God’s Sovereignty

Posted on by J. O. Soboyejo, Ph.D

God’s Sovereignty

A Sovereign God:

The testimony of Scripture gives various insights into the superiority of God over all spirits. Jude: 9 declares that Michael the archangel did not dare pronounce a judgment on Satan but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” In doing so, he appealed to the source of superiority.

II Chronicles 18:18-22 produces a fantastic account of a scene in Heaven where God places a lying spirit in the mouths of false prophets to accomplish His purposes against ungodly men. These instances show that God has the ultimate ability to control all spirits, including those who have rebelled, seeking greater autonomy. Recall the examination of Isaiah addressed a kingdom and a spiritual principality behind that nation. Daniel makes a more pointed statement on the reality of this occurrence. In Daniel chapter 10, we see a specific instance when Daniel is praying, and God immediately dispatches an angel with an answer to Daniel’s prayer. Twenty-one days later, the angel arrives and apologizes for the length of time needed to contact Daniel. He was hindered by the “prince” of Persia, a reference to the spiritual principality influencing the king of Persia.

Evil spiritual forces work to deceive men’s minds in positions of authority, thereby gaining control and keeping nations in darkness or disarray. Hence, the light of the gospel has trouble penetrating. Most, if not all, earthly governments are probably unknowing hosts to spiritual principalities and influences of darkness. Because God can exert sovereign control over all spirits, we have a powerful weapon in determining peoples’ outcomes in the plan of God. Intercession can cause God to remove the seducing influence of principalities so that His word is less hindered when penetrating the hearts of people caught in spiritual darkness.

Satan’s power is limited and subject to the Sovereignty of God. He does not have Godly attributes, and he cannot get at a believer without the permission of God. God is always a buffer for us, the authority for our authority. We never have to fear Satan and can rest in the Sovereign control of our God. How, then, do we define Spiritual Warfare? The most universally recognized passage on Spiritual Warfare, Ephesians 6, never defines the term. Without this explanation, we can assume the Ephesian church already had a clear concept of the battle. Paul mentions the push and pulls of a decision-making conflict within a believer in his letter to the Galatians. “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.

The conflict with each other…” Galatians 5:17. Paul gives an even clearer picture of what is necessary to win a Spiritual Warfare battle in a letter to the Corinthians, emphasizing the Sovereignty of God. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; Casting down imaginations (humanistic reasoning), and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” II Corinthians 10:4-5. Paul identifies our warfare as the struggle against imagination and thoughts which oppose knowing God.

Spiritual Warfare is a battle in which we struggle to bring our thought structure into submission to the will of God. The battlefield for this conflict is the mind. The warfare is a fight between our sinful thoughts and desires versus what God desires for us, a personal re-enactment of the same root decision faced by Satan and Adam. But now, Christ has also faced this struggle. Based on Christ’s victory, we have the strength of His armament available to help us win each skirmish. Ephesians 6:10-18 lists our arsenal. Every weapon is somehow related to a proper understanding of our Salvation. Notice that each item is the armor of God. We wear the same truths that protected Christ. Ignorance of a Christian is fertile soil for the enemy in this battle.

A Christian who does not understand his covering, righteousness, faith, sanctification, the Sovereignty of God, etc., can easily be worn out and become fearful of our adversary because he does not know how to stand in the armor.

Sin occurs before we commit a physical act, the mental decision to violate the nature and will of God. Therefore sin does or does not occur based on what we decide to do with a thought. If we “cast it down” by saying, “I am going to bring my thought structure into conformity with the God whom I serve,” there is no sin. To nurture and play with temptation is flirting with danger and can probably be classified as sin already. (Because one knows what they should do with thought and have not done, they are already in violation.). Most people consider Spiritual Warfare as a literal conflict or confrontation. But Scripture treats Spiritual Warfare as more of a struggle involving decision-making. Once you have made a firm decision, the battle is over. You have lost or won based on your dependence on the provision of Almighty God for overcoming sin.

The Sovereignty of God:

The sovereignty of God represents the ability to exercise His Holy Will or Supremacy. The Lord of Heaven and earth’s Most High has unlimited power to do what He has resolved. In His Word, God declares: “I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me…I say: ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’ (Isaiah 46; 9-10). While God’s sovereignty is infinite, the use of His power is defined by His other attributes. Characteristics such as truthfulness, goodness, and faithfulness.

What do we mean by [the Sovereignty of God]? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the God-Hood of God. The ‘I AM.’ To say that God is Sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is Sovereign is to declare He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of Heaven, and among the earth’s inhabitants, 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 116:3).

To say that God is Sovereign is to declare 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.” [6]

There are no limits to God’s rule. It is part of what it means to be God. He is Sovereign over the whole world and everything that happens in it. And He is the only Omnipotent Being.

Notes:

Encourage me as you buy my book “Satan Is Not Omnipotent” from Amazon. Thank you.

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