Knowledge of the Holy - Sovereignty

Knowledge of the
Holy
God‟s Sovereignty

Do you agree or disagree with Tozer?
―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

What is God‘s Sovereignty?

• ―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

―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)

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)

www.confidentchristians.org

―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

The Crux of the Issue with Tozer‘s Statement
―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.

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


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


Guards us from False Teaching

―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

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)

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 Holy - Sovereignty

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