that therefore he has the power to checkmate his Maker, is to strip God of the attribute of Omnipotence. To say that the creature has burst the hounds assigned by his Creator, and that God is now practically a helpless Spectator before the sin and suffering entailed by Adam’s fall, is to repudiate the express declaration of Holy Writ, namely,
“Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee: the remainder of wrath shalt Thou restrain” (Psalm 76:10).
In a word, to deny the sovereignty of God is to enter upon a path which, if followed to its logical terminus, is to arrive at blank atheism.
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The above is excerpted from A.W. Pink’s work The Sovereignty of God, first published in 1918. Some who read this, if there are any, will never have heard of A.W. Pink. Others might recognize his name and frown in distaste, believing him to be a radical fundamentalist of some sort, in the ‘horrible’ tradition of those ‘awful’ Calvinists who hold to such things as predestination and election. Still others will recognize that the sovereignty of God falls into the category of ‘doctrine’ and dismiss it outright, since we don’t really need doctrine, only Jesus.
My earnest desire is that you will have read this and will have been greatly blessed by it. On the other hand, if you have read it and dismissed it or even hated it, that you have read it is a good thing. If you have read it and are earnestly seeking after truth, God will impress His truth upon your heart, if indeed truth exists in this short article.
If you perceive, by the grace of God, His truth in this article and it somehow conflicts with your current beliefs, please continue to seek truth until God settles the matter from His written word.
If you have been blessed by this article, or even if you have hated it, submit a quick comment and let me know. And by the way, have a blessed day!
The Battle Cry 
“My earnest desire is that you will have read this and will have been greatly blessed by it.”
I was.
I think I might need to blog about the second paragraph. The first time — the FIRST time — I heard of the sovereignty of God, I was 24 years old. Can you believe it!? I grew up in the church, but not a church that ever mentioned sovereignty. When I started teaching the sovereignty of God, many of the people within my church felt it was time for us to leave.
It was. We’ve since found a home church where the Truth is not compromised and the scripture is taught week after week after week….
Love it!! Thanks, Dan
Love you. 😉
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Thanks for posting this, Dan. I’ve been wondering for awhile (and meaning to do the research) on what exactly is the “sovereignty of God.”
Do you have any sources that are a little more contemporary?
Also, do you have any source material on what is doctrine? That’s on my to-do list as well.
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http://www.thegracelifepulpit.com/index.htm Phil Johnson and Don Green sermons.
http://www.biblebb.com/ Browse theough the John MacArthur Collection.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TopicIndex/ Browse through John Piper’s messages.
Concerning doctrine – start with the 4 part series I posted from from an very good article by Greg Gilbert from 9Marks ministries.
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I re-read the Gilbert postings. He doesn’t really define doctrine, but writes from a point-of-view that assumes the reader is in agreement as to the definition of doctrine.
To be more clear, what is the definition of doctrine? Any sources on defining doctrine? Not specific doctrines, but in general what is doctrine?
I’m curious too, since you are frequently citing other works – how do you decide whom to cite? I’ve never heard of virtually everyone you cite; just wondering how you’ve stumbled upon them.
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Bad,
Have you not been able to check your search for a definition of doctrine off your to-do list? The basic idea is easy enough to find, but perhaps you might have an issue with method. Do you disagree with Gilbert’s approach? Is there some concept missing or problematical for you? Do you think that he should undertake a different method, and if so, which one and for what reason? How would the new method that you are going to suggest improve what you obviously think is not a great series of ideas?
“I’ve never heard of virtually everyone you cite”
This not a bellweather for accuracy. Perhaps try to address what was written instead of wondering about who wrote it. If something is right it’s right it wouldn’t matter who wrote it, and where its wrong its wrong for reasons that you presumably will be able to address.
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FYI Bad,
I cite those who appear to be biblically sound. I could merely quote scripture, but rather than be told it’s just my opinion or interpretation, I include others who are far more learned that I in things spiritual.
I am suprised you are still asking me for a definition of ‘doctrine’. With all of the sources available, you certainly don’t need my definition. I would use those sources anyway. Trouble is, even if I quote Webster, you would think that I only used Webster because I personally liked that definition over others.
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I want to hear your definition of doctrine because you seem to hold doctrine to some higher degree of importance or reverence than I would hold it (based on my definition). I’m looking for a reason as to why you hold it in such high regard – even over the Holy writ itself.
You may not think you do this – but that is how it often appears.
So once more, what do you mean when you say “doctrine”?
This isn’t meant to be a trick question. I understand doctrine to mean “teaching”. Nothing more; nothing less.
Is that how you define it?
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“even over the Holy writ itself.”
How do you figure?
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Of which Holy writ do you speak my friend? I’ve been hammered for using TOO much from the Holy writ also known as the Bible – the one with 66 books, in two major sections – the Old Testament and the New Testament. The one in which we have Acts 2:42:
“. . .and they were continuing stedfastly in the teaching of the apostles, and the fellowship, and the breaking of the bread, and the prayers.” – YLT
We certainly both define doctine as ‘teaching’. Where your definition leaves it there and leaves it to us to ascertain which/whose teaching you follow, I would include the apostles and, by logical extension, the inspired text of scripture. I wish I knew the number of times I have asked here and elsewhere – “Where is that found in scripture?”
I find it fascinating that somehow you missed that.
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Bad,
Have you had a chance to look at the 6 uses of “predestined” yet?
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