Just How Sovereign is God??? Let’s Start at the Beginning...

I can't think of anything that gives me more comfort, peace, and assurance than the knowledge that my God is absolutely sovereign. This is the bedrock truth that I always come back to when things do not go right or my plans seem to fall apart. When things around me seem to be coming apart at the seems, it is always thoughts of the sovereignty of God that calms my troubled heart and gives me peace in the midst of the storms of life.
What do I mean when I say that God is sovereign? Let me let Arthur Pink answer that for me. "The sovereignty God may be defined as the exercise of His supremacy. Being infinitely elevated above the highest creatures, He is the Most High, Lord of heaven and earth. Subject to none, absolutely independent; God does as he pleases, only as He pleases, always as He pleases. None can thwart Him, none can hinder Him. So His own Word expressly declares: "My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure" (Isaiah 46:10); "He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand" (Daniel 4:35). Divine sovereignty means that God is God in fact, as well as name, that He is on the Throne of the universe, directing all things, working all things "after the counsel of His own will" (Ephesians 1:11)."
It is ironic that the attribute of God that brings me the most peace is the same one that seems to come under fire the most from all kinds of people, some of whom are professing believers. Most people are not comforted by the sovereignty of God. On the contrary, they seem to loathe the thought that God is in control of all things.
John MacArthur was right when he said this: "No doctrine is more despised by the natural mind than the truth that God is absolutely sovereign. Human pride loathes the suggestion that God orders everything, controls everything, rules over everything. The carnal mind, burning with enmity against God, abhors the biblical teaching that nothing comes to pass except according to His eternal decrees. Most of all, the flesh hates the notion that salvation is entirely God's work. If God chose who would be saved, and if His choice was settled before the foundation of the world, then believers deserve no credit for their salvation."
Thinking about the sovereignty of God brings up a ton of questions, comments, and thoughts that need to be considered. It is my hope that over the next several blogs we can go through God's Word and see what He has to say about His sovereignty. Thinking over these things the last few days has turned my heart to praise God for all that He is. So let's start at the beginning. Literally...
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." (Genesis 1:1) Sometimes we are tempted to quickly read over that verse without considering it's implications. Just think, God created the heavens and earth. He created them from nothing. He merely had to speak the words and the force of His sovereign power instantaneously brought His commands to pass. "Let there be light, and there was light." (Genesis 1:3) Can you comprehend that? He merely gave the command and it was so. Stop and think about this for a minute. What did He create the heavens and earth out of? What substance did He use in the creation process? He used nothing. He created everything out of nothing (ex nihilo). He spoke them into existence from absolutely nothing. What kind of sovereign power does it take to be able to do that? He is not only Sovereign in title, He is sovereign in fact. He is on the throne and He rules and reigns, doing whatever He pleases. Whatever He intends to do, He does.
On each day of creation, God said "let there be", and it was so. What kind of power does it take to do this? Our finite minds can't comprehend the power required to create a universe. Seeing the results of His creation with our naked eye is amazing enough, but think about the complexities of His creation on a molecular level (or smaller). All it took was a simple command from our Almighty God to produce things so complex that scientists spend lifetimes studying a small portion of His amazing creation to "discover" how things work.
Now we come to a question. Why did God create things the way He did. Are you ready for the answer? Here goes... Psalm 115:3 says, "But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." Why did He create things the way He did? To put it simply, He did it because He wanted to. Psalm 135:6 says, "Whatever the LORD pleases, He does, in heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps."
Was God sovereign in Creation? Scripture gives a resounding "YES" for the answer to that question. God was in complete and total control during creation. Whatever He commanded happened. Whatever He desired, He did. Why did He do them that way? For His own pleasure, or in other words, because He wanted to.
Looking at these things brings up some questions. Is God still sovereign? Was He sovereign when Adam and Eve sinned? Is He still sovereign today? Is He sovereign over the good times and the bad? Is He sovereign over salvation? Is He sovereign over some things or all of them? The list goes on and on.
I'm anxious to go through the Scriptures with you and let God's Word answer these questions for Him. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what we "think". It matters what God says. I'm looking forward to sharing what God's Word "says" on the topic of His sovereignty.
Until next time, blessings to you...